Falling Stars

"But it was my integrity that was important. Is that so selfish? It sells for so little, but it's all we have left in this place. It is the very last inch of us. But within that inch we are free."

***

I've read a lot of amazing graphic novels over the past year. Old classics like Watchmen. New classics like 30 Days of Night. But none of them had the same impact on me as V for Vendetta.

Alan Moore's story depicts a totalitarian Britain where constant surveillance is a fact of life and minorities and dissidents are sent to concentration camps. This fascist regime is shaken by a series of attacks by a masked rebel known only as V. Sixteen year old Evey meets V when he rescues her from death at the hands of corrupt police, and he teaches her the hard and precious thing that freedom is.

If you liked 1984, you'll probably like V for Vendetta. But if, like me, you hated 1984, you'll probably *love* V for Vendetta.

Because in this story, Winston Smith strikes back.

Alan Moore wrote V for Vendetta in the 1980s, during the height of the Thatcher years. But the sad and frightening thing is, it's just as relevant today. Even reading it through the sensitive filters of the post September 11 world - after all, V is an anarchist, and his actions can be morally ambiguous - doesn't lessen the emotional power of the story.

Still, I remain astonished that they are making a movie of it - even though, given the kinds of disturbing laws on the horizon, it's probably perfect timing. Unfortunately, I've been hearing rumours of key changes made to the plot, and Alan Moore has already decided to disassociate himself from the production. I'm hoping against hope that my doubts prove unjustified, because I would cheer to see a movie of V for Vendetta that even half lives up to the spirit of the comic.

Because sometimes art is for entertainment.

And sometimes it's to make people angry. And to make people care.

***

"An inch. It's small and it's fragile and it's the only thing in the world worth having. We must never lose it, or sell it, or give it away. We must never let them take it from us."