Editing V for Vendetta

{{short description|Graphic novel by Alan Moore and David Lloyd}}
{{about|the graphic novel|the film|V for Vendetta (film){{!}}''V for Vendetta'' (film)|other uses}}
{{pp-move-indef}}
{{Use British English|date=July 2024}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2024}}
{{Infobox graphic novel
| title          = V for Vendetta 
| image          = V for vendettax.jpg
| caption        = ''V for Vendetta'' collected edition cover art by [[David Lloyd (comics)|David Lloyd]]
| publisher      = '''United Kingdom'''<br />[[Quality Communications]]<br />'''United States'''<br />[[Vertigo (DC Comics)|Vertigo]] ([[DC Comics]]) '''France'''<br />[[Delcourt (publisher)|Delcourt]]<br />'''Brazil'''<br />[[Editora Abril|Abril Jovem]]<br />[[Panini Comics]]
| origdate       = March 1982&nbsp;– May 1989
| origissues     = 10
| writer         = [[Alan Moore]]
| artists        = {{plainlist|
* [[David Lloyd (comics)|David Lloyd]]
* [[Tony Weare]]}}
| letterer       = Steve Craddock
| colourist      = [[Steve Whitaker]]<br />Siobhan Dodds<br />David Lloyd
| editors        = {{plainlist|
* [[Dez Skinn]]
* Karen Berger
* Scott Nybakken}}
| origisbn1      = 0-930289-52-8
| origisbn1-info = SC
| origisbn2      = 0-930289-52-8
| origisbn2-info = HC
| oclc           = 922848320
}}
'''''V for Vendetta''''' is a British [[graphic novel]] written by [[Alan Moore]] and illustrated by [[David Lloyd (comics)|David Lloyd]] (with additional art by [[Tony Weare]]). Initially published between 1982 and 1985 in black and white as an ongoing [[Serial (literature)|serial]] in the British [[anthology]] ''[[Warrior (comics)|Warrior]]'', its serialisation was completed in 1988–89 in a ten-issue colour limited series published by [[DC Comics]] in the United States. Subsequent [[collected edition]]s were typically published under DC's specialised imprint, [[Vertigo (DC Comics)|Vertigo]], until that label was shut down in 2018. Since then it has been transferred to [[DC Black Label]]. The story depicts a [[dystopia]]n and [[apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction|post-apocalyptic]] near-[[future history]] version of the United Kingdom in the 1990s, preceded by a [[nuclear war]] in the 1980s that devastated most of the rest of the world. The [[Nordicism|Nordic supremacist]],<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|title=Specters of Anarchy: Literature and the Anarchist Imagination|last=Shantz|first=Jeff|publisher=Algora Publishing|year=2015|isbn=978-1628941418|pages=223|quote=[Norsefire's] goal is to lead the country that I love out of the Twentieth century. I believe in survival. In the destiny of the Nordic race.}}</ref> [[Neo-fascism|neo-fascist]],<ref name=":2">{{cite journal|last=Call|first=Lewis|date=1 January 2008|title=A IS FOR ANARCHY, V IS FOR VENDETTA|url=http://digitalcommons.calpoly.edu/hist_fac/15/|journal=Anarchist Studies|volume=16|issue=2|pages=154–172|quote=V for Vendetta offers a clever, insightful look at the rise of fascism. The fascist 'Norsefire' party takes advantage of the power vacuum which occurs as the liberal British state collapses in the aftermath of the nuclear war.|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111006155531/http://digitalcommons.calpoly.edu/hist_fac/15/|archive-date=6 October 2011}}</ref><ref name=":5">{{Cite book|title=Quicklet on V for Vendetta By Alan Moore|last=Muise|first=Chris|publisher=Hyperink, Inc.|year=2011|isbn=978-1614640844|pages=1–10|quote=Britain, however, survives under the cold, watchful eye of the Norsefire government, a fascist regime that took control amidst the chaos and confusion after the war.}}</ref><ref name=":9">{{cite web|url=http://madelyn.utahunderground.net/vendetta/vendetta2.html|title=An Annotation of Literary, Historic, and Artistic References in Alan Moore's Graphic Novel, V For Vendetta.|author=Madelyn Boudreaux|access-date=25 October 2008|quote=...make Britain great again....This is typically "nationalistic" sentiment.... It was this sentiment, taken to its extremes, that drove Hitler's Nationalist Socialist (Nazi) Workers' Party to try to rid Germany of "non-Germans".|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080514174658/http://madelyn.utahunderground.net/vendetta/vendetta2.html|archive-date=14 May 2008}}</ref><ref name=":7">{{Cite book|title=V for Vendetta, Book One: Europe After the Reign|last=Moore|first=Alan|publisher=[[Vertigo (DC Comics)]]|year=1981|isbn=0-930289-52-8|pages=37–39|quote=My name is Adam Susan. I am the leader. Leader of the lost, ruler of the ruins. I am a man, like any other man... I am not loved, I know that. Not in soul or body. I have never known the soft whisper of endearment. Never known the peace that lies between the thighs of woman. But I am respected. I am feared. And that will suffice. Because I love. I, who am not loved in return. I have a love that is far deeper than the empty gasps and convulsions of brutish coupling. Shall I speak of her? Shall I speak of my bride? She has no eyes to flirt or promise.  But she sees all. Sees and understands with a wisdom that is Godlike in its scale. I stand at the gates of her intellect and I am blinded by the light within.  How stupid I must seem to her.  How childlike and uncomprehending. Her soul is clean, untainted by the snares and ambiguities of emotion.  She does not hate. She does not yearn.  She is untouched by joy or sorrow. I worship her though I am not worthy. I cherish the purity of her disdain. She does not respect me. She does not fear me. She does not love me. They think she is hard and cold, those who do not know her. They think she is lifeless and without passion. They do not know her.  She has not touched them. She touches me, and I am touched by God, by Destiny. The whole of existence courses through her. I worship her. I am her slave.}}</ref> outwardly [[Christofascism|Christofascistic]], and [[homophobic]] fictional ''[[Norsefire]]'' political party has exterminated its opponents in [[concentration camp]]s, and it now rules the country as a [[police state]].

The [[comics]] follow the story's title character and protagonist, [[V (character)|V]], an [[Insurrectionary anarchism|anarchist]] [[revolutionary]] dressed in a [[Guy Fawkes mask]], as he begins an elaborate and theatrical [[Revolution|revolutionist campaign]] to kill his former captors, bring down the [[Fascism|fascist]] state, and convince the people to abandon fascism in favour of [[anarchy]], while inspiring a young woman, [[Evey Hammond]], to be his protégée.

DC Comics had sold more than 500,000 copies of the graphic novel in the United States by 2006.<ref>{{cite news |date=30 March 2006 |title=The V for Vendetta Graphic Novel is a National Bestseller |work=[[WarnerMedia]] |url=https://www.warnermediagroup.com/newsroom/press-releases/2006/03/30/the-v-for-vendetta-graphic-novel-is-a-national-bestseller |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200708070724/https://www.warnermediagroup.com/newsroom/press-releases/2006/03/30/the-v-for-vendetta-graphic-novel-is-a-national-bestseller |archive-date=8 July 2020}}</ref> [[Warner Bros.]] released [[V for Vendetta (film)|a film adaptation of the same name]], written and co-produced by [[the Wachowskis]],{{efn|Credited as ''The Wachowski Brothers''}} in 2005. Following the [[Pennyworth (season 1)|first]] and [[Pennyworth (season 2)|second season]] [[Season premiere|premieres]] of ''[[Gotham (TV series)|Gotham]]'' [[prequel]] [[television series]] ''[[Pennyworth (TV series)|Pennyworth]]'' in 2019 and 2020, [[showrunners]] [[Danny Cannon]] and [[Bruno Heller]] confirmed the series would also serve as a prequel to ''V for Vendetta'',<ref name="V" /> with the series' [[Alternate history|British Civil War]] eventually giving way to the [[Norsefire]] government and rise of V,<ref name="CBR" /><ref name="CBR2" /><ref name="SciFiNow" /> and the [[Pennyworth (season 3)|third season]] featuring predecessors to V wearing [[Guy Fawkes mask]]s.<ref name="AV">{{cite web|url=https://www.avclub.com/trailer-for-season-3-pennyworth-wild-comic-book-cameo-1849511853|title=Trailer for the third season of ''Pennyworth'' has a truly confounding comic book cameo|first=Sam|last=Barsanti|website=[[The A.V. Club]]|date=8 September 2022|access-date=8 September 2022|archive-date=8 September 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220908164530/https://www.avclub.com/trailer-for-season-3-pennyworth-wild-comic-book-cameo-1849511853|url-status=live}}</ref>

==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>

==Plot==
===Book 1: Europe After the Reign===
On Guy Fawkes Night in London in 1997, a financially desperate 16-year-old, Evey Hammond, sexually solicits men who are actually members of the state secret police, called "The Finger". Preparing to rape and kill her, the Fingermen are dispatched by [[V (comics)|V]], a cloaked [[Anarchism|anarchist]] wearing a mask, who later remotely detonates explosives at the [[Palace of Westminster]] before bringing Evey to his [[contraband]]-filled underground lair, the "Shadow Gallery." Evey tells V her life story, which reveals her own past and England's recent history. During a dispute over [[Polish People's Republic|Poland]] in the late 1980s, the [[Soviet Union]] and the [[United States]], under the [[President of the United States|presidency]] of [[Ted Kennedy]], entered a global [[nuclear war]] which left [[continental Europe]] and [[Africa]] uninhabitable. Although [[United Kingdom|Britain]] itself was not bombed due to the [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour]] government's decision to remove [[Nuclear weapons and the United Kingdom#US nuclear weapons in the UK|American nuclear missiles]], it faced environmental devastation and [[famine]] due to the [[nuclear winter]]. After a period of lawlessness in which Evey's mother died, the remaining [[corporation]]s and [[Fascism|fascist]] groups took over [[England]] and formed a new [[Totalitarianism|totalitarian]] government, [[Norsefire]]. Evey's father, a former [[Socialism|socialist]], was arrested by the regime.

Meanwhile, Eric Finch, a veteran detective in charge of the regular police force ("The Nose"), begins investigating V's terrorist activities. Finch often communicates with the other top government officials, collectively known as "The Head." These individuals include Derek Almond, who supervises the Finger, and <!-- NOT Sutler:: -->Adam Susan,<!-- ::NOT Sutler --> the reclusive Leader of Norsefire, who obsessively oversees the government's ''Fate'' computer system. Finch's case thickens when V kidnaps Lewis Prothero, a propaganda-broadcasting radio personality, and drives him into a [[mental breakdown]] by forcing him to relive his actions as the commander of a [[Death camp|"resettlement" camp]] near [[Larkhill]] with his treasured doll collection as inmates. Evey agrees to help V with his next assassination by disguising herself as a [[Child prostitution|child prostitute]] to infiltrate the home of Bishop Anthony Lilliman, a <!-- preserve Commonwealth English spelling: Paedophile, not Pedophile: START -->[[paedophile]]<!-- END preserve Commonwealth English spelling: paedophile, not pedophile: --> priest, whom V forces to commit suicide by eating a poisoned [[Sacramental bread|communion wafer]]. He prepares to murder Dr. Delia Surridge, a medical researcher who once had a romance with Finch. Finch suddenly discovers the connection among V's three targets: they all used to work at Larkhill. That night, V kills both Almond and Surridge. Surridge leaves a diary revealing that V—a former inmate and victim of Surridge's cruel medical experiments—destroyed and fled the camp and is now eliminating the camp's former officers for what they did. Finch reports these findings to Susan, and suspects that this vendetta may actually be a cover for V, who, he worries, may be plotting an even bigger terrorist attack.

===Book 2: This Vicious Cabaret===
Four months later, V breaks into Jordan Tower, the home of Norsefire's propaganda department, "the Mouth"—led by Roger Dascombe—to broadcast a speech that calls on the people to resist the government. V escapes using an elaborate diversion that results in Dascombe's death. Finch is soon introduced to Peter Creedy, the Finger's new head, who provokes Finch to strike him and thus get sent on a forced vacation. Evey takes shelter at the house of a man named Gordon, who found her on the street. While originally platonic, they eventually build a romantic relationship. Evey and Gordon unknowingly cross paths with Rose Almond, the widow of the recently killed Derek. After Derek's death, Rose had reluctantly begun a relationship with Dascombe. With both of her lovers murdered, she is forced to perform demoralising burlesque work, increasing her hatred of the unsupportive government.

When a Scottish gangster named Ally Harper murders Gordon, a vengeful Evey interrupts a meeting between Harper and Creedy, the latter of whom is buying the support of Harper's thugs in preparation for a [[coup d'état]]. Evey attempts to shoot Harper but is suddenly abducted and then imprisoned. Amidst interrogation and [[torture]], Evey finds an old letter hidden in her cell by an inmate named Valerie Page, a film actress who was imprisoned and executed for being a lesbian and documented her experiences in the letter.

Evey's interrogator finally gives her a choice of collaboration or death; inspired by Valerie's letter, Evey refuses to collaborate and, expecting to be executed, is instead told that she is free. Stunned, Evey learns that her supposed imprisonment is a hoax constructed by V so that she could experience an ordeal similar to the one that shaped him at Larkhill. He reveals that Valerie was a real Larkhill prisoner who died in the cell next to his and that the letter is not a fake. Evey forgives V, who has hacked into the government's ''Fate'' computer system and started emotionally manipulating Adam Susan with [[mind games]]. Consequently, Susan, who has formed a bizarre romantic attachment to the computer, begins to descend into madness.

===Book 3: The Land of Do-As-You-Please===
The following 5 November (1998), V blows up the [[BT Tower|Post Office Tower]] and Jordan Tower, killing "the Ear" leader Brian Etheridge, in addition to effectively shutting down three government agencies: the Eye, the Ear, and the Mouth. Creedy's men and Harper's associated street gangs violently suppress the subsequent wave of revolutionary fervor from the public. V notes to Evey that he has not yet achieved what he calls the "[[The Magic Faraway Tree (novel)#Lands in the Book|Land of Do-as-You-Please]]," meaning a functional [[anarchy|anarchistic]] society, and considers the current [[chaos theory|chaotic]] situation an interim period of "[[The Enchanted Wood (novel)#Lands in the book|Land of Take-What-You-Want]]." Finch has been mysteriously absent, and his young assistant, Dominic Stone, one day realises that V has been influencing the ''Fate'' computer all along, which explained V's consistent foresight. All the while, Finch has been travelling to the abandoned site of Larkhill, where he takes [[Lysergic acid diethylamide|LSD]] to conjure up memories of his own devastating past and to put his mind in the role of a prisoner of Larkhill, like V, to help give him an intuitive understanding of V's experiences. Returning to London, Finch suddenly deduces that V's lair is inside the abandoned [[London Victoria station|Victoria Station]], which he enters.

V takes Finch by surprise, resulting in a scuffle that sees Finch shoot V, and V wounds Finch with a knife. V claims that he cannot be killed since he is only an idea and that "ideas are bulletproof"; regardless, V is indeed mortally wounded and returns to the Shadow Gallery deeper within, dying in Evey's arms. Evey considers unmasking V but decides not to, realising that V is not an identity but a symbol. She then assumes V's identity, donning one of his spare costumes. Finch sees the large amount of blood that V has left in his wake and deduces that he has mortally wounded V. Occurring concurrently to this, Creedy has been pressuring Susan to appear in public, hoping to leave him exposed. Sure enough, as Susan stops to shake hands with Rose during a parade, she shoots him in the head in vengeance for the death of her husband and the life she has had to lead since then. Following Rose's arrest, Creedy assumes emergency leadership of the country, and Finch emerges from the subway proclaiming V's death.

Due to his LSD-induced epiphany, Finch leaves his position within "the Nose." The power struggle between the remaining leaders results in all of their deaths: Harper betrays and kills Creedy at the behest of Helen Heyer (wife of "the Eye" leader Conrad Heyer, who had outbid Creedy for Harper's loyalty), and Harper and Conrad Heyer kill each other during a fight precipitated by Heyer's discovery that his wife Helen had had an affair with Harper.

With the fate of the top government officials unknown to the public, Stone acts as leader of the police forces deployed to ensure that the riots are contained should V remain alive and make his promised public announcement. Evey appears to a crowd, dressed as V, announcing the destruction of [[10 Downing Street]] the following day and telling the crowd they must ''"...choose what comes next. Lives of your own, or a return to chains"'', whereupon a general [[Insurgency|insurrection]] begins. Evey destroys 10 Downing Street<ref>{{Cite comic|writer=[[Alan Moore|Moore, Alan]]|penciller=[[David Lloyd (comics)|Lloyd, David]]|story=V for Vendetta|title=V for Vendetta|volume=10|date=May 1989|publisher=[[DC Comics]]|page=28|panel=6}}</ref> by blowing up an [[London Underground|Underground]] train containing V's body in the style of an explosive [[Viking funeral]]. She abducts Stone, apparently to train him as her successor to make sure people like Susan will never hold power ever again. The comic ends with Finch quietly observing the chaos raging in the city and walking down an abandoned motorway whose lights have all gone out.

===Norsefire government===
{{main|Norsefire}}
The highest-level officials in the Norsefire government form a council known as "The Head." The five individual departments are named after sensory organs or appendages that reference their functions.

{|class=wikitable style="text-align:center;"
|+Norsefire government officials in ''V for Vendetta''
|-
! Branch
! Head
! Eye
! Ear
! Nose
! Finger
! Mouth
|-
! Function
| Leadership
| Video Surveillance
| Audio Surveillance
| Investigative<br/>(New Scotland Yard)
| Executive<br/>(Secret Police)
| Propaganda{{efn|The Voice of ''Fate'' as broadcast by the Mouth was provided by Lewis Prothero, former commander of Larkhill Resettlement Camp, driven incurably insane by V in Book 1, Chapter 5.}}
|-
! rowspan="2" | Leader
| rowspan="2" | <!--Head-->Adam James Susan{{efn|name=AJS}}
| rowspan="2" | <!--Eye-->Conrad Heyer{{efn|name=CH}}
| rowspan="2" | <!--Ear-->Brian 'Bunny' Etheridge{{efn|name=BBE}}
| rowspan="2" | <!--Nose-->Eric Finch{{efn|Assisted by Dominic Stone, who fills as leader of The Nose in for Finch during the latter's forced holiday after Finch was goaded into striking Peter Creedy.}}
| <!--Finger-->Derek Almond{{efn|name=DA}}
| rowspan="2" | <!--Mouth-->Roger Dascombe{{efn|name=RD}}
|-
| <!--Finger-->Peter Creedy{{efn|Temporarily elevated to Emergency Commander in the wake of Susan's death.}}{{efn|name=PC}}
|-
! Partner
| <!--Head-->''Fate''{{efn|As explained in Bk 1 Ch 5.}}
| <!--Eye-->Helen Heyer{{efn|name=HH|Abandoned by Finch to "louts" at the conclusion of Bk 3 Ch 11.}}
| <!--Ear-->Mrs. Etheridge
| <!--Nose-->Delia Anne Surridge{{efn|Medical researcher at Larkhill. Poisoned by V in Bk 1 Ch 10.}}
| <!--Finger-->Rosemary Almond
| <!--Mouth-->—{{efn|Dascombe pressures the widowed Rosemary Almond into a relationship.}}
|-
! rowspan=2 | Dies
| rowspan=2 | <!--Head-->Bk 3 Ch 7{{efn|name=AJS|Shot by Rosemary Almond.}}
| rowspan=2 | <!--Eye-->Bk 3 Ch 10{{efn|name=CH|Abandoned by Helen Heyer to exsanguinate following struggle with Ally Harper, gangster from Scotland.}}
| rowspan=2 | <!--Ear-->Bk 3 Prologue{{efn|name=BBE|Dies in explosion of Post Office Tower.}}
| rowspan=2 | <!--Nose-->—
| <!--Finger-->(Almond) Bk 1 Ch 10{{efn|name=DA|Stabbed by V when confronted at Dr. Surridge's apartment.}}
| rowspan=2 | <!--Mouth-->Bk 2 Ch 4{{efn|name=RD|Shot by Fingermen as a decoy.}}
|-
| <!--Finger-->(Creedy) Bk 3 Ch 8{{efn|name=PC|Killed by Ally Harper using a straight razor.}}
|}

;Notes
{{notelist|25em}}

==Themes and motifs==

[[File:V for Vendetta interview with David Lloyd.webm|thumb|right|[[David Lloyd (comics)|David Lloyd]] briefly discussing ''V for Vendetta'' in 2011]]
The two conflicting political viewpoints of [[anarchism]] and [[fascism]] dominate the story.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://news.infoshop.org/article.php?story=2007alan-moore-interview|title=Authors on Anarchism&nbsp;— an Interview with Alan Moore|work=Strangers in a Tangled Wilderness|publisher=Infoshop.org|access-date=2 May 2008|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080912195057/http://news.infoshop.org/article.php?story=2007alan-moore-interview|archive-date=12 September 2008}}</ref>

Moore stated in an interview that V is designed as an enigma, as Moore "didn't want to tell people what to think" but wanted them to consider some extreme events that have recurred throughout history.<ref name=HeatherMacDonald-1 />

==Adaptations==
===Film===
{{main|V for Vendetta (film)}}
In December 2005 Warner Bros. released a feature-film adaptation of ''V for Vendetta'', directed by [[James McTeigue]] from a screenplay by [[the Wachowskis]], with [[Natalie Portman]] starring as Evey Hammond and [[Hugo Weaving]] appearing as V.<ref name="boxofficemojo">{{cite web | publisher=[[Box Office Mojo]] | title=V for Vendetta (2006) | url=http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?page=main&id=vforvendetta.htm | access-date=2 October 2005 | url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110606215126/http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?page=main&id=vforvendetta.htm | archive-date=6 June 2011 }}</ref>

Alan Moore distanced himself from the film, as he has with other [[Alan Moore#Film adaptations|screen adaptations]] of his works. He ended co-operation with his publisher, DC Comics, after its corporate parent, [[Warner Bros.]], failed to retract statements about Moore's supposed endorsement of the movie.<ref name="slam">{{cite web|title=Moore Slams V for Vendetta Movie, Pulls LoEG from DC Comics|date=22 April 2006|work=[[Comic Book Resources]]|url=http://comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=14937|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081026235244/http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article|archive-date=26 October 2008}}</ref>

After reading the script, Moore remarked:

{{blockquote|[The movie] has been turned into a [[George W. Bush|Bush]]-era parable by people too timid to set a [[political satire]] in their own country. ... It's a thwarted and frustrated and largely impotent American liberal fantasy of someone with American liberal values standing up against a state run by [[neoconservative]]s – which is not what the comic ''V for Vendetta'' was about. It was about fascism, it was about anarchy, it was about England.<ref>{{cite web|year=2006|title=Alan Moore: The last angry man|publisher=MTV|url=http://www.mtv.com/shared/movies/interviews/m/moore_alan_060315|access-date=30 August 2006|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060901005535/http://www.mtv.com/shared/movies/interviews/m/moore_alan_060315/|archive-date=1 September 2006}}</ref>}}

He later added that if the Wachowskis had wanted to protest about what was going on in the United States, then they should have used a political narrative that directly addressed such issues, similar to what Moore had done before with Britain. The film arguably changes the original message by having removed any reference to actual [[anarchism]] in the revolutionary actions of V. An interview with producer [[Joel Silver]] reveals that he identifies the V of the comics as a clear-cut "superhero... a masked avenger who pretty much saves the world", a simplification that goes against Moore's own statements about V's role in the story.<ref>{{cite web|author=Douglas, Edward|year=2006|title=V for Vendetta's Silver Lining|work=Comingsoon.net|url=http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=13588|access-date=6 April 2006|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060418063354/http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=13588|archive-date=18 April 2006}}</ref>

Co-author and illustrator David Lloyd, by contrast, embraced the adaptation.<ref>{{cite web|title=V at Comic Con|url=http://pdl.warnerbros.com/wbmovies/vforvendetta/comiccon_text.html|access-date=6 April 2006|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130507074202/http://pdl.warnerbros.com/wbmovies/vforvendetta/comiccon_text.html|archive-date=7 May 2013}}</ref> In an interview with ''[[Newsarama]]'' he states:

{{bquote|It's a terrific film. The most extraordinary thing about it for me was seeing scenes that I'd worked on and crafted for maximum effect in the book translated to film with the same degree of care and effect. The "transformation" scene between Natalie Portman and Hugo Weaving is just great. If you happen to be one of those people who admires the original so much that changes to it will automatically turn you off, then you may dislike the film—but if you enjoyed the original and can accept an adaptation that is different to its source material but equally as powerful, then you'll be as impressed as I was with it.<ref>{{cite news|title=David Lloyd: A Conversation|url=http://www.newsarama.com/general/DavidLloyd/DavidLloyd.htm|work=Newsarama|access-date=14 July 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060524234747/http://www.newsarama.com/general/DavidLloyd/DavidLloyd.htm|archive-date=24 May 2006}}
</ref>}}

[[Steve Moore (comics)|Steve Moore]] (no relation to Alan Moore) wrote a [[V for Vendetta (novelization)|novelisation]] of the film's screenplay, published in 2006.<ref>{{cite news|title=Steve Moore – obituary|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/10763765/Steve-Moore-obituary.html|newspaper=[[The Daily Telegraph]]|location=London|date=13 April 2014|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170912011951/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/10763765/Steve-Moore-obituary.html|archive-date=12 September 2017}}</ref>

===Television===
{{main|Pennyworth (TV series)}}
On 4 October 2017, it was announced that [[Channel 4]] was developing a television series based on the ''V for Vendetta'' comic book, which ultimately entered [[development hell]].<ref>{{cite web|last=Johnson|first=Rich|title=SCOOP: Channel 4 Developing A {{'}}''V For Vendetta''{{'}} TV Series|url=https://www.bleedingcool.com/2017/10/04/scoop-channel-4-v-for-vendetta-tv-series|website=[[Bleeding Cool|BleedingCool.com]]|date=4 October 2017|access-date=4 October 2017|archive-date=5 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171005051453/https://www.bleedingcool.com/2017/10/04/scoop-channel-4-v-for-vendetta-tv-series/|url-status=live}}</ref> On 29 July 2019, the day following the [[series premiere]] of ''[[Pennyworth (TV series)|Pennyworth]]'', previously presented ostensibly as solely a direct [[prequel]] to [[Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox]] series ''[[Gotham (TV series)|Gotham]]'' (2014–2019),<ref>{{cite web|title=New "''Pennyworth''" Series Confirmed Same Universe as "''Gotham''"|url=https://bleedingcool.com/tv/new-pennyworth-series-confirmed-same-universe-as-gotham|work=[[Bleeding Cool]]|last=Kade|first=Leigh|date=19 July 2019|access-date=19 July 2019|archive-date=1 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201101075525/https://bleedingcool.com/tv/new-pennyworth-series-confirmed-same-universe-as-gotham/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite AV media|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UzkjsG0UYSg|title=Pennyworth ''Season Two Cast & Producer Interview – EPIX''|date=12 October 2020|last=Heller|first=Bruno|author-link=Bruno Heller|access-date=12 October 2020|via=[[YouTube]]|work=Popverse|archive-date=12 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201012090737/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UzkjsG0UYSg&gl=US&hl=en|url-status=live}}</ref> series co-showrunner [[Danny Cannon]] confirmed that ''Pennyworth'' would also serve as a loose [[prequel]] to ''V for Vendetta'', with the [[Alternate history|British Civil War]] depicted in the series' [[Pennyworth (season 1)|first season]] eventually leading to the formation of the [[Norsefire]] government of ''V for Vendetta'',<ref name="V">{{cite web|last=Gomez|first=Manny|title=EPIX'S ''Pennyworth'': Setting Up 60's DC London And The Road To ''V For Vendetta'' – SDCC2019|url=https://lrmonline.com/news/epixs-pennyworth-setting-up-60s-dc-london-and-the-road-to-v-for-vendetta-sdcc2019|work=LRMonline|date=29 July 2019|access-date=29 July 2019|quote="The arcing story this season is about a civil war that is brewing, and that came from a conversation from myself and [[Bruno Heller|Bruno {{no italic|[}}Heller{{no italic|]}}]] where we were considering doing ''V for Vendetta'', we were like "that is much a very 80s 90s kind of show, what would it be in the 60s?’ What kind of world would be have to create, like in ''[[Gotham (TV series)|Gotham]]'' there would eventually be Batman in this there would eventually be ''V for Vendetta'' {{no italic|[}}[[Norsefire]] and [[V (character)|V]]{{no italic|]}}. So we took that brewing civil war as a stepping stone". – [[Danny Cannon]]|archive-date=11 August 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220811204201/https://lrmonline.com/news/epixs-pennyworth-setting-up-60s-dc-london-and-the-road-to-v-for-vendetta-sdcc2019/|url-status=live}}</ref> a sentiment echoed by co-showrunner [[Bruno Heller]] on 11 December 2020, on the day of the [[Pennyworth (season 2)|second season]] premiere,<ref name="CBR">{{Cite AV media|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZYpfXsWIJ8|title=''(Video)'' Pennyworth'': Bruno Heller Talks Season 2,'' V For Vendetta'', & The War That Breaks London''|date=11 December 2020|last=Heller|first=Bruno|author-link=Bruno Heller|access-date=11 December 2020|via=[[YouTube]]|work=[[Comic Book Resources|CBR Presents]]|quote=The ''V For Vendetta'' world conceptually – it's [like] where this world may or may not end up. What [''V for Vendetta'' creators [[Alan Moore]], David Lloyd and [[Tony Weare]]{{no italic|]}} did so well was to create a {{no italic|[}}[[Fascism|Fascist]]{{no italic|]}} version of England that felt like England. It wasn't [[Nazi Germany]] imposed on that world. It was very much the parochial, familiar world of England transformed into something dark. That's what we've tried to do, and what [Cannon] did so brilliantly with the visuals, particularly in this season. It's England with this shadow across its face." – [[Bruno Heller]]|archive-date=14 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201214004157/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZYpfXsWIJ8|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="CBR2">{{cite web|last=Zachary|first=Brandon|title=(Article) ''Pennyworth'': Bruno Heller Talks Season 2, ''V For Vendetta'', & The War That Breaks London|url=https://www.cbr.com/pennyworth-bruno-heller-season-2-v-for-vendetta|work=[[Comic Book Resources]]|date=13 December 2020|access-date=13 December 2020|archive-date=13 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201213234123/https://www.cbr.com/pennyworth-bruno-heller-season-2-v-for-vendetta/|url-status=live}}</ref> and again on 5 February 2021, in the lead-up to the [[Hiatus (television)|mid-season premiere]].<ref name="SciFiNow">{{cite web|last=Harper|first=Rachael|title=''Pennyworth'' Season Two Secrets: What's It All About, Alfie?|url=https://www.scifinow.co.uk/interviews/pennyworth-season-two-secrets-whats-it-all-about-alfie|work=[[SciFiNow]]|date=5 February 2021|access-date=5 February 2021|url-status=live|quote=One of the few stories that have been told in this kind of world is ''V For Vendetta'' [and] conceptually, this {{no italic|[}}[[civil war]] is a] [[prequel]] to ''V For Vendetta''. God, I wouldn't hold us up against [[Alan Moore]], but with comic books you have to find a throughline, and that's very political [for ''Pennyworth''].|archive-date=20 October 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221020033318/https://www.scifinow.co.uk/interviews/pennyworth-season-two-secrets-whats-it-all-about-alfie/}} Quoting [[Bruno Heller]].</ref> Characters wearing [[V (character)|V]]'s [[Guy Fawkes mask]] were later introduced in the series' 2022 [[Pennyworth (season 3)|third season]], set five years after the first two seasons.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.avclub.com/trailer-for-season-3-pennyworth-wild-comic-book-cameo-1849511853|title=Trailer for the third season of ''Pennyworth'' has a truly confounding comic book cameo|first=Sam|last=Barsanti|website=[[The A.V. Club]]|date=8 September 2022|access-date=8 September 2022|archive-date=8 September 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220908164530/https://www.avclub.com/trailer-for-season-3-pennyworth-wild-comic-book-cameo-1849511853|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Legacy==
The February 1999 issue of ''The Comics Journal'' ran a poll on "The Top 100 (English-Language) Comics of the Century": ''V for Vendetta'' reached 83rd place.<ref>The Comics Journal No. 210, February 1999, page 44<!-- ISSN/ISBN needed, if any --></ref>

On 5 November 2019, the [[BBC News]] listed ''V for Vendetta'' on its list of the [[BBC list of 100 'most inspiring' novels|100 most influential novels]].<ref name=Bbc2019-11-05/>

==Cultural impact==
{{See|Guy Fawkes mask}}
[[File:London QVS April 12 2008 0010 Anons.jpg|right|thumb|Protesters wearing Guy Fawkes masks at [[Operation Chanology|a protest against]] [[Church of Scientology|Scientology]] in London in 2008]]
Since the film adaptation, hundreds of thousands of [[Guy Fawkes mask]]s from the books and film have been sold every year since the film's release in 2005.<ref>{{cite news |title=Story and Symbol: V for Vendetta and OWS |url=https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/how-fantasy-becomes-reality/201111/story-and-symbol-v-vendetta-and-ows |work=[[Psychology Today]] |date=4 November 2011 |access-date=8 September 2018 |archive-date=22 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200822064306/https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/how-fantasy-becomes-reality/201111/story-and-symbol-v-vendetta-and-ows |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Time Warner]] owns the rights to the image and is paid a fee with the sale of each official mask.<ref>{{cite magazine| url=https://newsfeed.time.com/2011/08/29/how-time-warner-profits-from-the-anonymous-hackers/| title=How Time Warner Profits from the 'Anonymous' Hackers| last=Carbone| first=Nick| magazine=Time| date=29 August 2011| access-date=30 August 2011| archive-date=24 December 2017| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171224201558/http://newsfeed.time.com/2011/08/29/how-time-warner-profits-from-the-anonymous-hackers/| url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="nickbilton">{{cite news|last=Bilton|first=Nick|title=Masked Protesters Aid Time Warner's Bottom Line|work=The New York Times|date=28 August 2011|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/29/technology/masked-anonymous-protesters-aid-time-warners-profits.html|access-date=20 July 2012|archive-date=7 May 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120507000148/http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/29/technology/masked-anonymous-protesters-aid-time-warners-profits.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[Anonymous (group)|Anonymous]], an online group associated with [[computer hacking]], popularised the mask as a symbol for rebellion by wearing it at protests against governments. It prominently featured in the 2008 [[Project Chanology]] protests against the [[Church of Scientology]].<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Bilton |first1=Nick |title=Masked Protesters Aid Time Warner's Bottom Line |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=28 August 2011 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/29/technology/masked-anonymous-protesters-aid-time-warners-profits.html |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last1=Thompson |first1=Nick |title=Guy Fawkes mask inspires Occupy protests around the world |work=[[CNN]] |date=4 November 2011 |url=https://www.cnn.com/2011/11/04/world/europe/guy-fawkes-mask/index.html |language=en |access-date=23 September 2023 }}</ref> Moore described being pleased by the Fawkes mask's appearance at the protests.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20213067_20213068_20213004_5,00.html|title=Alan Moore Still Knows the Score!|magazine=Entertainment Weekly|last=Gopalan|first=Nisha|date=21 July 2008|access-date=24 September 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101227201823/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20213004_5,00.html|archive-date=27 December 2010}}</ref>

According to ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' in 2011, the protesters' adoption of the mask led to it becoming the top-selling mask on [[Amazon (company)|Amazon]], selling hundreds of thousands a year.<ref>
{{cite magazine|url=https://newsfeed.time.com/2011/08/29/how-time-warner-profits-from-the-anonymous-hackers/|title=How Time Warner Profits from the 'Anonymous' Hackers|last=Carbone|first=Nick|magazine=Time|date=29 August 2011|access-date=23 August 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171018041757/http://newsfeed.time.com/2011/08/29/how-time-warner-profits-from-the-anonymous-hackers/|archive-date=18 October 2017}}</ref>

The film allegedly inspired some of the Egyptian youth before and during the [[2011 Egyptian revolution]].<ref>
[http://www.jadaliyya.com/pages/index/1723/v-for-vendetta_the-other-face-of-egypts-youth-move "V for Vendetta": The Other Face of Egypt's Youth Movement] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131107022311/http://www.jadaliyya.com/pages/index/1723/v-for-vendetta_the-other-face-of-egypts-youth-move |date=7 November 2013 }}, ''[[Jadaliyya]]''</ref><ref>[http://www.youm7.com/News.asp?NewsID=583542 اليوم السابع | V» for Egypt»] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120123235256/http://www.youm7.com/News.asp?NewsID=583542 |date=23 January 2012 }}. Youm7.com; retrieved 12 August 2013.</ref><ref>[http://www.myegyptmag.com/articles/4023/ ريفيو فيلم: V for Vendetta :: مجلة مِصّرِي :: حين قامت ثوره 25 يناير السنة الماضية ساند مسيرة الثوره الكثير من الفنانين من مختلف الميادين، واسترجع الشباب اشعار نجم واغانى إمام] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120128121109/http://www.myegyptmag.com/articles/4023 |date=28 January 2012 }}. Myegyptmag.com. Retrieved on 12 August 2013.</ref><ref>[http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/5/35/34075/Arts--Culture/Stage--Street/V-for-Vendetta-masks-From-a-s-comic-book-to-the-Eg.aspx V for Vendetta masks: From a 1980s comic book to the Egyptian revolution – Stage & Street – Arts & Culture – Ahram Online] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120213074635/http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/5/35/34075/Arts--Culture/Stage--Street/V-for-Vendetta-masks-From-a-s-comic-book-to-the-Eg.aspx |date=13 February 2012 }}. English.ahram.org.eg; retrieved 12 August 2013.</ref>

On 23 May 2009, protesters dressed up as V and set off a fake barrel of gunpowder outside Parliament while protesting over the [[United Kingdom Parliamentary expenses scandal|issue of British MPs' expenses]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8065335.stm|title=News report|publisher=BBC News|date=23 May 2009|access-date=23 August 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090529080515/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8065335.stm|archive-date=29 May 2009}}
</ref>

During the [[Occupy Wall Street]] and other [[Occupy protests]], the mask appeared internationally<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/v-for-vague-occupy-sydneys-faceless-leaders-20111014-1loy6.html|work=The Sydney Morning Herald|date=14 October 2011|title=V for vague: Occupy Sydney's faceless leaders|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120622170039/http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/v-for-vague-occupy-sydneys-faceless-leaders-20111014-1loy6.html|archive-date=22 June 2012}}</ref> as a symbol of popular revolution. Artist David Lloyd stated: "The Guy Fawkes mask has now become a common brand and a convenient placard to use in protest against tyranny—and I'm happy with people using it, it seems quite unique, an icon of popular culture being used this way."<ref>{{cite news|first=Rosie|last=Waites|title=V for Vendetta masks: Who|date=20 October 2011|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-15359735|publisher=BBC News|access-date=23 August 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111020164120/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-15359735|archive-date=20 October 2011}}</ref>

On 17 November 2012, police officials in Dubai warned against wearing Guy Fawkes masks painted with the colours of the [[United Arab Emirates|UAE]] flag during any celebration associated with the [[National Day (United Arab Emirates)|UAE National Day]] (2 December), declaring such use an illegal act after masks went on sale in online shops for 50 [[United Arab Emirates dirham|DHS]].<ref>{{cite news|first=Noorhan|last=Barakat|title=Vendetta masks in UAE colours draw warning|date=17 November 2012|url=http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/uae/general/vendetta-masks-in-uae-colours-draw-warning-1.1105928|work=Gulf News|access-date=23 August 2017|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150211080022/http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/uae/general/vendetta-masks-in-uae-colours-draw-warning-1.1105928|archive-date=11 February 2015}}</ref>

Guy Fawkes masks also made an appearance in the [[2014 Hong Kong protests]]<ref>{{Cite news|url = https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-29928849|title = HK protesters scuffle with police|publisher = BBC News|date = 6 November 2014|access-date = 28 July 2019|archive-date = 2 March 2020|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200302033807/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-29928849|url-status = live}}</ref> and [[2019–2020 Hong Kong protests|also in 2019]].<ref>{{Cite news|url = https://www.theguardian.com/world/gallery/2019/oct/07/hong-kong-protesters-defy-the-mask-ban-in-pictures|title = Hong Kong protesters defy the mask ban – in pictures|newspaper = The Guardian|date = 7 October 2019|access-date = 7 October 2019|archive-date = 16 April 2020|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200416102041/https://www.theguardian.com/world/gallery/2019/oct/07/hong-kong-protesters-defy-the-mask-ban-in-pictures|url-status = live}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Anarky]]
* ''[[Watchmen]]''
{{clear}}

==Notes and references==
{{Notelist}}
{{Reflist|refs=
<ref name=Bbc2019-11-05>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-50302788|title=100 'most inspiring' novels revealed by BBC Arts|publisher=[[BBC News]]|date=5 November 2019|access-date=10 November 2019|quote=The reveal kickstarts the BBC's year-long celebration of literature.|archive-date=3 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201103164736/https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-50302788|url-status=live}}</ref>}}

== Bibliography ==
{{refbegin}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Moore |first1=Alan |chapter=Behind the Painted Smile |title=V for Vendetta |pages=267–276 |date=1995 |orig-year=1st pub. 1983 |isbn=0-930289-52-8 |publisher=Vertigo |location=New York  }}
{{refend}}

== Further reading ==
{{refbegin}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Murray |first1=Chris |title=The British Superhero |date=15 March 2017 |isbn=978-1-4968-0738-0 |publisher=[[Univ. Press of Mississippi]]  }}
{{refend}}

==External links==
<!-- These links should be about the comic/graphic novel, not the film. Please do not add links concerning the film here, unless they specifically address the film's relationship to the graphic novel. -->{{Wikiquote|V for Vendetta}}
* [http://www.dccomics.com/sites/v_for_vendetta/ ''V for Vendetta'' official site] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100202110638/http://www.dccomics.com/sites/v_for_vendetta/ |date=2 February 2010 }} at DC Comics (page discontinued)
* [http://comics.ign.com/articles/696/696867p1.html ''V for Vendetta'': Comic vs. Film] at [[IGN]]
* [http://www.enjolrasworld.com/Annotations/Alan%20Moore/V%20for%20Vendetta/V%20for%20Vendetta%20Revised%20-%20Complete.html An Annotation of Literary, Historic and Artistic References in Alan Moore's Graphic Novel, ''V For Vendetta''] by Madelyn Boudreaux
* [http://www.vforvendetta.org/ ''V for Vendetta – The Ultimate Collection Website''] fan site
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20120904001740/http://postbiota.org/pipermail/tt/2011-October/009971.html Interview with the British man who designed the Anonymous (''V for Vendetta'') mask, what he thinks of how it's being used] by PostDesk
* [https://archive.org/details/VForVendettaComics/V%20for%20Vendetta%20%28vol%2001%20of%2010%29/mode/2up readable comics @ archive.org]

{{V for Vendetta}}
{{Alan Moore}}

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