The Invisibles #25: 'And a Half Dozen of the Other'
This issue baffled me on the first read through, a seemingly random piece of 70s pastiche tacked onto the end of an otherwise tightly structured volume, and things didn't become any clearer as we moved into Volume II. I had pretty much forgot about it when I reached Volume III, which picks up right at the end of this issue. It's odd to tease a story that won't continue for another 22 issues, but looking at it now, this reads as a great segue into the more hyperpop world of Volume II....
I've taken down my posts on The Invisibles because they're all coming out in book form. The book, Our Sentence is Up, features revised and expanded versions of each blog post, covering every issue of The Invisibles, plus an extensive interview with Morrison himself. Visit your local comic store and order a copy now!
5 comments:
The name "Mr. Six" and the title of this issue always put me in mind of The Prisoner. At one point Patrick McGoohan speculated about a possible second series of that show, set after his character's escape from the Village, in which he would travel the world freely only to find out that the Village is everywhere -- the "global village" if you will -- and the process of escaping it to live as a free man never ends. That message clearly fits right in with The Invisibles and this particular issue suggests what that hypothetical series could have been like.
Of course that's not the only British tv show from the Sixties that comes to mind. Dig these groovy photos of the original Mr. Six himself!
That groovy pad site is great, I didn't realize that Wyngarde was also the inspiration for Mastermind's false identity during the Dark Phoenix Saga, but considering he's got the same name, it makes sense. Very cool.
And, The Prisoner is definitely one of the most Invisibles shows out there. I watched it after reading Kissing Mister Quimper, where King Mob compares the ending to the last episode. What a crazy, great series.
As long as I'm digging up links, here's one on the episode of The Avengers with Wyngarde as the head of the Hellfire Club and Emma Peel as the Black Queen. And just to tie it all together, Wyngarde also played Number Two in one of the very best episodes of The Prisoner...
Harper is a "false" personality - the original Invisible is "Eric". But Harper has become aware of this and prefers himself as Harper. This all comes out when Six goes to de-program Flint and Harper in Vol 3.
And the Village is expanded to take in the whole world in the episode 'Many Happy Returns' - this point is reinforced a number of times, I think, especially at the end of the final episode. (McGoohan may have made The Prisoner, but like many creators, I'm not sure he necessarily knew it best.)
Ah yeah, I've only read Volume III twice, and the first read was a blur, so I'm hazier on the details there than in the rest of the series.
And I've got to check out that episode of The Avengers. How's the series in general, worth watching? I do really enjoy that 60s vibe, with The Prisoner, the music and design alone made it worth it.
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