The Prisoner "The Uncertainty Machine" Part 2 The Prisoner: The Uncertainty Machine #2 Titan Comics Writer: Peter Milligan Original plot: David Leach Artist: Colin Lorimer Colorist: Joana Lafuente Letter: Simon Bowland Cover: Colin Lorimer June 2018

Breen finds he has some familiar company in the Village.

Characters appearing or mentioned in this issue

Agent Breen (Number 6)

Emil (Agent Breen's boyhood dog, deceased; seen in Breen's memory only)

Simon Maggs (mentioned only)

Mr. Breen (Agent Breen's father; seen in Breen's memory only)

Number 2

Village judge

Number 9 (Carey)

Section (aka Number 23)

Village guards

Section's nanny (mentioned only)

Routemaster conductor

Routemaster driver

Rovers 

Didja Know?

The Titan Comics version of The Prisoner is a comic book mini-series reimagining of the classic 1967 TV series of the same name.

In a brief commentary on this issue provided by writer Peter Milligan on Newsarama, he states that the issue is titled "Dead Dogs Don't Dance" (due to events and a line of dialog in the issue). But the issues of this mini-series did not have individual titles as published. I'm curious now what the titles of the other issues were!

Didja Notice?

Page 1 reveals that the last name of Breen's friend Simon from "The Uncertainty Machine" Part 1 is Maggs.

Number 2 wears a Village penny-farthing badge that has no number on it. He is the only Village person seen to wear a badge at all in this mini-series.

In this issue, the Village judge erroneously refers to Number 6 as Number 2! This error was corrected in the TBP collection published a few months later.

On page 5, Breen reflects that he suddenly feels like an actor, repeating lines said by another man. This is likely a nod to similar lines spoken by actor Patrick McGoohan as Number 6 in the 1967 TV series.

On page 9, Breen again mentions 1963 spy novel by British author John le Carré, The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, as he did in "The Uncertainty Machine" Part 1.

On page 9, panel 2 of this issue, Section is erroneously shown speaking Breen's line, "Either way I'll still be known as a traitor." This was also corrected TBP collection.

On page 10, Section is seen to be Number 23 in the Village and he tells Breen he was grabbed as he was leaving the Army and Navy Club.

Breen is told that a tracking device has been implanted near his rib cage and that if he tries to dig it out, a small explosion will trigger a fatal heart attack.

On page 11, Breen looks up at the night sky and from the position of the stars he knows he's in the northern hemisphere. The lack of light pollution also tells him the Village is some ways out from any city.

    On pages 12 and 13, Breen detects a Yorkshire accent on one of the guards and lulls the man into a bit of sympathy by claiming his father was also from Yorkshire, "Skipton born and bred." Skipton is a town in the historic English county of Yorkshire.

    After knocking out the guards, Breen reflects on how his father was actually "a South London borstal boy born with bastardry in his blood." Borstals were youth detention centers run by the British prison service intended to reform youths sentenced for crimes. Borstals were abolished in 1982.

Page 13 shows that key cards are needed to enter Village domiciles. In the original TV series, the doors of the domiciles would just swing open automatically for the tenant or for Village officials.

Page 16 shows that the Village uses old London Transport Routemaster buses for deliveries. These are the famous double-decker buses known in London since 1956 and mostly retired in 2005. The bus even has a conductor to take tickets! He and the driver both have what appears to be the logo of London Underground on their caps.

The bus Breen, Carey, and Section commandeer from the Village is bus #621.

Just as Breen, Carey, and Section think they've successfully fled the Village in the stolen bus, a pack of about six Rovers is on their tail.

On page 19, a Rover flings itself into the back of the fleeing bus and breaks the rear window, then begins oozing into the bus's passenger compartment.