Standing the test of time

[jducoeur]

In recent years, I've had several bad incidents of going back and re-reading old favorite stories (especially comics) and finding that they don't hold up well. The worst was the Byrne/Claremont X-Men (whose dialog now comes across as painfully trite), but it's happened more than a few times. So it was with some trepidation that I decided to re-read V for Vendetta. I'm happy to say that it holds up -- this is still my favorite graphic novel ever. I know that some people disagree, and I can see reasons why, but something in this book speaks to me with great power, on a variety of levels.

I find the characters and story painfully compelling. It's not pretty: this is a tale of broken people in a broken world. And it's rather odd having a central character who is persistently a mystery throughout, defined by his own oblique nature and style. But the tale has remarkable elegance, a structure as neat as that of Watchmen but far subtler, pulling the stories of several related characters together into a mat that weaves tighter and tighter as the story progresses.

The political message is just as germane as it was when the story was started 20 years ago, perhaps moreso; I may not wholly agree with it, but it's still a message worth considering. In the symphony of political expression, the instrument of anarchy is often dismissed casually, with scarcely a nod -- this contrasts that option against its opposite number of fascism. It's a one-sided and idealistic presentation, but no less intriguing for all that.

And then there's the heart of the book, a stretch that sends chills down my spine every time I read it. I can't discuss it in detail without spoilers for both the book and Masonry, but suffice it to say that Alan Moore demonstrates here (a decade before From Hell) an understanding of transformative experiences that goes beyond anything else I've ever read. I look at this story and see in it the frightening ideal that Masonic ritual is a pale shadow of.

I await the movie nervously. I am sadder than sad that it has been postponed -- the original opening date of Nov. 5, 2005 was the most karmically appropriate date conceivable, and it somehow seems like bad luck that the chance is going to be lost. It is certain that the movie will have to strip the story down and lose a number of the side-plots if it's going to work -- it's simply too big to fit into two hours otherwise. And the buzz is not wholly encouraging. Still, the trailers I've seen are so very *right* that I hold out some hope that they're going to be true to the spirit of the story.

Regardless of that, though, it's a book worth reading -- my personal definition of A-level work. It's just been rereleased in trade paperback, so it's easy to get, and I commend it highly. I've promised to loan my copy to a couple of people; once they're done with it, I can pass it around further if there is interest...

Comments

[antoniseb.livejournal.com]

I've had several bad incidents of going back and re-reading old favorite stories (especially comics) and finding that they don't hold up well
In a parallel experience, I was listening to one of my old favorite albums last week "Blood On The Tracks" by Bob Dylan, and I'm realizing that he has some great lyrics mixed shamelessly with some real BS. Why didn't I see it the first time?

[tpau]

oh, what is the current release date?

[jducoeur]

Mid-March, as I understand it. The rumor mill says that they got spooked by the London train bombings, but the more-official reports seem to indicate that they just weren't done enough with post-production.

With luck, they'll think to do a pre-release sneak peek on Nov. 5th, just to secure the appropriate karma points...

[querldox.livejournal.com]

March 17th is the current release date. At least they've kept it as a date associated with folk who've bombed London...(and I believe the original date was Nov. 4th, as it's a Friday).

Btw, while I was never able to actually find one when over there for Worldcon, this year's 2 pound coin design is based on the Gunpowder Plot, which completely trips my irony meter. From Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_coin_Two_Pounds), which includes an image:

Reverse: Three Parliamentary maces, three episcopal crooks, and six swords in the centre, 1605 - 2005 above, TWO POUNDS below, and fourteen gunpowder explosion stars on either side.
[Edge] Inscription: REMEMBER REMEMBER THE FIFTH OF NOVEMBER

[baron-saturday.livejournal.com]

It is an alarmly common phenomena. In comics, music, movies, everything. What causes it? Do we change? Do times change?

[alexx-kay.livejournal.com]

Best theory I've heard lately is "replaced by the bad book fairies".

[learnedax.livejournal.com]

Both, but mostly we change. What hits your personal resonant frequency now may not do so in a decade. A work that resonates with you over a long period of time is probably more closely tied with whatever is essential in you, rather than your state of mind at the moment.

[baron-saturday.livejournal.com]

The interesting thing to me is: Things that I remember as being okay, or mediocre, are just as I remember them, but the stuff that really rocked my socks (like the Dark Phoenix Saga) just don't hold up. Weirdness.

[jducoeur]

I think it also has a lot to do with evolution of the state of the art. When it was coming out, those X-Men stories were, if perhaps not on the cutting edge, at least well above the common cut of comics storytelling in a number of regards. But things have grown considerably since then, and they suffer in comparison...

[hungrytiger]

I was talking to someone about the V for Vendetta movie a few weeks back and commented that I just couldn't see how it could possibly work as a film (especially with a terrorist as the hero).

Then I was blown away by the trailer which, as you say, looked so right that I was astounded. Also like you, I think that the message of the story may speak to a contemporary audience even better than when Moore wrote it; its aptness for the current political climate is scary.

And the poster's tagline, "People should not be afraid of their governments. Governments should be afraid of their people." both chilled me and made me want to cheer.

I don't own a copy of the book (having borrowed it from you or Alexx originally), so I may have to go and pick it up.

[ripresa.livejournal.com]

My fav graphic novel is Gaiman's Sandman series.

[jducoeur]

That kind of stretches the definition of "graphic novel" (just due to length), but I can certainly understand that -- while it wanders a bit, it does have a somewhat novelistic structure, and it's one of the better stories around. It's certainly one of my favorite *series* of all time, even if I have a bit of trouble thinking of it as a "novel"...