Graphic Novel Recommendation: V for Vendetta

Remember, Remember, the 5th of November, the gunpowder treason and plot. I know of no reason why the gunpowder treason should ever be forgot.

A rallying call for the disenfranchised of Great Britain to join in arms and take back their country! V For Vendetta is a landmark series from one of the best writers in comic books, Alan Moore, with artwork by David Lloyd. It was originally released in the 1980s as part of the anthology series Warrior, prior to that book’s cancellation. Following that, DC Comics picked it up and published the entire ten-issue series. Influenced by British comics from the ’60s, detective pulp stories, and the British political climate, this story seems simultaneously larger than life and grounded firmly in reality. The idea that a terrorist can commit acts on the scale that V does is unbelievable, but the reactions to those attacks seem all to real. After finishing the book, I was awestruck. It’s rare to read a story that makes you question politics and the world you live in. Stay tuned for my take on the book after this plot summary!

In 1997, several years after a horrific nuclear war, the United Kingdom has become a fascist police state. Ruling the land by fear and force, it controls all aspects of society. Nightly broadcasts by the Voice of Fate remind the citizens that all is well and to obey the Leader, Adam J Susan, the head of the Norsefire party. On one fateful night (November 5th, to be precise), one citizen didn’t rest, broke curfew and caused massive destruction in a single terrorist act. The man, wearing a cloak, hat, and Guy Fawkes mask, wanders the streets that night and rescues Evey Hammond, a young girl trying to make it as a prostitute, from a group of police officers. He shows her his masterpiece, as the Old Bailey building blows up. He then takes her back to his lair and she proceeds to share her life story.

The task to investigate the terror attack falls to Eric Finch, the head of the Nose, the regular police force. Not beholden to the fasscist party, Finch is a dedicated cop who takes his job seriously. We meet other members of Norsefire, including Derek Almond, head of the Finger, the secret police. Another terrorist bombing has Fate in an uproar, as they pander to the public and try to convince them the attacks were planned demolitions. Once the Voice of Fate, Lewis Prothero is kidnapped, they cannot quell the masses any longer, as people begin to worry. V, with the help of Evey adds more bodies to his list, as he takes out a sinful priest, and Dr Surridge, who works for Norsefire. Finch soon discovers that everyone V is targeting used to work at a concentration camp. He warns Almond who tries to confront V but is outmatched.

Finch finds Surridge’s diary and reads it, discovering the horrible tragedies that went on in that place. He suspects V was in the camp, and was a peculiar inmate known as, “the man from room five”.  Experimental drugs were tested on the prisoners, most of whom died almost instantly. V was a successful test subject, and coupled with his demeanor and intelligence, they allowed him to grow a garden. Soon he plotted out his escape.

V’s next target is the Jordan Building, where he goes on air as the Voice of Fate and calls for the country to rise up against its fascist regime. Finch arrives at the scene and meets Peter Creedy, a criminal turned cop who now heads the Nose. The two clash over their ideals and Finch is forced to take a vacation.

Evey gets into an argument with V and she is then abandoned to the streets where she meets a criminal by the name of Gordon. He runs a bootlegging operation in a club. Things go well for Evey until he is mercilessly gunned down. She tries to get revenge but is caught and kidnapped, enduring what could be months of psychological and physical torture, only to emerge a much stronger woman in the end. She also learns the fate of actress Valerie Page.