There is many a slip 'twixt development and production, that many worthy projects fall in to. But the news that Bleeding Cool has heard (and confirmed with industry sources) that British TV network Channel 4 is developing a series based on the Alan Moore and David Lloyd comic book V For Vendetta, originally published by Dez Skinn's Warrior magazine in the early eighties before being concluded at DC Comics.

Like Watchmen, it was intended and presented as a creator-owned comic that would revert to the original creators after it fell out of print, at a time when no graphic novels stayed in print. As a result, DC Comics and their owner Warner Bros. have maintained ownership and control of the title.

V For Vendetta is a political thriller about a tyrannical government brought down by one man, who takes revenge against a number of specific individuals responsible for his torture, and in doing so engineers a fall of the state. Modelled on the character of Guy Fawkes, V For Vendetta draws in all manner of classical and literary allusion along the way, as well as many uses and references to the letter V.

V For Vendetta was made into a film starring Hugo Weaving, Natalie Portman, John Hurt, and Stephen Rea, written by the Wachowskis and directed by James McTeigue for Warner Bros. However, Alan Moore asked that his name be taken off the film and royalties be paid to David Lloyd. It was credited as "Based On The Graphic Novel by David Lloyd". The story naturally had to be curtailed for a two-hour movie, so a television series might allow the themes and details from the original to be explored further.

The film was used as cultural milestone for anarchist groups, including Anonymous, and the masks manufactured by Warner Bros. sell in their thousands. The comic book remains one of DC Comics bestselling titles in bookstores, year in, year out.

Channel 4 is the state-owned commercial broadcaster with a mandate to innovate. Along with its subsidiary channels, in the same ballpark, it was the original broadcaster and developer of Ultraviolet, Humans, Black Mirror, Utopia, Misfits, Crazyhead, Dead Set and Philip K Dick's Electric Dreams.

HBO is currently developing Watchmen. AMC is showing Preacher. Anyone fancy making a Marvelman series?