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Comic Book Review


Book Cover

The Prisoner #4

 

Writer: Peter Milligan
Artist: Colin Lorimer
Colourist: Joana Lafuente
Publisher: Titan Comics
RRP: UK £2.65, US $3.99
Age: 17+
32 pages
Publication Date: 01 August 2018


If Breen is Number Six and Carey is the new Number Two, then who is Number One? Number Six has followed a Rover back to its underwater lair and made his way inside the control centre of the Village. There the ex-MI5 agent found files containing information about himself and an intriguing message that read, “Be Seeing You…” Hearing a gunshot, Breen discovers that Carey has killed Number Two and taken his place. Number Six finally confronts Number One, the mysterious controller of the Village – but will the information he uncovers be worth the price demanded? Now read the mind-bending conclusion…

Recalling the head-scratching finale of the cult television programme, Number Six gets back to London surprisingly easily in this concluding issue of the comic-book sequel. However, is he really a free man? Fans of The Prisoner may be able to guess the answer to that… Offering an explanation for the peculiar events of the episode Fall Out, it is suggested that the Village is not so much a place as a state of mind – and how can you escape from that?

Echoing the look of the original series, the prisoner drives home in the same make of car as his predecessor, the distinctive Lotus Seven (but without the private plate KAR 120C). However, a pair of bowler-hatted, umbrella-wielding guards bring to mind another iconic Sixties show, The Avengers.

Commendably, writer Peter Milligan (expanding upon an original plot by editor David Leach) takes the bold step of actually revealing who (or what) Number One is. This formidable intelligence cleverly manages to manipulate several major characters into doing exactly what the Village wants them to do, even as those characters believe that they are acting upon their own free will.

The ending is rather abrupt, and Breen’s boss Section proves to be something of a blabbermouth considering he’s the head of a British Secret Service department, but otherwise this is a highly effective conclusion to the comic book and a satisfying coda to the classic series.

8

Richard McGinlay

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