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

– Chapter 4 –
First published in 2000AD Prog 1453 Aug 24th 2005
Script by John Smith
Art by Paul Marshall
Colours by Chris Blythe

Page #1

Notice the meter and sound of the words used on this page. "Blitz-bomb [...] Thunder underground. [...] then skyfall" has a very satisfying ring to it. There's a strong visceral feel to this whole sequence which ties in with the extreme violence it depicts. The use of these devices emphasises the contrast which is about to come with the second page.

Panel #3
"dentist's drill" - arguably one of the most unpopular noises known to mankind. Notice how the rocky landscape of the next panel looks a little like a tooth being decimated by this instrument of torture.

Page #2

Panel #2
"Shit. This isn't skril." - The poetic meter of the previous page is subverted to almost comic effect.

Panel #3
Notice how the concept of hell, something which in our mythology usually burns, is juxtaposed with the visual opposite of extreme cold.

Page #3

"a viking's funeral. Full scorched-earth tactics. That foul library will be their funeral pyre"

A pyre is usually a sort of bonfire which is used for burning a body as part of a funeral. Like an early form of cremation.

In a Viking funeral this was done on a ship. The ship would be floated out to the sea as it burned.

According to Wikipedia: "Also it is a humorous term to refer to the destruction of any mechanical object, especially a vehicle, by fire".

Page #4

The three images which are placed over the backdrop of the icy hell in which Leatherjack stands are recurrent in this story. The apple on a child's study aid, splattered with blood, serves the symbolic purpose of reviving the idea of lost inocence. This works both in terms of the stark image of a kid's book covered in blood which implies violence. Secondly the symbol of the apple works to recall the biblical story of original sin, as I have explained earlier.

The biblical reference is further emphasised by the next image of a male and female dangling from a tree by their throats in a pose which recalls one of society's favoured methods of capital punishment, hanging. Here the image of a tree could symbolise the "tree of knowledge" which is used in the biblical story of original sin, being the tree from which the fruit is picked.

Furthermore it inverts the symbol of a "tree of life", giving us instead a 'tree of death'. The tree of life is an image which is also used in the biblical story of original sin but it is less well known. The story goes, that if you ate from the tree of life you could live forever as does God and his angels. Adam and Eve are banised from the garden because, having eaten from the tree of knowledge it may be the case that they'll next eat from the tree of life and become as God.

Neither of these ideas are unique to Christian mythology. They are supposed to by symbols which are deeply engrained in our collective subconscious.

This page also refers to the concept that "language is a virus". This quote is commonly attributed to William S Burrough's who once said: "Language is a virus from outer space". However, the idea which I feel is being reffered to here is the concept of a 'meme' which was famously put forward by the hugely respected writer and thinker Richard Dawkins. Mainly known for his popular science book "The Selfish Gene" Dawkins is an evolutionary theorist whose influence on modern science fiction, both subtle and explicit, is enormous. A 'meme' is a concept or idea which passes from mind to mind replicating itself like a gene does. Dawkins writes;

"Examples of memes are tunes, ideas, catch-phrases, clothes fashions, ways of making pots or of building arches. Just as genes propagate themselves in the gene pool by leaping from body to body via sperms or eggs, so memes propagate themselves in the meme pool by leaping from brain to brain via a process which, in the broad sense, can be called imitation. If a scientist hears, or reads about, a good idea, he passed it on to his colleagues and students. He mentions it in his articles and his lectures. If the idea catches on, it can be said to propagate itself, spreading from brain to brain"

- The Selfish Gene, Chapter 11.

Recently this idea has caught on in popualr culture, even being mentioned of "Big Brother's Big Brain". (Erm, so I'm told. I didn't watch it. Erm...)

We will return to this idea later in the story.

Page #5

Panel #1
It's commonly said that 'talking to yourself is the first sign of madness'.

Panel #2
Visually, notice how it is being strongly emphasised that Leatherjack is entirely alone. By surrounding him with a white background Smith and the artist Marshall are cleverly using the comic book medium. In many other pictoral media (TV, film, internet) whiteness would suggest brightness and a full energetic scenario whereas here it suggests a blank page. A sense of absence which cannot be put over as clearly in film or television.

Panel #3
Notice the continued juxtaposition of "ice and snow" with "the green house heat of skril".

Panel #4
Notice how Leatherjack's expectations of Qwish are an interesting predication of what actually occurs. There's about to be a revelation about the misunderstanding concerning the nature of their relationship, this panel sets it up nicely.

Panel #6
"No food. No Shelter. No sky or horizon" - and of course no memory. The Anglican Church recently defined hell as 'the absence of god'. Already there has been an implication that Leatherjack's situation is a form of hell. It's interesting to see how Leatherjack is being tortured by the absence of anything, other than his thoughts.

Panel #7
Leatherjack is of course set to find his life's direction. The isolation he's in allows him to find himself. It's interesting to note that this montage of pictures shows him initially facing the reader and then finaly walking away from us. Could this symbolise the fact that he is now starting to turn his back on who he first appeared to be?

Page #6

Panel #2
Notice how Qwish's uncomfortable protrusions extend outside the panel and off the page. This makes them uncomfortable even for the reader. I suspect this is done to comic effect but it does slightly force us to empathise with this unpleasant character.

Panel #3
Qwish's analysis of Leatherjack's actions reveal more about his character traits than than those of his footsoldier. Notice how there is a floating goldfish just in shot. Goldfish are thought to have short three second memories and are often seen as being unthinking instinctive animals. Leatherjack, being a type of fish could be being represented here. Floating in a sea of nothing, thinking little and not far from the angry active brain of Lord Qwish.

Panel #4
"Bonemasons" could be a tacit reference to the Freemasons, a private club reserved for men who like to dress up and carry out secret rituals. They are covered in more detail later. The episodic nature of the story requires them to be teased here.

Panel #5

The same goes for "Mr Whipcord". His name alone offers a tantilising glimpse at what will be instore in the next episode.

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These notes are written to be used as a companion to the story. They’ve been written entirely for fun and are published here to encourage you to either contribute to them or start your own annotations to one of your own favourite 2000AD texts. I’ve gone for the ‘explain everything’ approach.