I recently re-read V for Vendetta by Alan Moore for the third time, so I thought I'd make that my first review.
Obligatory summary: Someone has been killing off and terrorizing the upper echelons of those who worked at a resettlement camp. The masked terrorist (Oh, how that word has become something else in this day and age...), known only as V, then wrecks havoc on post-unnamed war England, which has become a totalitarian, fascist state.
As much as I want to go more into detail about the plot...you should really read it yourself. Like all good books, there are subplots galore, and even my summary doesn't do the main line justice.
This is Moore at the top of his game, adroitly going between social commentary and action. I've always been a fan of dystopian literature, society gone wrong, etc. This ranks right up there with 1984, Brave New World, and is more than a little reminiscent of both.
Perhaps my favorite scene is toward the end, after V has turned off the Eye and the Ear, England's version of Big Brother, and a little girl...okay, maybe pre-teen, whatever...is trying out her first swear word.
For as much as I love about V, there's a few things I don't like. I'm not, and never really have been, a big fan of 80s-style comic art. This, in particular, seems a little more sketch-like than most types.
Another, mind you minor, quibble is the accent he puts in for Alister. There's only so long one can read a phonetic Scottish (God, I hope it's Scottish, if it's Irish, I'ma look like an idiot.) accent without getting a headache. Of course, that particular accent, wherever it's from, actually can be kinda hard, so I see what he's doing...he just took it further than I've ever seen.
V for Vendetta is a good introduction for anyone who thinks that comics are, ahem, for kids. Try reading this and telling me that comics can't be literature. Really, it's just plain one of the best pieces of literature out there.
Oh, and if anyone could get that song from the start of the third part recorded...I'd appreciate it.
I guess I can't really end this without talking about the movie. The movie was pretty good. It left out a lot of the subplots, but adaptations have to, just to fit into the 2 hours alotted to them. I really don't have any problem with the movie, aside from one thing: the Wachowskis knock you over the head (I'm not giving anythign away here, so don't worry about spoilers.) with it being from "America's War." Hm...wonder which one they mean? (Sarcasm filter off.) I'm not sure, but I don't think that they like Bush very much. (Sarcasm filter on.) Look, we get it...but art of what made the book work for me, was that after England basically destroyed itself in war, that's when Norsefire took over, and started things down the path that led to V's shenanigans. You also never find out, much like in 1984, who they were at war with. Anyway...good movie, better book. Check them both out, see for yourself.
Chris
