Originally published in 1990 V for Vendetta is a frightening and powerful story about the loss of freedom in a totalitarian England. Written against a background of third term Thatcherism and tabloid rants against minorites this is a work of startling clarity and intelligence. Everything that comics weren't supposed to be. Returning to print after a long absence fans of Alan Moore, old and new can now enjoy this remarkable piece of storytelling - a true classic of comic literature.
V for Vendetta {New Edition}
and over 1.5 million other books are available for Amazon Kindle . Learn more
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Visit the Books Trade-In Store for more details. Learn more. |
Book Description
Product details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
More About the Authors
Discover books, learn about writers, and more.
Product Description
Amazon Review
V for Vendetta is, like its author's later Watchmen, a landmark in comic-book writing. Alan Moore has led the field in intelligent, politically astute (if slightly paranoid), complex adult comic-book writing since the early 1980s. He began V back in 1981 and it constituted one of his first attempts (along with the criminally neglected but equally superb Miracleman) at writing an ongoing series. It is 1998 (which was the future back then!) and a Fascist government has taken over the UK. The only blot on its particular landscape is a lone terrorist who is systematically killing all the government personnel associated with a now destroyed secret concentration camp. Codename V is out for vengeance ... and an awful lot more. V feels slightly dated like all past premonitions do. The original series was black and white and that added to the grittiness of the feel while the colouring here in the graphic novel sometimes blurs David Lloyd's fine drawing. But these are small concerns. Skilfully plotted, V is an essential read for all those who love comics and the freedom, as a medium, they allow a writer as skilled as Moore. The graphic novel contains all the V series plus two additional stories concerning V that were originally considered "interludes". This edition also contains an essay from Moore dating from 1983 explaining the creation process. For any comic fan it's a must-have. --Mark Thwaite
Review
"Page-turningly paced- Moore and Lloyd suck you into V's warped world and you gawp as London burns..." -- Total Film February 2006
It's a force of nature. You don't question it or fall to your knees in awe. It just IS (like the sky or gravity) -- BookMunch Online Book Reviews June 2002
It's a force of nature. You don't question it or fall to your knees in awe. It just IS (like the sky or gravity) -- BookMunch Online Book Reviews June 2002
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
Browse and search another edition of this book.
Browse and search another edition of this book.
First Sentence
Good evening, London. It's nine o'clock and this is the voice of fate broadcasting on 275 and 285 in the medium wave...it is the fifth of the eleventh, ninteen-ninety-seven. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
Good evening, London. It's nine o'clock and this is the voice of fate broadcasting on 275 and 285 in the medium wave...it is the fifth of the eleventh, ninteen-ninety-seven. Read the first page
Explore More
Concordance
Browse Sample PagesConcordance
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
30 of 31 people found the following review helpful
By Ian Tapley
VINE™ VOICE
Format:Paperback
To understand 'V For Vendetta', you have to understand the times in which it was written. Britain of the 1980s was wracked by recession and with discontent against the Conservative government. Hanging over this was the ever-present Cold War mentality.
The premise of this book is that the Conservative government are voted out (as Moore expected at the time, but which didn't come to pass) and the new Labour government insists on nuclear disarmament. So it is that when the Cold War becomes World War 3, Britain is uninvolved, but not unaffected.
As nuclear fallout affects the weather and radiation causes widespread death a fascist regime rises to offer England stability and order. The price for this is the internment and execution of blacks, homosexuals, liberals and all those who don't conform to the fascist ideals. The future Moore paints is a bleak and painfully believable one.
However, one man decides to destroy this new order so that freedom can be rebuilt from the rubble. The man is known only as V. When it comes down to it, V is the greatest element of this book. He's cultured, witty, mysterious, charismatic and ruthless. Also, David Lloyd's design of the character as a man dressed in a smiling mask and Guy Fawkes costume is inspired. My favourite bit of the book is when V sneaks into the home of a child-abusing bishop and confronts the corrupt clergyman with a Rolling Stones quote; 'Please allow me to introduce myself, I'm a man of wealth and taste'.
There are numerous other characters integral to the story; the widow Rose, forced to become a stripper; the Leader, an insane fascist in love with Fate, the computer which effectively controls England; as well as the various heads of the Party. However, there are two characters who reveal about V what he never reveals himself.
The first is Mr. Finch, a police officer tasked with hunting down V, who undertakes a personal quest to understand V's mind (which includes an LSD trip in a death camp).
The other character is Evey. At the beginning she is a helpless girl who turns to prostitution to make ends meet. However, after meeting V she begins an education at his hands in the meaning of freedom which breaks her and then remakes her.
At it's most basic level this book is about freedom, both personal freedom and freedom as an abstract concept. Dark, disturbing and thought-provoking, this book still manages to be exciting and uplifting. Certainly one of the best pieces of literature (not just comic-form) that I've ever read.
The premise of this book is that the Conservative government are voted out (as Moore expected at the time, but which didn't come to pass) and the new Labour government insists on nuclear disarmament. So it is that when the Cold War becomes World War 3, Britain is uninvolved, but not unaffected.
As nuclear fallout affects the weather and radiation causes widespread death a fascist regime rises to offer England stability and order. The price for this is the internment and execution of blacks, homosexuals, liberals and all those who don't conform to the fascist ideals. The future Moore paints is a bleak and painfully believable one.
However, one man decides to destroy this new order so that freedom can be rebuilt from the rubble. The man is known only as V. When it comes down to it, V is the greatest element of this book. He's cultured, witty, mysterious, charismatic and ruthless. Also, David Lloyd's design of the character as a man dressed in a smiling mask and Guy Fawkes costume is inspired. My favourite bit of the book is when V sneaks into the home of a child-abusing bishop and confronts the corrupt clergyman with a Rolling Stones quote; 'Please allow me to introduce myself, I'm a man of wealth and taste'.
There are numerous other characters integral to the story; the widow Rose, forced to become a stripper; the Leader, an insane fascist in love with Fate, the computer which effectively controls England; as well as the various heads of the Party. However, there are two characters who reveal about V what he never reveals himself.
The first is Mr. Finch, a police officer tasked with hunting down V, who undertakes a personal quest to understand V's mind (which includes an LSD trip in a death camp).
The other character is Evey. At the beginning she is a helpless girl who turns to prostitution to make ends meet. However, after meeting V she begins an education at his hands in the meaning of freedom which breaks her and then remakes her.
At it's most basic level this book is about freedom, both personal freedom and freedom as an abstract concept. Dark, disturbing and thought-provoking, this book still manages to be exciting and uplifting. Certainly one of the best pieces of literature (not just comic-form) that I've ever read.
11 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Back to graphic novels after a long absence, I had never read V before, but ordered a copy.
Lets just say I'm not often motivated enough by a book or CD to want to review it on Amazon, but this book does.
Absolutely superb read, complex story with super characters. Really couldn't put this one down.
After reading, immediately watched the movie which has had mixed reviews. In my view not a truly bad film at all, but a far cry from the book with some serious storyline changes. I mention this because if you have seen the film, dont let that cloud your judgement of whether to read the book.
The book is a lot more sinister - due to its age it actually carries a wonderful style - very Orwellian, very Brazil (The film, not the country!).
Please read, its well worth it.
Lets just say I'm not often motivated enough by a book or CD to want to review it on Amazon, but this book does.
Absolutely superb read, complex story with super characters. Really couldn't put this one down.
After reading, immediately watched the movie which has had mixed reviews. In my view not a truly bad film at all, but a far cry from the book with some serious storyline changes. I mention this because if you have seen the film, dont let that cloud your judgement of whether to read the book.
The book is a lot more sinister - due to its age it actually carries a wonderful style - very Orwellian, very Brazil (The film, not the country!).
Please read, its well worth it.
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I tend to listen to friends advice very often, and I also happen to like being generous when I by them Christmas presents. So a friend of mine talked alot about how much he wanted to read From Hell by Moore. So I bought it as a Christmas present for him, mostly because I wanted to read it myself. And we both liked it. Later, I owed the same guy some money, and after listening to him muttering that V for Vendetta might just be even more brilliant, I bought it to him too. And it was awesome. I have always been a little scared of superhero books, and I never really liked Batman or Punisher very much. But this was beyond great. The hero is so extremely complex and sophisticated, that any comparison to the more famous superheroes is impossible. And the setting is really one of the best grim futures I've encountered in any literature or movie.
Set in London in some future, the world has been torn apart by some great war, and several continents are wiped out. England has prevailed. And now she is being controlled by a totalitarean (is that a word) and facsist government, who seem to put her future in the hands of the all knowing computer Fate. Anyone who strays from the ideals and looks the government want, are arrested and taken to camps. In this future, music, art and literature is forbidden, unless it is approved by the government, and not much is. In the middle of this we follow Eve, a young girl lost in the city and drawn to prostitution to survive, and her mysterious captor/savior V, a terrorist and visionary, who tries to turn England back to what it were before the war.
If you like Neil Gaiman or Garth Ennis, you'll love V for Vendetta, also if you like any story about dark futures, like George Orwell's 1984 (well that's more a dark past).
Now I really look forward to buying "The Watchmen" and "Swamp Thing". Guess my friend is too.
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
›
Go to Amazon.com to see all 342 reviews
4.4 out of 5 stars
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
A must-read graphic novel
Excellent artwork, brilliant plot and - most of all - politically/philosophically though-provoking. If you like comics, graphic novels, the V for Vendetta movie, or are... Read more
Published 27 days ago by kowalski
4.0 out of 5 stars
brilliant story let down by production
Can't deny the story and art are superb, but I bought this as a replacement for my original copy which someone has 'borrowed' and found the paper stock on this copy to be appaling. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Bograt
5.0 out of 5 stars
“Perhaps one did not want to be loved so much as to be understood.”...
If you dont watch the news this book isnt for you!."Familiarize yourself with the chains of bondage and you prepare your own limbs to wear them. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Mr. I. Brennan
5.0 out of 5 stars
.....V - The Anonymous - heroes
I'm a gamer, love geek stuff, Minecraft, Halo, graphic novels
Just been intro'd to V - hooked and loving it
Just been intro'd to V - hooked and loving it
Published 2 months ago by J. Griffiths
5.0 out of 5 stars
Perfect
perfect in every way fast delivery and in very good shape.
mask was mint also and that just added to it. price was a sweet spot
mask was mint also and that just added to it. price was a sweet spot
Published 2 months ago by Stevie H
2.0 out of 5 stars
Confusing narrative ruined things
As with many people I expect, I decided to read this after watching the film and thinking it excellent. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Culture Vulture
5.0 out of 5 stars
well worth the hype
definitely try this out if you are a fan of the film, Alan Moore and anything from Judge Dredd, 1984, Batman and Fahrenheit 451
Published 3 months ago by Vinny Smith
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Masterpiece
There's not much left to be said about this defining work in the medium of the graphic novel. This is a story that could not have been realised in any other of literature's myriad... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Ram Sankar
5.0 out of 5 stars
COOL
A brilliant comic book
Dark and dangerous - intriguing to read the story after only watching the absolutely fabulous film!!
Dark and dangerous - intriguing to read the story after only watching the absolutely fabulous film!!
Published 3 months ago by Suzie
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great quality and really fast delivery
The graphic novel arrived in perfect condition and was delivered early which was a plus, the only thing that could have made the experience any better is if they read it to me too... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Bearjitsu
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
![[Start the discussion]](http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/02/x-locale/communities/discussion_boards/start-new-discussion-sec._V192198663_.gif){kind=small}
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
