Wp2:rough draft

The Comic I chose was an excerpt from the Graphic Novel V for Vendetta by Alan Moore, and David Lloyd. The Graphic novel itself is one about freedom and revolution, so it makes sense why the excerpt I have is in the novel itself. It depicts the main hero of the graphic novel, V, and he is standing holding a man who is just trying to kill him. He makes a statement about how there is not, “flesh and blood under his robes, there is only an idea”. Then he goes on to state that, “Ideas are bullet proof.” The comics compiled to make this novel was published from 1982-1989. During this time there was the struggle of the cold war, and many ideas of communism and freedom. I think through the rhetoric terms of the abstract concepts and realistic representation of V’s facial region, and the allegory of V not being a human but an idea, cement the main purpose of the comic. That Ideas and concepts cannot be killed bullets and force.

One of the most critical arguments in the comic would have to be the realistic representation of V’s facial region. There are many abstractions and many different rhetoric terms that lie in the facial region. As we see V’s face is more complex than what we normally see in most comics and cartoons. I believe that this is because the author wants to convey that an idea itself is very complex. The concept of an idea has many parts, and most of the time and some are very difficult to be broken down. This complexity is here because the author wants you to know how difficult it is for an idea to be destroyed.

I notice another point being made in the comic when I compare V’s face to the face of the man he is holding in the first panel. The man’s face in the first panel seems very complex and very detailed. V’s face though complex, doesn’t have as much detail as man that he is holding. I this is so that no matter who the audience is, we can see ourselves in the face of V. In the Mccloud essay, we try and see ourselves in almost everything. This is apparent in the comic, the author wants us to be able to relate to the main character, and for us to accept the idea that he is trying to implement.

The concept of V not being a person, but embodying and idea, is an excellent example of an allegory. This is a very interesting concept; I think that the author put this in so that they can cement their idea of an idea being indestructible. You see in the first panel that V declares that he is not made of flesh and blood, but an idea. While he is saying this you see what looks like a gun. It is apparent at this point that the man he is holding in the comic was trying to kill him. As you can tell he is unsuccessful, but V reiterates the fact that an idea cannot be killed through those conventional methods. V himself embodies the idea, but even if he was killed, the idea would continue to live on and exist. V is like a symbol to the idea, not the idea itself.

V’s words and face make him seem like he is not human, like he is just an idea. When you look at the comic you will notice that V’s face is mostly in shadows. In the second panel you can see his eyes; they are engulfed in darkness which adds to this illusion of him being almost inhuman. This style almost embodies idea’s themselves. An idea isn’t always straight forward and clear. Like I have stated before ideas themselves are complex. The mystery surrounding the hero of this comic only embodies it through the shadows surrounding his face.

The word bubbles themselves add the concept that V is almost not human. In most comics when someone is talking you have your basic world bubble; it is a basic oval, or circle. Then you also have your basic thought bubble, which is that of the shape of a cloud. When V is speaking in the comic his bubble is neither. It looks like it is a combination of the two, like what he is saying isn’t exactly word, but isn’t exactly thought. It adds to the allegory that V is not necessarily supposed to embody a human, but an idea. This idea that he is embodying isn’t necessarily physical, so it doesn’t deserve the regular word bubble that we see in most comics.

This symbolism inspires rhetoric terms, one of those being pathos specifically hope. Because V says that an idea cannot be killed or destroyed by bullets, this makes you the audience hopeful for the ideas that you have yourself. It gives you hope that even if some people try and stomp out your idea, that your ideas are too powerful for one person to try and destroy. Your ideas can live on, and be there to inspire others to initiate them and carry them through.

Another rhetoric term that must be addressed in the comic is that of logos. Since there are multiple panels in the comic, there is arrangement that progress the comic itself. The progression is also apparent in the writing itself. This logos seems to help solidify and strengthen the argument being made. V talks in the first frame and address the fact that he is not flesh and bone, and in the second he has his one liner about ideas being bulletproof. You see this in a lot of other comics involving heroes. They will make a statement, and then finish it up with a one liner. This is a very effective arrangement to get the point across and solidify it.

There is also a unique style and ethos to the writing in the comic. The words “Kill”,”Idea”, and, “Bulletproof”, are all italicized and bold. This type of ethos adds a unique style to the comic itself. Because the writer chose to do this, you get some extra emphasis on these words. Thus these words become more important in the writing and should be looked at more. It adds to the argument that you cannot kill an idea through bullets and conventional means.

We don’t even have to look very far in history to see how this comic can relate. Many different wars and conflicts where caused by ideas, and a lot of times these ideas were never killed a carried on till this day. One that is apparent to me and, is still being practiced today is the idea of communism. When this comic was made communism was in full swing in Russia, and many people did not like the idea. When the communism was finally finished in Russia, the idea did not die here. The idea of communism was not destroyed and is still practiced in countries today.

In the end I think it is clear that the statement of purpose is achieved. This idea of an idea being bulletproof should be taken into consideration when one is coming up with ideas. One should not be scared about an idea no matter what the circumstances. You need to stand up and take a chance on your idea. People may be against and you may even be punished, but just know that how hard they might try, your idea will not be killed. Your idea will carry on, and hopefully one day achieved.