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Title: V for Vendetta
Score:
Author: Alan Moore
Rating: Not available
Hits: 111

Review of V for Vendetta

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Comments for V for Vendetta

• Posted on 2009-10-12
  Even better than expected
  
  This novel, while slightly confusing in the beginning, accurately and beautifully depicts what is being told in the written text of the novel. At times, it is difficult to decipher exactly what the plot is, but all is revealed pages later.
  
  
  Overall, it is artistically stunning, and a wonderful story. Bravo!
  
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• Posted on 2009-10-06
  Great idea, poorly executed
  
  Maybe my expectation were too high after reading my first graphic novel "Watchmen," but I was rather underwhelmed by this critically acclaimed story.
  
  The concept was intriguing. Moore once again creates a clever political dystopia. The novel is set in 1990s UK which is under the rule of the fascist party. The party came to power after a nuclear war which eradicated Africa and Europe and drastically changed climate which in turn caused various natural disasters, hunger, and chaos in the country. V is a masked vigilante whose goal is to overthrow the totalitarian government and to bring the country into a state of anarchy which, in his opinion, will help people of England to establish a new fair and honest regime.
  
  I did like the idea of the book (BTW I wonder what was so special about 1970s that gave Moore these crazy dystopian ideas), as for the execution, it definitely lacked. First of all, I think this book should have been longer to provide better background for both characters and events. For instance, it was said that UK was under totalitarian regime, but it was not really shown what exactly was bad about it aside from surveillance and arrests of minorities which had happened decades prior. What I mean is, the everyday struggles of people under this supposedly oppressive regime were never described, and therefore I didn't really come to care for this regime to be overthrown. In regards to characters, I would really want to know more about them if just to be able to distinguish numerous men in suits from one another. Seriously, there were so many of them, they all played some significant role, but I was always lost. If I am honest, I was able to completely understand the book only after reading plot summary on wikipedia. Until I did that, I was a little confused who did what and why. This brings me to my next concern - the story itself wasn't structured very well, it was choppy, story lines ended abruptly, and many questions were left unanswered in the end. Finally, my probably biggest disappointment had to do with the fact that identity of V was never revealed. He had such a great background story, but I felt I never knew him enough.
  
  Overall, a great idea, but poorly executed. I'll try other graphic novels in future, hopefully "Watchmen" is not the only one which is worth reading.
  
  
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• Posted on 2009-10-03
  Awasome story, bad paper
  
  Well, the story is awasome. I got me into it even that I first saw the movie several years ago so I know some of the stuff, but still, the story manage to "hook" me into it.
  
  However, as others said, the paper quality is pretty bad. The cover is ok but the pages... made the colors pretty bad. They seem faded away. It was hard for me to recongize some of the faces and the story turned a bit, strange for a while until I got the characters however I still feel confused about it.
  
  This is the type of comic book everyone should have so you will really enjoy the story!
  
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• Posted on 2009-10-02
  I can't decide if I love the movie or the graphic novel more
  
  I will admit that I had never heard of V for Vendetta until the movie, a movie which has stood as one of my favorites of all time ever since I viewed it. However, eventually I got around to reading the graphic novel, and after having done so, I can't decide which I love more. All I know is that V for Vendetta, in either form, equals greatness.
  
  Moore's story takes place in a not-to-distant Britain in a world that has, for the most part, fallen apart. Disease and economic collapse run rampant outside of England, and is kept out seemingly by the strong hand of a fascist government that "saved" the nation. Now, however, a mysterious man wants revenge on those who rule the country, and he plans to gain his vengeance while bringing the entire government down around him. "People shouldn't be afraid of their government-government's should be afraid of their people."
  
  Do you like Watchmen or any of Moore's other work? If you do, then you'll like this. Do you like the movie? If so, you'll like this. Do you like a good, strong story that will challenge your preconceived notions of how mankind should operate? If so, then you'll most definitely like this.
  
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• Posted on 2009-08-28
  Second Best to Watchmen
  
  For those of you who have viewed the film and are thinking of reading the novel now, I was in your shoes. The first two books in this novel/series read very similar to the film. The third book is a conclusion that the film did not delve into. This book is tremendously intelligent and artistic, but its not the same walk in the park that the movie adaptation was. You will have to pay much attention to each character's story, as they all play significant roles in the end.
  
  I agree with the overall praise for this novel, but I have to be honest and say that The Killing Joke and Watchmen impressed me far more than V. The reason would be that I totally lost track of each character in the third act. In the movie the characters were so defined and easily readable. In the book a lot of the characters look the same and initially appear very trivial. But their importance was unknown until much later in the book. My confusion, which could be remedied in a re-read, prevented me for enjoying this book as I did Moore's other work.
  
  Aside from my troubles reading the third act, I did not leave V for Vendetta without reward. The intelligent plot-weaving and dialogue concocting was very top-notch and very Alan Moore. Moore always seems to be a disciplined writer, because it shows through his meticulous work. V for Vendetta is definately a comic with educational reward. It's very smart and it should make you smarter.
  
  I'm sure that I'd be criticized for saying I enjoyed the film more. I'll say instead that the film and the book are two entirely different journeys. Yes, I took the non-comic-book-fan approach and watched the film first. I may have different opinions based on where I came from before I entered this particular piece, but I do believe I can be help to those who were in my shoes. If you saw the movie first, be prepared for a different ride. You may, as the majority does, enjoy the book much more than the film. You may also be like me; enjoy the movie experience more than the book. However, I am sure you will enjoy both to some degree and you will definately get your money's worth by collecting both. Alan Moore is yet to get a refund out of me, in fact far from it.
  
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