V for Vendetta pub gouge
are you confused by the term "graphic novel" with regard to V for Vendetta, and curious about the pub origins of the film? this is the post for you!
since i know almost nothing about alan moore and the V origins, i may be best qualified to write this for fellow film-only fans. most talk about the different forms of the comics considers them common knowledge, and most explanations of the history are in narratives too detailed for those just looking for a snapshot. here in a brief list are all of the V pubs i know of, in order. for more detail, wikipedia is a good place to start as long as you realize what wikipedia is and how to use it properly
Warrior comic anthology 1982-1985
V appeared in this, in black and white, for all 26 issues, until Warrior was canceled in ’85. there was one completed episode of V unpublished because of the cancelation. you can find some issues on eBay (or all, if you wait long enough, i guess). not too expensive, it seems ($5-$20/ea?).DC Comics ten-issue series 1988-1989
through issue #6, this is a reprint of the Warrior material, but in color. issue #7 included the unpublished episode from the Warrior cancelation, and continued on with new stuff. you can get the entire series on eBay, used, for ~$100, apparently. maybe less. individual issues too, for up to ~$20/ea."graphic novel" (ugh!) 1990?
entire DC Comics series in one book. in print, and in most book stores now.
when i heard the term "graphic novel" for the first time last month, i thought it was some cool new form of novel with extra pics or something. baloney. with regard to V, it’s the republication of a bunch of comic books in one package. that’s it. might be something else for other pubs, but as far as V goes, it’s a BS, highfalutin term for large comic book with a binding. that’s it.novelization 2006
book version of the film. alan moore fans tend to hate this. not as easy to find as the comic compilation known as the g______ n____, and according to many reviewers that’s a good thing.V for Vendetta : From Script to Film 2006
"behind-the-scenes chronicle of the movie"
scheduled pub date: june 2006 [EDIT: now august 2006, which coincides with the DVD release.]
just bought the compilation last night, and i’m digging in. if you’re a movie-only fanboy, it’s pretty cool to have this to get into. found this intro (to the original DC Comics series) interesting, in light of all the kvetching about how homos are a favored class and this is “liberal” propaganda, blah blah. that apparently wasn’t the case when it was written, though i think moore exaggerates a bit; not the movie’s problem.
[...] It’s 1988 now. Margaret Thatcher is entering her third term of office and talking confidently of an unbroken Conservative leadership well into the next century. My youngest daughter is seven and the tabloid press are circulating the idea of concentration camps for persons with AIDS. The new riot police wear black visors, as do their horses, and their vans have rotating video cameras mounted on top. The government has expressed a desire to eradicate homosexuality, even as an abstract concept, and one can only speculate as to which minority will be the next legislated against. I’m thinking of taking my family and getting out of this country soon, sometime over the next couple of years. It’s cold and it’s mean spirited and I don’t like it here anymore. [...]
~ alan moore
more pub info here.