And in the case of Moore's gift to comics, these people would be one hundred percent correct. It is not possible to laud this man and his genius enough. However, in naming his best work, they have fallen short. Yes Watchmen is brilliant, and yes it is quite possibly the best exploration of the superhero that has been or can ever be written. But Moore's best work? Not by a long shot.

And no, his best work is not either of his tenures on Miracleman or Swamp Thing, as groundbreaking and innovative as those runs were. Nor can it be found in painstakingly researched books like From Hell and League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, which are crafted with such time and care that they require extensive notes to fully grasp all the details dropped in by this master craftsman and his collaborators.

Rather, Moore's best work comes in the form of a novel about the fascist government in the England of the future and the man who rebels against the system, a man named only V. The book is V for Vendetta, reprinted today by DC from their ten-part series of 1988, which in turn was made up of reprints of work originally seen in England in the early 1980s in the magazine Warrior as well as new material to close the story out. It is not only my favorite graphic novel but quite possibly also the best work written to date in this medium.

Now admittedly, I am quite biased in claiming it is the best comic ever written, because my love for it is so deep. V for Vendetta marked a first for my collection, as it was the first book I owned as both individual issues and in trade paperback form. I have given away my trade paperback before, only to buy a new copy when I missed it so much. I hope to someday own the original Warrior issues and I would be more than happy, should DC ever decide to release a hardcover version, I would pay top dollar for that as well.

It is also the only comic book I read repeatedly. I have probably read V for Vendetta at least ten times if not more, and I know that I shall read it again. Very few books I read in any form are deemed worthy of repeat perusals. Breakfast of Champions is one, A Prayer for Owen Meany another, Catch-22 yet another-these are all books that I come back to many times to read again and again, gaining new perspectives on both the text and myself each time we cross paths. And V for Vendetta is among them, a book I cannot go more than a year without opening anew.

Shall I give you tons of reasons why I think it's so brilliant? Shall I tell you of the deep philosophical mind of the main character V, a man who takes a meaningful stand against the system for the betterment of mankind? Shall I inform you of the beautiful portrayal of Evey, a young girl who has lost all to the system and whom V takes under his wing? Shall I tell you of David Lloyd's exquisite artwork which makes the cityscapes of London seem familiar and which, through the use of his muted colors, creates an almost tangible atmosphere of the dim, dull existence of life under this fascist regime?

No. Instead I shall choose not to spoil your reading experience and leave you to discover these things for yourself. Just one warning, though: do your damnedest not to cry when you read Valerie's letter, composed on toilet paper. It gets me every time.


Very well done ... but somehow lacking   September 29, 2005
 16 out of 34 found this review helpful

Let me first say that it's a well-written, fascinating, literate piece of work. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it.

Then again, afterwards you're left with a sort of empty feeling. Because where did those horrors Moore alludes to come from? And the answer is: from the beliefs that Moore espouses!

Yes, ladies and gentlemen. In the scene where he broadcasts a message via a TV station, he plainly states that we are just animals, fresh off the tree. And this was the exact view that Hitler, for one, used to justify his campaign of killing the unwanted: the old, the infirm, the mentally ill, gays, Jews. As Bethell writes:

"During the period of American neutrality in World War I, Kellogg was posted to the headquarters of the German general staff and was shocked to find German military leaders, sometimes with the Kaiser present, supporting the war with an "evolutionary rationale." They did so with "a particularly crude form of natural selection, defined as inexorable, bloody battle. ...

"The creed of the Allmacht ["all might" or omnipotence] of a natural selection based on violent and competitive struggle is the gospel of the German intellectuals; all else is illusion and anathema.O This struggle not only must go on, for that is the natural law, but it should go on so that this natural law may work out in its cruel, inevitable way the salvation of the human species.O That human group which is in the most advanced evolutionary stage should win in the struggle for existence.

"You like Darwin?" The German intellectuals were saying. "We'll give you Darwin." (end quote)

So Moore does not offer a solution but a deeper problem. But perhaps this was his intent? I don't know his beliefs.

He portrays a cardinal or bishop or something as a pedophile, in one of many tired stereotypes; but it was Che Guevara, Mao, Stalin and friends, dire *enemies* of the church, who were responsible for butchering and torturing millions (well, Che didn't kill millions, just a few political enemies and gays, I guess. Another hero of the youth today!?). So there is a sort of blindness in his thinking that detracts from the book, makes you wonder about the seemingly clever bits of witty wisdom scattered throughout.

But more troubling, his anti-hero butchers all manner of policemen, not sadistic thugs but poor sods just doing their job. But at least that's true to Darwinistic form. Maybe Moore is really trying to argue against Darwinistic amorality? You certainly feel for those poor working-class stiffs he kills off "for the greater good."

Again, his craftsmanship of the dialogue and frames are unquestioned. It's the lack of a coherent message that's the problem. The film ads say, "Governments should be afraid of their people." All well and good, but what is he saying? That all citizens should have the right to bear arms? Or not? Perhaps just the supermen? He doesn't go far enough, is the problem; just far enough to give you a good sound bite.

So - enjoy, but question. Even graphic novels should be taken skeptically, right? All in all, I enjoyed "Watchmen" more.


An early masterpiece   May 12, 2006
 15 out of 15 found this review helpful

This is an early example of the graphic novel, and it is really amazing how quickly the form of the graphic novel matured. There are some important points in this story that most politicians or Hollywood filmmakers still have not grasped: a fascist government does not appear overnight, and it most often enjoy great public support - at least in the beginning - since it brings order; we don't need masked heroes, they are just a mirror of ourselves; the collapse of a totalitarian government leads to a new chaos, which can easliy lead to a new totalitarian government; the rulers do not see themselves as evil - they think they perform a public service, and servants of the government are not necessarily evil, they might just see the alternative as worse.
The novel has a quite complex structure, with plenty of flashbacks, a sudden break in the narrative about two-thirds into the story, and a an end that is not so much an end as a the beginning of a new story.
The story is more believable because of its strucure: we get to undersdtand the society the protagonist live in, and how it began. The characters are really three-dimensional, except for some deliberately shallow ones. The pain, madness and suffering of the masked fighter are very carefully developed.
I have not yet seen the film, but the directors appear to have tried to change the story a bit to keep the message intact, but more applicable to our own age and times.


Viva Vendetta, Viva "V"   December 24, 2001
 13 out of 15 found this review helpful

Although comic creator Alan Moore published his groundbreaking Watchmen before V for Vendetta completed its run, V was his first work in what could be described as a related series of graphic novels, starting here, progressing to Watchmen, and concluding with From Hell (if, in fact, there is a "conclusion.") Moore's meditation on the nature of heros, good, and evil - in short, morality, justice, and everything we hold dear - begins here, with a strange, familiar, yet distant tale of the not-so-distant future.

England, 1997. The US and the USSR have nuked each other back to the stone age, and England has been left to its own devices. A fascist regime has assumed power with the will of the people, with the simple goal of England's continued existence - by whatever means necessary. Unfortunately, a genetically-enhanced terrorist, dressed as Guy Fawkes, has been blowing up buildings and assassinating key members of the fascist government. The story belongs to this terrorist, who calls himself (or herself) "V", but it's really about the differences between heros, villains, good, and evil.

V kills people and destroys property - innocent people at that. He does it in the name of Freedom, but the Fascist regime V fights against kills innocent people in the name of England's very survival. Who's the terrorist here? Who's good, and who's evil? It's a fascinating question, and like any great artist/thinker, Moore doesn't provide an easy answer. Were the American "patriots" who fought the British by destroying property and killing innocent people terrorists, especially in light of recent events? Is terrorism and patriotism based on our perspective? Is there any time at which fascism, and his twin sister, nationalism, can be excused because it will ensure the survival of a people?

Fascism and nationalism are based on emotional rather than logical thoughts, and V's quest for freedom by terrorism is no better. Either way, arguments for fascism and the methods V employs to fight - indeed, the methods by which any "patriot" or "terrorist" fights against a government - are Utilitarian at best. Is this suffecient to procure freedom? Must we always abandon some degree of morality, cutting our losses and giving away our souls, to live "free" or "survive?" It's something worth considering, and if anything will make you think about it, this brilliantly crafted, lavishly illustrated work of art will do just that. Enjoy.