Editing V for Vendetta (section)

==Publication history==
{|class="wikitable mw-collapsible collapsed floatright" style="width:35em;text-align:left;font-size:85%;"
|+style="font-size:111%;"|Structure and publishing history of ''V for Vendetta''
|-
! Book !! Chapter !! [[Warrior (comics)|''Warrior'']] !! [[DC Comics|DC]]{{efn|TPB collection first published by Warner Books in May 1990, {{ISBN|0-446-39190-5}}. Includes new foreword from David Lloyd (Jan 1990).}}
|-
| rowspan=11 | 1: ''Europe After the Reign''
| 1: The Villain
| #1<br/>{{dts|1982|3|abbr=on}}
| rowspan=4 | #1<br/>{{dts|1988|9|abbr=on}}
|-
| 2: The Voice
| #2<br/>{{dts|1982|4|abbr=on}}
|-
| 3: Victims
| #3<br/>{{dts|1982|7|abbr=on}}
|-
| 4: Vaudeville
| #4<br/>{{dts|1982|7|abbr=on}}
|-
| 5: Versions
| #5{{efn|''Warrior'' #5 includes the vignette "Vertigo".}}<br/>{{dts|1982|9|abbr=on}}
| rowspan=4 | #2<br/>{{dts|1988|10|abbr=on}}
|-
| 6: The Vision
| #6<br/>{{dts|1982|10|abbr=on}}
|-
| 7: Virtue Victorious
| #7<br/>{{dts|1982|11|abbr=on}}
|-
| 8: The Valley
| #8<br/>{{dts|1982|12|abbr=on}}
|-
| 9: Violence
| #9<br/>{{dts|1983|1|abbr=on}}
| rowspan=3| #3<br/>{{dts|1988|11|abbr=on}}
|-
| 10: Venom
| #10<br/>{{dts|1983|4|abbr=on}}
|-
| 11: The Vortex
| #11<br/>{{dts|1983|7|abbr=on}}
|-
| rowspan=15 | 2: ''This Vicious Cabaret''
| Prelude 
| #12<br/>{{dts|1983|8|abbr=on}}
| rowspan=4 | #4<br/>{{dts|1988|12|abbr=on}}
|-
| 1: The Vanishing
| #13<br/>{{dts|1983|9|abbr=on}}
|-
| 2: The Veil
| #14<br/>{{dts|1983|10|abbr=on}}
|-
| 3: Video
| #15<br/>{{dts|1983|11|abbr=on}}
|-
| 4: A Vocational Viewpoint
| #16<br/>{{dts|1983|12|abbr=on}}
| rowspan=4 | #5<br/>{{dts|1988|12|abbr=on}}
|-
| 5: The Vacation
| #18{{efn|''Warrior'' #17 ({{dts|1984|3|abbr=on}}) includes "Behind the Painted Smile" by Alan Moore, but no comic.}}<br/>{{dts|1984|4|abbr=on}}
|-
| 6: Variety
| #19<br/>{{dts|1984|6|abbr=on}}
|-
| 7: Visitors
| #21{{efn|''Warrior'' #20 ({{dts|1984|7|abbr=on}}) includes the vignette "Vincent".}}<br/>{{dts|1984|8|abbr=on}}
|-
| 8: Vengeance
| #22<br/>{{dts|1984|9|abbr=on}}
| rowspan=4 | #6<br/>{{dts|1988|12|abbr=on}}
|-
| 9: Vicissitude
| #23<br/>{{dts|1984|10|abbr=on}}
|-
| 10: Vermin
| #24<br/>{{dts|1984|11|abbr=on}}
|-
| 11: Valerie
| #25<br/>{{dts|1984|12|abbr=on}}
|-
| 12: The Verdict
| #26<br/>{{dts|1985|2|abbr=on}}
| rowspan=3 | #7{{efn|Includes the interludes "Vertigo" and "Vincent"}}<br/>{{dts|1989|1|abbr=on}}
|-
| 13: Values
| #27<br/>(unpublished)
|-
| 14: Vignettes
| #28<br/>(unpublished)
|-
| rowspan=12 | 3: ''The Land of Do-As-You-Please''
| Prologue
| rowspan=12 | —
| rowspan=4 | #8<br/>{{dts|1989|2|abbr=on}}
|-
| 1: Vox Populi
|-
| 2: Verwirrung
|-
| 3: Various Valentines
|-
| 4: Vestiges
| rowspan=4 | #9<br/>{{dts|1989|3|abbr=on}}
|-
| V: The Valediction
|-
| 6: Vectors
|-
| 7: Vindication
|-
| 8: Vultures
| rowspan=4 | #10<br/>{{dts|1989|5|abbr=on}}
|-
| 9: The Vigil
|-
| 10: The Volcano
|-
| 11: Valhalla
|-
| colspan=4 |'''Notes'''<br/>{{notelist|17em}}
|}
The first episodes of ''V for Vendetta'' appeared in black-and-white between 1982 and 1985, in ''[[Warrior (comics)|Warrior]]'', a British anthology comic published by [[Quality Communications]]. Editor/publisher [[Dez Skinn]] fearing about the appeal of the strip remarked, "If I'd have given each character their own title, the failures would have certainly outweighed the successes, with the uncompromising 'V for Vendetta' probably being an early casualty. But with five or six strips an issue, regular [readers] only needed two or three favorites to justify their buying the title."<ref>{{cite journal|last=Harvey|first=Allan|date=June 2009|title=Blood and Sapphires: The Rise and Demise of Marvelman|journal=[[Back Issue!]]|issue=34|page=71|publisher=[[TwoMorrows Publishing]]}}</ref>

When the publishers cancelled ''Warrior'' in 1985 (with two completed issues unpublished due to the cancellation), several companies attempted to convince Moore and Lloyd to let them publish and complete the story. In 1988, DC Comics published a ten-issue series that reprinted the ''Warrior'' stories in colour, then continued the series to completion. The first new material appeared in issue No. 7, which included the unpublished episodes that would have appeared in ''Warrior'' No. 27 and No. 28. [[Tony Weare]] drew one chapter ("Vincent") and contributed additional art to two others ("Valerie" and "The Vacation"); [[Steve Whitaker]] and Siobhan Dodds worked as [[Colorist|colourists]] on the entire series.

===Collected editions===
The entire series has appeared [[trade paperback (comics)|collected]] in paperback ({{ISBN|0-446-39190-5}}) and hardback ({{ISBN|1-4012-0792-8}}) form, including Moore's "Behind the Painted Smile" essay and two "interludes" outside the central continuity. Later collections include reissued paperbacks, published in the US by DC's [[Vertigo (DC Comics)|Vertigo]] imprint ({{ISBN|0-930289-52-8}}) and in the UK by [[Titan Books]] ({{ISBN|1-85286-291-2}}). A new hardback edition was published in 2005 featuring improved printing and colouring.<ref name=AbsoluteV /> In August 2009 DC published a [[slipcase]]d [[DC Comics Absolute Edition|Absolute Edition]] ({{ISBN|1-4012-2361-3}}); this includes newly coloured "silent art" pages (full-page panels containing no dialogue) from the series' original run, which have not previously appeared in any previous collected edition.<ref name=AbsoluteV>{{cite press release |url=http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=19834 |title='Absolute V For Vendetta' to feature 100 additional pages at no extra cost |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100525104512/http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=19834 |archive-date=25 May 2010 |publisher=Comic Book Resources |date=3 February 2009 |access-date=5 September 2010}}</ref>

* {{cite book |url=https://www.penguinrandomhouse.ca/books/116615/v-for-vendetta-new-new-edition-tpb-by-alan-moore-david-lloyd/9781401208417 |title=V for Vendetta |edition=New TPB |author1=Moore, Alan |author1-mask=— |author2=Lloyd, David |author2-mask=— |date=24 October 2008 |publisher=DC Vertigo |isbn=9781401208417 |access-date=29 October 2018 |archive-date=29 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181029232359/https://www.penguinrandomhouse.ca/books/116615/v-for-vendetta-new-new-edition-tpb-by-alan-moore-david-lloyd/9781401208417 |url-status=dead }}
* {{cite book |url=https://www.vertigocomics.com/graphic-novels/v-for-vendetta-1988/v-for-vendetta-new-edition |title=V for Vendetta |edition=New |author1=Moore, Alan |author1-mask=— |author2=Lloyd, David |author2-mask=— |date=24 December 2008 |publisher=DC Vertigo |access-date=29 October 2018 |archive-date=30 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181030035517/https://www.vertigocomics.com/graphic-novels/v-for-vendetta-1988/v-for-vendetta-new-edition |url-status=dead }}
* {{cite book |url=https://www.penguinrandomhouse.ca/books/116562/absolute-v-for-vendetta-by-alan-moore/9781401223618 |title=V for Vendetta |edition=Absolute |author1=Moore, Alan |author1-mask=— |author2=Lloyd, David |author2-mask=— |date=8 September 2009 |publisher=DC Vertigo |isbn=9781401223618 |access-date=29 October 2018 |archive-date=30 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181030035406/https://www.penguinrandomhouse.ca/books/116562/absolute-v-for-vendetta-by-alan-moore/9781401223618 |url-status=dead }}
* {{cite book |title=V for Vendetta |edition=Deluxe Collector Set |author1=Moore, Alan |author1-mask=— |author2=Lloyd, David |author2-mask=— |date=9 October 2012 |publisher=DC Vertigo |isbn=9781401238582 }}
* {{cite book |url=https://www.penguinrandomhouse.ca/books/590060/v-for-vendetta-30th-anniversary-deluxe-edition-by-alan-moore/9781401285005 |title=V for Vendetta |edition=The 30th Anniversary Deluxe |author1=Moore, Alan |author1-mask=— |author2=Lloyd, David |author2-mask=— |date=20 November 2018 |publisher=DC Vertigo |isbn=9781401285005}}

===Background===
David Lloyd's paintings for ''V for Vendetta'' in ''Warrior'' first appeared in black and white.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/dec/27/v-for-vendetta-is-a-manual-for-rebellion-against-injustice|title=V for Vendetta is a manual for rebellion against injustice|first=David|last=Barnett|date=27 December 2016|website=The Guardian|access-date=1 May 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180324135037/https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/dec/27/v-for-vendetta-is-a-manual-for-rebellion-against-injustice|archive-date=24 March 2018}}</ref>

[[File:Warrior19.jpg|thumb|Cover of ''Warrior'' #19, highlighting the comic's conflict between [[anarchism|anarchist]] and fascist philosophies.]]

In writing ''V for Vendetta'', Moore drew upon a comic strip idea submission that the [[DC Thomson]] scriptwriting competition rejected in 1975: "The Doll", which involved a transgender terrorist in white face makeup, who fought a totalitarian state during the 1980s.{{sfn|Moore|1995|p=268}}

Years later, Skinn reportedly invited Moore to create a dark mystery strip with artist David Lloyd.<ref>{{cite web|author=Brown, Adrian|year=2004|title=Headspace: Inside The Mindscape of Alan Moore|format=http|work=Ninth Art|url=http://www.ninthart.com/display.php?article=867|access-date=6 April 2006|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071020110517/http://www.ninthart.com/display.php?article=867|archive-date=20 October 2007}}</ref> ''V for Vendetta'' was intended to recreate something similar to their popular [[Marvel UK]] [[Night Raven]] strip in a 1930s [[noir fiction|noir]].<ref name=HeatherMacDonald-1>{{cite interview |url=http://www.comicon.com/thebeat/2006/03/a_for_alan_pt_1_the_alan_moore.html |title=A for Alan, Part 1 |subject=Alan Moore |interviewer=Heather MacDonald |date=March 2006 |website=The Beat |publisher=Mile High Comics |access-date=29 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060404210249/http://www.comicon.com/thebeat/2006/03/a_for_alan_pt_1_the_alan_moore.html |archive-date=4 April 2006 |url-status=dead}}</ref> They chose against doing historical research and instead set the story in the near future rather than the recent past.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AEnVgVDd8m0C&pg=PA74 |title=The Extraordinary Works of Alan Moore |author=Khoury, George |page=74 |access-date=2 June 2018 |publisher=TwoMorrows |location=Raleigh, North Carolina |date=July 2003 |isbn=1-893905-24-1 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180602212643/https://books.google.com/books?id=AEnVgVDd8m0C&pg=PA74 |archive-date=2 June 2018 }}</ref>

Then ''V for Vendetta'' emerged, putting the emphasis on "V" rather than "Vendetta". David Lloyd developed the idea of dressing V as [[Guy Fawkes]]<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-16968689|title=Alan Moore on Anonymous' rise|first=Alan|last=Moore|publisher=BBC News|date=8 March 2012|access-date=1 May 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130725005719/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-16968689|archive-date=25 July 2013}}</ref> after previous designs followed the conventional [[superhero]] look. During the preparation of the story, Moore made a list of what he wanted to bring into the plot, which he reproduced in "Behind the Painted Smile":

<blockquote>[[George Orwell|Orwell]]. [[Aldous Huxley|Huxley]]. [[Thomas Disch]]. ''[[Judge Dredd]]''. [[Harlan Ellison]]'s ''[["Repent, Harlequin!" Said the Ticktockman]]'', ''Catman'' and ''[[The Prowler in the City at the Edge of the World]]'' by the same author. [[Vincent Price]]'s ''[[The Abominable Dr. Phibes|Dr. Phibes]]'' and ''[[Theatre of Blood]]''. [[David Bowie]]. ''[[The Shadow]]''. ''[[Night Raven]]''. ''[[Batman]]''. ''[[Fahrenheit 451]]''. The writings of the [[New Worlds (magazine)|New Worlds]] school of science fiction. [[Max Ernst]]'s painting "[[Europe After the Rain II|Europe After the Rain]]". [[Thomas Pynchon]]. The atmosphere of [[British cinema#World War II|British Second World War films]]. ''[[The Prisoner]]''. [[Robin Hood]]. [[Dick Turpin]]...<ref name="Smile">{{cite journal|author=Moore, Alan|title=Behind the Painted Smile|journal=Warrior|year=1983|issue=17|author-link=Alan Moore}}</ref></blockquote>

The influence of such a wide number of references has been thoroughly demonstrated in academic studies,<ref>{{Cite book|title=V for vendetta as cultural pastiche|last=Keller|first=James R.|publisher=McFarland|year=2008|isbn=978-0-7864-3467-1|location=Jefferson}}</ref> above which dystopian elements stand out, especially the similarity with George Orwell's ''[[Nineteen Eighty-Four]]'' in several stages of the plot.<ref>{{Cite book|title=George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four as an Influence on Popular Culture Works: V for Vendetta and 2024|last=Galdon Rodriguez |first=Angel |publisher=Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha|year=2011|location=Albacete}}</ref>

The political climate of Britain in the early 1980s also influenced the work,<ref name="Annotation">{{cite web|author=Boudreaux, Madelyn|year=1994|title=Introduction|work=An Annotation of Literary, Historic and Artistic References in Alan Moore's Graphic Novel, "V for Vendetta"|url=http://madelyn.utahunderground.net/vendetta/vendetta1.html|access-date=6 April 2006|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060308001244/http://madelyn.utahunderground.net/vendetta/vendetta1.html|archive-date=8 March 2006}}</ref> with Moore positing that [[Premiership of Margaret Thatcher|Margaret Thatcher's Conservative government]] would "obviously lose the [[1983 United Kingdom general election|1983 elections]]", and that an incoming [[Michael Foot]]-led [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour]] government, committed to [[Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament|complete nuclear disarmament]], would allow the United Kingdom to escape relatively unscathed after a limited [[Nuclear warfare|nuclear war]]. However, Moore felt that fascists would quickly subvert a post-nuclear holocaust Britain.<ref name="Smile" /> V, an anarchist, initially tortures and murders members of the fascist government, but as the story develops, Moore deliberately made V's actions "very, very morally ambiguous" with the aim that "I didn't want to tell people what to think, I just wanted to tell people to think."<ref name=HeatherMacDonald-1 /> The [[Guy Fawkes]] analogy was deliberate, with Moore pointing out in a 2012 interview that Britain has a history of "making heroes out of criminals or people who in other centuries might have been regarded as terrorists", desiring a similar ambiguity for a protagonist reviled as a villain by the Britain of his fictional 1990s.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EuBFd1rlWWA&ab_channel=rickdickboy | title=Alan Moore HARDtalk interview | website=[[YouTube]] | date=20 April 2012 }}</ref> 

Moore's scenario remains untested. Addressing historical developments when DC reissued the work, he noted:

<blockquote>Naïveté can also be detected in my supposition that it would take something as melodramatic as a near-miss nuclear conflict to nudge Britain towards fascism... The simple fact that much of the historical background of the story proceeds from a predicted Conservative defeat in the 1983 General Election should tell you how reliable we were in our roles as [[Cassandra]]s.<ref>Moore, Alan, Introduction. ''V for Vendetta''. New York: [[DC Comics]], 1990.</ref></blockquote>