V for Vendetta

Introduction

V for Vendetta is a graphic novel written by Alan Moore and illustrated by David Lloyd. Moore also wrote the acclaimed graphic novel Watchmen and is considered one of the greatest living graphic novel authors, while Lloyd created Marvel’s Night Raven and has done illustrations for many Marvel and DC properties. V for Vendetta was initially serialized in the British anthology Warrior between 1982 and 1984. In the late 80s, it was reprinted in color by DC Comics.

The novel takes place in 1997, in a dystopian near future in which the Cold War culminated in atomic bombings that destroyed much of the world and subjected the rest to nuclear winter and governmental instability. Britain falls into chaos and is overtaken by a racist, Christofascist organization called Norsefire. A masked anarchist antihero named V, along with his protégée Evey Hammond, works to give British citizens the chance to escape tyranny and rule themselves. This plot was partially influenced by Moore and Lloyd’s political ideas about conservative Thatcherism combined with tensions around the escalating Cold War. The novel deals with themes such as the opposing natures of fascism and anarchism and the responsibilities individual people have within oppressive social systems.