These the connections and references I've noticed in Invisibles.
They've been influenced by USENET discussions and Guinness, and are
certainly in no sense authoritative... Hopefully they'll enhance your
enjoyment of the series; collecting them has enhanced mine.
v1, #1: "Dead Beatles."
p. 1 panel 1:
I'll be surprised if those aren't the ending words of the
series as well. Elfayed's first words. (I lost this bet...)
p. 1 panel 2:
The beetle myth is a common Egyptian motif
p. 1 panel 4:
King Mob's first words are his signature phrase.
p. 2 panel 1:
Dane's first word continues the trend
Dead Beetles are scarabs and pop stars
p. 4 panel 4:
First time we see King Mob graffiti.
p. 6 panel 2:
Note the curios on Edith's table
p. 7 panel 2:
If these are Mr. Six's first words, they're about revolution
p. 7 panel 5:
Molotov cocktails is the slang term for the type of homemade
firebomb Dane used on the library
p. 10 panels 3-5:Lennon and Stucliffe are more dead Beatles. Lennon is also a
homonym for Lenin, both of whom are revolutionary in their
own way.
p. 12 panel 2:
Dane addresses John Lennon as Mr. Lennon, the first time he's
indicated respect for anyone, really
p. 13 panel 2:
First appearance of Jack Frost.
p. 13 panel 4:
The reverse of the Moon could be the dark side of the Moon
p. 14 panel 1:
According to Micky <mt@artrendition.co.uk>, TDA is Taking
and Driving Away, i.e., auto theft in England.
p. 16 panel 3:
E's -- Ecstasy, a popular drug
p. 18 panel 2:
Ganesh is an elephant-headed Hindu god to whom sacrifices
are made when beginning a new endeavor. See also v 1,
#5, p. 6, panel 3 and v 2, #2, p. 3, panel 1.
Lennon once claimed that the Beatles were more popular
than Jesus.
p. 18 panel 3:
"Monks chanting backward" may be an allusion to the allegation
that there were messages recorded backward in Beatles' songs.
Note that the background seems to spell DaDa, the absurdist
art school.
p. 19 panel 1:
Thick with allusion: revolving prayerwheels = vinyl albums and
perhaps CDs; magical mystery maze -> Magical Mystery Tour, a
Beatles album; looking glass language -> "looking glass skies"
is a line from the Lennon-written Lucy In The Sky With
Diamonds; Revolver is another Beatles album.
p. 19 panel 2:
Lennon was the Eggman, see "I Am The Walrus," on Magical
Mystery Tour. Incidentally, "I Am The Walrus" also contains
samples from a performance of King Lear, specifically lines
from Kent masquerading as Tom O'Bedlam.
p. 19 panel 3:
"It is not dying" is another Lennon lyric
p. 19 panel 4:
"bonny jock lennon is did and goon" -- Scottish brogue saying
"bonny Jack Lennon is dead and gone.," this may be one of the
alleged messages heard backwards on Beatles albums. "Born
again" and "beautiful boy" probably refer to Lennon's son Sean
for whom "Beautiful Boy" was written, and who has recorded
several albums. The apple, in addition to its usual
connotations of knowledge (and language), may refer to
Lennon's Apple Records.
p. 21 panel 2:
"Bizzies" are presumably the cops. It sounds like the buzzing
of insects, which is in keeping with the Invisibles insect
Loa, e.g., v 1, #10, p. 5, panel 3, and p.15, panel 3,
and the insect nature of the Archons, e. g., v 1, #22, p. 24,
panel 1.
David Norman chimes in to tell me that it's specifically a
scouse term, that is to say a Liverpool term.
p. 21 panel 5:
"You'll never understand me" is another of Jack's repeating
motifs.
p. 23 panel 2:
Miss Dwyer's first appearance.
p. 24 panel 5:
This is the first time we hear an agent of the other side
indicate that their goal is to be thanked for their
repression. Another repeating motif.
p. 25 panel 4:
Gelt is related to the past tense of geld, to neuter.
p. 26 panel 1:
That's the Moon from the tarot deck, reversed, see p. 13
panel 4. Robin's first appearance.
p. 26 panel 4:
Trials and initiations are a theme of volume 1.
p. 27 panel 1:
Fanny's at the Academy?
p. 28 panel 4:
The faces are reminiscent of Quimper's mask
p. 28 panel 5:
The two-fingers in England is the rough equivalent of the
middle finger in America - Fuck You.
p. 28 panel 4:
Gelt, as in gelded.
p. 33 panel 2:
This is the first traditional comics sound effect in the
series. Until now sounds have been communicated by
implication. Has Jack woken up?
p. 34, panel 4:
This scene is also in v 1, #12, p. 17, panels 3-5.
p. 34, panel 4:
This scene is also in v 1, #12, p. 20, panel 1
p. 35, panels 1-2: This scene is also in v 1, #12, p. 20, panels 2-5.
p. 35, panels 3-5: This scene is also in v 1, #12, p. 23.
p. 36, panel 2:
Gelt wants an enemy to beg for submission. Repeating Motif.
p. 36, panel 5:
"Goodbye, Mr. Chips" is a story by James Hinton about an
English
Headmaster. The first of King Mob's pop-culture parting lines.
p. 37, panel 1:
Besides being the name for the side our merry band is on,
Invisibles has also been applied to a 16th century group that
believed that the church was too visible, and the Rosicrucians,
a faction within the church involved in mysticism and conspiracy.
Peter D Jones <peterdjones@yahoo.com> adds:
The RC's were never within the Church. It all started
with some manifestos published in the late 16th
century, which caused a huge stir among forward-thinking
types, but no-one was able to track down who the original
RC's actually were -- invisible indeed! Inevitably, their
admirers got together and started RC societies of their own.
They were claimed to be the Invisible College (cf Terry
Pratchett's Unseen University), rather than the Invisibles.
An illustration in one of the original manifestos portrays
the college as an all-too-conspicuous kind of castle on
wheels -- I like this image so much I had it made into a
T-shirt. They're still going. http://www.amorc.org/
v1, #2: "Down and Out in Heaven and Hell," part one
p. 1:
p.
p.
p.
p.
3,
4,
4,
4,
panel
panel
panel
panel
p. 5, panel
p. 5, panel
p. 5, panel
First mainstream conspiracy theory put forth in the series. By the
way that is very probably King Mob in disguise.
5:
That may be Boy, indicating Invisibles surveillance.
1:
That looks like Ragged Robin.
2:
This is Other Side surveillance (see v 1, #11, p. 20, panel 5)
5:
Tom'O'Bedlam's first words, which I believe are the lyrics to
a folk song about Tom O'Bedlam. I've found a couple different
versions, but none with the verses Grant quotes.
2:
"Poor Tom's a-cold" is a refrain in King Lear
4:
The Foul Fiend is also from Lear in many places
5:
Flibbertigibbet and the phrase describing him is from
Lear III, iv. Shakespeare doesn't mention seedless grapes.
p. 9, panel 2:
The Prince of Darkness, Modo and Mahu are from Lear II, iv.
p. 9, panel 5:
Lear, III, ii.
p. 9, panel 11:
A little boy who needs a dad. See v 2, #8, p. 19 for Tom's
ties to his father.
P. 10, panel 5:
Lear III, iv.
p. 12, panel 4:
Fanny's first words.
p. 15, panel 3:
Vixen also means female fox.
p. 16, panels 4-5: This is where we all come when it's our time,
see v 1, #4, p. 23.
p. 17, panel 4:
see v 1, #16, p. 9, panel 4.
p. 19, panel 1:
The transition to stop light echoes the behavior of the gate.
( see v 2, #6, p. 2-3)
p. 19, panel 5: "Where'd that scar on my head come from?" See v 1, #16, p. 11.
p. 21, panel 1:
Dragon lines are lines of natural power that run through
the Earth. Some folks call them Ley-Lines.
p. 22, panels 1-3: This echoes v 1, #17, p. 9, panel 4.
p. 22, panel 5:
Don't know the source, but I suspect Grimm's Fairy tales
vol 1, #3: "Down and Out in Heaven and Hell," part two
p. 4, panel 5:
Lear, III, vii.
p. 6, panel 5:
Crom Cruach is a powerful dragon in English myth
p. 10:
Tom's history of the world. The first creation myth of the
series, a repeating motif.
p. 15:
This scene is also in v 2, #10, p. 6, panel 5 - v 2, #10,
p. 7, panel 3. The quote is from Lear III, vii.
p. 19, panel 5:
This basically describes v1, #12
p. 20, panels 2-3: Lear IV, i.
vol 1, #4: "Down and Out in Heaven and Hell," part three
p. 2, panel 1:
A flying saucer
p. 4, panel 5:
Perhaps Tom's not so dead
p. 8, panel 1-2: Trains are another repeating motif
p. 12, panel 1 - p. 13, panel 3: See v 1, #21, p. 9, panel 4 - p. 10 panel 3.
pp. 12-15: See v 1, #21 p. 4 for the rest
p. 18, panels 3-4: Robin's first words to Jack. See v 2, #6, p. 14, panel 2.
p. 20, panel 3:
"Rex Mundi" is King of the World. And presumably not James
Cameron... :-)
p. 20, panel 4:
That's probably Sir Miles first appearance.
p. 21, panel 4:
According to Greek myth, Myrmidons are a race of soldiers
grown from ants.
p. 23:
Tom's last words are his first. See also v 1, #2, p. 16,
panels 4-5.
v 1, #5: Arcadia, part one: "Bloody Poetry."
This issue comes in a plain brown wrapper, like pornography, traditionally.
p. 1:
The idea that entertainment creates the impression of a war
is a theme, first shown here. It's only a game.
Repeating Motif.
p. 2, panel 4:
Poussin's painting is shown at v 1, #5, p. 19, panel 2.
p. 6, panel 3:
King Mob again appealing to Ganesh. See v 1, #1, p. 18,
panel 2 and
p. 8, panel 1:
Just like Captain Planet and the Planeteers.
p. 9, panel 2:
I think this exchange is thematically important, and can't
think of another reason to note it.
p. 9, panel 3:
The Invisible College is the Illuminati or the Masons here.
There are a few competing Illuminati, but I don't have the
space here for a full discussion, and others know more,
anyway.
p. 10, panel 3:
See v 2, #7 pp. 15-19 for proof of Dane's boast.
p. 11, panel 3:
See v 2, #11-13
p. 12-13:
Apparently one of KM's shortcuts. Is he walking through
fiction? (see the note at v 1, #7, p. 5 panel 2) Or one
of his Gideon Stargrave stories? v 1, #17-19. More likely
is the explanation in v 2, #22, p. 10, panel 1, but I didn't
know that at the time.
p. 13, panel 5:
Comparing King Mob to Gandhi is interesting. This whole
sequence is confusing, but possibly related to v 1, #7, p. 5,
panel 2 and KM's layers of mental defenses in v 1, #17-19.
p. 14, panel 1:
99s are presumably the ice cream cones.
p. 19, panel 2:
That's the painting Byron mentions at v 1, #5, p. 2, panel 4
v 1, #6: Arcadia, part two: "Mysteries of the Guillotine."
p. 6, panel 4-5: The first appearance of our nameless devilish friend. He's
often referred to on USENET as St. Germain, a prominent
figure in conspiracy theories of the age, rumored to be
immortal. The apple is probably a symbol of temptation,
or maybe just a calling card.
p. 7, panel 1:
Cagliostro and St. Germain are prominent conspiracy figures
of the age.
p. 9, panel 4:
For those of you who've never seen one, that's a phonograph
playing a vinyl record. They used to skip sometimes and
repeat a section of the recording endlessly.
p. 11, panel 5:
Ghostbuster is a reference to Ghostbusters, another one of
KM's pop culture references
p. 12, p. 3:
"I built a door made of words and escaped through it."
Words affecting reality, as the Marquis's did over time, is
a repeating motif. Building a door of words may be what KM
tries to do in #17-19, and does in his shortcuts, e.g. v 1,
#5, pp. 12-13.
p. 15, panels 5-6: The first time this fellow doesn't leave his name.
v 1, #7: Arcadia, part three: "120 Days of Sod All."
Much of this issue is based on DeSade's "120 Days of Sodom"
p. 5, panel 2:
DeSade's walking through one of his fictions. Is this
the same way KM gets around? See v 1, #5, p. 13, panel 5.
p. 11, panel 3:
That's a UPC code, in case you didn't notice.
p. 14, panel 1:
Whose fiction is Robin in?
p. 15, panel 1-3: Rennes-Le-Chateau is another famous old conspiracy
story, like the Bermuda Triangle.
p. 16, panel 3:
The line also appears in v 2, #20, p. 6, panel 1, and perhaps
in 120 Days of Sodom, too.
p. 19, panel 4:
The Invisibles want people to love their changes, too.
Compare v 1, #1, p. 24, panel 5.
v 1, #8: Arcadia, part four: "H.E.A.D."
p. 1, panel 1:
The Bus is an allusion to Ken Kesey's Merry Pranksters
and the bus they shared. Morrison also alluded to it
in the second appearance of the Brotherhood of DaDa in
Doom Patrol.
p. 3, panel 1:
The Tempest, V, ii.
p. 5, panel 2:
"Time's winged chariot drawing near" is from Andrew Marvell's
To His Coy Mistress, a classic Carpe Diem poem.
p. 6, panel 6:
This image is practically identical to v 1, #12, p. 4, panel
5.
which reinforces Takashi's theory. The discussion
is echoed in v 3, #8, p. 6, panels 4-5.
p. 9, panel 4:
The transformation store is particularly appropriate
p. 11, panel 4: This is the opposite of language influencing people, this
is people influencing language. Language/reality interaction.
Repeating Motif.
p. 14, panel 3:
v 1, #13, p. 23, panel 4.
p. 17, panel 2:
First reference to McKenna, and the 22 Dec 2012 deadline.
See v 2, #6, p 11, panel 2, v 1, #21, p. 1, panel 1,
v 2, #6, p. 11, panel 5, and v 2, #20, p. 2, panel 1.
p. 19, panel 4:
"It's only a game." Repeating Motif.
p. 22, panel 3:
KM refers to a traitor
v 1, #9: "23: Things Fall Apart."
p.
p.
p.
p.
p.
1, panel
2, panel
1-3:
6, panel
7, panel
3:
1:
Tsathoggua sounds Lovecraftian to me.
The title's from the I-Ching 23rd Hexagram
The scene is also at v 2 # 15, pp. 6-8, slightly extended.
5:
Karma is a recurring motif
9:
KM again with the pop culture. "The Producers" was a 1968
film which was about making a flop musical about Hitler. KM
may well be quoting Hitler.
v 1, #10: "Season of Ghouls."
p. 2, panel 1:
"The Twilight Zone" and "The Outer Limits" are US TV shows
about the paranormal.
p. 3:
That's a voodoo ritual, of course. I'm no expert, but
Papa Guedhe and Baron Samedi are Loa, Voodoo spirits.
The image on the TV is Jimi Hendrix.
p. 5, panel 1:
Chris Weston put his own name on the tombstone. Jim Crow's
first appearance. His first words are ominous, at least.
Jim Crow's name is taken from Jim Crow laws in the US, which
enforced segregation in the South after the Civil War
allegedly freed black slaves. According to the Random House
Dictionary of American Slang, Jim Crow as slang for a black
man, from which the Jim Crow usage as applied to laws springs
was popularized if not created by Thomas Dartmouth Rice c.
1828. Rice was "The Father of the Minstrel Show" (see v 1,
#10, p. 24, panel 1).
Incidentally, Jim Crow shares initials with Jesus Christ
and John Constantine.
p. 7, panel 4:
More Loa names.
p. 10, panel 5:
The magic mirror first appears. See also v 1, #13, p. 9,
panel 6.
p. 12, panel 3:
Recruitment to the Other Side includes sex with a submissive
partner. See v 2, #8, p. 5, panels 2,4,6.
p. 16, panel 1: First appearance of Baron Zaraguin. See also v 1, #18, p.19
panel 4 and v 2, #5, p. 2, panel 1.
p. 17, panel 2:
That's King Mob.
p. 21, panel 6:
Ouija bird puns on Ouija board, a device for speaking with
the dead. The board and the bird spell out responses
one letter at at time.
p. 24, panel 1:
White men dressing as Black men for "comic" effect is a
minstrel show. They were popular in the mainstream while
Jim Crow laws were in effect and before, although they remain
popular with bigots. Jim subverts such a show to his own
ends here. "Straight outta Camptown" puns on the gangsta rap
album title Straight Outta Compton.
v 1, #11: "Royal Monsters."
p. 4, panel 2:
Who says wishes don't come true? See v 1, #17, p. 4, panel 1.
p. 4, panel 5:
Sir Miles called by name
p. 6, panel 1:
Glamis is one of the provinces over which Macbeth ruled. In
any case it's in Scotland.
p. 12, panel 1:
"The Killing Moon" is written by Kirk Morrison, a.k.a. King
Mob.
v 1, # 17, p. 7, panel 4. It's also an Echo and the Bunnymen
song title. Thanks to Micky <mt@artrendition.co.uk> for
reminding me of the latter.
p. 13, panel 2:
Kate was last seen with Dane in v 1, #2, p. 4, panel 2
p. 22, panel 5:
Sir Miles wants thanks for destroying him. Repeating motif.
v 1, #12: "Best Man Fall."
The cover features the target design that is common throughout the series. KM
wears it in his initiation in v 1, #18, p. 16, panel 2, and as a T-Shirt in
v 2, #5, p. 21, panel 5, and on the cover of v 2 #16. Jack wears a similar
shirt in v 2, #12, p. 10, panel 12.
Peter D Jones <peterdjones@yahoo.com> adds: This symbol is the logo of the
Royal Air Force http://www.raf.mod.uk/index.html which was adopted by Mods,
particularly Who fans.
p. 1, panel 1,3: "Try to remember" and "It's only a game" are repeating
motifs.
p. 2, panel 1:
The title is taken from the game depicted on page 1.
p. 4, panel 5:
That image is identical to v 1, #8, p. 5, panel 6.
p. 11, panel 4:
This terror is echoed in v 2, #4, p. 13, panel 1 by another
person.
p. 7, panel 4:
The scene is also in v 2, #10, p. 4, panel 4-5. See also v 2,
#22, p. 11, panels 3-4.
p. 17, panels 3-5: This scene is also in v 1, #1, p. 34, panel 4.
p. 19:
This confrontation with the childhood terror associated with
the mask on v 1 #12, p. 11, panel 4, also seems to
be linked to KM on the next page. It's echoed by
another person in v 2, #4, p. 13, panel 1.
p. 20:
This scene is also in v 1, #1, p. 34, panel 5 and
p. 35, panels 1-2.
p. 23:
This scene is also in v 1, #1, p. 35, panels 3-5.
p. 24, panels 3,5: The "try to remember" and "it's only a game" are the
first and last and second and second to last captions,
respectively.
v 1, #13: She-Man, part one: "Venus as a Boy."
p. 1:
Another creation myth. Repeating motif. The
story is the Mayan creation story.
p. 3, panel 1:
The transformation store mentioned v 1, #8, p. 9, panel 4.
p. 7, panel 4:
This scene is also show in v 1, #16, p. 2, panel 3.
p. 8, panel 2:
First reference to Division X.
p. 8, panel 5:
Some G. I.'s in Viet Nam kept the ears of the Vietnamese
that they killed, apparently in emulation of a custom of the
warriors of that area.
p.9, panel 6:
The magic mirror appears from Fanny just like from Jim Crow
in v 1, #10, p. 10, panel 5.
p. 10:
King Mob's story is told in Image/Homage style art teenage boy fantasy.
p. 18, panel 2:
Fanny's hallucination shares motifs with the other Invisibles.
p. 23, panel 4:
Brodie's image in the mirror is that of Mictlantecuhtli, from
v 1, #8, p 14, panel 3.
v 1, #14: She-Man, part two: "Day of Nine Dogs."
p. 1, panel 1:
Time as a bubble is a Repeating Motif.
p. 1, panel 3:
All times are one time is a Repeating Motif.
p. 9, panel 3:
First appearance of Jack Flint. His name's very close to
Flint from Our Man Flint, etc.
p. 10, panel 6:
Smart drinks are drinks containing drugs that seem to
increase brain function.
p. 15, panels 1-4: That fellow may be our nameless friend (v 1, #6, p. 6,
panels 4-5). He's certainly someone odd.
p. 16, panel 4:
SAS is the Special Air Service, a British commando unit,
like the Green Berets in the US.
p. 18, panel 3:
This scene appeared in v 1, #15, p. 22, panel 5.
p. 22, panel 3:
A stressful situation is like a movie. Repeating Motif.
v 1, #15: She-Man, part three: "Apocalipstick."
p. 1, panel 2:
Who rattled Sir Miles cage is shown in v 1, #16, pp. 14-22.
p. 1, panel 4:
I think "six in a row, including the bonus ball" is a
reference to pinball. Doing really well. Micky
<mt@artrendition.co.uk> says that this is a reference to
the UK lottery. Six and the bonus ball is the best you
could do.
p. 5, panel 4:
Notice the pig mask, and the glowing something (egg?) on
the table. See v 1, #25, p. 7, panel 1 and panel 3 and
p. 23, panel 2. Fanny talks about it in v 2, # 15, p. 20.
p. 7, panel 6:
KM's entrance is right out of an action movie
p. 8, panel 1:
Also shown in v 2, #20, p. 13, panel 2.
p. 9:
This is where we came in in v 1, #15, p. 1, panel 4.
p. 11, panel 6:
John-a-Dreams, of course.
p. 15:
Fanny learns a magical language. Language/reality interaction.
Repeating Motif.
p. 16, panel 3:
Repeating Motif. "Try to remember" and the red orb.
p. 21, panel 2:
Repeating Motif. Nothing begins or ends. All times are one.
p. 22, panel 5:
This scene appeared in v 1, #14, p. 18, panel 3.
p. 23, panel 4:
"There is only one time" is a repeating motif.
v 1, #16: "London."
p. 2, panel 3:
This scene is also shown in v 1, #13, p. 7, panel 4.
p. 3, panels 2,3,5,6: Boy and Robin are on their way to the cafe in
v 1, #14, p. 10, panel 6, etc.
p. 4, panels 3-4: These events occurred in also in v 1, #9, p. 20, panels 6-7.
p. 5, panels 3-4: These events are not depicted verbatim elsewhere.
p. 7, panel 3:
The Root Doctaz are Jim Crow's band.
p. 8:
These events occurred right after v 1, #2, p. 18, panel 5.
p. 9, panel 4:
This trip was foretold by Tom in v 1, #2, p. 17, panel 4.
p. 10:
Stressful circumstances are just like watching a film.
Repeating Motif.
p. 11:
The surgery at the top of the page gives Dane the scar
he mentions in v 1, #2, p. 19 panel 5.
p. 13:
Among the repeating Motifs here are the magic mirror and the
Moebius strip (both sides the same).
pp. 14-22: This is the incident Sir Miles is so unhappy about in v 1,
#15, p. 1, panel 2 and p. 9.
p. 22, panel 3:
Dane's attitude about Sir Miles changes a lot between here
and v 1, #24, p. 23, panel 5.
p. 23, panel 4:
I think Tesco is a cheap department store in London, like
K-Mart or Target in the US. Micky <mt@artrendition.co.uk>
tells me it's a giant UK food store chain.
v 1, #17: Entropy in the U.K., part one: "Gideon Stargrave: Dandy."
p. 1, panel
Generation"
p. 3, panel
p. 4, panel
p. 7, panel
2:
"Hope I die before I get old" is from the Who's "My
5:
The red sphere repeating motif
1:
Sir Miles gets his wish from v 1, #11, p. 4, panel 2.
2:
This book is seen in v 1, #11, p. 12, panel 1.
It seems possible that Grant Morrison intends Kirk Morrison
as a fictional alter-ego.
p. 8, panel 2:
There was a terrorist group in England that called themselves
King Mob, but the term itself is considerably older, and means
the ignoble vulgaris - the will of the people manifest as
a mob. Some interesting uses of the term include the
constituency of U. S. President Andrew Jackson, and the
members of the 1780 London Riots.
p. 9, panel 4:
This echoes with v 1, #2, p. 22, panels 1-3. "As above,
so below" seems to be a Lakota saying which means that
what occurs in the stars is mirrored on earth. I also found
a reference to it in Hermetic Law. In short, it's a common
occult axiom.
Peter D Jones <peterdjones@yahoo.com> ran this one down
and says: Originally from the Smaragdine Tablet of Hermes
Trismegistus (there's a name!), a key Hermetic document.
p. 11, panel 4:
Sir Miles' handkerchief is gone. See v 1, #19, p. 5, panel 4.
p. 13, panel 2:
This is the first reference to the Archons.
p. 13, panel 5:
The first time that the King-of-All-Tears is named
p. 15, panel 5:
See v 1, #24, p. 20, panel 4.
p. 16:
First appearance of George Harper
p. 17, panel 4:
The Invisible Man in H. G. Wells' "Invisible Man" wore
bandages
when he wanted to be seen. It's unclear if KM is referring
to the novel or the film with Claude Raines.
p. 21, panels 1-3: This is a direct homage to "The Prisoner," a British TV
series about essentially interrogating an ex-spy.
p. 21, panel 5:
The phrase on the board is the contradiction of Descartes'
"I think therefore I am."
p. 23, panel 1:
"Room 101" is a reference to the torture room in Orwell's
1984.
There, as here, the point was to bend the prisoner to the
will of authority, not extract information.
p. 24, panels 4-5: "Now. Are you sitting comfortably? Then we'll begin" is
apparently from a British TV series. I don't recall the
details, but someone discussed it on USENET. Micky
<mt@artrendition.co.uk> fills in the details:
From Mastermind, sort of quiz show with intelligent questions,
Magnus Magnuson shows used to say this to each contestant
before starting the questions.
David Norman gives an alternate origin:
This does not come from the tv quiz show 'Mastermind' but
from a very old BBC children's programme called 'Listen With
Mother' where the presenter would narrate a story from a book.
I'll admit that I'm partial to the quiz show idea, because
Sir Miles is about to start in with questions, but I've never
seen either show. Peter D Jones <peterdjones@yahoo.com>
confirms the use of the phrase in 'Listen with Mother' and
further asserts that it was a radio show.
v 1, #18: Entropy in the U.K., part two: "Gideon Stargrave: Spy."
p. 1, panel 4:
The cow is sacred to Hindus. Apparently more so than the
man Gideon also hits.
p. 5, panel 3:
Necrotizing Fasciitis bacteria is commonly known as the
flesh-eating virus.
p. 5, panel 5:
The coffee cup that will undo Miss Dwyer in v 1, #24,
p. 13, panel 5.
p. 6, panel 3:
Key 17 is an example of language/reality interaction.
Repeating Motif.
p. 10, panels 4-5: This is either a reference to Australian Aboriginal
mysticism,
which I know little about, or to the story of Chuang-tzu, which
I do. Chuang-tzu was the Chinese philosopher who was unable
to determine to determine if he was a man dreaming he was
a butterfly, or a butterfly dreaming he was a man.
p. 11, panel 4:
The tradition of the fox hunt is to put blood from the kill
on the face of a newcomer to the hunt. As noted here, it's
a ritual of joining the hunt. This may be a glimpse of Sir
Miles's initiation.
p. 16, panel 2:
King Mob's taste in ceremonial dress matches his taste in
T-shirts. See v 2, #1, page 14, panel 7 and v 2, #5, p. 21,
panel 5 and the cover of v2 #16. Jack wears a similar
shirt in v 2, #12, p. 10, panel 12. The design also appears
with modified colors on the cover of v 1, #12.
p. 18, panel 3:
Presumably King Mob is speaking in glossolalia, with Grant
translating his intent for us. (See v 1, #8, p. 19, panel 1)
p. 19, panel 4:
That seems to be Baron Zaraguin. ( See v 1, #10, p. 16,
panel 1.)
pp. 20-21: This scene also appears in v 2, #10, p. 15.
v 1, #19: Entropy in the U.K., part three: "King Mob: Assassin."
p. 1, panel 5:
"I yam an antee-christ" is a Sex Pistols lyric. In fact, it's
the first lyric to "No Future," which is a Repeating Motif.
p. 2:
This is another hologram panel. See the note at v 2, #6,
p. 21, panel 3.
p. 3, panel 3:
Dis is Hell (or if you prefer a plane of Hell), Lord Worm
may refer to Crom Cruach, see v 1, #3, p. 6, panel 5.
p. 4, panel 5:
Fanny stole the handkerchief in v 1, # 17, p. 11, panel 4.
You didn't think (s)he really made a pass at Sir Miles, did
you?
p. 7:
Language/reality interaction. Repeating Motif.
p. 8, panel 2:
The symbol on the door is the alchemical symbol for
quicksilver, with all it's connotations of mysticism
and change. "Hermetic" is derived through that association.
It also looks like KM's scorpion totem.
p. 6, panel 6:
The woman with cropped silver hair is probably Jolly Roger.
(this two page splash screws up my system....)
We see an echo of this scene in v 3, #12, p.8-9, strangely
enough with Roger again. Hmmm.
p. 11, panel 1:
Michael and Lisa-Marie are Michael Jackson and Lisa-Marie
Presley, whose brief marriage was tabloid fodder at the time.
p. 18, panel 5:
"The game's afoot" is, among other things, a phrase from
Sherlock Holmes.
p. 20, panel 4:
Again, this is the middle finger in America: Fuck You.
p. 21, panel 1:
"Be seeing you" is the standard parting comment in tThe
Prisoner. Another King Mob pop-culture exit line. See also
v 2, #20, p. 8, panel 4.
p. 24, panel 4:
First reference to the Outer Church.
v 1, #20: "How I became Invisible."
p. 1, panel 1:
Trains. A repeating motif.
p. 3, panel 1:
Committing the past to paper helps Boy deal with it.
Language/reality interaction. Repeating Motif.
p. 8, panel 3:
The Black Helicopters are a common element of conspiracy
theories. They imply government agencies operating covertly.
p. 9, panel 4:
"The Empire Never Ended" is from Philip K. Dick, but I don't
know the story. See also v 2, #5, p. 12, panel 3 and v 2, #11,
p. 6, panel 1.
p. 10, panel 2:
Wesley Snipes is an American action movie star.
p. 10, panel 3:
"The Cosby Show" was an American situation comedy set in
an idyllic black household.
p. 12, panel 3:
Much of this is rehashed in v 2, #11, p. 9
v 1, #21: "Liverpool."
p. 1, panel 1:
Billy-Boy's one of the fellows who blew up the school
with Dane. See v 1, #1, p. 14.
p. 4:
Those events are from v 1, #4, p. 9, panel 4 to p. 10,
panel 3. Dane remembers it a little differently than
it is depicted in v 1, #4.
p. 8:
First appearance of the Invisible College, in flashback.
p. 13, panel 4:
"Doctor Who" is the venerable British science fiction TV show.
p. 14, panel 1:
Those masks echo Quimper's.
p. 15-16:
These events occur after v 1, #4, p. 15, panel 4. The
mapping of truths to Dane's Christian background is also
seen in Mason's abduction story in v 2, #1, p. 11.
p. 19, panel 3:
Apparently they don't have standard comics sound effects in
Liverpool.
p. 20, panel 1:
Dane's recalling v 1, #3, p. 10, panel 5.
p. 20, panel 2:
Top of the Pops is a British music TV show, probably similar
to American Bandstand in the US. Nice to know it's good
for something.
p. 22, panel 4:
Jack has a similar implant. Does the other side use the
same technology?
p. 23:
Many repeating motifs: "It's only a game," "try to remember,"
"as above, so below," reverse of the moon.
v 1, #22: "House of Fun."
The covers of 22, 23, 24 form a tryptic
p. 7 , panel 6: This is the same Loa who rode Jim in v 1, #10.
p. 11, panel 4:
Blood brothers refers to people who've shared blood, usually
as part of an oath. It tends to have consequences in
magic, although we've seen none to date.
p. 13, panel 2:
Although it's certainly a common phrase, I always think
of "Welcome to the House of Fun" as being a Madness
lyric. Madness was an early 80's English ska band.
p. 16, panel 1:
Either this is a comic book, or KM is really under-endowed ;-)
p. 18, 19: Another average person killed in the Invisibles war,
recalling v 1, #12 ("Best Man Fall"). The caption in p. 18,
panel 3 recalls Kafka's "Metamorphosis."
p. 20, panel 5:
A skeleton key is a key that opens a set of locks.
The key here is a visual pun.
p. 21, panel 1:
Having all the codes to a video game is knowing all the tricks
and patterns to win easily or go anywhere in its virtual world.
The game analogy fits well in the House of Fun.
p. 21, panel 3:
Continues the video game analogy.
v 1, #23: "The Last Temptation of Jack."
p. 1, panel 1:
That's the date that Terrence McKenna and the Mayans think
that the world will end. See v 1, #8, p. 17, panel 2;
v 2, #6, p. 11, panel 2; and v 2, #20, p. 2, panel 1.
p. 1, panel 2:
This is Gaz, Dane's friend from v 1, #1, p. 20, panel 1.
p. 2, panel 6:
There really are "hygiene manuals" on topics like how to
date boys. Boy may have read one.
p. 4, panel 4:
A magic circle of protection is a common magic idea when
dealing with demons.
p. 4, panel 5:
Try to remember. Repeating Motif.
p. 5, panel 1:
"The Last Temptation of Jack" is a play on The Last Temptation
of Christ, which is, among other things, a controversial
story about Christ behaving more as a man than conventional
scripture portrays him.
p. 6, panels 1-2: Disneyland is the Disney theme park represented by Mickey
Mouse. The mouse is represented in the park by a man in
a big cartoon mouse mask. "The Fly," a 50's horror movie
starring Vincent price, features a man with a giant housefly's
head. Grant seems to swipe at Disney a bit, see v 2, 32, p. 7,
panel 1.
p. 7, panel 1:
"Eat Love" puns on "Eat lead" a common gangster and western
movie dispatching line.
p. 7, panel 4:
Muhammad Ali, a former heavyweight boxing champion of the
world and black activist, used to say that he floated
like a butterfly and stung like a bee.
p. 7, panel 5:
Just like watching a film. Repeating Motif.
p. 8, panel 1:
More like special effects. Just like watching a film.
Repeating Motif.
p. 9, panel 2:
Apparently the fellow Dane's telling the story to might
know Crystal Quinn, who Dane was in love/lust with in
Liverpool.
p. 14, panels 3, 5: The Barbelith shape is on Dane's head.
p. 16, panel 1:
Pre-Jack puns on Jack as a socket.
p. 16, panel 5:
Dane's middle name is Paul. And if the tombstone's
date is accurate, the world survives beyond 2012.
p. 19-20:
Another creation myth. Repeating motif. This one is
clearly being used as subterfuge. Are they all?
p. 21, panel 3:
The first admission that Robin's a time-traveller.
p. 21, panel 5:
"Death's in the house" is a double entendre. Not only is
Death literally in the house of fun, in the form of the
Loa riding Jim, but "in the house" also means "is here
on serious business" in black slang.
p. 22, panel 3:
There's a quiz on Manichaean later. v 2 #19, p. 12, panel 3.
p. 23, panel 1:
It *is* "fear."
v 1, #24: "Good bye, Baby Rabbits."
p. 6, panel 4:
Cthulu is the leader of the Old Gods created by H. P.
Lovecraft.
p. 8, panel 4:
The power of a true name is a tradition in magic.
Language/reality interaction. Repeating Motif. See also
v 2, #12, p. 8, panel 1. Notice that only one character
has made a point of never leaving his name to date. Is
our nameless friend The-King-Of-All-Tears?
p. 12 panel 2:
Sonic cancer. Language/reality interaction. Repeating Motif.
p. 13, panel 5:
That cup's been there since v 1, #18, p. 5, panel 5.
p. 17, panel 1:
Try to remember. Repeating Motif.
p. 17, panel 3:
Like being in a film. Repeating Motif.
p. 20, panel 4:
Deja vu from v 1, #17, p. 15, panel 5.
p. 23, panel 5:
In v 1, #16, p. 22, panel 3, Dane was willing to kill
Sir Miles.
p. 24, panel 1:
No one knows what Jack is. Repeating motif.
v 1, #25: "6 and a half dozen of the other."
p. 1, panel 3:
Another creation myth. Repeating Motif.
p. 2, panel 1:
The show is "Father Ted," a British comedy.
p. 7, panel 1,3: Those masks, especially the pig in panel 3, match the ones
at the party/orgy in v 1, #15, p. 5, panel 4.
p. 11, panel 3:
I believe that "Tekeli-li" is a masonic symbol.
p. 12, panel 4:
The National Front are a white supremacist organization.
p. 13, panel 1:
"Hele, Conceal, and never Reveal" is definitely Masonic.
p. 16, panel 1:
First appearance of Quimper. It's interesting that
he corrects the address of "Mr. Quimper" with a gender
neutral one. See also v 2 #15, p. 4, panel 5 and
v 2, #19, p. 10, panel 1.
p. 18, panel 2:
I think spit methadone is an urban legend.
p. 20, panel 3:
The Father Ted tape is presumably the one from v 1, #25,
p. 2, panel 1.
p. 21:
Another creation myth in the narration of the porno.
Repeating motif. It's unclear if that's really princess
Diana, or not. Or if Morrison plotted one thing and
changed it after her death. The creature is the Earl of
Strathmore from v 1, #11.
p. 23, panel 2:
Note the egg shaped drink. Eggs are often symbols of the
soul. Note that there also seems to be a similar egg on the
mantel at the orgy in v 1, #15, p. 5, panel 4.
p. 23, panel 3:
23 is a favorite number among conspiracy fetishists.
p. 24, panel 2:
Sir Miles' last name is (apparently) Delacourt.
v2 #1: Black Science, part one: "Bangin'."
p. 1, panel 1:
The caption exchanges word for world, part of the repeating
motif of language/reality interaction. See also v 2, #18,
p. 16, panel 4.
p. 5, panel 7:
This volume, Robin starts off with the King Mob-ism. On
the next page, KM footnotes it better than I would.
p. 7, panel 1:
Nanomachines are molecule-sized machines proposed by K. Eric
Drexler in "Engines of Creation."
p. 7, panel 3:
"The horror, the horror" are Kurtz's last words in Conrad's
"Heart of Darkness." See also v 2, #7, p. 22 panel 5.
p. 11:
Mason's abduction is reprised in v 2, #16, p. 4.
p. 11, panel 3:
The holy grail is supposedly the cup that Christ's blood was
captured in at his crucifixion. Note how this meshes with
the encodings from Jack's abduction v 1 #21, p. 16
p. 11, panel 5:
Repeating motif: language reality interaction and shamanistic
languages. Mason's line about emotional aggregates is
echoed in v 2, #7, page 18, panel 3. Is Mason talking about
dancing?
p. 12, panel 3:
Mason's full name is Mason Andrew Lang (see v 2, #18, p. 20,
panel 5), Mason connotes all sorts of connections with the
Masons and their conspiracy theories. As someone mentioned
on USENET, Fritz Lang is a revolutionary early film director,
who directed Metropolis, among other things. Fritz may well
have been an Invisible. Not sure of the significance of
Andrew, if any. Andrew Jackson, the former President on
the $20 bill, is a possibility, though. (Andrew Jackson's
supporters were often referred to as King Mob by their
opposition, incidentally.)
p. 13, panel 1:
Roger takes her name from the skull & crossbones flag flown
by pirate vessels. The eye-patch is particularly apt. A
hook for a hand would have been a nice pirate/Deadman (DC
comics)/Fugitive reference. :-)
p. 14, panel 6:
Clint Eastwood is an American action movie hero.
p. 14, panel 7:
King Mob later wears a T-shirt that has the target's design
on it. See v 2, #5, p. 21, panel 5. It also echoes the
ritual design he was wearing during his initiation in
v 1 #18, p. 16, panel 2 and on the cover of v 2, #16. Jack
wears a similar shirt in v 2, #12, p. 10, panel 12. The
cover of v 1, #12 also has the same symbol with modified
colors on it.
p. 15, panel 2:
Mason's butler, Jeeves, has the same name as the Avengers'
butler (the Marvel super-hero team, not the British spy
show). And David Norman points out that I've inexplicably
ignored the P. G. Wodehouse character of the same name.
Wodehouse's Jeeves definitely deserves a mention as well.
p. 16, panel 1:
Transvestites and butch lesbians are frequently disdainful
of one another
p. 16, panel 3:
Delta Force is a US anti-terrorist group.
p. 17, panel 1:
The US government having and not releasing an AIDS cure is
a common conspiracy theory.
p. 17, panel 3:
Ebola is another incurable viral killer, occurring in
central Africa.
p. 19, panel 1:
The first of Mason's delightful interpretations of movies.
"Speed" is an action thriller starring Keanu Reeves and
Sandra Bullock.
p. 19, panel 3:
"Pulp Fiction" is a film by Quentin Tarantino.
p. 19, panel 4:
23 is another number that conspiracy theorists love.
p. 20, panel 5:
Repeating motif - secret/shamanistic language.
p. 20, panel 7:
Tarantino directed "Pulp Fiction" and several other films.
p. 22:
Like being in a film. Repeating Motif.
p. 22, panel 2:
John Wayne is a star of American westerns. You probably
knew that, though.
p. 22, panel 4:
"Big Arnie" is Arnold Schwarzenegger, another American action
film star.
v 2, #2: Black Science, part two: "Kickin'."
p. 2, panel 1:
That's Robert Oppenheimer, one of the primary creators of
p.
p.
p.
p.
p.
p.
p.
p.
p.
p.
p.
p.
p.
p.
p.
the atomic bomb. The words repeated here are from the
Bhagavad Gita, which he reportedly said at the first
atomic bomb test as Mason says. KM echoes them on
v 2, #18, p. 8, panel 4. Jim Crow also says them in
v 2, #20, p. 19, panel 2-5.
3, panel 1:
Ganesh, the God that KM has repeatedly mentioned, has an
elephant head. See v 1, #1, p. 18, panel 2 and v 1, #5,
p. 6, panel 3.
5, panel 5:
Carlos Castaneda wrote several books on Native American
spirituality and using hallucinogenics in their ceremonies.
7, panel 3:
"Easy Rider" is an American road film about searching for
America. Of course Mason's seen it. See also v 2, #14, p. 7,
panel 1.
7, panel 4:
Cortez conquered Mexico in the 1500's.
7, panel 6:
Riffing on the repeating Try To Remember motif.
8, panel 5:
KM seems to be describing the events in v 2, #2, p. 20.
9, panel 3:
"There is only one time," repeating motif.
11, panel 2:
Repeating Motif, "it's only a game."
11, panel 2-3: Using Donald Duck's nephews, who are also well known
Disney characters, may be another swipe at Disney. See
also v 2, #3, p. 7, panel 5-p.8, panel 1.
12, panel 5:
KM will quote from that album on v 2, #3, p. 18, panel 4.
14, panel 3:
Lots of people seem to think that Robin is based on or
shares attributes of Crazy Jane from Grant's Doom Patrol
run. They definitely share a first name. Crazy Jane's
name was Kay Challis. See v 2, #19, p. 18, panel 2
for a more concrete similarity.
15:
The results of the drawing: Boy, Spirit; Fanny, Fire;
KM, Earth, Jack, Water; and Robin Air.
21, panel 1:
"Independence Day" is another vapid American action movie.
Unless you're Mason Lang.
22, panel 4:
The Roswell retrieval is an alleged US Air Force capture of
a UFO.
22, panel 5:
The implants in the polio vaccine was another popular
conspiracy theory.
v 2 #3: Black Science, part three: "Sorted."
p. 1:
p.
p.
p.
p.
p.
p.
p.
p.
p.
p.
p.
p.
p.
p.
p.
I know the exploding hotel sign is from a movie, but I
can't remember which one.
5, panel 4:
It's odd that Roger and the General both use the phrase
"babysoft ass." See v 2, # 4, p. 17, panel 1.
5, panel 4:
Thank you for breaking me is a repeating motif.
7, panel 58, panel 1:
Huey, Dewey, and Louie are Donald Duck's nephews. They are
all Disney characters. See v 2, #2, p. 11, panels 2-3.
9, panels 5-9: An echo of v 1, #12.
10, panel 5:
Our first look at the Outer Church.
13, panel 1:
Elfayed and Mr. Six.
14,15:
Our first full on look at the Outer Church. Note the hologram
nature of the small panels, see the note on v 2, #6, p. 21, panel 3.
16, panel 2:
Roger will remember that slap. See v 2, #17, p. 10, panel 4.
17, panel 4:
"Doom" is a violent computer game.
18, panel 1:
The plane looks like a B-2 Stealth bomber
18, panel 4:
I'm told by someone on USENET that this is a lyric from
the Kula Shaker album KM is listening to in v 2, #2, p. 12,
panel 5.
19, panel 4:
Ian Fleming's superspy, James Bond, must be common knowledge.
21, panel 5:
I would have expected "Nice and Smooth" [ :-) ]
24, panel 1:
Quimper's not ultraterrestrial.
p. 24, panel 3:
p. 24, panel 5:
Trains are a repeating motif.
"Be prepared" is the Boy Scout Motto.
v 2 #4: Black Science, part four: "Safe."
p. 2, panel 5:
Given v 2, #6, p. 20, panel 6 Robin probably knows, too.
p. 4, panel 1:
Another hologram page, implying that the train goes outside
the
world, see v2, #6, p. 21, panel 3. Say hi to Robin,
bottom, right.
p. 7, panel 1:
Bambi and *th*umper are characters from the classic
Disney movie. Maybe Grant got some sort of hands off warning
after his swipe at Disneyland in v 1, #23, p.6, panels 1-2,
and Donald Duck in v 2, #2, p. 11, panels 2-3. But maybe not;
see v 2, #4, p. 15, panel 1.
p. 7, panel 5:
That nutter may be our nameless friend from v 1, #14, p. 15,
panels 1-4.
p. 7, panel 6:
Finishing school is a school where young women are taught
the intricate manners of the professional socialite.
p. 8, panel 2:
More of Jack's love of dancing.
p. 10, panel 2:
Try to remember (a stretch, perhaps) Repeating Motif
p. 10, panel 4:
KM and Roger's deepest penetration this trip is Level 6.
See v 2, #19, p. 3, panel 2 for a trip to Level 7.
p. 13, panel 1:
This echoes terror in the scene in v 1, #12, p. 11, panel 4
and page 19.
p. 13, panel 4:
The line is delightfully ambiguous: is KM threatening
Roger (or "them") with a soul searching binge, or recognizing
that such a binge would be a threat to him?
p. 15, panel 1:
Dopey is one of the seven dwarfs of Snow White and the
Seven Dwarfs, a Disney film. Apparently Grant's just
ringing Disney's bells this issue. (See also
v 1, #23, p. 6, panels 1-2, v 2, #2, p. 7, p. 1)
p. 17, panel 1:
It's odd that Roger and the General both use the phrase
"babysoft ass." See v 2, # 3, p. 5, panel 3.
p. 17, panel 5:
"In the end we'll make you destroy one another":
foreshadowing?
p. 21:
Another Creation Myth, Repeating Motif. It is recapped
in v 2, #18, p. 4.
p. 23, panel 2:
"Fanny" means the female pudenda to the British, but the
rear end to Americans. I like the word pudenda.
p. 23, panel 6:
The reference is to Nietchze's statement in Beyond Good and
Evil that when you stare into the Abyss it also stares back
at you.
p. 24, panel 2:
Sega makes video games. Grant seems to be tweaking all of
corporate America's nose this issue.
v 2 #5: "TimeMachineGo."
p. 1, panel 1:
Repeating motif - all times are now. The issue covers
several times and places, all of which are now.
p. 2, panel 1:
Another pun in the caption: the story's about time, and
some of the revelations are long overdue.
The time machine also looks like a scorpion, like Jim
Crow's Loa (v 1, #10, p. panel ) and King Mob's tattoo
( v 1, # 17, p.12, panel 5).
Time Machine Go may also be a pun. It may be the command to
start a time machine, and the Asian game go played on or
with a time machine. The reality/game tie is a repeating
motif.
p. 4, panel 2:
Another common conspiracy theory.
p. 7, panel 4:
Perry Como is a crooner from the 1950's. KM sings a
line from one of of of his hits in the next panel.
p. 8, panel 5:
Elvis Presley had an extraordinarily tacky living arrangement
including bathrooms with TV and stereo controls reachable
from the toilet.
p. 9, panel 5:
Another pun: Fanny and Jack are Invisible things.
p. 9, panel 4-5: I've never heard of Pierrot and Columbine, but the excellent
Dictionary of Phrase and Fable at
http://www.bibliomania.com/Reference/PhraseAndFable/index.html
gives the following:
Pierrot [peer-ro]. A character in French pantomime
representing a man in growth and a child in mind and
manners. He is generally the tallest and thinnest man that
can be got, has his face and hair covered with white
powder or flour, and wears a white gown with very long
sleeves, and a row of big buttons down the front. The
word means Little Peter.
More about Columbine at v2, #7, p. 16, panel 1.
p. 10,
Peter D Jones <peterdjones@yahoo.com> mentions that The
Commedia del Arte/Harlequinade is a major motif of
Michael Moorcock's Jerry Cornelius books, which are big
Invisibles source material.
panel 1:
The Manson family was a family of serial killers in the
1960s. She's presumably referring to Boy, Fanny, and Robin.
panel 3:
That's the previous issue of Invisibles (v 2 #4) that
KM's reading, see also the note at v 2, #20, p. 11, panel 4.
panel 3:
That's the same Empire from v 1, #20, p. 9, panel 4.
panel 4:
"Philip K. Dick Is Dead, Alas" is a science fiction story
p. 10,
p. 12,
p. 12,
about
an alternate reality.
This whole discussion of KM's life echos the "It's only
a game" repeating motif.
panel 1:
"Sometimes I think I'm drawn to the Devil's daughter"??
panel 4:
KM also refers to an Undertones song in v 3, #5, p. 23,
panel 5.
panel 4:
All times are the same time. Repeating Motif.
panel 2:
No future is another way of saying all times are the same.
Repeating Motif.
panels 2-3: More fun with the no future/always now Repeating Motif.
panel 4:
Why's Mason so concerned for Boy and not himself?
panel 5:
KM's T-shirt is the same as the target from v 2, #1,
p. 21, panel 5. It also echoes the ritual design he
was wearing during his initiation in v 1 #18, p. 16, panel 2.
The central red circle echoes the red circle repeating
motif. He is on the cover of v 2, #16 wearing it, too.
Jack wears a similar shirt in v 2, #12, p. 10,
panel 12. The cover of v 1, #12 has a similar emblem.
panels 1,3: Something non-linear happened to time or space there.
p. 12:
p. 14,
p. 15,
p. 16,
p. 17,
p. 21,
p. 21,
p. 21,
p. 22,
v 2 #6: "The Girl Most Likely To."
p. 2-3:
The red globe explained: the entrance to the good universe.
The basis for Jack's stop-light connection in v 1, #2, p. 19,
panel 1. The red globe and Barbelith are different things.
p. 3, panel 4:
Salomon's House is a fantastic house envisioned by Francis
Bacon as a place to train thinkers and the illuminated. It
is not Rennes-le-Chateau where Robin was sent in v 1, #8,
p. 14.
p. 7, panel 1:
"Lie back and think of England" was advice published for
young wives on how to endure the sex act in Victorian times.
p. 7, panel 4:
"Little Doctor" is the name of the device that blows up suns
in Orson Scott Card's Ender series. I don't see any
connection though.
p. 9, panel 2:
See v 3, #8, p. 10, panel 2 for the origin of nons.
p. 9, panel 3:
The caste mark is another repeating red circle.
p. 10, panel 2:
That's the flu that generated the anti-nanomachine bracelets.
p. 10, panel 4:
The magic matter is certainly foreshadowing.
p. 11, panel 5:
Terrence McKenna again. See v 1, #8, p. 17, panel 2 and
v 1, #23, p. 1, panel 1; and v 2, #20, p. 2, panel 1.
p. 13, panel 4:
He's in Liverpool telling the story in v 1, #23.
p. 13, panels 3-4: More no future motif.
p. 14, panel 2:
Actually the first thing she says to him is "Tom's gone. Why
should you care." But she gets around to it. See v 1, #4,
p. 18, panels 3-4.
p. 16, panel 3:
One of the Archons and some Ms. Dwyer clones.
p. 16, panel 4:
See also v 2, #21, p.1 panel 5
p. 17, panel 1:
Another hologram picture.
p. 18, panel 3:
"Barbarella" is a late 60's Sci-Fi film with Jane Fonda in
the title role. "Famous Monsters" is a Sci-Fi film tabloid.
p. 20, panel 3: There is evidence of this throughout the series. The
similar childhood fears of the myrmidons ( v 1, #11, p. 11,
panel 4 and v 2, #4, p. 13, panel 1 ), the balloon
panels (v 1, #7, p. 5, panel 6 and v 1, #12, p. 4, panel 5).
p. 20, panel 6: This probably explains Robin's assurance that she and KM have
no future in v 2, #4, p. 2, panel 5.
p. 21, panel 3:
One interesting property of a hologram is that any single
piece
contains the totality of the information in it. This may
explain why the magic mirror shows everything. It lets you
look from outside the hologram into it, and see everything.
p. 23, panel 2:
Michael Moorcock's Cornelius books are full of the shifting
realities that KM displays so often. Or so I'm told.
v 2 #7: "The sound of the atom splitting."
p. 6, panel 5:
The line has an eerie echo back to v 1, #12. All the men
KM kills have a story to tell.
p. 6, panel 8:
Hollywood finish indeed. Like being in a film. Repeating
Motif.
p. 9:
Charlie Chan and Mr. Moto are famous cinematic detectives.
As Mason notes, Chan was Chinese and Moto Japanese.
p. 11, panel 5:
This is consistent with everything happening now, which is
a repeating motif.
p. 16, panel 1: Again, I don't know the traditional role of the harlequin,
but The Dictionary of Phrase and Fable says:
Harlequin, in the British pantomime, is a sprite supposed to
be invisible to all eyes but those of his faithful
Columbine. His office is to dance through the world and
frustrate all the knavish tricks of the Clown, who is
supposed to be in love with Columbine. In Armoric, Harlequin
means "a juggler," and Harlequin metamorphoses
everything he touches with his magic wand.
See also the note at v 2, #5, p. 9, panels 4-5.
p. 18, panel 3:
The line echoes Mason's from v 2, #1, p. 11, panel 5. Is
dancing talking in emotional aggregates? Dance as language
would make this a language/reality interaction, which is
a Repeating Motif.
p. 22, panel 3:
The joke is meditation = masturbation. There's an old wives
tale that it make you go blind. Masturbation, that is.
p. 22, panel 4:
Apparently there are no sound effects in this room, now,
either.
p. 22, panel 5:
"Apocalypse Now" is a 1970's film about Vietnam based on
Conrad's "Heart of Darkness." The phrase seems to work into
the no future/one time repeating motif. v 2, #1, p.7, panel 3
has another Conrad/Heart of Darkness reference.
p.24, panel 3:
see v 3, #8, p.2 panel 2.
v 2, #8: Sensitive Criminals, part one: "Poor Little Rich Girl."
p. 1, panel 1:
First words of the arc about the Hand of Glory are
"Give me your hand."
p. 2, panel 2:
Skat singing is a form of Jazz singing using rapid nonsense
syllables, like the ones Skat uses to perform magic, e.g.,
v 1, #8, pp. 15-16.
p. 3, panel 1:
Josephine Baker was a torch singer of the day. Well, of any
day, really.
p. 5, panels 2,4,6: Almost certainly Quimper pulling the strings here.
KM may be the target of the recruiting, though see v 1, #10,
p. 12, panel 3. Note that KM's words are quoted, too.
Perhaps this is a scene from the surveillance film that
Quimper and Friday are preparing, e.g. v 2, #15, p. 4, panel 1.
p. 7, panel 8:
The Tower means sudden reversal, disaster.
p. 10, panel 2:
The list of Edith's conquests is pretty well known. In case
you missed one, Picasso's a famous artist, mostly a painter;
Crowley a magician; Fitzgerald a writer; and Bankhead an
actress.
p. 12, panel 1:
Red circle repeating motif. It can also be seen in
v 2, #8, p. 11, panel 1.
p. 12, panel 2-3: echoed in v 3, #7, p. 12, panels 1-2.
p. 15-16:
The symmetry of the page layout is particularly
effective in conveying the magic.
p. 20, panel 2:
The Ark of the Covenant is well known for being in "Raiders
of the Lost Ark," a Steven Spielberg adventure movie starring
Harrison Ford, which is undoubtably where Mason knows it from.
p. 21, panel 4:
In case you missed it the first time, see v 2, #2, p. 7, panel
8.
p. 23, panel 2:
A crossroads is an area of magical power in several systems
including voodoo.
p. 23, panel 5:
Another Zaraguin/KM tie
v 2 #9: Sensitive Criminals, part two: "Mad Dogs and Englishmen."
p. 3, panel 1:
I like the art deco captions in 1924
p. 8, panel 3:
"No future," repeating motif.
p. 8, panel 5:
Joyce and Eliot are writers of the era.
p. 13, panel 4:
The repeating motifs of the red sphere and the magic mirror
p. 18, panels 3-4: More repeating motifs, Barbelith and "Try to Remember."
p. 21, panel 4:
"Queen Mab" is from Romeo and Juliet, I, iv., among other
places.
p. 22, panel 4:
Almost certainly Robin and Quimper
p. 22, panel 5:
No time is one time. Repeating motif.
v 2 #10: Sensitive Criminals, part three: "Parisian Pierrot."
p. 1, panel 2:
A description of the hand as an entry point for time
creatures.
"Tomorrow is here" repeats the one time motif.
p. 3, panel 3:
A nice demonstration of one time. Edith is telling the
story at the same time she's living it.
p. 4, panel 3:
Queen Mab is seeing the first (?) King Mob's death. See
v 2, #10, p. 22, panel 4.
p. 4, panel 4-5: This scene is also shown in v 1, #12, p. 7, panel 4. Why
the first King Mob sees it is a mystery to me. But see v 2,
#22, p. 11, panels 3-4.
p. 5, panel 1-2: That seems to be Mab in the future. The significance is
unclear to me. The scene is repeated with Sir Miles appearing
in projection in v 3, #9, p. 11 panel 1-2. The fellow in
black with the goatee *could* be a young Sir Miles (compare
with the depiction of Miles in v 3, #11, p. 9, panel 2).
p. 5, panel 4:
The red circle. Repeating Motif.
p. 6, panel 5p. 7, panel 3:
This scene also appears in v 1, #3, p. 15.
p. 10, panel 2:
That's still Tom and Jack. They may have seen more than
v 1, #3, p. 15 led us to believe.
p. 11, panel 3:
The harlequin is in the same dress that Fanny and Jack saw
him/her/it in.
p. 12, panel 3:
It's interesting that 5 people are needed to work the
hand, and there are 5 Invisibles to a cell. Or maybe
not: 5's a magic number.
p. 16, panel 3:
It's always now. Repeating Motif.
p. 18, panel 1:
Morrissey is good music for contemplating suicide. He's
the former lead singer of the Smiths and has the back of his
wrist glued to his forehead.
p. 20, panel 3:
The hand appears to be a reverse chromatic image of Barbelith.
p. 20, panel 5:
The Outer Church, and Tom's voice from the future.
p. 22, panel 4:
This is presumably seen in v 2, #10, p. 4, panel 3
p. 23, panel 5:
That may be the answer to the question "what is the
Harlequinade?" See also v 3, #8, p. 4, panel 4.
p. 23, panel 6:
It's always now, repeating motif.
v 2 #11: American Death Camp, part one: "Counting to ten."
p. 2, panel 2:
Coyote is the name for a Native American trickster god
p. 3, panel 1:
This echoes Jacqui's observations from v 2, #5, p. 12
p. 5, panel 4:
Coyote's Infranet sounds a lot like Tom'o'Bedlam's
city virus.
p. 6, panel 1:
Coyote's alluding to a shamanistic language. Repeating motif.
p. 7, panel 1:
Their shamanistic language has 64 letters.
p. 9:
Much of this is the same as discussed in v 1, #20, p. 12,
panel 3.
p. 9, panel 1:
Dis is also the name of Kirk Morrison's first novel.
v 1, #19, p. 3, panel 3.
p. 9, panel 4:
Trains. Repeating motif.
p. 11, panel 4:
More shamanistic language stuff. Repeating motif.
P. 14, panel 5:
Cleopatra Jones is the heroine of a series of 1970's
Blaxploitation films.
p. 17:
The Outer Church.
p. 22, panel 2:
The 9-5 5 day labor force is a new conspiracy theory to me.
p. 24, panel 2:
The ghost train is a repeating motif.
v 2 #12: American Death Camp, part two: "Counting to five."
p. 6, panel 1:
The Empire poster is another Philip K. Dick reference. See
also v 1, #20, p. 9, panel 4, and v 2, #5, p. 12, panel 3.
p. 6, panel 3:
Fox Mulder is the male lead in "The X-Files," a U.S. TV
show about conspiracy theories and horror.
p. 7, panel 2:
Another movie reference. Jodie Foster plays a child
prostitute that Robert DeNiro tries to get off the steets,
and into school. Note that John Hinkley, who shot
Reagan in the early 80's was fixated on Jodie Foster.
p. 9, panel 1:
David Lynch directs: Lynch is an unusual American filmmaker
whose work is surreal and filled with non-sequiturs. His
canon includes "Eraserhead," "Twin Peaks," and "Lost Highway."
p. 9, panel 3:
What is that stain?
p. 10, panel 1:
Jack apparently shares KM's taste in shirts. See v 1, #18,
p. 16, panel 2, v 2, #1, page 14, panel 7 and v 2, #5, p. 21,
panel 5.
p, 10:
Lots of foreshadowing here. See also v 3, #8, p. 18, panel 5
p. 14, panel 3:
Another movie reference. That fellow looks a lot like Coyote.
v 2, #11, p. 2, panel 2.
p. 15, panel 4:
A recap of v 1, #20.
p. 21, panel 2:
Dis is from v 2 #11, p, 9.
v 2 #13: American Death Camp, part three: "Counting to none."
p.
p.
p.
p.
P.
p.
p.
p.
p.
p.
p.
p.
p.
p.
p.
p.
p.
4, panel 2:
Reality as movie, repeating motif.
5, panel 1:
Reality as movie again. Repeating motif.
5, panel 4:
Reality as language, repeating motif.
6:
Jack's the only one whose auto-critique is the same as his
normal voice. The only genuine one?
7, panel 5:
Reality as language again, repeating motif. The 64 letters
were first mentioned by Coyote in v 2, #11, p. 4, panel 1.
8, panel 1:
Language affects reality again: knowing the names of things
lets you see them. This echoes to Jack facing down the
King-of-All-Tears by knowing his name in v 1, #24, p. 8,
panel 4. This word is used by Flint in his regression in
v 3, #7, p. 11, panel 2.
9, panel 1:
Convenient that Robin erased memories as KM saw Quimper.
13, panel 1:
Boy's apparently learned the names for some things.
15, panel 3:
23 finds its way into many conspiracy theories. Candid
Camera is an American TV show centered around taping
people in outrageous, often staged, circumstances.
17, panel 4:
The events are all from v 1, #20. The remember theme is
recurrent.
18, panel 3:
"Clockwork Orange" is a Sci-Fi story by Anthony Burgess about
psychologically conditioning a young delinquent to be a
model citizen and the ramifications thereof. Stanley Kubrick
directed an excellent film version of it.
19, panel 4:
That fact about Leo humanizes him like v 1 #12 does for
Bobby.
21, panel 1:
Barbelith.
22, panel 4:
"Star Trek" is an American Sci-Fi TV show.
22, panel 5:
"Mission Impossible" is a 60's American spy TV show. The final
line from King Mob echoes one from Orwell's "Animal Farm."
24, panel 2:
I'd like to know who they are. The Harlequinade begins with H.
24, panel 3:
For good measure, King Mob quotes Orwell again, this time
from "1984."
v 2 #14: "Only lovers left alive."
The issue has no captions. That and the occasional dialogue drop-outs
make it feel like we're listening to surveillance.
p. 1, panel 3:
Charlie Chaplin is a silent film star. So, I suppose is
Mr. Bean, but he's a half century later. The film
reference is a repeating motif.
p. 1, panel 3:
We learn the Colonel's name: Friday. Mason may be speaking
about him in v 2, #16, p. 2, panel 3.
p. 3, panel 1:
This is a reference to Princess Diana's death. I suppose
Grant wasn't ever going to be knighted anyway.
p. 4, panel 3:
Another new conspiracy theory, but along old lines.
p. 5, panel 1:
That fellow on the milk carton is on the TV in v 2, #14,
p. 14, panel 3.
p. 5, panel 2:
A reference to zombie rockers like Marilyn Manson.
p. 6, panel 1:
This is the second acid trip that referred to Easy Rider.
See v 2, #2, p. 7, panel 3.
p. 7, panel 1:
That may be the Angel of Death.
p. 9 & p. 10:
I'm not sure why the sound is dropping out.
p. 14, panel 2:
Looks like Quimper in the wall paper.
p. 14, panel 3:
That's the same fellow on the milk carton in v 2, #14, p. 5,
panel 1.
p. 15, panel 3:
"It's only a game," repeating motif. The rest sounds like
Quimper's running the show.
p. 15, panel 4:
Another Quimper face on the wall that seems to be answering
King Mob's question.
p. 18, panel 3:
Public Enemy and N. W. A. are gangsta rap groups.
p. 21, panel 4:
Last seen in v 2, #6, p. 18, panel 2.
v 2 #15: "The Philadelphia experiment."
With the exception of Takashi's talk with the soldiers, this issue
appears to be relatively synchronized.
p. 2, panel 1:
The Philadelphia Experiment is also a US government
experiment with invisibility that results in time travel.
p. 3, panel 5:
This seems to be the cause of the scene on v 2, #18, p.
20. It continues on v 2, #15, p. 23, panel 1.
p. 4, panel 5:
Quimper's called Mr. again. (See also v 1, #25, p. 16,
panel 1 and v 2, #19, p. 10, panel 1.) Note that most of the
interactions between these three are depicted in the
vaguely film-like 5 panel page.
pp. 6-8:
This scene also appears in v 1, #9, pp. 1-3. "I don't
fancy yours much" is a joke, the idea is that the two are
going to start chatting up women and the speaker's getting
the cute one. (Some fellow on USENET told me about that.)
p. 13:
Note the cane. Evidence that our nameless friend is
physically blind. See also v 2, #19, p. 12, panel 1 and
v2, #19, p. 14, panel 3
p. 13, panel 1:
Quimper is referring to v 2, #3, p. 7-8.
p. 13, panels 3-4: A look through our blind friend's third eye. See also
v 2 #19, p. 14, panels 2-3.
p. 14, panel 4:
"It's just a game." Repeating motif.
p. 15, panel 5:
Fanny's room is 235 -> 23 and 5. Two numbers that Robert
Anton Wilson and other conspiracy theorists love.
p. 20:
This is the scene from v 1, #15, p. 5, panel 4. It sounds
like Quimper was a victim of these men, not a part of them.
p. 21, panel 4:
Public school in Britain is really private school. John's
an over-achiever with a good education.
p. 23, panel 1:
This continues the scene from p. 3, panel 5.
v 2 #16: "Scorpio rising."
On the Cover King Mob's wearing the T-shirt from v 2, #5, p. 21, panel 5 etc.
This issue also is relatively synchronized.
p. 1, panel 2:
She's referring to Robin. Interesting that the rumor
involves only Robin.
p. 1, panel 4:
"The Rocky Horror Picture Show" is a Sci-Fi musical movie.
It's traditional for the audience to dress the part (often in
lingerie) and perform along with the movie. If Mason's
really orchestrating everything, that's pretty much what the
characters in the Invisibles are doing.
p. 2, panel 3:
I'm not sure who's on the other end. I thought it was our
nameless friend, but Mason knows his name. It's also not
clear if Friday is the name of the General (v 2, #14, p. 1,
panel 3) or a day of the week (July 23, 1998 is a Thursday,
so that's not it).
p. 2, panel 4:
Again back to Jacqui's observations from v 2, #5, p. 12.
For some reason this formulation reminds me of Orwell's 1984,
in which the same was true.
p. 2, panel 5:
"Starship Troopers" is an action movie (loosely) based on
Robert A. Heinlein's Sci-Fi novel of the same name.
p. 3, panel 3:
That is the Liberty Bell. It hung in the Philadelphia
courthouse and rang for many events in American history,
and actually cracked several times. It cracked tolling the
death of Chief Justice John Marshall in 1834, and was
rung (crack and all) for the last time in 1846 to celebrate
Washington's birth. Some people see the bell cracking as it
tolled the death of one of the last living people who fought
in the revolution as symbolic of the death of the
revolutionary spirit.
p. 4:
A recap of Mason's abduction seen in v 2, #1, p. 11.
p. 5, panel 1:
"Hercules" is presumably the Disney animated film.
p. 7, panel 1:
Bosch is an artist who painted horrific fantastic scenes.
His name appears on a carton.
p. 10, panel 4:
"This can't be happening" is close to Bobby's "This isn't
happening" from v 1, #1, p. 35, panel 4 and v 1, #13, p. 23,
panel 2.
p. 11, panel 1:
Scorpio is the hunter in the western zodiac, and an enemy
of Nick Fury in the 60's Marvel spy comic Nick Fury,
Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.
p. 11, panels 2-4: Not bad drawing for a blind fellow. See v 2, #19, p. 12,
panel 1 and v2, #19, p. 14, panel 3
p. 11, panel 5: Quimper has a collection of images of himself.
p. 15, panel 1:
Those are the colors of Jim Crow's flag.
p. 15, panel 5:
"Live and Let Die" is a James Bond film featuring Roger Moore,
Jane Seymour and a horde of over-the-top Voodoo practitioners.
Repeating train motif, too.
p. 20, panel 1:
A stressful situation is just like a film. Repeating motif.
p. 20, panel 3:
Apparently Mason recruited Robin to the Invisibles in
the 1990's.
p. 21, panel 1:
Robin's trademark phrase. See v 1, #4, p. 18, panels 3-4,
and v 2, #6, p. 14, panel 2.
p. 22, panel 1:
The refrain is from "New York, New York" a song popularized
by Frank Sinatra. The next line is "I'm leaving today"
v 2 #17: Black Science 2, part one: "Newton's sleep."
The storytelling becomes considerably less linear this issue
p. 1-2:
Another Creation myth. Repeating Motif.
p. 2, panel 1:
If you stare at that flag in bright light for a while and
let it burn into your retina and then look at a blank
wall, you'll see the American flag. The same trick works in
reverse.
p. 3, panel 3:
KY jelly is an artificial sexual lubricant.
p. 3, panel 4:
Won't be the first one we've heard. To this point we've
heard at least 7 creation myths and 8 conspiracy theories by
my count.
p. 4, panel 5:
Dane's supposed to be playing the water role currently. The
T-shirt may be a sign that he's really air?
p. 6, panel 5:
This scene continues at v 2, #18, p. 19. Note that this takes
place after Mason's talk in v 2, #17, pp. 10-13.
p. 7, panel 1:
This scene seems to precede Takashi's talk with the
soldiers in v 2, #15, p. 1-3, but follow Mason's revelations
in v 2, #18, pp. 10-13.
p. 7, panels 4-5: Mason seems to be postulating that the Magic Mirror is
a 4th dimensional structure.
p. 8, panel 1:
This is the day after Mason and Takashi talk - still linear.
p. 9, panel 1:
Jim's talking about the Magic Mirror presumably because
Mason's
convinced them all it's in Dulce on v 2, #17, p. 10-13.
p. 10, panel 1:
This seems to be May 31, 1998 after the events in v 2, #17,
pp. 20-21. KM and Robin are dressed the same, and the
locale is the same.
p. 10, panel 4:
Roger's still mad about the events in Dulce. I imagine that
the slap in v 2, #3, p. 16, panel 2 is still fresh in
her mind.
p. 11, panel 2:
The UFO sightings headline is at least a nice touch.
Apparently whatever Mason told King Mob after v 2, #17, p. 21,
panel 5 was distressing.
p. 12, panel 3:
July *23* and a train transport - a repeating motif two-fer.
p. 12, panels 4-5: "It's only a game," repeating motif.
p. 14, panel 1:
This scene roughly follows v 2, #17, pp. 8-9.
p. 17, panel 1:
Roughly follows v 2, #18, pp. 14-18. This discussion is after
KM and Robin have talked to Mason on the roof.
p. 18, panel 2:
That appears to be our nameless friend. Tha apple seems to
show up around him a lot. "For the prettiest one" is from
the aforementioned Snow White, who was the fairest of them
all. The apple for the prettiest shows up in several other legends
including Atalanta and (as Peter D Jones <peterdjones@yahoo.com>
points out) Eris. He also notes that Eris is a major player in
Robert
Anton Wilson's Illuminatus books, which are major Invisibles source
materials.
p. 18, panel 4:
Their trap is going to be a movie.
p. 19, panel 1: This scene picks up from v 2, #18, p. 6, panel 5.
p. 19, panel 5:
This seems to refer to Fanny's story about the orgy in v 2,
#15, p. 20. Notice that Fanny refers to Quimper as "it."
p. 20, panel 1:
This scene seems to precede the one at v 2, #18, pp. 10-13.
p. 20, panel 2:
life as a movie, repeating motif.
p. 21, panel 3:
This contradicts Robin's belief.
p. 21, panel 4:
Mason may well be telling "the secret of the Universe"
p. 22, panel 1: This jumps more than one month ahead, 5 days before the
Magic Mirror is moved.
v 2 #18: Black Science 2, part two: "Einstein's monsters."
p. 1, panel 1:
Unless the transfer time's changed, or the whole cell wore
the same clothes on two days, this scene is set on July 21,
1998. Whatever Mason told KM & RR has been eating
him for 52 days.
p.
p.
p.
p.
p.
1,
1,
3,
4:
8,
panels 1-2: It's like a film, repeating motif.
panel 6:
Has whatever Mason said earlier made KM unsure of reality?
panel 1:
That question seems key to the arc.
A recap of v 2, #4, p. 21.
panel 4:
The words also echo Oppenheimer's from v 2, #2, p. 2, panel 1.
See also v 2, #20 , p. 19, panels 2-5.
p. 11, panel 3:
And in v 1, #17-19 KM has demonstrated many.
p. 11, panel 5:
Perhaps a pun on the X-Men?
p. 12:
Not clear if this is before or after the planning session at
Mason's v 2, #18, pp. 4-11, but it seems to be the same day.
p. 13, panel 1:
This seems to take place before the attack, but how far in
advance is unclear. Colonel Friday and Quimper never seem
to change clothes.
p. 13, panel 1:
Again Quimper is called Mr.
p. 14, panel 3:
Someone on USENET mentioned that the Eldridge was the ship
allegedly involved in The Philadelphia Experiment.
p. 15, panel 1:
Unless the timetable changed, this is July 23, 1998.
p. 16, panel 2:
KM appears to have killed the man in v 2, #18, p. 15,
panel 5 without interrupting his conversation.
p. 16, panel 4:
But is it the end of the word. See v 2, #1, p. 1, panel 1.
p. 17, panel 3:
A novel interpretation of the phrase "Big Bang" - two
universes
colliding.
p. 17-18:
The radio is broadcasting another creation myth. repeating
motif.
p. 19, panel 2:
Is the caller our nameless friend?
p. 20, panel 1:
This may be the morning of the 23 rd. Or it may not be.
p. 20, panel 1:
The sun looks like a red circle. Repeating motif.
p. 20, panel 5:
Mason's middle name is Andrew.
p. 21, panel 4:
"Ready for your close-up" is a reference to shooting a movie.
Also
a reference to the famous last scene of Billy Wilder's "Sunset
Boulevard."
"Going down on the President" is a reference to Monica Lewinski.
v 2 #19: Black Science 2, part three: "Pavlov's dogs."
p. 1, panel 1:
The US Air Force logo cum pentagram is a nice touch.
p. 3, panel 2:
This is level 7, one level deeper than KM and Roger got last
time. See v 2, #4, p. 10, panrl 4.
p. 6-7:
The games with scale are very interesting. We have vaccuum
tubes and the Chrysler Building in here.
p. 7, panel 2:
Our nameless friend is at the chessboard again. Notice that
he (and later Jack) don't sit as though they're playing
either set of pieces as their own.
p. 7, panel 3:
There's a loaded question.
p. 7, panel 5:
And a loaded answer - a nice double negative.
p. 8, panel 2:
An ominous comment.
p. 10, panel 1:
Quimper is referred to as male again. See also v 1, #25,
p. 16, panel 1 and v 2, #15, p. 4, panel 5.
p. 10, panel 5:
An old D&D friend used to play a character whose greatest fear
was "being hooked to the machine." These scenes creep me
out for that reason. Maybe *I* am evidence of Takashi's
theory.
p. 11, panel 7:
That's the same phrase Robin used when things went awry in
as v 2, #3, p. 4 panel 1. This may be the "I've got a
bad feeling about this" of Invisibles ("I've..." is repeated
in "Star Wars")
p. 12, panel 1:
Is our nameless friend physically blind? Jack thinks he
p. 12,
p. 13,
p. 14,
p. 15,
p. 15,
p. 18,
p. 19,
p. 20,
p. 20,
appears to be (v 2, #19, p. 14, panel 3), although he can
see psychically. He also has a cane (v2, #15, p. 13)
Makes me think his earlier drawings aren't so bad
(v 2, #16, p. 11, panels 2-4)
panel 3:
He knew what it meant in v 1, #23, p. 22, panel 3. And
we hear it again in v 3, #1, p. 3, panel 1.
panel 2:
All the pieces have changed color. Incidentally this
happens just after the physical midpoint of the book.
panels 2-3: This is a look through our nameless friend's "third eye"
also seen in v 2, #15, p. 13, panels 3-4.
panel 4:
Likening chess to dancing seems key. Dane's and Fanny's
special nature seems to manifest through dancing. And dance
played a special role with the Harlequinade. v 2, #7,
pp. 16-17.
panel 5:
An interesting contrast with Barbelith, which did manifest
as the God of Jack's fathers. v 1, #21, p. 16. Our nameless
friend's words are also the negation of the words spoken to
Moses from the burning bush on Mount Sinai. See Acts 7:32.
(32 is 23 reversed, too.) That seems to be a pretty clear
statement that he is the Devil.
panel 2:
Another Crazy Jane/Ragged Robin similarity. See also
v 2, #2, p. 14, panel 3.
panel 5:
Linda Lovelace is the star of the pronographic film "Deep
Throat." The threat is that Mason will be orally raped in
prison.
panel 2:
Mason can't get these folks' names.
panel 5:
"The Sting" is a movie about a confidence game played by
master con men Newman and Redford.
v 2 #20: Black Science 2, part four: "Schrodinger's cats."
p. 2, panel 1:
"Seven years until the end of history" refers to the Dec 22
2012
deadline. See also v 1, #8, p. 17, panel 2,
v 1, #23, p. 1, panel 1, and, v 2, #6, p. 11, panel 5.
p. 5, panels 2-5: The party from v 1, #15, p. 5 panel 4. "Suck the gun,
whore" may be a reference to Fanny's future predicament in
v 1, #14, p. 23, panel 1.
p. 6, panel 1:
The line also appears in v 1, #7, p. 16, panel 3, and perhaps
in "120 Days of Sodom" as well.
p. 6, panel 4:
The mirrored text "It's hard to walk in this world. Every
step is pain." may obliquely explain Quimper's cane.
p. 7, panel 1:
Uncle Remus is a character in Disney's "Song of the South,"
and is a caricature of a black minstrel. A hantavirus is
a virus like HIV that rapidly mutates and is very difficult
to effectively combat.
p. 8, panel 2-3: That writing of music is very hard to decypher. It's the
same verbalization that KM gives in v 2, #1, p. 6, panel 3
for the beginning of "David Watts." It may as well be
Glossolalia (v 1, #8, p. 19, panel 1).
p. 8, panel 4:
Another Prisoner reference. See also v 1, #19, p. 21,
panel 1.
p. 9, panel 2:
More Glossolalia?
p. 9, panel 5:
Repeating train motif. The same train from v 2, #3-4.
p. 11, panel 3:
I believe that Kerry's referring to the Invisibles comic that
we're reading (which is why Roger gets shot in our version).
We've seen the Invisibles comic in v 2, #5, p. 10, panel 3.
p. 13, panel 1:
I wish I could remember where I've heard "Once I was a little
light."
p. 13, panel 2:
This is also shown in v 1, #15, p. 8, panel 1
P. 14, panel 1:
An allusion to Fanny's totem protector, see v 1, #13, p. 21
panel 5 - v 1, #13, p. 22, panel 3.
P. 14, panel 3:
"You shall go to the Ball" is Cinderella's fairy godmother
to Cinderella. Another Disney reference.
p. 16, panel 3:
I think it's hysterical that the water KM and JR aimed for
is knee deep.
p. 19, panel 2-5: Oppenheimer's quote on the first atomic bomb blast. See
also v 2, #2, p. 2, panel 1 and v 2, #18, p. 8, panel 4.
v 2 #21: "All tomorrow's parties."
p. 1, panel 1:
The fellow from v 2, #5 p.1 panel 2, Takashi's grandfather.
p. 1, panel 5:
Roughly the same as v 2, #6, p. 16, panel 4
p. 1, panel 5:
That's not the same scene from p. 18, panel 2. The dialogue is
different "Reentry confirmed" rather than "confirm reentry" and
that's clearly Takashi's lab from the previous panel.
p. 3, panel 1:
Robin folds the same origami in v 2, #5, p. 16, panels 5-7,
and
Takashi's grandfather does the same, especially on v 2, #7,
p. 12 panel 2 and p. 23.
p. 3, panel 4:
That looks like Mr. Six.
p. 4, panel 3:
The stop light motif is echoed by the entrance to the
Invisible College, see v 2, #6, pp. 2-3.
p. 6, panel 2:
I keep thinking of "Army of Darkness" here.
p. 7, panel 3:
The chess board may be part of the just a game repeating
motif.
p. 9, panel 9:
This is seen from the Time Machine in v 2, # 21, p. 20, panel
1
p. 12, panel 1:
Pause, rewind, play are VCR operations. Again, the Invisibles
story is like a movie, albeit one that's on video. "Soap
deluxe" is implicitly comparing the plot with a soap opera,
which have notoriously twisted plots.
p. 12, panels-3-4: Taking Quimper off the board goes back to the game motif.
p. 12, panel 5:
Talking like you're in a movie is a repeating motif.
p. 14, panel 1:
Sylvia Plath is a poet who killed herself young. Much of
her poetry is, unsurprisingly, pretty depressing.
p. 15:
The seance from v 2, #9, pp. 22-24 and v 2 #10, p. 1
p. 17, panel 1:
Presumably Takashi's grandfather from v 2 #7, p. 23.
p. 20, panel 1:
Looks like v 2, #21, p. 9, panel 6. I'm very confused.
p. 20, panel 2: I don't have a physical copy of Brewer's, but I do have
The First Hypertext Edition of The Dictionary of Phrase
and Fable (THE DICTIONARY OF PHRASE AND FABLE BY E. COBHAM
BREWER FROM THE NEW AND ENLARGED EDITION OF 1894) and so do
you. It's at
http://www.bibliomania.com/Reference/PhraseAndFable/index.html
and has the following to say about Ragged Robin:
Ragged Robin: A wild-flower. The word is used by Tennyson to
mean a pretty damsel in ragged clothes.
``The prince Hath picked a ragged robin from the hedge.''
Tennyson: Idylls of the King; Enid.
p. 21:
The Big Red Sphere. But you hardly need me to point it out
by now.
v 2, #22: "The Tower."
p. 1, panel 1:
The Tower in the Tarot deck is an indication of violent change
to come. The double entendre with the Washington Monument
is a nice touch.
p. 2, panel 1:
Mason looks at the bell in May 1976. See v 2, #16, p. 3.
p. 2, panel 5:
The Black Helicopters are celebrated in song, story, and
conspiracy theory.
p. 3, panel 2:
Rosicrucians: see the note at v 1, #1, p. 37, panel 1.
p. 3, panel 4:
"Independence Day": see v 2, #2, p. 21, panel 1.
p. 3, panel 4:
That's technically, true, about the state of emergency, near
as I can tell; however it doesn't mean as much in practice
as one might think. The Bruce Willis reference is probably
to the action movie "The Siege." (Thanks to Mark Grudinoff
<mgrudino@cisco.com> for reminding me that it's a better fit
than "Armageddon.")
pp. 2-3:
Mason Lang's creation myth.
p.3, panel 4:
Sympathetic magic, actually, although it's also a pretty good
summation of what Mason has been saying.
p. 5, panel 1:
Those are the clothes that they are in in v 2, # 21, p. 22,
panel 5. Presumably, what they tell KM is related to Trump 16.
Assuming that Trump means the Major Arcana of the traditional
Tarot deck, that's the Tower.
p. 5, panel 2:
"The Empire Never Ended." See v 1, #20, p. 9, panel 4 and
associated entries.
p. 5, panel 3:
A particularly annonying set of US billboards advertised the
1998 "Godzilla" by asserting things like "His [Godzilla's] head
is bigger than this sign."
p. 7, panel 1:
Well, I've never seen "The Magic Christian," but from the IMDB
summary, it's a scathing comedy about commercialization.
It's written by John Cleese and Graham Chapman. Probably
worth a look.
p. 10, panel 1:
Note that KM has tagged the place.
p. 10, panel 1-2: We last saw her in v 1, #5, p. 12-13.
p. 10, panel 5:
Our Nameless friend seems to be referring to the Arian Heresy,
which was addressed by the Council of Nicaea. The details
seem rather tricky, but the heresy seems to turn on how
divine Jesus was. There's a pretty detailed discussion of
the heresy at http://www.ewtn.com/library/HOMELIBR/HERESY3.TXT,
but I really can't assess its veracity.
p. 11, panels 3-4: I think that this refers to the enigmatic "Edith says to
call him Boody" in v 2, #10, p 10. panel 4 and
v 1, #12, p. 7, panel 4. Is the rescue for the first KM or
for the central character of #12, or someone else?
p. 11, panels 3-4: Insects are a repeating motif, especially the idea of an
insect as escape hatch from v 1, #1, p. 38, panel 3.
p. 12, panel 3:
Don't miss the Emp-TV on the television, presumably a slash
at the ubiquitous American music channel M-TV.
p. 12, panel 5:
The Root Doctaz from the poster are Jim Crow's band.
p. 12, panel 3:
That's the man Jack shot in v 1, #9, p. 20, panel 6.
p. 14, panel 3: There has been speculation that Mason is a Bruce Wayne avatar,
KM seems to confirm this.
p. 15, panel 4:
"If..." is an allegorical story of a revolution lead by pupil
Mick Travers that takes place at an old established private
school in England (according to the IMDB
(http://us.imdb.com/Title?If....+(1968) )
p. 16, panel 1:
To save you a trip "the branch of metaphysics dealing with
being, reality, or ultimate substance." Webster's New World,
2nd. ed.
p. 16, panel 3:
I think this echoes KM's dive in v 2, #1, p. 5.
p. 16, panel 4:
See v 3, # 9, p. 6, panel 4
p. 19, panel 1:
The Greeks used a gift horse filled with men to enter Troy
in the Trojan War.
v 3, #12. Satanstorm, part one: "Common people."
p. 2, panel 1:
MI6 is a British intelligence agency. If you don't know
Ian Fleming's superspy, James Bond, you may be reading the
wrong book.
p. 2, panel 5:
Eton is a prestigious British Public (very private) school.
p. 4, panel 1:
The censor marks are similar to those used in documents
released by an intelligence agency, but purged for "national
security reasons." Also similar to the self censorship in
Victorian fiction.
p. 4, panel 1:
The texts are on H. P. Lovecraft's fictional world. See also
v 1, #9, p. 1, panel 3 and v 1, #24, p. 6, panel 4.
p. 4, panel 4:
4:01 - 4+1 = 5 a significant insignificance if you believe
Robert Anton Wilson (Illuminatus Chronicles)
p. 4, panel 5:
The monster we see next panel, last seen in v 2, #24,
p. 20, panel 6, has been living in Scotland. So has
Scottish Andy, one would assume.
p. 5, panel 2:
It's apparently been two years since v 1, #24.
p. 7, panel 2:
Yog-Sothoth is another member of the Lovecraftian Old Gods.
As I recall, he was a son of Cthulu, but it's been awhile.
p. 8, panel 1:
We have indeed heard a bunch of conflicting creation myths,
at least 7 the last time I counted, which was v 2, #17,
p. 3, panel 4.
p. 8, panel 2-3: This echoes v 1, #19, p. 8, panel 6, although I don't
understand the full significance. At that time I tentatively
identified the combatants as Roger and KM. If so,
Roger is repeating the lesson with Jack, or maybe
there's more there. There are two apparent combatants
who are really on the same side, maybe, which echoes
back to the repeating motif of entertainment as war (and
viceversa) which goes way back to v 1, #5.
p. 9, panel 2,4: They're obviously dressed the same as KM was in his training.
see v 1, #19, p. 8, panel 6, again.
p. 11, panel 3+: Nice homage to Jim Steranko's Nick Fury comics in the 60s.
p. 11, last panel: "And so to work" sounds like Samuel Pepys, England's most
famous diarist.
p. 12, panel 1:
Not quite a creation myth or a conspiracy theory, but clearly
in that same repeating motif.
p. 13, panel 2:
Goebbels was Hitler's propaganda minister.
p. 14, panel 2:
Erich Von Daniken wrote "Chariots of the Gods," a 70's book
asserting that mankind had been visited by alien astronauts
in its prehistory. A classic conspiracy theory.
p. 14, panel 3:
The woman who doesn't speak the playboy's language is a
classic bit. The last place I recall hearing it was in
Frank Miller's "Batman: Year 1."
p. 15, panel 1:
That's the woman we last saw collapsing into Mr. Six's
arms back in v 2, #24, p. 23, panel 5. The doll is basically
a Teletubby, from the British children's series.
p. 15, panel 2:
Fractals are shapes that look basically the same no matter
how much they're magnified. Sea coasts and tree branches
are natural examples.
p. 15, panel 4:
My eyes for cars aren't the best, but it looks to me like
that's the car that Sir Miles is in on v 3, #12, p. 4,
panel 3. It may also be the car on v 3, #12, p. 3, panel 1,
but it's too hard to make out.
p. 15, panels 3,5: "Six balls and the bonus to win" is a reference to the
London lottery. We last heard it in v 1, #15, p. 1, panel 4
when Brodie uses the phrase when reporting to Sir Miles.
Peter D Jones <peterdjones@yahoo.com> mentions that Brodie
is a tough guy special agent in a 70s/80s TV show called "The
Professionals."
p. 16, panel 1:
Helga's reading "Stuffe" magazine. :-) (Hay una revista que se
llama "Stuff," de ah’ la broma...)
p. 16, panel 2:
Mrs. Grundy is a fictional canonical conservative old viewer.
P. 16, panel 5:
Apparently Helga knows Miles' name
p. 16, panel 6:
The Old Ones are Lovecraft's Evil Gods again.
p. 20, panel 2:
Evel Knievel is an American daredevil, famous for jumping
motorcycles. Jack's probably being serious when he says
he doesn't know him. Roger may be older than I thought,
anyway. Of course, she knows Perry Como, too (v 2, #5, p. 7,
panel 4).
p. 20, panel 3:
Ringo is Ringo Starr, the Beatles' drummer. The band is
from Liverpool, so Jack sounds like Ringo to Roger. The
Beatles/Liverpool connection was established in v 1, #1,
p. 10, panels 3-5.
p. 21, panel 4:
The spider in the sky may be a reference to Jim Crow's
were-spider form in v 1, #10, p. 15, panel 2. Or it may not.
Behind the moon is almost certainly a Barbelith reference.
p. 22, panel 3:
The 10 dimensional superstring theory is seriously proposed
in modern physics. There may be more to Helga than meets the
eye. The sunspot cycle is an observed phenomenon too,
although I don't think the correlation with unrest has been
rigorously demonstrated.
p. 22, panel 4:
"This is the way the world ends" is from T. S. Eliot's
"The Hollow Men." The famous continuation is "Not with a
bang, but a whimper." (or a Quimper, says Brenda Podemski)
p. 22, panel 6:
The lines are from Shelley's "Queen Mab: A Philosophical
Poem."
What a perfect touch.
v. 3, #11. Satanstorm, part two: "Cold Britannia."
p. 2, panel 1:
"Signs and portents" is a common Morrison phrase, e.g. Doom
Patrol #47, p. 3, panel 3 : "That old bugger's [The Shadowy Mr.
Evans] supposed to be one of the Signs and Portents, isn't he?
p. 3, panel 2:
A wicker man is an element of a Druidic purification/fertility
ritual which was filled with undesirables and burned as a
sacrifice. There is a connection to the Burning Man ritual now
becoming a regular event in the US but this is a more direct
reference to the 1973 movie "Wicker Man." (Why I don't go
straight to the IMDB for every possible movie, I don't know).
The cover of this issue looks very much like the poster from the
movie, which is about a policeman investigating murders on a small
island who winds up confronting a group of pagans.
p. 3, panel 6:
It's still a great acronym, isn't it? (PIS)
p. 4, panel 2:
"Jaws" came out in 1975
p. 5, panel 1:
That's Ganesh, the god with an elephant head. See v 1, #1, p.
18
panel 2, v 1, #5, p. 6, panel 3 and v 2, #2, p. 3, panel 1.
p. 5, panel 2:
Noel's House Party and Eastenders are British TV shows,
Tony Blair is the current British Prime Minister, and the
Millennium Dome seems to be a dome in Greenwich being erected
to commemorate the year 2000.
"like a Bond girl" is a clue to our friend's identity.
p. 5, panel 4:
I hope his last trip was better than the one in v 1, #18,
pp. 1-3
p. 6, panel 2:
"Test Card F" refers to a book entitled "Test Card F:
Television, Mythinformation And Social Control" written
anonymously. "Test Card F" is itself a pun: it's the name of
a standard pattern used in England to test TV response (the
electronics, that is, not the viewers). It also sounds like
a failing grade.
p. 6, panel 5:
Our friend's rich friend is almost certainly Mason Lang.
p. 7, panel 7:
One sided conspiracy is a repeating motif.
p. 8, panel 1:
The Space Shuttle Challenger exploded on 28 Jan 86, but
presumably it's Beryl's death date.
p. 9, panel 1:
The Ordo Templi Orientis is a group combining the Big Three
of mystical conspiracies: the Freemasons, the Rosicrucians,
and the Illuminati, with a dose of Crowley thrown in for
good measure. Like all conspiracies, they have a web page
http://www.otohq.org/oto/
p. 9, panel 2:
Crowley was Aleister Crowley was a famous Black Magician and
FreeMason in the early 1900's. I don't remember Brother Raoul,
and can't find a reference after the 1200's.
p. 9, panel 3:
E.g., v 1, #12, pp. 10-11.
p. 9, panel 4:
"The Dark Side of the Force" is a reference to the Star Wars
series, if you didn't know.
p. 12, panel 4: Dogs are color-blind, which is why explaining red to them is
dull for the dog.
p. 15, panel 2:
"Mitch" is hurrican Mitch that ravaged Central America in
1998.
"Exterminate!" sounds like a dalek (a mindless killer robot)
from "Doctor Who" (a mindless British Sci-Fi series).
p. 15, panel 3:
John Glenn is a famous US astronaut who returned to space in
1998.
p. 18, panel 1:
Glastonbury Tor is allegedly inhabited by the Faerie. Ley
lines are supposed to be ancient patterns of power in the
Earth, and Michell was an author on the topic, tying ley
lines to Chinese Feng-shui.
p. 18, panel 2:
Sir Edmund Hillary is a famous British mountaineer and K2
is one of the world's most difficult peaks.
p. 20, panel 2:
"Happy Birthday To Me" is a Cracker song. Doesn't seem like
KM's taste, though.
p. 21, panel 2:
"Be Seeing You" is a Prisoner reference again. See
v 1, #19, p. 21, panel 1 and v 2, #20, p. 8, panel 4.
p. 22, panel 2:
Joan of Arc was a famous French martyr, burned at the stake.
v 3, #10. Satanstorm, part three: "The ÔitÕ Girls."
p. 1, panel 1:
The ectoplasm was first seen in v 1, #25, p 8, panel 1.
p. 1, panel 2:
Crowley was first seen on v 1, #25, p 8, panel 3. He
shares a surname with Aleister Crowley.
p. 3, panel 1:
There *was* a solar eclipse visible in Europe on that date.
p. 3, panel 2:
Salvador Dali was a surrealist painter.
p. 4, panel 1:
Mr. Six sacrificed his Brian Malcom identity by
destroying the same things in v 1, #24, p. 9.
p. 4, panel 5:
"What was your face like before you were born" is a famous
zen koan. "Try to remember" is a repeating motif.
p. 5, panel 1:
The Bardo of Dharmata is a state of enlightenment in Buddhism.
p. 5, panel 5:
Key 23 seems to have the same properties as Key 17 from the
other side (see v1, #18, p. 6, panel 3). Is this a conscious
inconsistency? (Or Key 17 + Mr 6 = Key 23??) See also
v 3, #6, p. 1, panel 1 for another 17/23 relation.
p. 6, panel 1:
The number of Jack's plane, 23, is a conspiracy number, as
is the number of key 23.
p. 7, panel 3:
The beetle was a repeating motif in v 1, #1.
p. 7, panel 8:
KM's seduction technique seems to involve a fake shroud of
Turin, alleged to be Christ's burial shroud.
p. 8, panel 1:
I can't tell if Helga's reading or writing the language
p. 8, panel 3, 6: I don't believe that there's anything in of note
p. 11,
p. 11,
p. 11,
p. 12,
p. 12,
p. 14,
p. 15,
p. 21,
about straphylococcus aureus, or ayrshire blue potatoes,
but check with KM or Helga.
panel 1:
We last saw someone named Tarquin in v 1, #12, p. 22, panel 3,
but he was clearly blooded. Is this a relative or is Tarquin
a title?
panel 3:
We last saw that doll in v 3, #12, p. 15.
panel 4;
"The Forgotten Ones" is a reference to Lovecraft's Old Gods.
panel 2:
The "Big Issue" is a magazine sold by the homeless. The
implication is that the deceased is homeless.
panel 3:
"Rosemary's Baby" was a film about a woman whose child seems
to be wanted by a cult.
panel 4:
Both media died by fire, so Sir Miles question was not idle.
panel 1:
Cervantes's famous Don Quixote jousted windmills.
panel 4:
"Strange Days" is a Doors tune, a refrain in a John Lennon
("Nobody Told Me") song and a movie set in 1999 LA about
first person recording devices. I particularly like the Lennon
connection because of his appearance in v 1, #1, p. 10, panels
3-5. Thanks to Benjamin Godwin <9235261g@student.gla.ac.uk>
for pointing out that "Strange Days" is a Doors song.
v3, #9. Satanstorm, part four: "Digging up Beryl."
p. 3, panel 1:
Action - the situation is like a movie - repeating motif.
p. 4, panel 1:
This use of geezer is one I don't know. The term in America
means an eccentric but harmless old man.
p. 4, panel 5:
He's presumably referring to Jack in v 1, #24, p. 23 panel 5.
p. 6, panel 4:
A flashback to the months of meditation that KM mentioned in
v 3, # 11, p. 20, panel 1.
p. 6, panel 6:
LSD == lysergic acid diethylamide, a powerful hallucinogenic,
but you knew that.
p. 8, panel 1:
Our methods - both sides are one side, repeating motif
p. 10, panel 5p. 11, panel 2:
This is almost certainly a projection. Miles is the wrong age
to be here. However, the scene, including dialog, is also
shown in v 2, #10 p. 5 panels 1-2. See the note at v 2, #10,
p. 5 panels 1-2 for an indication that Miles may have played
the scene for real once.
p. 12
This page is all a creation story, and initiation, both
repeating motifs.
p. 12, panel 1:
There is an implication of a lost zodiac sign. The "keys"
could be either the mirror gateways anth their prism keys,
or the mind altering drugs (of they could both be our
limited perceptions of something else).
p. 12, panel 2:
Bacteriological and viral motifs also repeat throughout
the series.
p. 12, panels 4-5: All times being the same and initiation never ending are
repeating motifs. Compare with Fanny's time displacement
during v 1, #13-15, especially v 1, #15, p 21.
p. 12, panel 5:
Frater Nemo is Brother No One in Latin.
p. 13, panel 1:
Seaton seems to be a homophone of Satan, a reference to
our nameless friend (last seen in v 2, # 20 , p. 15, panel 4)?
p. 13, panel 5:
"Nothing stays buried forever" - certainly not Beryl.
p. 14, panel 1:
David Icke is an author and speaker on various New Age
theories. You can find out as much about him as you want
from http://www.davidicke.com/icke/index.html . He looks
like a shyster to me.
p. 14, panel 2:
Rumi is a 13th century Persian poet and mystic.
p. 15, panel 1:
"The Truth Dazzles..." -- Emily Dickinson (attributed, but I'd
love a more exact citation)
p. 15, panel 5:
The red circle is a repeating motif
p. 16, panel 1: That scene was first seen in v 1, #18, p. 11, panel 4, although
again, Miles was a different age.
p. 16, panel 2:
That's a variant of a Ouija Board, used for divination.
p. 17, panel 4:
"This Is Your Life" was a US TV show where a famous person's
life was summarized in front of him. The famous person
allegedly had no idea that he was to be the subject of the show.
p. 18, panel 2:
Anti-matter is well, constructed of anti particles. It's
a concept in particle physics, but has showed up in popular
SF like Star Trek.
p. 18, panel 3:
Key 23 is the Key 17 act-alike. (v 3, #10, p. 5, panel 5)
p. 18, panel 4:
Innoculate: more biological metaphor.
p. 18, panel 5:
"The Invasion of the Body Snatchers" is a 1956 movie (remade
in
1978) about aliens that replace the inhabitants of Earth with
exact duplicates. Some people see the film as a metaphor
for the Communist paranoia of the times. Body snatchers are
also grave robbers, which KM and Co. are also up to.
p. 19, panel 1:
"Here endeth the lesson" is a common closing to a sermon. I
don't know its exact origin, but I do know that Mason Lang
would mention that they're the last words that Eliot Ness
says to Al Capone in the 1987 film "The Untouchables."
p. 19, panel 5:
Apparently Division X's boss is named Paddy.
p. 20, panel 1:
Paddy doesn't seem to care much for David much either (v 3,
#9, p. 14, panel 1). Monica Lewinski is the intern with
whom US President Clinton had an affair.
p. 21, panel 3,5: Prisoner references are rampant in The Invisibles. See
v 1, #17, p. 17, panels 1-3 for a short explanation and
The Prisoner FAQ at
http://www.cis.ohio-state.edu/hypertext/faq/usenet/tv/theprisoner/part1/faq.html
for a longer one.
p. 21, panels 2,4: Killing a friend is the common way to show one is
beyond compassion in such initiations.
p. 21, panel 5:
The Village is the setting of "The Prisoner," where
Number Six is continually subjected to mind-bending
interrogation.
v 3, #8. Karmageddon, part one: "Tantrika."
p. 1, panel 2:
"The Time Machine," H. G. Wells's science fiction novel,
has been immortalized on film several times. Edith is probably
referring to the 1960 version. Also, her comment that
everything repeats itself reinforces Takashi's
time travel theories (see v 2, #6, p. 20, panels 1-3).
p. 1, panel 5:
Apparently the queen sends telegrams to anyone who
reaches 100 years old, like Williard Scott does in
America.
p. 2, panel 2:
The text on the Buddha is similar to KM's line in v 2,
#7, p. 24, panel 3.
p. 3, panel 4:
"Doucement" means softly. Apparently The Divine Marquis
is a loud guy.
p. 4, panel 4:
The arrival of the postcard is apparently depicted in
v 2, #10, p. 23, panel 5.
p. 5, panel 1:
25 C = 77 F for those of you who prefer the other
scale. Must be humid in Varanasi.
p. 5, panel 2:
"Dead from the Waist Down" is the first single from
Catatonia's album "Equally Blessed and Cursed." The
NATO/Balkans and India/Pakistan references are to
conflicts of the day.
p. 5, panel 4:
Presumably KM is referring to "The Marriage of Sense and Soul:
p.
p.
p.
p.
p.
P.
p.
p.
p.
p.
p.
p.
p.
p.
p.
p.
p.
Integrating Science and Religion." Wilber writes on
topics of spirituality in the modern age.
6, panel 1:
It's interesting that Edith mentions KM having her
once, when KM almost certainly sees it as two events,
one in the late 1990's and once in the 1920's,
although the two are linked. See v 1, #18, pp. 20-21 and
v 2, #10, pp. 15-16.
6, panel 5:
De Sade's answer echos KM's discussion with him in
v 1, #8, p. 6 panels 5,6.
7, panel 5:
"Big Malkie" is, of course, Mr. Six.
9, panel 2:
William Reich theorized that sex produced Orgone
energy can be harnessed for a number of uses.
http://www.orgonomy.org/ has a lot to say about
Orgone, including pointers to conferences and other
information.
9, panel 3:
Orgonon was Reich's headquarters in Maine. I'm assured
that it also appears in Kate Bush lyrics.
10, panel 1:
A snapshot from the fight (??) in v 3, #12, pp. 8-9.
10, panel 2:
If we believe Robin, Nons appear in public sometime in
the next 12 years. See v 2, #6, p. 9, panel 2.
11, panel 2:
"All wars are sex wars" echoes "Every scene is a sex
scene" in v 2, #15, p. 22, panel 5
11, panel 5:
Alexandra David-Neel writes on Tibetan Mysticism. Note the
tangerineÐflavored iMac Edith's using. The lady keeps in
touch with the timesÉ
13, panel 1:
Morrison's cited Michael Grady's work as well as I can.
13, panel 5:
All times being this time is a repeating motif. The
lyric is from the Smiths' "Heaven Knows I'm Miserable
Now"
18, panel 5:
The dream is similar to the experience KM relates in
v 2, #12, pp. 9-11, especially the end.
19, panel 2:
"ceci n'est pas une pipe" is from Magritte's painting
"The Treachery of Images."
19, panel 3:
Stanislav Grof is an LSD researcher who believes that
the traumas of birth shape our lives and
personalities. His "Perinatal Matrix III" is basically
the trauma of birth. The image in the next two
panels is basically one of rebirth.
20, panel 2:
Nigredo is the first step of an alchemical work:
seeing what we do not want to know about ourselves.
Beelzebub is either one of Satan's aliases or another
demon or devil depending on your cosmology and
alignment.
21, panel 3:
I hope Desadeland is another swipe at Disneyland.
(E. g., v 1, #23, p. 6, panels 1-2 and v 2,
#2, p. 7 panel 1)
21, panel 4: From Webster's 1913: audacious: 2. Contempting the
restraints of law, religion, or decorum; bold in wickedness;
presumptuous; impudent; insolent. Indeed a perfect
one-word description of the Marquis.
v 3, #7. Karmageddon, part two: "Type ."
p. 1, panel 1:
Looks like Shiva, Hindu god of destruction to me.
p. 1, panel 2:
Same Buddha as in v 3, #8, p. 2, panel 2. See the note there.
p. 2, panel 2:
Ayers Rock is a mystical site in Australia, where KM underwent
an initiation in v 1, #18, p. 9. and v 1, # 18, pp. 16-17.
p. 4, panel 3:
Things invisible to us because they're omnipresent suggests
another meaning of Invisibles. The charming fellows in Cell
23 allude to the same ideas on v 2, #13, p. 8, panel 1.
p. 5:
Another page that plays hob with panels. All I wanted to
say was that Whitley Strieber writes books on UFOs and alien
abductions, and that a V.A.T. inspector is a tax auditor.
p. 7, panel 2:
Mason making an accidental movie reference ("Carrie") shows
that he may well really be changing.
p. 9, panel 1:
The music that Helga apparently asks for is "The Mikado" by
Gilbert & Sullivan.
p. 9, panel 7:
Calvinism is a form of Protestantism with a heavy streak
of predestination in it.
p. 10.
This is a fine page of buried allusions...
p. 10, panel 2:
It probably says more about me than the book that the object
Mr. Six is joking about seems to be a dildo.
p. 10, panel 5:
The top being on the bottom may be an allusion to the
seat of Hell being at the lowest point according to Dante.
Harpo-crates is a reference to Harpo Marx, one of the
Marx brothers who "spoke" only in pantomine and with horns,
combined with Hippocrates, the famous Greek physician.
Peter D Jones <peterdjones@yahoo.com> assures me that
"...Harpocrates is the Greek name for the Egyptian god
Horus. Crowley refers to Harpocrates a lot." That's a
shame; I really liked my derivation. :-)
p. 10, panel 6:
Flint's primordial persona may be an allusion to the
zen koan "what was your face before you were born."
p. 11, panel 2:
The strange glyph Flint speaks is also used by Cell 23 on
v 2, #13, p. 8, panel 1. That's the second allusion to that
*panel* this issue.
p. 12, panels 1-2: These echo v 2, #8, p. 11, panel 3.
p. 13, panel 1:
Dave Stewart and Annie Lennox were The Eurythmics, a popular
new wave band in the 80s.
p. 14, panel 1:
A Flock of Seagulls was another 80s New Wave band.
p. 14, panel 2:
"Dancing Queen" is a catty reference to a popular song by
Abba,
perhaps the 70s version of A Flock of Seagulls. Annie Lennox
is half of the Eurythmics.
p. 14, panel 3:
Dave Stewart is the bearded one.
p. 15, panel 1:
I just can't get "Mommy, I'm scared of the Lady..."
p. 15, panel 3:
Vogue is a glossy fashion magazine.
p. 16, panel 2:
Can't find lagonda either.
p. 16, panel 3:
Alice is a reference to the Alice books by Lewis Carroll.
pp. 18-19: Another view of one of Reddy and Edith's liaisons is in
v 2, #8, p. 13, panels 3-5.
p. 21, panel 2:
The repeating train motif is in full effect. These are also
probably the same subways where Tom and Jack spent so
much time in v 1, #2-4.
p. 22, panel 4:
Barbelith, of course.
v 3, #6. Karmageddon, part three: "Six minus six."
p. 1, panel 1:
Key 23 seems to have similar effects to key 17 (see v 3, #10,
p. 5 panel 5). (Hey - 17 hex (that is, base 16) = 23
decimal - maybe the Other Side uses hex numbering, like
computers). The Angular Gyrus is a structure in the brain
relating to language and its interface to reality. Dyslexia
is caused by damage to it.
p. 1, panel 5:
The remaining 38 letters make 64 total - which is 40 hex =
2 to the 6th = 64 - the number of combinations in the I Ching.
The missing letters were first mentioned in v 2, #11, p. 4,
panel 1, and again in v 2, #13, p. 7 , panel 5.
p. 1, panel 6:
UberSprech == OverSpeach or Super Speech, which is presumably
a pre-Crisis power gained by Kryptonians under a yellow sun :-)
Hey, Helga works with a white&ice-blue G3 PowerMac...
p. 1, panel 7:
That sounds a lot like Glossolalia - see v 1, #8, p.11,
panel 4. Logogogooninaut sounds like a bizarre fusion of
Logonaut (which looks like it should be word-sailor, analogous
to astronaut), go go, and login. Presumably, because this is
Glossolalia, that interpretation tells you more about me than
Grant or Helga.
p. 1, panel 8:
11:23 PM is 23:23 on a 24 hour clock. If you don't think
that's significant, you haven't been reading these annotations
well.
p. 2, panel 1:
Dunno if it's important, but the Fibbonacci series in
mathematics is based on a problem about breeding rabbits.
1,1,2,3,5,8,11,19,... Maybe I've got numerology on the brain.
p. 2, panel 2:
Same Buddha as in v 3, #8, p. 2, panel 2. See the note there.
Obviously a logo for the arc, but I mentioned it once, so...
p. 3:
The whole sequence echoes to Robin in the tank in v 2, #20.
p. 4, panel 4:
5:00 AM - 5 is another conspiracy number. See also v 3, #12,
p. 4, panel 4.
p. 4, panel 5:
The red circle is a repeating motif. Is that "Barbelith" on
the screen?
p. 5, panel 5:
The icon is Bast, Egyptian goddess of cats.
p. 6, panel 1:
"Thomasina" appears to be children's film about bringing a
cat back to life and its healing effects on the family around
it. It stars Patrick McGoohan who created "The Prisoner "(!?).
Prisoner references are rampant in The Invisibles. see v 3,
#9, p. 21, panels 3-5 for more references.
p. 7, panel 3:
The Grim Reaper is a personification of Death.
p. 8, panel 3:
BSE is Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (Mad Cow Disease).
Charmingly, when I looked it up on the web to confirm spelling,
I found that it also stands for breeding soundness exam. Draw
your own conclusions...
p. 9, panel 3:
The only event of note I find for August 11 is the Perseid
meteor shower (¿Y el eclipse total de sol, eh?.)
p. 9, panel 4:
Well, if he wasn't a worm before...
p. 9, panel 5:
Apparently Orlando is on the loose again. We last saw him
in v 1, #8, pp. 14-16.
p. 10, panel 5:
The Baader-Meinhoff gang was a group of German leftist
terrorists in the 1970's.
p. 11, panel 1:
This echoes Jacqui's comments to KM in v 2, #5, pp. 12-13.
p. 11, panel 2:
Judas Iscariot betrayed Jesus to the Romans for 30 pieces of
silver.
p. 11, panel 3:
Azathoth is the name of a demon or devil. The suffering was
probably due to the nuclear bombs dropped in 1945.
p. 13, panel 4:
"The last supper" refers to Christ's last meal with his
disciples before he was martyred by the Romans.
p. 14, panel 3:
Fortnum & Mason is a (fairly classy) British department store.
p. 15, panel 3:
Milton H. Erickson was a Doctor and a hypnotist who used
Neuro-Linguistic programming to treat patients. The effects
of his techniques seem to be proported to be similar to those
of Key 17/23.
p. 15, panel 5:
Many female spiders eat their suitors after procreation.
p. 16, panel 4:
A lot of death and rebirth this issue - Orlando reborn,
Rossiter killed and reborn as an invertebrate...
p. 17, panel 3:
"The microbes are part of the magic." With all the talk of
aliens as antibodies and such, this seems a particularly
thematic statement.
p. 19, panel 2:
See v 2, #8, p. 13, panel 3.
p. 21, panel 6:
See v 2, #10, p. 23, panel 4.
p. 21, panel 10: Indeed she did - 11:23 = 23:23
v 3, #5. Karmageddon, part four: "Smile."
p.1, panel 1:
Shaggy and Scooby are the stars of the Scooby-Doo cartoon
show from Hanna-Barbera. KM's comment refers to the cheap
animation style, typified by using a very simple repeating
background.
p. 1, panel 2:
"3 2 many" -- another 23 reference.
p. 1, panel 3:
A thought thinking itself is the way Hegel describes God.
p. 2, panel 2:
Let's skip the Buddha comment this issue.
p. 3, panel 1:
Kali is a Hindu goddess of darkness and destruction,
consort of Shiva.
p. 3, panel 3:
Ganesh is the God KM worships. See v 2, #2 , p 3., panel 1.
p. 3, panel 4:
"Voodoo Spider Queen" seems to refer to Jim Crow's theology.
See v 1, #10.
p. 3, panel 5:
No good 2/3 reference is complete until you get a 5, at least
according to Robert Anton Wilson's "Illuminatus" trilogy.
p. 4, panel 3:
Agent Black is likely a reference to Men In Black, a generic
term for agents of a government conspiracy.
p. 5, panel 1:
We last saw the Cyphermen in v 1, #8, p. 11, panel 6.
p. 5, panel 2:
The CIA has allegedly sponsored remote-viewing programs
(i.e., marshalling clairvoyance for military surveillance)
for years. Unproven, of course.
p. 5, panel 4:
Simply Red is another 80's band - kind of a theme with
Jack and Roger of late.
p. 6, panel 2:
"Here we go round..." is part of a children's rhyme.
Imprinting the dead with nursery rhymes is also mentioned
in Morrison's Doom Patrol run.
p. 6, panel 5:
"The Matrix" is a 1999 film about people trapped unawares
in a virtual reality that they can't tell from a real one.
We've talked about Grof's Perinatal Matrices in v 3, #8,
p. 19, panel 3.
p. 7, panel 2:
"The microbes are part of the magic," v 3, #6, p. 17, panel 3.
p. 7, panel 3:
Opposites being part of the same whole is a repeating motif.
p. 9, panel 3:
The Midwich Cockoos are the subject of John Wyndham's
eponymous novel. They are children replaced by a malevolent
force. The Stepford Wives are a set of super-normal
housewives who have actually been replaced by androids.
The Invisibles and the Outer Church being the same is
a repeating motif.
p. 10, panel 4:
Patty hearst was kidnapped, (maybe) brainwashed, and (maybe)
released by the Symbionese Liberation Front in the 1960s.
p. 12, panel 5:
"The King In Yellow" is a cycle of stories by Robert W.
Chambers
p. 15,
p. 16,
p. 16.
p. 17,
p. 18,
p. 21,
which tells of a play (with the same title) that describes
a play so perfect that it drives men mad. (A link to
the Harlequinade seems possible.)
panel 1:
Bergen-Belsen is the site of a WWII concentration camp.
Columbine is the site of a US school shooting (17 kids killed
by 2 others), and Cambodia is the site of many atrocities,
including genocides.
panel 1:
Edward and Sophie are Prince Edward and his wife. Posh and
Beckham are Posh Spice - singer Victoria Adams- and her husband,
Manchester football player David Beckham.
panel 4:
Lear, III, iv.
panel 2:
"It's Only A Game" is a repeating motif. Monopoly is an
originally American board game.
panel 3:
"Rex Mundi" is "the King of the World" in Latin.
panel 4:
Again, the meteor shower, an unusual alignment of planets, and
the first full day I owned a house. That should be enough
to anihilate Paris.
p. 22, panel 1:
Orgone: see v 3, #8, p. 9, panel 2.
p. 22, panel 4:
Another 23 reference.
p. 23, panel 5:
"Here Comes The Summer" is an Undertones Song. The
Undertones are another 80's band. KM is apparently a fan,
he listens to them in v 2, #5, p. 15, panels 4-5.
v 3, #4. The Invisible Kingdom, part one: "Planet Stepford."
As the series closes, things seem to be becoming less obscure, and the
annotations are getting shorter.
p. 1, panel 3:
Vesuvius is the volcano that destroyed Pompeii.
p. 2, panel 6:
See v 1, #23, p.1, Dane's friend Gaz is named here for the
first time.
p. 3:
See v 2, #21, p. 19
p. 4, panel 2:
It's all a game, repeating motif
p. 5, panel 1:
This echoes v 2, #16, p. 22, panel 1. Grant's not always
subtle.
p. 6, panel 4:
Tony Blair is PM of the UK in 1999. I know you knew that
but I was nodding off.
p. 7, panel 3:
John-a-Dreams at lastÉ Last seen in flashback v 2, #15, pp. 68.
OK, technically v 2, #15, p. 17, panel 2.
P. 8, panel 2:
Both sides of a conflict being the same is a repeating motif.
The crinkly edges of complexity is a reference to fractal
dimensions in geometry.
p. 8, panel 3:
See also v 3, #3, p. 10, panel 2.
p. 9, panel 1:
Winnie the Pooh is a classic children's story, the rights to
film which are currently owned by Disney. I don't know what
!kung! is.
p. 9, panel 3:
Hey, another Disney reference. This practically qualifies as
a repeating motif.
p. 11, panel 1:
Glamor can mean beauty or magic.
p. 11, panel 5:
Horus is the Egyptian god of the rising sun.
p. 13, panel 3:
Thelemites are Masonic magicians, a branch of the Ordo
Templi Orientis and based on the writings of Aleister Crowley.
p. 14, panel 4:
Compos mentis means of sound mind. Latin.
p. 17, panel 2:
Knights of the Round table refers to King Arthur and his
legendary court.
p. 17, panel 4:
Onward Christian Soldiers is a Christian hymn.
p. 18, panel 5:
All for One... the motto of the Three Musketeers.
p. 19, panel 2:
11 seems to be a number of significance to the Thelemites.
p. 22, panel 1:
A byblow is a bastard. Today's vocab word; use it three times
and it's yours.
v 3, #3. The Invisible Kingdom, part two: "Goodbye Rag."
p. 2, panel 5:
I've never seen the show he's talking about, but it's
crushingly sad, anyway. This may tie back to the title
of v 1, #24: "Good Bye Baby Rabbits."
p. 5, panel 1:
I don't recognize the hymn, which is no surprise if you
know me.
p. 7, panel 2:
The LSD experiment from v 3, #12, p. 16, panels 4,6.
p. 10, panel 2:
The fiction suit sounds a lot like what we see Robin wearing
in v 2, #20. Also comparing a stressful situation to a
movie is a repeating motif. "Cut-and-paste" is the same phrase
Helga used in describing her grimoire in v 3, #4, p. 8,
panel 3.
p. 10, panel 4:
The line is from The Sex Pistol's "Bodies."
p. 13, panel 4:
Eton is a prestigious English school. Miles is mocking Paddy
because all his influence was worthless.
p. 15, panel 2:
The Invisible Hand is Adam Smith's term for economic forces.
Doesn't seem to have any direct relevance, but it popped into
my head.
p. 17, panel 4:
Tzitzimime were monsters that the Aztecs believed attacked
during eclipses.
p. 19, panel 5:
That looks like Saddam Hussein to me.
p. 21, panel 1:
Lara Croft is the heroine of the Tomb Raider video games.
p. 22, panel 2:
E is Ecstacy, a mild euphoric drug.
p. 22, panel 4:
"The King Is Dead, Long Live The King" is a phrase of
succession.
p. 22, panel 5:
Starorzewski is KM's last name (you know what I mean). See
v 1, #19, p. 1, panel 3.
p. 23, panel 1:
KM seems to have put on a shirt during the fight (compare with
v 3, #3, p. 17, panel 1.
v 3, #2. The Invisible Kingdom, part three: "The Moment of the Blitz."
p. 3, panel 1:
Roy Liechtenstein does fine art paintings in the style of
comics panels.
p. 4, panel 2:
Sir Miles's killing of the King has a definite feel of
Masonic ritual. "The King is dead; Long live the King." At
least he succeeds in killing this one, unlike when he tried
to kill KM.
p. 4, panel 5:
Rossiter, Pennington, they're all the same to me, too. Which
is not an accident.
p. 5, panels 1,6:In case you've somehow forgotten, Key 23 (nee 17)
was last seen in v 3, #6, p. 1, panel 1.
p. 7, panel 3:
11:11 See v 3, #4, p. 19, panel 2.
p. 8, panel 1:
Fanny last dispatched Orlando way back in v 1, #8, p. 15.
p. 9, panel 3:
John's eyes look like Boy's when she was playing with
Cell 23 for example in v 2, #12, p. 1. Both sides being
the same is a repeating motif.
p. 9, panel 4:
Simple binary iteration is actually pretty cool. An example
is to take a line and bend the midpoint into a small
triangle: _/\_. Now repeat on all the line segments of that
drawing, and so on. The result a shape with a fractal
dimension between 2 and 3, and lots of interesting
mathematical properties. The idea is that from a very simple
repeated modification, great complexity can arise.
Philadelphia refers to events depicted in v 1, #9, pp. 1-3 and
v 2 # 15, pp. 6-8.
p. 11, panel 1:
Can't find Onorthocrasi. Sounds like an appeal for plant
food, but I'm sure some learned Lovecraftian will correct
me. Strangely, Sabaoth refers to the Hosts or Armies of
Heaven. (Yeah, it's hard to believe, so I'll cite
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/). It also seems to be an
alternative name for Jehovah.I'll also mention that
there is a Christian Heavy Metal band by the same name,
although I doubt Sir Miles is auditioning.
p. 11, panel 2:
Baphomet is one of the icons connected with the Knights
Templar.
p. 11, panel 3:
Like Jack, I'm not really listening to Helga, but that sounds
like a fine Masonic/Templar spiel.
p. 11, panel 4:
The UFO is presumably the same one he went into in
v 2, #20, p. 15, panel 4.
p. 12, panel 1:
Our Nameless Friend (last seen v 2, #20, p. 15, panel 4).
p. 13, panel 1:
Maat is an Egyptian Goddess of truth
p. 13, panel 4:
The Invisible College, seen in detail for much of v 2 #6.
p. 15, panel 2,3:The three figures are
p.
P.
p.
p.
p.
p.
p.
p.
Columbine (brrr - didn't notice the Columbine, CO and
Columbine synchronicity before), the Harlequin, and Pierrot,
first seen in v 2, #7, pp. 15-16 and the two servants and
the King in Yellow from Mr. Six's subway adventure in
v 3, #5, pp. 11-13.
15, panel 3:
"Try to remember" is a repeating motif.
15-16:
The song Miles sings is the Eton College Boating Song.
Despite his sarcasm in v 3, #3, p. 13, panel 4, he still
harbored some feelings for the place.
16, panel 4:
That shape is the Hanged Man from the tarot. It symbolizes
(roughly) sacrifice and eventual rebirth.
16, panel 5:
Helga's words underline the sacrifice and rebirth motif of
the hanged man. The cup seems to echo the Holy Grail,
which caught Christ's blood on the cross. I don't think
that's blood coming from Miles, though, which echoes
Helga's Black Grail.
17, panel 3:
Hey, it's Oscar from Cell 23 (last seen in v 2, #13,
p. 24, panel 1). What a pal.
17, panel 5:
"Nobody ever dies" sounds like it's all one day to me, which
is a repeating Motif.
20, panel 3:
I'm positively delighted to have caught this on only the
second read. Audrey Murray is the wife of the fellow
KM gunned down in v 1, #1, p. 35 who was the subject of the
brilliant v 1, #12. Her last name is mentioned in v 1, #12,
p. 6, panel 1, and her first in v 1, #12, p. 8, panel 3.
The gunman she mentions in panel 1 of this page was KM.
Apparently KM's worries about his karma (e.g. v 2 #6, p. 23,
panel 2) were needless, or his purging between v 2 and v 3
worked wonders.
21, panel 3:
Our lives are your movie - repeating motif. "Go tell it
on the mountain" is a refrain from a Bible school song
I remember about Christ's birth (thanks for sticking it in
my head, Grant).
v3, #1: "Glitterdammerung."
cover:
The allusion is to the Lady of the Lake passing Excalibur to
Arthur.
p. 2, panel 1:
Straight Edgers are zero-tolerance Christian youth. No
sex, drugs, liquor. AI is artificial intelligence - i.e.,
any computer science that doesn't quite work yet.
Manichaenism is a Gnostic/pagan philosophy characterized
by light/and drakness contending. We've heard this spiel
before (right down to "manichaenan") incidentally, from the
future Jack in v 1, #23, p. 19, panel 1 to v 1, #23, p.20,
panel 4, who seemed to be one of the Archons.
p. 2, panel 2:
Time telepathy, presumably like seeing the Beatles in
v 1, #1, pp. 9-13.
p. 4, panel 4:
In the unlikely event that there's a comics reader who doesn't
know them, the X-Men are Marvel Comics's team of mutants
"hunted by the very humans they protect." It would delight
me endlessly if these annotations survived and the X-Men
didn't in the collective consciousness.
p. 5, panels 1-2: "Thousand-petalled Lotus 2" sounds like a video game, as do
"The Edith Manning Memoir" and "The Juice of Three Lemons."
p. 5, panel 4:
See v 3, #5, p. 9, panel 3 for the Midwich Cuckoos.
Ouroboros is the snake that devours its own tail, a big deal
in alchemical symbology.
p. 5, panel 5:
The Crow Daddy is probably Jim Crow (although possibly a
child or other relation).
p. 6, panel 2:
The butterfly's wings affecting global events is an allusion
to chaos theory; quantum computers are theoretical constructs
that can solve the most difficult equations very quickly
by using quantum superposition. Invisible TV was first
mentioned in v 3, #12, p. 13, panel 13.
p. 6, panels 4-6: KM from each of volumes 1, 2, and 3.
p. 7, panel 3:
That's the cover to Invisibles v 1, #1 on the can. By my
count that's the 4th Invisibles work referenced inside the
Invisibles (including itself). There's the comic in v 2, #5,
p. 10, panels 3-4 (alluded to by Kerry in v 2, #20, p. 11,
panel 3), the Book Robin wrote in most of v 2 #20, the movie
Mason refers to in v 2, #21, p.4, panel 4, and this game.
p. 7, panel 5:
The acronym for the phrase in quotes is e-i-e-i-o, a refrain
from "Old McDonald Had A Farm."
p. 8, panel 1:
This panel directly addresses the many references to life
being a movie.
p. 8, panel 2:
5 is a magic number. See v 2, #9, p. 12, panel 3,
for example. (or "The Illuminatus Chronicles").
p. 8, panel 3:
This seems to be the same news report as in v 2, #6, p. 10,
panel 4. I picked that panel from many because it mentions the
disaster in Changi Airport that this one also addresses.
p. 8, panel 4:
Those beta-testers may be in v 1, #8, p. 16, panel 5.
p. 8, panel 5:
What's KM singing?
p. 9, panel 6:
"One more life" is a movie (game) reference, a repeating
motif.
p. 10, panels 1-2: Nice juxtaposition of young Robin on her cycle and
young Dane stealing cars with his buddies. Teenage kicks.
The dialogue sounds like it's from the soap Robin was hearing
on v 2, #6, p. 11, panels 3-6.
p. 10, panel 5:
This addresses the source of the scorpion origami from
v 2, #4, page 24.
p. 11, panel 3:
"Try to remember. It's only a game." explained.
p. 12, panel 2:
Christopher Lee was The Man With The Golden Gun in the
film of the same name. He was also in "The Wicker Man"
(see v 3, #11, p. 3, panel 2), but the allusion here is to
"The Man With The Golden Gun."
p. 12, panels 3-4: Reynard == fox in French.
p. 12, panel 5:
Nice to hear that again. Last time was v 2, #1, p. 6,
panel 1 (and that was Robin).
p. 13, panel 3:
We've been here a couple times, first in v 2, #6, p. 16.
p. 14, panels 2,3: This seems to sit between v 2, #10, p. 11, panels 3-4.
p. 14, panel 4:
This scene is described in v 3, #6, p. 14, panels 4-5.
p. 14, panel 5:
I think this panel is the source of the enigmatic phrase in
v 1, #12, p. 7, panel 4: "Edith says to call him Boody" is
a mangling of "Edith says to call on Buddha" that winds up
here in all the crossings of time. Incidentally this
scene is also seen from another angle in v 2, #12, p. 10.
p. 15, panel 5:
Also in v 1, #13, p. 2, panel 2.
p. 15, panel 6:
Also in v 1, #13, p. 22, panel 4.
p. 16, panel 5:
back in the hall, back in v 2, #12, p. 10 Jack tells the
1997 KM that "they'll ask him for a word." It appears
that the word is Key 64, presumably a refinement of 17
and 23. 64 is the number of hexagrams in the I Ching and
the number of letters in Cell 23's alphabet. See v 3, #6,
p. 1, panel 5. (Hey - 17 + 23 = 40 and 64 is 40 hex
(base 16).)
p. 21, panel 1:
Bill Clinton was U. S. President from 1992-2000. (I'm still
hoping to outlast the X-Men.)
p. 22, panel 5:
Can't end with a much more explicit language/reality
interaction than that.