This could be sub-titled: 'the face that launched a thousand demos'; that mask, the Guy Fawkes mask, as worn by V in this graphic novel by Alan Moore and David Lloyd, pops up at many anti-capitalist, anti-establishment rallies and, ironically, is apparently the world's biggest online selling face-mask. Somehow that fits in with the ambiguous story line of 'V for Vendetta', which is said by some to be the best graphic novel ever produced. The scene is the UK after some sort of war which has crippled the country; a fascist-style government is running the country as a police state and the Leader spends all his time closeted with a computer called Fate that appears to really rule the roost. V, who is only ever seen wearing his mask, seeks to undermine the state. He starts by blowing up the Houses of Parliament, which seems to justify his choice of mask, and goes on to attack the various organs of the state and to assassinate key players. He recuits a homeless girl, Evey, to be his hesitant assistant, and the story gradually reveals that he has been the inmate of a prison camp and subject experiments with drugs. Without going into the full story, one can say that V is a kind of freedom fighter, but it is not clear what sort of freedom he is after - sometimes he just seems to want to avenge the mistreatment he suffered at the camp, at other times he appears to be a natural anarchist, desiring the complete overthrow of the state. He is certainly not a superhero, despite appearing to have the power to overcome most of his attackers with ease, but he is also not an antihero, as he does seem to have a moral outlook although he is certainly not averse to killing those he feels deserve such treatment. V for Vendetta is a dark story, visually very interesting to look at, and with a plot line that keep you guessing how it will turn out. The ending leaves you with many questions about what you have seen/read in the previous 264 pages.
Two comments: I am not a great lover of graphic novels despite the fact that both I and my children were once Tintin addicts. However, I do believe they can be very effective both as entertainment and to provoke debate. I have enjoyed others e.g. Joe Sacco's Footnotes in Gaza: a powerful presentation of the plight of the Palestinians. V for Vendetta is an impressive feat of the visual and story-telling arts: but it doesn't cheer you up much! Perhaps I had better stick to Tintin!
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