Saturday 1 January 2011
Tuesday 5 October 2010
Comic Book and Strip Service
Courses and services to help the aspiring comic creator and seasoned comic creator make successful comics.
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Monday 4 October 2010
V For Vendetta - Another Iconic Book From the Watchmen Creator
While the WATCHMEN feature film adaptation is getting a hell of a lot of press for the original graphic novel by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons, we mustn't forget that there has been much more from the comics legend with the beard. Another of maverick author Alan Moore's fantastic pieces of graphic fiction, namely V For Vendetta, also came to our screens back in 2005.
Even though Moore disowned the project (As he has also done with Zack Snyder's WATCHMEN film), that film adaptation was remarkably faithful to the beloved and well respected source material, as well as being a very strong film in its own right.
Starring Natalie Portman as Evey and Hugo Weaving (as well as James Purefoy for some of the role) as the titular V, the film is as bleak and stark as the graphic novel it is based on, and the Watchowski Brothers had a relapse into directing things well, making the V For Vendetta movie something that is worth watching repeatedly. The dark, twisted vision of an England gone even or wrong is surprisingly believable, and a strong cast handles the script will dignity and respect.
The book's themes of revolution against a government that is woefully out of touch with its public is something that resonated with comics fans when the graphic novel was originally published a s strips and a limited series between 1982 and 1988.
The conviction of the masked, costumed V and the evolution of the Evey character are gripping reading, and the onscreen partnership of Hugo Weaving and Natalie Portman served the characters well. Some fans of the graphic novel took issue with Portman's casting in the role, but she faces the role head on, giving us an Evey that is initially vulnerable, then eventually strong and defiant.
V for Vendetta and Watchmen are perfect companion pieces for one another. They represent an era when comic had started to get serious and started to garner a little respect as an art form in their own right. The books also work together as two aspects of the same world.
Where Watchmen is the dark underbelly of an alternate America, V For Vendetta is the story of an England that has grown tired of its ignorant government and makes the voice of the people heard with a display of unity and defiance that is both shocking and solemn.
A masterpiece of the graphic storytelling art form, with superb and atmospheric art by David Lloyd, V for Vendetta is an incredible, gripping and utterly compelling story that attempts to wake up the apathetic masses top the realities of a Big Brother state. In this regard, V for Vendetta is utterly peerless, and has more than earned its status as one of the greatest graphic novels ever published.
Andrew writes for the popular movie and pop culture memorabilia site STARSTORE and their many blogs as well as presenting their online show STARSTORECAST. He is also a globally published music journalist and SF author.
Thursday 30 September 2010
Comic Book and Strip Service
Courses and services to help the aspiring comic creator and seasoned comic creator make successful comics.
Check it out!