Review of
The
Prisoner Book B: By Hook or By Crook, by Dean Motter, Mark Askwith and David Hornung
Five out of five
stars
Continuation of the cult
classic TV show
Even though only seventeen episodes were filmed,
the British TV series “The Prisoner” has maintained a significant place in the
history of television. It starred Patrick McGoohan as a British agent that abruptly resigns his
position. In response, his former handlers drug him and put him in what is called
“The Village.” He is prevented from ever leaving the village, no matter how
hard he tries. Their goal is to find out why he quit and to prevent him from exposing
any state secrets without having to kill him. The series has maintained a major cult
following, the best way to describe it is to call it a social science fiction/fantasy.
This comic is a continuation of that story. In
this case, the newest resident is a woman that is trying to find herself, to
use a phrase common to pop psychology. She was sailing alone in the ocean when
she suddenly appeared in the village, after having placed her daughter in
boarding school and saying goodbye to her husband.
She has a bearded mentor of sorts in the
village, the previous main character known as number six is referenced in several
ways, along with a significant amount of ambiguity. Readers need to have some
familiarity with the television series in order to understand the fundamental
premises of the comic.
In the manner of the series, the circumstances
are only barely explained and then only in sometimes misleading and ambiguous
forms. It is a good basis for a story that keeps the reader thinking and
speculating about what is really happening.