Neil Fein's Blog

V for Vendetta
by Alan Moore and David Lloyd

I recently reread this, the story of a near-future Orwellian England and V, its masked hero (or serial killer, depending upon whom is speaking). V is avenging... something. I won't ruin the plot by telling you what, but there are shadows of The Prisoner and Buchenwald in the way he... educates his protoge Evey.

Other characters are not so well defined, a flaw in this powerful work. Adam Susan, the Leader, may govern Britan, but he doesn't keep the reader's attention beyond being a dysfunctional, powerful figure. But perhaps that is enough, that we're shown the result of a misenfranchised head of state. Dascombe, a bitter, sarcastic, and jolly fellow, is at once a rebel, a conformist, and a sterotypical "flaming" gay man working in radio. And Finch, the detective investigating the murders, is an enigma, yet another squandered opportunity of a character.

Perhaps the most fascinating character is Lewis Prosthero, the voice of fate, and we see precious little of him, as his demise is one bookend of the string of killings.

David Lloyd's art is noteworthy for conveying the sheer weight of the world these people live in. His style of incompletely defining his subject is well suited to conveying the sense that something is missing, something is wrong in the world.

It says much that this story rises above its characters. This is one of Moore's least accessible works, yet it is worthwhile reading for its message. While hardly original, it is important that we see where we could be going, especially in these times.

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