Annotations
o [page 2] [panel 3] The man in the car is Brodie. This is the
scene from 1.13, page 7. [PV/JB]
o [page 3]
[panel 4] This is Dane's fantasy; he doesn't actually reveal his feelings
for Boy until 2.09 -- more than a year later. [PV/JB] [panel 5] The
name of the only cybercafe around Tottenham Court Road is Cyberia (just
parallel behind Goodge Street Underground) - it is one of the first
in the world. I have never seen them sell smart drinks. [TEC]
o
[page 4] [panel 2] I believe handguns are almost completely illegal
in England. Dane got his back in issue 1.09. [BSI] Privately owned guns
are now totally illegal in Britain, even for shooting clubs. [AD] [panels
3-4] and [page 5] [panel 1] Flashback to the events just after 1.09,
page 20. [JB]
o [page 5] [panel 5] Dane is feeding the pigeons. It seems he
learned Mad Tom's lesson (1.03). This seems to be a flashback to 1.03,
but the dialogue is new and does not correspond to that issues's page
8. In this issue and in 1.21, Grant is showing us new stuff re: Jack/Dane,
filling in some blanks left from 1.01-1.04. [JB]
o [page 6] [panel 3] Some have speculated that these the two
men could be members of Division X. But who--and how? If you follow
the time-line, Mr. Six, Jack Flint and George are still not working
together again... [PV/JB] I doubt they're Division X. First of all,
it seems that Mr. Six, Jack Flint, and George are just about the entirety
of Division X. Also, Division X deals in occult type stuff (basically
a British take on The X Files), and these guys are entirely bewildered
by the behaviour of the security TV. They could be the same as the Men
in Black who hassle Division X in 1.25, but I'd guess they're just everyday
Conspiracy Cops. [RM]
o [page 7] [panels 3-4] Underworld are an electronica group along
the lines of the Prodigy; at the time of this comic they had recently
released their second album 'SecondToughestInTheInfants' and were soon
to have their fifteen minutes of fame after their track 'Born Slippy'
was used on the Trainspotting soundtrack. Supergrass are a Britpop band,
as are Pulp, the lead singer of which, Jarvis Cocker, wiggled his arse
at Michael Jackson at the Brit Music Awards a few years back. 'At This
Stage I Couldn't Say' looks like Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer, two English
comedians who present 'Shooting Stars', a mickey take of celebrity game
shows and 'The Smell of Reeves and Mortimer' from which the picture
is taken. Sorry, where were we...? [L] "Root Doctaz" is Jim Crow's band;
note that they are on tour, and that is one reason why he's in London
in time for the events of 1.18 [PV/JB]
o [page 8] This scene, which starts on page 7, panel 4, is placed
chronologically around the pivotal 1.02, page 18, panel 6. [JB]
o [pages 9-13] More of what really happened during Jack's inititiation
in 1.02 is presented here for the first time. [JB] Almost all of the
fringe elements regarding time, language, the 'elves' or 'DMT machine
elves', the magic matter, and even the 'LUV LUV LUV' spot in Gideon's
recollections [see 2.05] are all borrowed from one text by Terence McKenna:
TRUE HALLUCINATIONS. This book should be heavily touted for those wishing
to understand some of what Grant's rabbiting on about. [JOB] The aliens'
thought-dialogue includes statements where sounds are placed within
slashes and parentheses, like "/(word)/." It seems that these blanks
must be filled in by the listener, and sometimes the listeners has more
than one way of perceiving the word...or none at all. This may in turn
tie back into the conversation regarding glossolalia -- "the original
tongue" -- that St. Germain has with Ragged Robin 1.08. [JB] A magic
stone is inserted into Jack's head by aliens in order to activate his
"/(third eye/ajna chakra)/." This is why Jack has a scar on his forehead
in 1.02 after page 18. [JB]
o [page 11] [panel 4] "The implant will form a four-dimensional
super-conducting crystal structure designed to bond with neural DNA.
Call it a /(magic mirror/ufo)/." Or Fanny's liquid superfluid from 1.13-1.15?
Seems to be the same soul-stuff... [JB]
o [page 12] [bottom lefthand panel] "Understand: you are the
/(chosen one)/ This is /(your time)/ your world is dying but you can
lead your people to /(global peace and harmony)/" Jack has been chosen/elected...he's
practically a Buddha figure. [JB] [final panel-page 13] Now we will
show you the /(truth)/ Watch the /( )/ find it out." This is a direct
echo of Fanny's experience in 1.15, page 15, panel 1--including the
phrase "find it out," the red circle and the SuperFluid. [JB] "The soul
is not in the body. The body is inside the soul." A major tenet of sorcery?
[JB] The quote is reminiscent of The Book of the Law (Aleister Crowley),
1:8 - "The Khabs is in the Khu, not the Khu in the Khabs." "Khu" can
be translated as "soul" (or, more typically, "spirit"), but unfortunately
"khabs" means "star" rather than "body". Still, it's likely that Grant
was trying to evoke the quotation. [CM] "Try to remember." --That phrase
again. [JB]
o [page 13] [panel 1] The Mobius strip: a simbol of infinity.
"Which side are you on?" may mean that there's only one side (this is
the same discussion as seen in 1.05 when King Mob attends to the puppet
show). [PV] It looks like there's writing behind the Mobius, possibly
from the Koran. Can anyone identify it? [L] This scene is very similar
to the opera 1000 Airplanes on the Roof, written by someone or other
and music by Philip Glass. I don't remember the story very well, but
I do remember that a man is abducted and the aliens force a small sphere
up his nose. I think that the man realizes that the aliens see part
of themselves in him. This sounds similar to the lines from page 13:
"Look. We are you. Try to remember." Anyway, the first time I read this,
I was reminded strongly of the opera. [goofy]
o [page 14] [panel 3] "My name's Gallagher": Dane's using the
famous Gallagher brothers' family name. Liam and Noel are vocalist and
guitar player-songwriter for Oasis. [PV/JB]
o [page 15] [panel 4] Pamela Anderson, infamous fake buxom star
of Baywatch. Previously alluded to on 1.12, page 16, panel 1.
o [page 17] More new info about Dane's initation; and his first
call on Jack Frost.
o [page 18] [panel 3] How does he know ? Carbon monoxide's odourless
and colourless. [RJ] That's assuming it IS carbon monoxide... [L]
o [page 23] [panel 3] Number 23 again (see the discussion about
1.09's cover). This is page 23 too. [PV] 23 is a holy number to Discordians
(See Principia Discordia, pg.16), and also appears constantly in Robert
Anton Wilson's fiction and nonfiction. [BSI] panel 4: Tesco is a chain
of supermarkets. [PV]
o [note] Dane's story continues in 1.17. [JB]
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