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GHM Online Columnist - Steve Higgins |
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| LATEST NEWS .: |
.MAY 2003.
Steve's Column Debuts! |
| COLUMN PICS & LINKS .: |
.V.For.Vendetta.
by Alan Moore
and David Lloyd
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Feedback is always appreciated!
E-mail me at vacuumboy9@hotmail.com
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May 16, 2003
"V For Vendetta"
If you ask most people who the greatest living writer in comics is, they'll reply without hesitation Alan Moore for his role in taking comics beyond their ordinary roots and single-handedly expanding the potential of an entire medium. If you then ask what work of Moore's best exemplifies this contribution, most will again not waver before responding that Watchmen is not only Moore's greatest work but quite possibly the best comic book ever produced.
And in the case of Moore's gift to comics, these people would be one hundred percent correct. It is not possible to laud this man and his genius enough. However, in naming his best work, they have fallen short. Yes Watchmen is brilliant, and yes it is quite possibly the best exploration of the superhero that has been or can ever be written. But Moore's best work? Not by a long shot.
And no, his best work is not either of his tenures on Miracleman or Swamp Thing, as groundbreaking and innovative as those runs were. Nor can it be found in painstakingly researched books like From Hell and League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, which are crafted with such time and care that they require extensive notes to fully grasp all the details dropped in by this master craftsman and his collaborators.
Rather, Moore's best work comes in the form of a novel about the fascist government in the England of the future and the man who rebels against the system, a man named only V. The book is V for Vendetta, reprinted today by DC from their ten-part series of 1988, which in turn was made up of reprints of work originally seen in England in the early 1980s in the magazine Warrior as well as new material to close the story out. It is not only my favorite graphic novel but quite possibly also the best work written to date in this medium.
Now admittedly, I am quite biased in claiming it is the best comic ever written, because my love for it is so deep. V for Vendetta marked a first for my collection, as it was the first book I owned as both individual issues and in trade paperback form. I have given away my trade paperback before, only to buy a new copy when I missed it so much. I hope to someday own the original Warrior issues and I would be more than happy, should DC ever decide to release a hardcover version, I would pay top dollar for that as well.
It is also the only comic book I read repeatedly. I have probably read V for Vendetta at least ten times if not more, and I know that I shall read it again. Very few books I read in any form are deemed worthy of repeat perusals. Breakfast of Champions is one, A Prayer for Owen Meany another, Catch-22 yet another-these are all books that I come back to many times to read again and again, gaining new perspectives on both the text and myself each time we cross paths. And V for Vendetta is among them, a book I cannot go more than a year without opening anew.
Shall I give you tons of reasons why I think it's so brilliant? Shall I tell you of the deep philosophical mind of the main character V, a man who takes a meaningful stand against the system for the betterment of mankind? Shall I inform you of the beautiful portrayal of Evey, a young girl who has lost all to the system and whom V takes under his wing? Shall I tell you of David Lloyd's exquisite artwork which makes the cityscapes of London seem familiar and which, through the use of his muted colors, creates an almost tangible atmosphere of the dim, dull existence of life under this fascist regime?
No. Instead I shall choose not to spoil your reading experience and leave you to discover these things for yourself. Just one warning, though: do your damnedest not to cry when you read Valerie's letter, composed on toilet paper. It gets me every time.
All Content ©2003 Steve Higgins, All Rights Reserved.
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| :. ABOUT STEVE |
Steve Higgins is an English instructor who loves comics so much he offers a class on them in the spring. His wife Sarah hates comics with a passion and wishes Steve would stop spending so much money on them each week.
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| :. ABOUT STEVE ( CONTINUED) |
Favorite Comics: Doom Patrol, Y the Last Man, Alias, Queen and Country, X-Statix, 21 Down, Paradigm
Favorite Movies: The Fisher King, Heavenly Creatures
Favorite Bands: Radiohead, Counting Crows, Weezer
Favorite Writers: Kurt Vonnegut, John Irving, Russell Banks
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| © 2003 - Gray Haven Magazine & All Authors. |
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