Its time again for another Weekly Comics Hype. I tend to do these alphabetically, but Fridays release of the film adaptation of V for Vendetta reminds me that some people might want to know about the original series by Alan Moore and David Lloyd, as we cross our fingers that the movies a faithful treatment.
V for Vendetta is set in a future Britain where a combination of mid-80s Conservative defeats and the removal of American military bases have created a situation where a fascist government takes control. In 1997, England is removed from any influence from Russia or the U.S. while its citizens suffer under the oppressive regime that controls the country, limiting individual freedoms in the name of security. Its under this situation that a terrorist, calling himself V, begins exacting cruel revenge against government targets, many of whom were at one time involved in a concentration camp for dissidents.
Some of the writing in this series is a little nave. Alan Moore admits in the introduction that it was certainly a mistake to imagine such a thing as limited nuclear war and set the story in its aftermath. But on the other hand, Moore executes storytelling tricks far ahead of his peers, making for an unpredictable and thrilling read as the story changes perspectives with each episode. Theres a fantastic one which is told in flashback as two detectives reconstruct one of Vs more brutal crimes.
One of Moores earliest series, V for Vendetta was initially published in Warrior, a pretty good anthology book published by Dez Skinns Quality Comics in England from 1982-85. Back issues can occasionally be found in better comic shops, and thats where youll find the best-looking reproduction of the art. Moore was teamed with David Lloyd, who had previously worked with Steve Parkhouse at Marvel UK on a 1930s crime series called Night Raven. Skinn was looking for a series with a similar visual style for Warrior, full of moody, stark blacks-and-whites, in an urban arena, mostly set at night. Moore and Lloyd, who had earlier collaborated on some of the backup strips in Doctor Who Weekly featuring the Doctors alien foes, instantly clicked, and the resulting series of episodes (each told in six to eight pages) quickly became one of the most popular strips in Warrior.
Warrior, unfortunately, started with too many promises and too many legal entanglements about creator ownership to be a long-term proposition. Sales were never very strong, and by its twentieth issue, many of its artists were arguing with their writers and many others had left for more profitable American work. A trademark dispute with Marvel Comics over Warriors flagship character of Marvelman (itself a long, long story) didnt help, and by mid-1984, Warrior was missing deadlines and publishing far too many one-off episodes of disconnected series to keep any reader interest. V for Vendetta appeared in each of Warriors 26 issues, but its story was left unfinished when the book was finally cancelled.
The series was picked up by DC Comics in 1988. There, Alan Moore had found work reviving their character of Swamp Thing and providing fill-ins for many of their superhero characters, but also in creating, with Dave Gibbons, Watchmen, which is one of the mediums best-known titles. Meanwhile, rival publishers Eclipse had bought the American reprint rights to Marvelman, renamed it Miracleman and found a hit by publishing reprints which gave way to a new ongoing series when theyd exhausted the Warrior episodes. DC proposed something similar with V for Vendetta, but keeping it in a ten-issue limited series format. The reprints filled issues 1-6 of the new American comic, and part of the seventh, before Moore and Lloyd finished up their story.
Unfortunately, one apparent requirement of republishing anything in this country in US format is the addition of color to artwork which was designed without it. While this was arguably a little successful in Marvels Doctor Who reprints, Im hard pressed to recall any other place where its worked. It certainly doesnt work here. Lloyds carefully balanced blacks and whites are simply ruined by a garish, watercolor-like wash of pastels. The later installments were ready for the colorists to mess with, but the earlier installments are botched awfully by them.
Still, while the story is good enough to rise above the reproduction, it is a shame that its the only choice available, like issuing that colorized Casablanca and deleting the original. The story feels a little dated in places, but it's a thought-provoking and disquieting read, and is highly recommended.
The collected V for Vendetta is available from your local comic shop; new books ship on Wednesdays, so why not stop in after work?
V for Vendetta is set in a future Britain where a combination of mid-80s Conservative defeats and the removal of American military bases have created a situation where a fascist government takes control. In 1997, England is removed from any influence from Russia or the U.S. while its citizens suffer under the oppressive regime that controls the country, limiting individual freedoms in the name of security. Its under this situation that a terrorist, calling himself V, begins exacting cruel revenge against government targets, many of whom were at one time involved in a concentration camp for dissidents.
Some of the writing in this series is a little nave. Alan Moore admits in the introduction that it was certainly a mistake to imagine such a thing as limited nuclear war and set the story in its aftermath. But on the other hand, Moore executes storytelling tricks far ahead of his peers, making for an unpredictable and thrilling read as the story changes perspectives with each episode. Theres a fantastic one which is told in flashback as two detectives reconstruct one of Vs more brutal crimes.
One of Moores earliest series, V for Vendetta was initially published in Warrior, a pretty good anthology book published by Dez Skinns Quality Comics in England from 1982-85. Back issues can occasionally be found in better comic shops, and thats where youll find the best-looking reproduction of the art. Moore was teamed with David Lloyd, who had previously worked with Steve Parkhouse at Marvel UK on a 1930s crime series called Night Raven. Skinn was looking for a series with a similar visual style for Warrior, full of moody, stark blacks-and-whites, in an urban arena, mostly set at night. Moore and Lloyd, who had earlier collaborated on some of the backup strips in Doctor Who Weekly featuring the Doctors alien foes, instantly clicked, and the resulting series of episodes (each told in six to eight pages) quickly became one of the most popular strips in Warrior.
Warrior, unfortunately, started with too many promises and too many legal entanglements about creator ownership to be a long-term proposition. Sales were never very strong, and by its twentieth issue, many of its artists were arguing with their writers and many others had left for more profitable American work. A trademark dispute with Marvel Comics over Warriors flagship character of Marvelman (itself a long, long story) didnt help, and by mid-1984, Warrior was missing deadlines and publishing far too many one-off episodes of disconnected series to keep any reader interest. V for Vendetta appeared in each of Warriors 26 issues, but its story was left unfinished when the book was finally cancelled.
The series was picked up by DC Comics in 1988. There, Alan Moore had found work reviving their character of Swamp Thing and providing fill-ins for many of their superhero characters, but also in creating, with Dave Gibbons, Watchmen, which is one of the mediums best-known titles. Meanwhile, rival publishers Eclipse had bought the American reprint rights to Marvelman, renamed it Miracleman and found a hit by publishing reprints which gave way to a new ongoing series when theyd exhausted the Warrior episodes. DC proposed something similar with V for Vendetta, but keeping it in a ten-issue limited series format. The reprints filled issues 1-6 of the new American comic, and part of the seventh, before Moore and Lloyd finished up their story.
Unfortunately, one apparent requirement of republishing anything in this country in US format is the addition of color to artwork which was designed without it. While this was arguably a little successful in Marvels Doctor Who reprints, Im hard pressed to recall any other place where its worked. It certainly doesnt work here. Lloyds carefully balanced blacks and whites are simply ruined by a garish, watercolor-like wash of pastels. The later installments were ready for the colorists to mess with, but the earlier installments are botched awfully by them.
Still, while the story is good enough to rise above the reproduction, it is a shame that its the only choice available, like issuing that colorized Casablanca and deleting the original. The story feels a little dated in places, but it's a thought-provoking and disquieting read, and is highly recommended.
The collected V for Vendetta is available from your local comic shop; new books ship on Wednesdays, so why not stop in after work?