Annotations for “Leatherjack” written by Nick Margerrison with contributions gratefully accepted.

– Chapter 5 –
First published in 2000AD Prog 1454 Aug 31st 2005
Script by John Smith
Art by Paul Marshall
Colours by Chris Blythe

Page #1

Panel #1

We get a better look at this building/space ship later. It appears to have been modelled on The Palace Of Versailles and it is later reffered to as "The Versailles". The Palace Of Versailles is synonymous with Loius XIV King of France and then his successors Louis XV and Louis XVI. It is also a symbol of the French Revolution. This reference ties in with the style in which its captain and crew choose to dress. More on that to follow.

Panel #2

This opening line from Mr Whipcord tacitly recalls a famous quote from The Merchant Of Venice by William Shakespeare. The quote is taken from a particularly eloquent speech which is given to the Jewish character Shylock, a complex character who is cast as the villain of the piece but is given a sympathetic light;

Hath not a Jew eyes? Hath not a Jew hands, organs
dimensions, senses, affections, passions; fed with
the same food, hurt with the same weapons, subject
to the same diseases, heal'd by the same means,
warm'd and cool'd by the same winter and summer
as a Christian is? If you prick us, do we not bleed?
If you tickle us, do we not laugh? If you poison us,
do we not die? And if you wrong us, shall we not revenge?

Act III, scene I

At the time in which this play was written anti-semitism was rife in Britain. In many ways the Jewish Shlock has all the trappings of a classic villain however this is subverted in the play as he makes a plea for redemption towards the end. This quote will hold resonance later on in Leatherjack.

Panel #3

"Formalin" - better known as Formaldehyde. A chemical solution used to preserve dead biological specimens.

Panel #4 I suspect that the hairstlye we see here is called a Queue. From Wikipedia.com; "In the second half of the 18th century, most men in Europe and North America wore their hair long and tied back into what we would now describe as a ponytail, although it was sometimes gathered into a silk bag rather than allowed to hang freely. At that time, it was commonly known by the French word for "tail", queue. It was a mandatory hairstyle for men in all European armies until the early 1800s, after most civilians had stopped wearing queues. The British Army was the first to dispense with it, and by the end of the Napoleonic Wars most armies had changed their regulations to make short hair compulsory."

Panel #5

This recalls the ending of the previous Chapter.

Panel #6

Interesting to note that this complex character's face is first presented to us through the reflection of a handheld double mirror. Partly it suggests that the character in question is "two faced". Secondly, to me, it suggests we might be being asked to empathise with him on a subtle level. The reflection points towards us and this implies it could be ours.

Also, notice his "beauty spot". It was believed that these spots were an indication of where the devil had touched you during your time in the womb. One on your face suggested devilish, sinful beauty. They were often applied as a make-up accessory.

Page #2

Panel #1

Notice how the narrative speaks directly to "you". Although it's clear that we're seeing Leatherjack's internal monologue here there is a suggestion that we are now being made to empathise with this character and their position.

Panel #2

Later on in the story we learn that this last statement is not true and that Leatherjack has actually landed on earth.

Panel #3 -#5

This next letter in the alphabet follows on the patters which was started in the previous chapter. It's interesting that no direct association is posed against this word, unlike the previous two and the one on the next page. There is a slight suggestion that Lord Qwish is soon to be playing a game of cat and mouse with our protagonist but it's a tenous one.

Perhaps this is because Leatherjack's forceful command "IGNORE IT" is successful despite his later admission that "YOU CAN'T IGNORE IT".

"Cataracted with ice" - a cataract is a thin lense which grows over the pupil of an eye, usually occurring in the elderly.

Panel #6 -#7

Notice the book continues to change its cover, as it does its name. Visually its made clear here that the book itself is actually speaking to Leatherjack's thoughts as his internal monologue is made into a dialogue.

The final image of the book with "ABC" emblazoned across it suggests that it is trying to tune into Leatherjack's thought processes.

Page #3

Panel #1

Here we see a memory of Leatherjack's which like some of the others never quite becomes clear. As with the other ones which never really solicit an explanation we see he's in a situation which is dramatic to say the least. This motif helps to re-enforce him as an exciting dynamic character.

Panels #2 - #6

The internal monologue which started on the previous page now gradually escalates into a spoken dialogue. Notice how the flashback images are pasted over the top of the calm contemplative images of Leatherjack as he sits in a self-comforting pose. This re-enforces the idea that he has no control over the return of these memories. They are not being pulled up by his mind from the past but dropped onto him by a force above him.

Pages #4-5

Panel #1

"Congratulate us over tea and biscuits" notice how every subtlety is driven towards re-enforcing the image of the spinsters as quaint English women.

Panel #2

The effect of placing this image in the top right hand corner of this double page spread is in my opinion significant. Firstly notice how the speech bubble is not allowed to dominate, almost all of it lying outside of the panel. This allows the image to escape a too specific time frame within the narrative context of the spread. This frees it up to be reffered back to as the reader continues through the motage of pictures most of which are mainly portrayed in dull colours. Once finished the page needs to be turned and only the most casual of people will be able do so without looking at the top right hand corner where your eyes naturally lie as one lifts the page. The chances of a second glance once the page is finished are in my opinion increased by the fact that most of the image is done in an eye catching red. This second glance tactic hammers home the threatening nature of the spinster and also re-enforces his position above the action.

Panel #3

Notice how this panel is placed directly below the surface of the attack taking place above us in both terms of page composition and story location.

It's possible that "the heart of the world hive" could lie at the centre of this particular planet if the tale subscribes to the hollow earth theory which is becoming more popular in recent 2000AD tales. It was recently featured in The Red Seas. This idea has also been recently popularised by wacky conspiracy theorist David Icke who in his 1999 book "The Biggest Secret" argues that the earth is in fact hollow and inside it there lives a colony of giant shape changing lizards from the lower fourth dimension.

The use of condensed type here in the communication released by "superpheromones" is interesting; "-TheEnemyIsHere-TheTimeIsNow-".

It's possible that here this device is used to give the impression of binary code, a language used by computer programmers which consists entirely of "0" and "1". Using a combination of these two numbers any message in the world can, in theory, be communicated. Largely iradicating spaces between the letters in these sentences provides us with an echo of how these machine coded number patterns read to the human eye.

Panel #4

"Firecrackers" is used here as an alliterative metaphor which gives us a good idea of the sounds which the occupants of the hive are making as they move about in panic.

Panel #5
Larvae - Pupa - Nymph - Imago: The different stages of insect development.
"Chitin" is the hard substance which composes the shells of crabs and insects.

Panel #6

It is interesting to note here the use of the word "propaganda". It's a word which carries a certain ammount of baggage in light of the story's central theme. For me it carries hints of facistic regimes like Nazi germany.

Panel #7

The use of the word "swarmtroopers" also to my mind has a Hitlarian tone to it, recalling as it does the infamous Stormtroopers of the Third Reich. This fractionally subverts our preconceptions towards these initially sympathetic characters. I believe we are being intentionally confronted with the fact that they are not human as a direct contrast to the events which are about to unfold on the next page.

Panel #8

Notice the dull tones in this final panel though, our sympathies are still being ultimately drawn upon as we witness their apparently pathetic defeat. Note how it acts as a counterbalance to the insert panel at the top of the page.

Page #6

Panel #1

The image presented here is one which runs throughout human cultural history; the philosopher in the cave. There are many examples of this archetype, Muslim theology presents Mohammed as being given his first revelations while he was fasting in a cave. Further back there was Plato's famous allegory of the cave in which there are people inside one who are watching a light show instead of enjoying life outside. They are under the impression that the story being told to them by this lightshow is reality as opposed to the truth which lies outside.

This latter example prefigures the revelations which Leatherjack is soon to be subjected to as his reality is shown to be nothing but an illusion.

I'd suggest that this allegory is very obviously recalled by the use of his gun as a light sitting opposite the entrance with him in the middle. Notice that by looking at the book he is turning away from the light and therefore slightly closer to the mouth of the cave and by extension the truth.

Throughout this page we see a three way conversation taking place, the captions seem to represent a voice which is intent on maintaining the status quo, Leatherjack's spoken words are his immediate thoughts and the white face type seems to be the voice of the book, or perhaps more accurately the voice inspired by the book. I'd argue that all three are actually Leatherjack's thoughts as we're clearly witnessing a moment of extreme mental anguish and conflict.

Panel #2

Oil and water of course are insoluble and therefore do not mix. Furthermore oil is a substance made of organic compounds, primarily with the leftover bits of dead biological lifeforms. Perhaps you could read the use of this liquid here as being a reference to the death which lies in Leatherjack's past. Something we are about to be reminded of in the next panel.

Panels #3, #4, #5

It's interesting to note the panel composition in this particular squence as Leatherjack tries to fight off these memories by throwing the book away. The impression we are given is of the sequential pattern of panel #3 and panel #5 being physically interrupted by this violent action. Notice also how once he rejects the idea of remembering the truth the mouth of the cave is no longer visible to us.

The first image here is one we have seen already and its resonance suggests it carries particular significance in Leatherjack's mind.

The image of the dog recalls that of the one on page three of this episode. Given that we're also being told again here that "d is for dog" it's safe to assume that it's the same dog as the one on page 3. Thus these flashback pictures are starting to relate to each other more now as we are given glimpses of watch Leatherjack wants to avoid recalling. It's amusing to note also that D is for death.

Panel #6

Notice how Leatherjack retreats further back into the cave and away from the exit. His body language suggesting that he is self comforting. The image of the cave is also further re-enforced by the fact that if we accept that he is walking away from the exit (and by extension 'enlightenment') the book is therefore closer to it and would lead him out of his mental trap.

Panel #7

It is worth noting now that there has been an almost complete about turn as regards how we see the protagonist here. Initially he was an unsympathetic violent assasin. Now he cuts a pathetic desperate figure left dangling on the edge of a full blown schitzophrenic breakdown. The cliffhanger leaves us wondering exactly what his true story is.