V for Vendetta vs. Watchmen

Alan Moore is the author of highly recognized graphic novels, such as The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Captain Britain, Watchmen, V for Vendetta, etc. The last two graphic novels are the center of this post due to their importance and criticism against society and politics. I want to compare and contrast these comics because they are really thought-provoking and try to make us realize of our actions; also they are among the most relevant works of Moore and there is no comparison of them on the internet in a deeper level, only an analysis of the movies, their qualities and effects.

• Dystopias: What those two works have in common is the context. Their stories are based on the idea of society ruled by an authoritarian government that oppresses people in order to control them, leading to the most terrible actions against humanity at any level. Although in Watchmen is not really explicit, the division of the world and the constant fear to the midnight watch make society lose the common sense in certain occasions. In V for Vendetta, it is totally clear the oppression people suffer, injustice and abuse are part of the motivations for V to begin a revolution.  It is important to mention the historical contexts of both graphic novels: Watchmen is based on the Cold War and all its fears and implications of the arms race, the demonstration of the superiority of one country over another and the existence of only two options (black or white, there is no grey). On the other hand, V for vendetta is based on the criticism of Margaret Thatcher’s government and its characteristics of oppression, conservationism, etc.

• Heroes: After reading the comics and watching the movies, I believe that the main heroes in these two graphic novels are Rorschach, Evey and V. Albeit Rorschach and V can be considered anti-heroes because of their actions, they are the key for the change; without them and their decisions, their worlds probably would get worse. Despite their personalities and actions, Alan Moore describe them (and the rest of the super heroes in Watchmen) as more human than heroes: they were too humans rather than super heroes, their sense of humanity, justice and their way of thinking are not the conventional ones for a superhero; a superhero regularly is seen as a figure of strength, and superiority with high levels of morality and justice, they are almost perfect but V and Rorschach are commonly trapped in human situations and decisions, they tend to act first as a person and then as someone that has the power to help people (hero). In this case, V’s motivation is revenge, which is not the regular motivation of most of the superheroes we know.

• Fear of the political future: Both graphic novels reflect the possibilities of our world in a future in which politics and governments are mixed with a little of corruption, abuse and empowerment. They show us the possible reality of society if Cold War had ended with the confrontation of USA and USSR and its negative consequences (Watchmen) or the results of a government in which people depend and trust so much that it abuses of that situation and starts corrupting and controlling people for bad purposes (V for Vendetta). 

• Eliminating society: In V for Vendetta, V’s final aim was to eliminate all the corrupted guys in the government in order to create and start from zero a new and free society, giving people the power to rule. In Watchmen, the antagonist was more radical and wanted to kill enormous amount of people in order to start a new society, taking people to the edge of crisis and fear to make them aware of the necessity of a change.

To conclude, Moore's the graphic novel are a revolution in the genre, not only because he changes the typical image of a superhero but also because he changes the way to express ideas and giving messages through the graphic novels, due to the several possibilities that drawings give to the author. In this way, dystopia, heroes, fear, opporesion, politics and society can all be part of one element and create the terrific comics we know nowadays.

What if the world ends like one of the realities described in Moore's graphic novels? Do you think we could do something about it in order to change it? Also, Which of the graphic novels presented in this post is your favorite one? Why?

As a bonus, here is a video in which Alan Moore talks about V for Vendetta and Watchmen, their characteristics and his motivation to create these graphic novels.

References:

Moore, Alan, and Dave Gibbons. Watchmen. DC Comics; Gph edition, 1995.

Moore, Alan, and Dave Gibbons. V for Vendetta." V for Vendetta. N.p: Vertigo, 1995. Print.