the prisoner – books a, b, c and d

Dean Motter and Mark Askwith's comicbook sequel to the best-made TV series of all time has a high bar to reach for.

Right from the start I was pouring over every panel for subtext and hidden meanings, and his writing lives up to the expectation in spades.

Motter's artwork however appears casual and undetailed, and consequently doesn't really live-up to the scrutiny that such an over-analysed series brings with it. That said, his integration of photographic material from the show really shook and grabbed my attention, fitting properly into and enhancing the action, in much the same way that flashbacks did in the original.


Where he really excels though is with his dialogue. Number 6's layered implications, couched in natural conversation, shine through here as in the original, and it's easy to hear McGoohan's voice saying the words.

Ultimately the story all gets rather confused in the final book though. I still don't know what happened, or even what had happened before it all started.

And, from that perspective, it's exactly like the original.