"A Penny for the Guy?"

That’s what English kids used to say on Guy Fawkes night, going from door to door, collecting money for charity. I wonder if they still do. Well, here's my two cents on V for Vendetta.

I lived in the UK from 1979 until 1983-roughly the same era that produced V for Vendetta. While reading their novel it was fascinating to look back on that time and see it from the perspective of Alan Moore and David Lloyd.

Knowing what I do about this era, I think the best curriculum connections for this comic novel would be in a history class -- to read this book in the context of how much fear Europeans had for what would turn out to be the last hurrah of the cold war. I was there, and believe me, I cannot say I have personally witnessed so much human effort to thwart a government's actions before or since.

It was such a frightful time in so many ways -- there was a real threat of nuclear war that no one could deny. And living in Europe instead of America at the time gave me such an unvarnished exposure to this threat that our government was helping to create. I lived there because my father was in the military. On the day Russia invaded Afghanistan he was told to "go home and wait for orders." I stayed up all night praying World War Three wasn't going to start. And apparently, I was not being overly dramatic. Just look at the time on Doomsday Clock for 1981.

In addition to the Cold War fears about the planet blowing up, there were homegrown fears to contend with right in London, where I lived. The IRA was also going full throttle at this time. Letter bombs at post offices everywhere, bombs going off in public places, assasinaitons and hunger strikes in cell block H. Now, obviously, these were dark days, but honestly, overall I think they were some of the happiest time of my life. If there's one thing I know about kids, they are resilient.

But looking back now, it's easy to see how the author and artist were inspired and compelled to write V For Vendetta. This world is dark and frightening, and reflects many fears of adults in society at the time. There's so much brutality and violence in this book. I feel like a guided reading would be most helpful to a teen. Not only do I think American teens would need help understanding the context and the cultural references, I think group discussions about the disturbing images would be most helpful.

Personally, I had a hard time with the artwork. I found the characters either looked too similar, or their expressions in certain panels changed them too much and they didn't look the same. (ex. Evey after her fake prison confinement)

I frequently consulted the wikipedia entry and this site to get through it, so I'm sure young readers might need support with following the plot as well. And, the ultimate reason why this book should be read under the guidance of an instructor or librarian: V the character is custom-made for discussion and debate! Is he a hero or a villain? What does this story mean today for modern readers--how do we see V's actions in light of our modern society's struggle with terrorism? Characters like V appeal to the American zest for lone gunmen and vigilantes and freedom fighters--but I worry about American teens, esp. males being V for vulnerable to complicated ideas that no adult is explaining to them.

Last week, while discussing the teen romance books, I mentioned in class that sometimes these books are not welcome by parents because they fear just having them in the library will give their children ideas. Well, I snicker at that premise when it comes to sexual content, but I just cannot when it comes to violence. I do worry that reading about, and seeing violent content will harm children and young adults. I was disturbed by some of the images in "V" and wish I had not seen them. (ex. human torso's hung on meat hooks)

I plan to find some information on the connection -- if any -- to violent behavior in teens and exposure to violent content in books. I started thinking about violence (and what was acceptable) in children's and young adult fiction last semester, and heaven knows I probably will continue to for some time.

That is all. Librarians Prevail.