100 Greatest Superhero Stories Ever
By Steve Lam
Image Courtesy of Vertigo (DC Comics)
#87. V for Vendetta
Medium
Comic Book
Release Dates
September 1988–May 1989
Credits
Writer: Alan Moore
Artists: David Lloyd, Tony Weare
Colourist: Steve Whitaker, Sioghan Dodds, David Lloyd
Editor: Karen Berger, Scott Nybakken
The Reason It’s Great
Writer Alan Moore fleshes out a deeply disturbing world where a facist government rules supreme in the near future. In the midst of this dark future is V—a revolutionary hero who is well-versed in various war strategies and possesses high intellect, as well as superhuman levels of strength and reflexes.
The story follows V’s mission to overthrow the evil oppressive government and also train a new protégé. The character of V is famous for wearing a Guy Fawkes mask—which has now been adopted by the hacktivist group Anonymous. It has also since been used to symbolize any uprising against oppression.
V for Vendetta is famous for its sociopolitical themes and complex narrative—something that will be seen in Alan Moore’s later work, Watchmen. V for Vendetta is another story that pushed the possibilities of the comic book medium.