A New Number Six

The Prisoner: The Uncertainty Machine #1-2 (Titan, June 2018, $3.99)
When I first learned about this comic, published in part to help celebrate the TV show's 50th anniversary, I was excited—but expected it to be a straightforward tie-in comic or adaptation of the show. Imagine my surprise when I read the first two issues and realized it was not an adaptation, but an all-new story occurring in the Village—and in the present day! This comic is much better than I was expecting, and that's a pleasant surprise.



Written by Peter Milligan and drawn by Colin Lorimer, with #1's cover by Mike Allred, the series focuses on a new Number Six, an MI5 agent named Breen who is framed as a traitor and forced to go on the lam after a mission gone wrong in the Middle East. His partner Carey captured, Breen returns home to a new assignment: Go to the Village and "liquidate" Carey.



It's not entirely clear whether Breen's arrival at the Village is planned or otherwise, but there we find him, wearing the characteristic black jacket with white piping. #2 opens with another hallucinatory flashback—a Milligan hallmark—this time to childhood, as the Village's proprietors try to get to Breen's memories. He evades his escorts and finds Carey's cabin before attempting an escape. Rovers take on a double decker bus, and the issue ends with a bang after Breen eats some cheese with a strange texture.

I look forward to #3, and reading the comic inspired me to watch the first episode of the series again—TV at its finest.

Availability: A collection of this comic series will be published in October. An unpublished comic by Jack Kirby and Gil Kane (!!!) will be published next month. DC published a graphic novel titled Shattered Visage in 1991. You can also get the show on DVD.