I guess news of this broke a few months back, but I'll be darned if I saw it. Apparently at long last Titan Books is going to produce a new comic set in the mysterious setting established by Patrick McGoohan's well-remembered television series The Prisoner.
I was not privy to the series when it first appeared but saw some episodes here and there over the years. Several years ago now I relented and picked up the DVD set and watched it through. Enjoyed mightily, though the series has aged a bit over the decades. Still it has a fairy tale quality which elevates it above most the quixotic spy offerings of its day.
The property has been roiling around and once upon a time in the Bronze Age Marvel landed show and attempted to bring it to the comic book racks. To that end they enlisted Jack "King" Kirby, the mastermind behind their most successful properties and gave him the license to create his own peculiar rendition of "The Village" and his own version of Patrick McGoohan's "Number Six". But for whatever reason it was rejected and never properly finished. I've seen pages appear online and elsewhere for years now.
Marvel then turned to Steve Englehart to crank out another script which was given to the nimble artist Gil Kane. They too produced several pages but again the project was shelved and has been gathering dust all this time.
Now Titan has gathered these dusty images together and is offering an art book version of what was produced. How much sense it will make is suspect since even when seen in its totality the TV show often was mystifying. But personally I'd love to see this material in published form and assuming the asking price ain't too prohibitive I'll likely bite if and when the tome actually lands on the marketplace. Currently it seems scheduled for release sometime next summer but already the dates appear quite slippery.
Here's hoping this version of The Prisoner finally escapes at last.
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I first saw the Prisoner late at night on TV when I was a boy. Too young to really appreciate the material but old enough to realize it was something special. Before I went to college I'd bought the DVD and watched the episodes over and over. It's one of those rare shows that is so rich, you can always get more out of it.
ReplyDeleteIt's neat when a show connects the way this one seems to have done with you. I don't have that with this one, but plenty others.
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I think Kirby produced a full issue, which I believe was a fairly faithful adaptation of half of the first episode. His pencils beautifully captured the likeness of Patrick McGoohan that was somewhat blunted by the inks. He was obviously a fan of the show, based on the run of FF he did where Latveria doubled for the Village.
ReplyDeleteThat appears to be the case. One review I read said McGoohan looked like a Kirby character to start with.
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Wow! This is great news!! Another book to get!
ReplyDeleteGlad your pleased, but I wouldn't get in a rush. It's already been delayed once and with these things, it ain't over until the fat lady reads.
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Got to be honest and say that Kirby splash page is awful. Number Six's arms each look about six feet long. A shame to see how far his powers had declined.
ReplyDeleteI don't disagree, even with the Mike Royer inking this looks like lesser Kirby to me. But lesser Kirby is still better than most other artists at the top of their game.
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