The Library of D: V for Vendetta

“Remember, remember the fifth of November…”

What better way to celebrate this Guy Fawkes Day than to review the classic comic based around it, Alan Moore’s V for Vendetta?

This is the story of London, England, in 1997, where a dictator has taken over after a nuclear war and has plunged the country into oppression and fascism. Meanwhile, a masked man, simply named ‘V’, is doing everything possible to bring down said government.

Let’s take a look at the characters. First, there’s Evey Hammond, a troubled 16-year-old girl. After her parents died, she was all alone and decided to try hooking to get some money, but she nearly got gang-raped before she was saved by V. V took her in, showed her his “lair”, and instilled in her the beliefs which laid the foundation for his actions, and eventually her own.

Next are Detective Finch and Adam J. Susan aka “the Leader”. Finch spends his time hunting down V, and he does so by trying to think like him to see what he would possibly do. This eventually leads to the revelation of a secret government project involving concentration camps. “The Leader” is the infamous dictator who rarely does anything throughout the story. However, he has a very strange obsession with “Fate”, his computer that controls and monitors all of London. (Symbolism?)

Finally, of course, there is V, a mysterious man who was a prisoner at the aforementioned concentration camps, but broke free and vowed vengeance upon the venomous villains! He is just as passionate about anarchism as he is about the arts (hence his appearance and dialect). In the end, he proves to be more than just a man, but an idea; he symbolizes the idea of “destroy and rebuild” to a tee.

This book enforced my affirmative beliefs on anarchism: it is a necessary evil, especially in this day and age. There are just as many people who hate the government as there are who don’t, and with dissatisfaction eventually comes rebellion. This is why groups like Anonymous exist. Also, I believe that our current government system is broken and outdated and needs to be replaced with something new, or nothing at all. (Whether or not Obama will give this to us is uncertain at the moment.)


OVERALL: This is a very compelling and well-drawn-out book. I see it more as a piece of literature that everyone should read than just a simple comic. After reading this and The Watchmen, Alan Moore has become one of my favorite writers to date.


RATING: 5 out of 5


HAPPY GUY FAWKES DAY!!!