lisah:

I just read V for Vendetta and was kind of underwhelmed by it. I liked the ideas but I thought the plot was a little scattershot. I kept thinking that it might actually work better as a movie.

broom:

As someone who was impressed with both the scope and attention to detail in both V

I was slightly underwhelmed by V when I read it, but possibly for reasons slightly different than lisah. I felt that it felt like early work of an author I loved, who hadn't quite mastered his form yet, but made a good show. Like lisa, the plot felt a little.... off to me, but that may be attributable, at least in my case, to Moore pausing in between writing the bulk of it and finishing it up. At least, I had been led to believe there was a pause of some time in the middle of the original run.

Though I agree with broom that there was the typical Moore scope and attention to detail, it didn't feel as tight to me as Watchmen had.

Hey, Evan's Jamaican!

Nods.

I know. This makes him that much more lickable. Why isn't he in millions of films? Because, hotness aside, he was just splendid.

In other West Indies-related news, I have only just realised that the Dominican Republic is located on the Island of Hispaniola.

This is the coolest thing ever. I'm applying for a job there. And really, really hoping for pirates.

The main problem I'm having with the ads now is that V is presented like a superhero with the swishy knives. Is this mostly an ad thing?

Yeah, it's mostly an ad thing. I mean, there are a few swishy knife scenes, but it's actually a pretty talky film. And he's definitely not a superhero.

I felt that it felt like early work of an author I loved, who hadn't quite mastered his form yet, but made a good show.

Yes, this. At least the first third reads like a really promising good try from someone who had never met any women, ever. t /Evey issues

At least, I had been led to believe there was a pause of some time in the middle of the original run.

I don't know how much of a break he took in between books, but my understanding is it was written over several years. By book 3, he'd learned to write.

I think he took something like 7-8 years in the middle there.

it felt like early work of an author I loved, who hadn't quite mastered his form yet, but made a good show. Like lisa, the plot felt a little.... off to me, but that may be attributable, at least in my case, to Moore pausing in between writing the bulk of it and finishing it up

Man, I agree. What's neat is that the version in my memory always smooths out the rough edges and turns it in to a scalpel-sharp short story, but when I re-read it, I remember how lumpy and unfocused major part of it are.

V ran in Warrior from 1982 to 1985. Warrior went out of business when they were near the end of book 2. Then DC published the whole thing in 10 issues in 1988.

I liked V much more than Watchmen. They both have problems, but V at least feels alive. Watchmen is like a Rube Goldberg device.

Just three years between the first part and last part? Wow. He got better fast.

What did you think was scattershot about it? I thought it quite tight, so I'd appreciate the perspective.

I never understood why V picked Evey to come be his acolyte or whatever she was suppposed to be. It seemed like that would be explained and it never was.

And it's possible I may not have been paying enough attention but the whole thing about the government watching everybody all the time seemed to pop up out of nowhere halfway through.

I guess I was like Evey whining at V about how she didn't understand what was happening. And suddenly she understands but I never did.

I'm reading Watchmen now. I read it before but years ago and I don't really remember what happens. It's entertaining but mostly I just think the women are drawn strangely. Maybe it's just the bad 80s high pants or something.

I liked V much more than Watchmen.

Ditto. It's much more felt. Watchmen is a formalist exercise in comparison.

I like the mechanics of Watchmen better, I think. It stuck with me more, and left me with more of an urge to reread.

Watchmen is a formalist exercise in comparison.

I like Watchmen better myself. To me, it's an indictment of everything in our culture that allows fascism to take root and grow, of everything about us that says "yes, we're actually okay with fascism, as long as we have our toys." And one of the things he focuses his attention on is super hero comics.

It seems even more prescient now, in subtle ways, particularly the Nixon-still-being-President thing, what with the power players in the BushII administration having trained under Nixon, and using his playbook.