As the co-author of V for Vendetta, the classic anarchist graphic novel whose anti-hero V's Guy Fawkes mask has become an indelible symbol of the Occupy protests that have manifested in cities around the world, it was only a matter of time before Alan Moore toured the scene for himself. Although the writer and his V collaborator David Lloyd had previously expressed approval of and support for the protestors and are contributing to the Occupy Comics anthology, Moore had never visited a protest in person until the U.K.'s Channel 4 News offered to introduce him to some of the young people he's inspired to take to the streets. You can watch the footage after the cut.



"It's a bit surprising when some of the characters you thought you made up suddenly seem to escape into ordinary reality," said Moore, who visited what Channel 4 characterized as an "anti-capitalist" protest in London. "I'm amazed, I'm very impressed, and I'm rather touched. The people here are amazing. I think this is the best organized and most forward-thinking protest I've had any experience of."

In the clip, Moore comes into contact with a masked protestor and asks, "What is it about the mask - is it just useful or what?" The protestor answered, "The whole character is very relevant to what we're doing. We're going against a system that we feel is corrupt. We're doing the same thing as what happened in the movie." (Don't worry, the Channel 4 reporter was quick to point out that Moore objects in the strongest possible terms to Warner Bros.' V for Vendetta film (and also discusses the irony of the Guy Fawkes mask as a profitable enterprise for WB).

Contemplating the sheer volume of people who've sustained the Occupy movement for these many months, Moore compared the protestors to a tidal wave. "I don't think that they are the cause of the wave," he said. "They are simply the medium it is moving through. A tidal wave cannot be said to have succeeded or failed. All that it can be said to have done is to have changed things. Often monumentally."

[Via Robot 6]