it's DC publication. But when it first appeared there, it was just seen as a second-runner to Watchmen - and not given an awful lot of publicity. V has gained popularity and widespread approval from being a great piece of work on a perennially popular theme. sm: The "BIG" question. From your privileged point of view, which is the "ultimate" message behind V? If there is an "ultimate" message... DL: There is no ultimate message. There are a series of messages throughout the story - morals to be drawn, if you're looking to find some - and some suggested courses to political progress beyond that of simply defeating totalitarianism. But there's nothing final. It's not a religious tract. sm: Seeing the black and white edition I couldn't help thinking how much your art reminded me of Miller's Sin City... with those strong, uncompromising black and white areas... of course, it's Miller who perhaps took inspiration from you ;) I must say I prefer the b&w version to the coloured one... What do you think about this? DL: A lot of people prefer V in b/w - and they're often those who remember V from it's early days and have nostalgia for it in that form. Some others are understandably drawn to the purity of b/w and, possibly, think b/w is more appropriate for the subject matter. But colour is always bound to split opinion, because colour is a matter of individual taste. After all, people have favourite colours. Where there is choice, there is misery - where there is no choice, there is contentment. On the occasion of the serial's republication and completion at DC, it could have been printed in b/w. Dick Giordano suggested that option to me at the time - which I declined. A lot of b/w books were selling very well then, because there were a lot of popular independent publishers around. It was the Teenage Mutant Ninja period. That boom didn't last, though, and I knew that a colour version of V would reach more people. There was a bigger audience for colour comics in the US. I was certain we could do a good job with the colour and, in the main, myself and the colourists working on it did do a good job. We had trouble getting great results from the printing though. We were stuck with inadequate quality maintenance methods in various areas. All history now, though. If Frank borrowed from me on Sin City, it's no bigger sin than me borrowing [continues]