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V for Vendetta Author Finds Use of Guy Fawkes Masks ‘Peculiar’

LONDON - MARCH 08: (UK TABLOID NEWSPAPERS OUT) Actors in character costume arrive at the UK Premiere of
LONDON - MARCH 08: (UK TABLOID NEWSPAPERS OUT) Actors in character costume arrive at the UK Premiere of “V For Vendetta” at the Empire Leicester Square on March 8, 2006 in London, England. The film is based on the Alan Moore book set in the and is written and co-produced by The Matrix duo Andy and Larry Wachowski. (Photo by Dave Hogan/Getty Images) Photo: Dave Hogan/Getty Images

Comic-book author Alan Moore popularized Guy Fawkes masks with V for Vendetta, but he says he still finds it strange to see the grinning visage’s popularity among protesters at various Occupy outposts across the world. “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?” Moore says. “So when you start to see that idle fantasy intrude on the regular world … It’s peculiar,” he tells the Guardian. “It feels like a character I created 30 years ago has somehow escaped the realm of fiction.” Maybe even more peculiar is that Time Warner owns the rights to the mask, so each activist who buys an official version is also lining the company’s coffers. “I find it more funny than irksome,” More says. “It’s a bit embarrassing to be a corporation that seems to be profiting from an anti-corporate protest,” he says. “I find it comical, watching Time Warner try to walk this precarious tightrope.”

V for Vendetta Author Finds Use of Guy Fawkes Masks ‘Peculiar’