posted 08-31-2001 12:41 AM               

V for Vendetta was Alan Moore's follow-up of sorts to Watchmen. He and David Lloyd began the series in Britain in the early 80s, but didn't finish it until 1988, when DC published the complete story as a ten-issue series. This haunting political and psychological thriller may actually surpass Watchmen in both technical accomplishment and emotional resonance.

Set in 1997, after a nuclear war that has destroyed Europe and the United States and left England shivering and struggling to survive, V for Vendetta is the story of a mysterious terrorist's efforts to destroy the fascist British government that emerged from the chaos. It is also the story of a young orphan's struggle for survival and self-discovery, and the story of the petty conflicts, cruelties, and foibles of those who would decide the fate of a nation. The narrative threads cross and diverge throughout the book, which gives the story an admirable complexity and allows time for extensive character exploration. The terrorist V remains something of a cipher throughout; we never see his face, as he almost always wears a mask of Guy Fawkes. The image of the smiling harlequin puts some distance between the reader and V, but that very act of distancing is also revealing. V does not see himself as a person anymore as much as an embodiment of an idea, of the need for anarchy and freedom to triumph over fascism and oppression.

This distance is also balanced by the presence of Evey, the orphan whom V rescues at the beginning of the story. Evey is naïve, innocent, and desperate for a place to feel safe. She thinks she has found it in V's Shadow Gallery, a repository of the books, music and art that England banned and destroyed in the name of ethnic and ideological purity. (The state-controlled television runs programs like 'Storm Saxon,' in which a British hero fights off African savages in a post-apocalyptic wasteland. Subtle it's not, but that's rather the point; the fascists have castrated their own imaginations in the search for strength through unity.) But safety and security are not parts of V's plans for Evey, and we experience with her a crucible that sets up Evey's role in the very satisfying climax of the book. We get to know Evey in a way we can never know V; she is the face that shows us what V is fighting for, before she becomes a part of the fight herself.

V's antagonists are rather well-fleshed out; they are not faceless stormtroopers by any means. We see inside the mind of the Head of the government; it is a mind that is quite insane, but we can see how and why insanity grips him. There is also a certain soap-opera sensibility to the machinations of the Head's lieutenants, as they shift political and sexual alliances in search of power. The entertaining irony also undercuts the very notion of strength through unity, and illustrates one of Moore's main points: excessive and rigid control, in the end, breeds nothing but chaos. In the end, V argues, order can only come through anarchy, because only in anarchy can people freely choose to live in harmony and order amongst themselves. (I admit I find this political ideal both idealistic and appealing, which no doubt affects my enjoyment of the book.) The strength of V for Vendetta is the balance between the battle between V and the government and the battle of the ideas they represent; action and ideology are present in equal measures.

The book can be so thought provoking in large part because of the storytelling approach taken by Moore and Lloyd. There are no sound effects; the color palette is muted, much of the action takes place in shadow. There are no giant splash pages, with explosions and body parts flying everywhere; the violence and action unfolds at a restrained pace that creates a slightly surreal, unsettling mood and gives the reasons for the violence a moment to sink in. There are plenty of close-ups, because at its heart this is a character-driven story, and we must see the emotions on the faces of the characters. Lloyd conveys those emotions well, and can also convey the silent beauty of the shadow gallery or the desolation of a relocation camp. It is an excellent example of graphic storytelling. Combined with the depth and richness of Moore's script, this makes V for Vendetta a work that rewards careful reading and rereading.