story of the mask

The mask, a sallow, smirking likeness of Guy Fawkes, was created in 1982 by Alan Moore and the artist David Lloyd.

At Occupy sit-ins in New York, Moscow, Rio, Rome, Athens and the gatherings outside G20 and G8 conferences in London and L’Aquila, the V for Vendetta mask has been a fixture.

Alan Moore is ‘baffled, tickled, roused and quite pleased’ that his creation has become an emblem of modern activism.

“I suppose when I was writing V for Vendetta I would in my secret heart of hearts have thought: wouldn’t it be great if these ideas actually made an impact? So when you start to see that idle fantasy intrude on the regular world… It’s peculiar. It feels like a character I created 30 years ago has somehow escaped the realm of fiction.”