A man is washed ashore the northeastern US, with a shotwound to his head. He doesn't remember who he is or what happened. He has forgotten who his family and friends are. When he starts looking for his identity, he discovers he has a lot of enemies, but is very good at fighting them off.

Some information here. Unfortunately, it looks like this hasn't been translated into english yet.

15 albums so far, each with 48 or more pages, watercolor painting, action-oriented mystery story, each album takes a new turn or reveals another secret. The team is Van Hamme (writer) who has already worked on the Thorgal series, and Vance (artist), a pseudonym.

So, is anybody interested in this series? In this case, I would discuss one album after the other as I lend them from the library. Feedback, please?

The plot sounds vaguely like that of The Bourne Identity (but then, I've haven't read the book or seen the movie, so...) Still, if there was an English translation, I'd be willing to pick it up and read XIII (Treize). So basically, I wouldn't mind finding out more about the series.

Excelsior!

The set-up is certainly a time-tested plot device, having been used in various books, movies & TV shows*. Be interesting to see what the writer does with it though.

* IIRC variations of it show up in The Bourne Identity, The Long Kiss Goodnight, John Doe, The Tick, heck, I'm even using it for a comic strip plot I'm working on.

Nitpick away.

Whoever said it was an original plot? In fact, I find it interesting to speculate and compare XIIIs problems with his amnesia compared to the "lessons learned" from other incarnations and how other authors dealt with the matter. I also recall - besides the John Doe series, which I liked - several SF stories, where amnesia was induced by medical means, and which focused less on the "conspiracy hunting the amnesiac" angle, but much more on the human angle: On the one hand, its kind of a blessing to start your life with a clean slate and forget everything you've done before. Its what many people would wish to do (if they could easily do it) on the spur of the moment when looking back at a lot of mistakes, having maneouvered themselves in tight corners etc.
OTOH, once you have lost your memory, you've also forgotten the reason you felt so horrible living with the memories. If you try and manage to uncover what you did before leading you to want amnesia, you can't get forget the re-aquired knowledge - you'll have to live once again with guilt etc. Its like innoncence: you'll only know you had it once you lost it; its impossible to know that you have it right now, because knowing about innocence means you know about the opposite, at which point part of the innocence is destroyed. (Like you won't know what cold is if you are living in a perpetually warm climate, or what day is if you've never seen night.)

And like I said, the visuals are nice - its less a comic than a graphic novel, if I understand the terminology right (here, comics with good artwork and stories for adults are called "Comic art" by the german publisher - yes, in english, not "Kunst" or similar. )

I'll start next week, then.

Whoever said it was an original plot? In fact, I find it interesting to speculate and compare XIIIs problems with his amnesia compared to the
"lessons learned" from other incarnations and how other authors dealt with the matter
That's why I said 'plot device' rather than 'cliché'. ;-)

The distinction between comic book & graphic novel is debatable. Generally if it looks like a magazine, usually with a staple holding it together, & sometimes printed on cheap paper as well, it's called a comic book. If it is bound like a book with a square spine, held together with glue & has a sturdy cover (stiff rather than flimsy) then it's usually called a graphic novel or a trade paperback.

Will Eisner coined the term graphic novel because he realized that the publisher wouldn't look at the story he had if he called it a comic book. (Literary snobbery. ;-)

Almost all european = francobelgian "comics" I know would fall under your graphic novel/trade paperback definition, even children's comics like Asterix and Lucky Luke. What's even more funny/strange is that my library - which divides comics into childrens and adults comics - has now suddenly a sub-category "Graphic novel" for adult comics (in english, yes), among other sub-categories like "SF", "Adventure" "Humor" etc. I'll have to ask their definition of it next time. I found Will Eisners "The Building" (English title, but german text) in that category.

I guess the german publishers coined the term of "Comic Art" for the same reason: to convince people who had experienced the comic war in the 50-70s and who thought comics were only Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck that there is quality stuff out there, too.

What's even more funny/strange is that my library - which divides comics into childrens and adults comics - has now suddenly a sub-category "Graphic novel" for adult comics (in english, yes), among other sub-categories like "SF", "Adventure" "Humor" etc
That is funny since comics can tell SF stories & adventure stories & humor stories. Comics is just a medium with which someone can tell a story.

Of course in the states the term Adult Comics makes people think of sex comics, rather than non-sexual stories meant for adults. (Not that sex immediately invalidates the possibility of an intelligent story, but it seems to be rare to combine the two.)

Perhaps the biggest irony to me is that it seems like a large number of books that appear on the bestseller lists are usually not as well written as the books aimed at children.

Like I said, I don't know what the definition for "Graphic Novel" is, but its a sub-category inside the comic (adult) category. XIII belongs in the "adventure" subcategory, "Thorgal" is fantasy, I think, "Garfield" is humor, etc.

In the central library in Munich, the children's section and adult section are seperated in different parts of the building, so the distinction between comics for children like Lucky Luke and Asterix and comic for adults like XIII, Thorgal etc. is important to know where to look. In the smaller branch libraries, often all comics are put together in one box.

Sex comics are called erotic comics - I think Barbarella is one, but I haven't read them, they're not my taste. I guess that the franco-belgian comics are less prudish about showing (half-)naked woman in the normal stories, if the story demands it (while the erotic comics concentrate on showing naked people etc.), but I don't know how much of that would be permissible/ a problem in US comics. XIII has several images of half-naked woman, as well as half-naked man, but without any overtones.

Perhaps the biggest irony to me is that it seems like a large number of books that appear on the bestseller lists are usually not as well written as the books aimed at children.

Do you mean comics now or real books? If the latter, I can only agree with you. Several of my favourite authors are considered only "Children/Juvenile" authors, but I prefer their works to average novels any day. But then, I'm not up to date on the bestseller lists, I pick and choose some authors I like.

Do you mean comics now or real books?
Well, I meant the boring, pictureless books*, but thinking about it there probably are some comics that are better written**. ;-)

* Typed with tongue firmly in cheek.

** Although direct comparisons might not be fair since most comic writers don't have to worry about writing descriptions and can be helped, or hindered, depending on the skill of the artist.

In truth I was thinking more of various bestsellers through the years that I didn't think were any good rather than whatever the heck is currently on the list. (Stuff that falls into whatever genre that Jackie Collins writes & some others.)

Sex comics are called erotic comics
Of course, some things can be erotic without showing sex or even nudity.

I haven't read Barbarella (or even seen the movie), but from what I've heard about it it apparently does have a story to go along with the nudity.

One thing, constanze, when I was commenting on the similarities with The Bourne Identity, I didn't mean it as a critique of the series. I mean, come on, comics in general are often sorely lacking in original plots. For that matter, if my criterion for reading a book was originality, I probably wouldn't be reading all that much. Especially comics. Just so you'll know, I meant no harm in my comment. And, yeah, I look forward to reading your comments on this title.

Excelsior!

Well they do say that there are only 8 basic plots in the world. ;-) (Although some playwright did come up with 37 dramatic situations. Can't remember his name or the URL to the site that posted the list.)

General comments: WARNING - MAJOR SPOILERS. This is in the nature of these albums: the story told to XIII in nr. 1 will be contradicted in major points in nr. 4; his history and name revealed in nr. 2 will be likewise refuted; his history revealed in nr. 6 will be changed in nr. 7, ammended in 10 and 11, etc... I'll try to point out what's important in nr. 1 and tell the contradiction in nr. 4, but I can't promise anything.

Since I'm working with the german translation, and I don't know which language - english or the original french, or maybe spanish, or.. - you'll be reading, I'll give the album nr., the french original title first and copyright year, in brackets the title in english as close as I can make it out, and the german translator (if translators change, stories can take a different direction.)

I'll use the shorthand TE? for a possible translation error.

I'll also use the comic's own convention of calling the man XIII despite possible names suggested at different times for him. Some of the people who become his new friends over the course of time also call him XIII (always written like that, never Treize/Thirteen), others stick with one of the names that have been found for him.

Okay, on to the nits (with a short summary for each album first).

1: Le jour du Soleil noir; 1984 (The day of the black sun, transl. Antoinette Gittinger)

XIII is washed on the beach of the Northeast US with a shot wound to the head. (Correct location unknown, but context makes northeast likely.) I'll call that the start date, since a real date is never given, only hinted at. The time frame seems to stay close to publication date, but XIII lives in a parallel history.
An old couple, the smiths, take him, and a retired doctor, martha, operates on him to get the bullet out. She also diagnoses his amnesia. Two thugs appear after some weeks and kill the smiths, but fail to kill XIII. In defending himself, he shows considerable ability. One of the thugs carried a photo for identification. It shows XIII, a blond woman, a lake and a mountain. On the back is the label of a photo shop in Easttown. (nice name). XIII goes there to find his identity. A cop and a reporter find him during his search and want him to get his suitcase out of a bank vault. Its full with dollar bills. XIII is chased again by killers and rescued by Col. Amos, who wants to solve the assassination of the US president three months earlier. XIII sees a film and recognizes himself, but can't believe he is a killer. He flees to Martha, but another killer awaits him there, too. He flees again, but Martha dies. He boards a train to find the blond woman.

Names: first Alan Smith (after the dead son of the old couple), then Jake Shelton (the cop calls him that, but its a cover name) and Capt. Steve Rowland (husband of the blond woman, Kim Rowland, which is missing.)

Hits: since XIII survived a direct hit to the head and lost his personal memory, I think it would be interesting to count what other injuries he takes in the course of the comics.
On page 14, the killer hits him with a stone on the side of the head - XIII is dazed for a short time and bleeding slightly. He is hit in the face two times on page 39. He jumps out of a 3rd storey window on p. 43 with no ill effects. He is shot in the left shoulder on p. 46.

On p. 1, when he is found, his hair and beard are black. After he has recovered on p. 8 ff, his hair is a very light brown color (except for the special white streak). In following albums, his hair color changes from dark brown to black.

TE? On p. 4, we see his nr. on the left collarbone. On p.7 and in all following texts, this mark is called a tatoo. But it doesn't look like a tatoo; it looks like a branding.

On p. 10, Martha explains in detail the reason for his amnesia. Since part of it is organic damage, its unlikely he will ever get his full memory back. Part of it seems to be psychological, but what we will learn in later albums about his possible histori(es) makes me believe that XIII decided subconciously to start a new life and forget everything (I'll later explain why I think he doesn't really want to remember).

On p. 11, the killers turn up, although XIII hasn't done any inquiries and nobody told anybody about it. How do they know XIII is still alive? (Important in connection with later relevations).

Interesting on p. 15, XIII cries about the Smith's death. This shows he isn't so coldblooded as he appears to be.

TE? On p. 25, XIII finds a letter from Kim to Jake, telling him "I'll meet you at the indian". That text will sound different in album 2. It also mentions "La Mangouste". I had to look it up: its a term for a mongoose, like Rikki-Tikki-Tavi from the Jungle Book.

The cop and reporter are after "Jack Sheltons" suitcase full of money. How do they know about it?

Watch Col. Amos on p. 39: he is missing his left arm. (I missed it during the first reading).

On p.39/40, the assassination of the Pres. William Sheridan, the 42nd Pres., has quite a number of parallels to Kennedy's assassination. At first, I thougt it was supposed to be Kennedy, but the time frame doesn't fit, and Kennedy is mentioned later. That Sheridan is the 42nd gives us a rough idea that some years earlier history was changed - some previous pres. must've run shorter or no second term, so Sheridan could become nr. 42, and the possible year of middle 80s should be calculated to some degree.

Watch the movie still on p. 41, when XIII recognizes himself. The next time we see that close-up, it looks different (and I wouldn't have recognized XIII from that picture.)

on p. 44, XIII sees a small bald man and calls him "La Mangouste?", at which Mangouste replies that he really lost his memory. How does XIII suspect that this killer isn't another nameless killer, but the mangouste mentioned in Kims letter? No picture of him has been shown so far, and I wouldn't connect a mongoose to a bald guy. (Unless there's a second-level language pun involved I didn't get - who knows french?)

on p. 46 mangouste flees rather than take XIII on alone himself armed with a gun.

We also see for the first of many times the incredible luck XIII has to escape death: on p. 11, he escapes bullets, on p. 27 he avoids getting shot with a lucky guess, on p. 34 he escapes another attempt with a lot of luck, on p. 36, col. amos men shoot his killers instead of them killing him, and on p. 45 he escapes once again bullets through marthas sacrifice and his dexterity.

KAM,

Well they do say that there are only 8 basic plots in the world. ;-) (Although some playwright did come up with 37 dramatic situations. Can't remember his name or the URL to the site that posted the list.)

here are the 7 or 69, or 1 basic plots discussed.

...(Stuff that falls into whatever genre that Jackie Collins writes & some others.) ...

Okay, who's Jackie Collins, and what has she written? (I thought she was a Dallas/Denver actress?)

This is the same problem I have with the dialogue in Star Trek IV, when Spock and Kirk talk about Susann and Robbins, calling them the giants. I've never heard about these authors, or read by them, so I don't know: are they good authors, and the remark is sincere, or are they bad authors (and I haven't heard of them for this reason), and Spock is sarcastic? (Interesting that a Vulcan knows about earth literature of this period, anyway. Okay, he has a human mother, but has no literature happened in the centuries between?)

The only bad author I know from hearsay is Rosemary Pilcher, a synonym for dreary heart-smarmy stories over here.

Album 2, La ou va L'Indien, 1985 (where the Indian goes, Transl. A. Gittinger).

The first page is a summary of album 1. XIII travels to an army base, where he is identified as Capt. Steve Rowland with his fingerprints and meets General Carrington and the good-looking tough Lieutennent Jones. XIII travels to Southbourg, where the family of Rowland lives: the crippeld father and his young, attractive nurse-wife, his brother who manages the estate, and his wife and son. The Rowlands own the small town and large estate, so there's trouble. XIII doesn't feel welcome with his family and wants to look for his wife Kim, using the photo as clue. He finds an indian in the background using close-up, and with the search of his cousin - his uncles son - he finds the kellownee lake is the right one. After Nurse Felicity and Uncle Matt try to frame XIII for murder of his father, XIII can barely escape with Gen. Carringtons help and travel to the lake. He meets Kim, discovers she has Nr. XVII on her collarbone, learns that there is sth. big afoot, but she vanishes, and XIII is arrested and sentenced to mental prison for the murder of his father and uncle. He declares "I am not Steve Rowland" before being carted off for life.

Hits & Misses: He is choked with a chain on p. 27/28 - but avoids nails through his hands. He gets hit on his head on p. 33 and recovers quickly without any ill effects. (He must have a hardhat instead of a skull!) He is once again avoided by all bullets on p. 37/38/39.

On p. 48 of album 1, XIII boarded a train with a brown suit. Apparentely he took some money from Marthas house as well, since he now wears a brown anorak, black sweater and yellow jeans.

TE? On p. 8, SPADS is explained as Special destroying sections. Later it will be Special assault and destroying sections. (SPADS will be important later).

On p. 5/6, XIII defends himself against 7 soldiers. Not bad. But on p. 27, he looses against 4 or 5 backwald hicks. (I guess the soldiers waited in line, and didn't attack cowardly from behind like the hicks. )

On p. 11-13, Carrington orders Jones to attack XIII - to test his reflexes? To gain his trust? A strange method, but for some reason it works. On p. 33, he calls Carrington for help.

TE? On p. 26, XIII discovers the hut on the lake because its "where the indian goes" as Kim wrote in her letter to him. In album 1, the text was different. And I can't recognize any "painting on the canue" to recognize the Indian as pawnee, as joe Kendal claims to be able to.

The only source for his claim to be not Steve Rowland is Kim. So despite his frustration and her number, XIII believes her. (He may also not want to be Steve Rowland because of his reception in the family).

TE? On p. 22, XIII says he doesn't feel anything about coming home, and "that the only person I wanted to find is not here". He leaves the room, and his uncle Matt explains why his wife isn't there. I wonder if XIII was referring to his wife - she was reported missing in Easttown in album 1, after all - or if he had hoped to find himself: memories being triggered, a feeling of being welcome.

In album 1, XIII flees from Col. Amos. Here, on p. 31, he asks the Col. to take him away, so this game of hide-and-seek would stop. Somehow, he seems to trust Amos to a degree to make this offer. He trusts neither Carrington nor Amos enough to take them to kellownee lake at this point, but this will change later.

Note the situation of the murder on p. 35/36: the only person who knows what really happened is Felicity (and the reader). XIII can't say what happened, since he's out cold and didn't even see who hit him. This is important later, when the trial is changed.

On page 14, the killer hits him with a stone on the side of the head - XIII is dazed for a short time and bleeding slightly. - constanze

You mean that blow on the head didn't give him back his memories!? *Gasp* (It's an old Hollywood cliche: Someone gets a bump on the head and loses their memory, another bomped on the noggins will restore those memories. Wouldn't work in real life, though.)

Okay, who's Jackie Collins, and what has she written? - constanze

She's the author of "trashy" romance novels such as Hollywood Wives, Sinners, Chances, Hollywood Kids, Hollywood Divorces and The B1tch.

(I thought she was a Dallas/Denver actress?) - constanze

That's Joan Collins. She also appeared as Edith Keeler in the original TREK ep, "The City On the Edge of Forever". I think, however, they are related.

This is the same problem I have with the dialogue in Star Trek IV, when Spock and Kirk talk about Susann and Robbins, calling them the giants. - constanze

They're pretty much in the same vein as Jackie Collins, if I'm not mistaken.

I've never heard about these authors, or read by them, so I don't know: are they good authors, and the remark is sincere, or are they bad authors (and I haven't heard of them for this reason), and Spock is sarcastic? - constanze

It's a Nick Meyers line, and it's meant to be very sarcastic.

(Interesting that a Vulcan knows about earth literature of this period, anyway. Okay, he has a human mother, but has no literature happened in the centuries between?) - constanze

Yeah, the line kinda bothered me, too. It might have been a little better had someone like Norman Mailer been cited. But then, Meyers wouldn't have been able to sneak in that snarky remark about Robbins and Susann.

Excelsior!

Benn,

You mean that blow on the head didn't give him back his memories!? *Gasp* (It's an old Hollywood cliche: Someone gets a bump on the head and loses their memory, another bomped on the noggins will restore those memories. Wouldn't work in real life, though.)

Yes, as Cecil pointed out:

---

Quote:

Memory loss due to a bonk on the head, stroke, alcoholism, etc, is considered "organic"--there's some definite physical cause. Usually that cause involves brain damage; usually the damage and the memory loss are both permanent. (In such a case another bonk will probably just make things worse.)

---

Benn,

...It might have been a little better had someone like Norman Mailer been cited....

Okay, you lost me again. Who's Norman Mailer? I thought he was a painter of the rural america with these farm people who look kinda strange, or am I mixing names again? (I have a terrible memory for details - bad for a nitpicker.)

Further comments on album 1:

I have the strong feeling that 1 was written without any backstory, as test balloon, and later retroconned. The clues and behaviour of several characters in 1 don't make any sense with regard to what we later learn, esp. in album 4.

- On p. 48, XIII introduces himself to the vagrant as "Thirteen", not "XIII". I think this is the first and last time he is called that way, from henceforth its "XIII".

- Good thing XIII isn't superstitous, considering what he will be through in the next 15 albums. He does seem to be an extraordinary kind of magnet for fate, nevertheless: He has an incredible luck escaping sure death and unlikely situations, but he also has terrible luck with his personal history, and many people he gets to know die.

- Pay attention to the redhead on p.21-23: she will turn out to be related to a major character introduced in album 4.

- remember the suitcase spewing gas when opened on p. 29/30: since XIII takes it when leaving the bank, it ends up with col. amos, who keeps it, so it can turn up again later.

- The timeframe sketched out will be a problem with regards to album 4: on p. 8, XIII says "the face I'm seeing in the mirror for the last two months belongs to a stranger" - that's the time he spent at the smiths after startdate recuperating after the head wound. Shortly after that conversation, he travels to easttown. When he meets col. amos, the col. says on p. 39 (after XIII again states that his head wound occured 2 months ago) that the film was recorded "3 months and 17 days ago". In view of what will be told in album 4, I don't think that would work.
Its also strange that the suitcase with the money is still in the bank vault after 2 months. The reason why the cop wants the redhead to give XIII the info about Jake Sheltons home never becomes clear, either: The house has already been searched - but not careful enough to find the bank key! - , and the cop threatens XIII at his hotel, not the house. The only reason for XIII to go to the house is to get the key and the message. But if the cop searched the house, how did he fail to find that? (Answer: if the cop already had the key, XIII wouldn't have found the message or the name Kim Rowland, and it would have been a short story.)

- on p.40, col. amos explains that "a romantic journalist called the day [of the assassination] the day of the black sun, and its been called that name ever since". I have a hard time imaging a romantic or rather melodramatic name like that catching on, when comparing it to the Kennedy assassination, which didn't get a moniker like that.

album 2:

- on p. 10, Jones "avoids XIII feeling lonely" (nice way of putting it). Since he has no memory, he doesn't seem to have a problem with it. I wonder if this is the beginning of the wonderful friendship between them, or if XIII becomes attached to her because of what she does for him in album 3. On p. 11, Carrington mentions the "tatoo" on XIII shoulder, and XIII answers "As I can see, Lt. Jones didn't leave any gaps in her report". This indicates that he believes one of the reasons that Jones warmed his bed the night before was to conduct a research on him. However, on p. 7, Carrington mentions that a military doctor examined XIII regarding his amnesia (and somebody at some point took his fingerprints). Wouldn't that examination include stripping bare for telltale marks and illnesses, and wouldn't the General know about the tatoo from that source, rather than from Jones?

- Also on p.7, Carrington says that the doctor confirms total amnesia about everything prior to three months. This is counted from startdate, so XIII spent almost one month between album 1 and 2. Probably traveling and finding out where to look for Capt. Rowland in the first place.

- On p. 17, after XIII has shown some affection for Jones (or has been trying a different approach?), he asks her first name. Her answer "Lieutent" (sp?). This will be some kind of running gag - even in album 15, she has no known first name (maybe its angus or sth. equally akward - cookie for the person who gets the reference.)

- Reb on p. 19 looks a little bit like Carrington, doesn't he? For some reason, while the ugly people all look different, beautiful people look similar in the albums - the man hard-jawed like XIII, the older man white-haird like Carrington. Not that I mind...

- On p. 11, we see the first example of XIIIs dry wit (Carrington: "I'd give one of my stars to know how you got out of that chopper and what you did those last 2 years" XIII: "I would, too, General. After all, they are your stars."). This dry humor will return intermittently in the future albums (album 5 has a very funny scene in the middle).

Another hint for the diverted timeline: Carrington tells XIII in album 2, p.11 "... what you did the last two years", and on p.8, when telling Steve Rowlands history "the chopper which was supposed to bring him and his man back exploded". So in this universe the "Asian war" which I presume is Vietnam continued till 2 years before start date. Can someone who knows more details about US presidents than I work out if Sheridan could've been 42nd president already? Does this mean its beginning of the 80s, rather than middle? (And a minor contradiction between the way its told in album 13: here the chopper exploded when bringing Rowland and his men back.).

Pay attention to the "proof" for XIIIs identity on p. 9, the fingerprints. Objectivly, there's a big problem with that evidence being presented by General Carrington. Can you guess? (Its no wonder that XIII, despite all his mistrust, doesn't think of that problem: he is desperate to find his identity, after all, and wants to believe as long as its a good guy. He doesn't want to believe he is a killer.)

Okay, you lost me again. Who's Norman Mailer? I thought he was a painter of the rural america with these farm people who look kinda strange, or am I mixing names again? - constanze

I think you're thinking of Normana Rockwell. Mailer wrote such books as The Executioner's Song and the The Naked and the Dead. You've seen M*A*S*H, right? Remember the ep where MacArthur is coming to the camp? Frank is burning some books, right? One of them is a Norman Mailer book. Frank's reason for wanting it burned? "It's got that word in it." In other words, at one time, Mailer was known to be a bit risque in his use of language. I would also suspect that he has a better chance of being remembered in the 23rd Century than Harold Robbins or Jacqueline Susann. Hope that clarifies it.

- On p. 48, XIII introduces himself to the vagrant as "Thirteen", not "XIII". - constanze

But orally, wouldn't it sound the same? I mean I don't think I could hear a difference between "Thirteen" and "XIII". Of course, I do understand that you are refering to how it is written. But still, orally, it wouldn't make a difference.

Her answer "Lieutent" (sp?). - constanze

Reminds me of the American TV detective, Columbo. His first name was never revealed. There was even one ep where he also gave his first name as "Lieutenant".

Can someone who knows more details about US presidents than I work out if Sheridan could've been 42nd president already? -constanze

Actually, if we're talking about the 42^nd President of this country, then the proper timeline is in the '90s. Our 42^nd President was William Jefferson Clinton. Unless Reagan had half a term in office and then Bush the First had one and a half terms (finishing out Reagan's first term), there's no other way I can think of that the 42^nd President of the United States could have had his term in the '80s.

Excelsior!

Benn,

I think you're thinking of Normana Rockwell

Yes, that must be him.

...Frank is burning some books, right? One of them is a Norman Mailer book. Frank's reason for wanting it burned? "It's got that word in it."

Interesting. While I didn't read or remember Norman Mailer's name, the titles of the books you cited sounded familiar and more renowned than Susann and Robbins. Thanks for clearing it up.

Actually, if we're talking about the 42nd President of this country, then the proper timeline is in the '90s.

Well yes, proper timeline. But what I meant was: wasn't Reagan president for quite a long time? So what if in the alternative history Reagan and Bush sr. only served one term each, and maybe the previous presidents also, would the 80s then fit?

...But still, orally, it wouldn't make a difference.

Well, yes, that's why I think it's so funny that XIII as form of adress is never written as it would be spoken - Thirteen -, but like the mark on his shoulder, which is also the logo mark on the cover page of the series. Everything else in the speech bubbles is written longhand, even Lieutantent and Captain aren't abbreviated, but written longhand.

Yeah, if Reagan served one term, it could happen in the '80s. Late '80s. But not in '84. (Wonder if the start year of 1984 is meant in any way to be an Orwellian reference?) For Sheridan to have been the 42^nd President in 1984, there would have to be some very drastic changes in our Presidential history. (Nixon would have to be a one termer. Take out one of FDR's term, etc.) The differences between XIII's timeline and our own would have to go back quite a long way.

I think you're thinking of Normana Rockwell - me

Dagnabbit! I thought I took that extra "a" out. It should be Norman Rockwell! We regret the error.

Excelsior!

And I like Columbo - his first name-puzzle was not only fun, but later a phony first name was a red herring in a trivia book (see more here

But I was thinking of another TV series character who didn't reveal his first name.

(Wonder if the start year of 1984 is meant in any way to be an Orwellian reference?)

The year 1984 is never officially mentioned, its the copyright year, and I have the feeling the creators meant to have the comic take place in the "now", not in the future. But maybe I'm wrong - reading it from todays POV -, and for readers in the mid-80s, the 42nd president was in the future. In this case, the comic would be a story of warning: watch what could happen!

The differences between XIII's timeline and our own would have to go back quite a long way.

I don't know how long the difference goes back - later, several presidents are mentioned by name. Its also interesting that time in XIIIs universe seems to run quicker, judging by later events (since the production of one album is at least one year, often more, but the time passing in the comic may be only months - from album 1 to album 13, only 3 years comic time have passed, but a lot happened in the real world which made its way into the comicverse, too.

On p. 17, after XIII has shown some affection for Jones (or has been trying a different approach?), he asks her first name. Her answer "Lieutent" (sp?). This will be some kind of running gag - even in album 15, she has no known first name (maybe its angus or sth. equally akward - cookie for the person who gets the reference.)

Obviously you are talking about the field agent for the Phoenix Foundation named after his "Arthurian" ancestor Angus M'Iver.

Reb on p. 19 looks a little bit like Carrington, doesn't he? For some reason, while the ugly people all look different, beautiful people look similar in the albums - the man hard-jawed like XIII, the older man white-haird like Carrington. Not that I mind...

Very similar to the follwing:

Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way. Leo Tolstoy (1828 - 1910), Anna Karenina, Chapter 1, first line

I found a website that discusses XIII at http://www.zilverendolfijn.nl/zz/ss/1/EN/XIII/c/zd.html

Unfortunately, it's in German (or maybe Dutch), and Babelfish barely translates half the words, and butchers most of those. The graphics of the covers are interesting, though.

The sixth issue is "Le Dossier Jason Fly" Although English has imported the word dossier in a somewhat more restricted meaning, it can also be translated "identity." Jason Bourne and Jason Fly may be more closely related than just the coincidence of their earliest memories. Does anyone know if Robert Ludlum and Jean van Hamme know one another?

If the IMDB's plot summary is to be believed, the 1988 TV move was a lot closer to XII than to the book or the more recent theatrical-release movie.

--------

While searching for the above-referenced site, I discovered that a computer game was released last year that was based on the first five volumes. I don't care for first-person-shooter games myself, but I'm passing on the information in case anyone else does.

Cookie for TomM!

The sixth issue is "Le Dossier Jason Fly" Although English has imported the word dossier in a somewhat more restricted meaning, it can also be translated "identity." ...

In that case, the reference is to a dossier, or file, of Jason Fly, however. All french titles so far refer to sentence in the comic itself, and the Jason Fly dossier/file is shown promiently. But it's interesting; I only knew the meaning of file.

Since I haven't seen the Bourne identity, or read the book, and only recently discovered the XIII comic series, I can't judge (I've only heard that Franka Potente from "Running Lola" had a major part in the Bourne movie, and some of the young stars, and that involved a lot of fighting and action scenes.

But if the plot summary is right, the important points have been changed: France/Europe instead of the US, terrorist instead of president assassin, ...

I've now found a way to figure out the date.

In album 6/7 we learn that "Jason Fly"s father died when Jason was 11, on the 3rd of August, to be exact, and that XIIIs visit to Greenfalls takes place 19yrs and 6 months later.

In album 10, we see a family tree giving birth dates for the "Fly" clan, and Jason born at 1961.

So 1961+11= Aug. 1972, + 19 yrs. 6m= Feb. 1991.

Since its winter in album 6/7, I'll guess that the events from album 1 to 5 spanned almost a year and that startdate was therefore autumn 1990.

This means not only that the series started in the future (and was overtaken by reality ), but that history diverged earlier: 1988, 2 years before, the "Asian war" was stilling going on. (I'll guess it ended shortly after Steve Rowlands chopper exploded, since it's referenced always in the past tense. And it's always "The Asian War", singular, not plural. It's possible, of course, that there were armistices in between, and not continous fighting till 1988.)

A Vietnam war that didn't end in the 70s, but continued, would certainly have influenced the social and political climate in the US, and altered the presidency as well. For some reason, there seems to be no draft or big loss of life in the further years it dragged on - strange considering the losses and impact on our world.

Also interesting: The collapse of the Soviet Union happened after 1990 in comicverse, because in album 5, Moskau and Peking are still considered enemies. In a later album however the fall of Russia is mentioned, so it happened somewhere in between.

An English translation of the first 3 volumes was published starting in 1989 as Code XIII by Comcat Comics (an imprint of Catalan Communications which went out of business in 1993).

The English volume titles are The Day of the Black Sun, Where the Indian Walks & All the Tears of Hell

Jackie & Joan Collins are sisters. I think Jackie had a brief career as an actress in the '60s before becoming a successful writer. Joan tried writing in the '90s, but IIRC was so unsuccessful that there was a lawsuit between her & the publisher.

Jaqueline Susann wrote 3, I think, 'trashy' novels that were very popular & she was a popular guest on talk shows until she died. The Valley Of The Dolls & The Love Machine are the only 2 titles I can remember. I believe Bette Midler played her in a biopic called Isn't She Great or something like that.

Harold Robbins wrote a large number of novels, The Betsy, The Carpetbaggers, more that I can't remember. He did have a reputation for fictionalizing real life stories.

I'd seen the Rosemary Pilcher name, but hadn't heard anything about her.

constanze - a painter of the rural america with these farm people who look kinda strange
That sounds more like American Gothic by Grant Wood.

Benn - I think you're thinking of Norman Rockwell.
While Norman Rockwell did do rural scenes he also did urban scenes. My mom was a fan of his work so we had a couple of books on the man & his work.

Constanze - - on p.40, col. amos explains that "a romantic journalist called the day [of the assassination] the day of the black sun, and its been called that name ever since". I have a hard time imaging a romantic or rather melodramatic name like that catching on, when comparing it to the Kennedy assassination, which didn't get a moniker like that.
Neither would I. I wonder if that is something that would happen in the writer's culture & he just assumed it would happen in the US as well?
And why Black Sun? Was there an eclipse going on at the time? (Or was the president black at which point the title should read black son? ;-)

I wonder if the Asian War could be a reference to a (fictional) war with China?

I wonder what Asian countries we (the US) were having problems with back in 1984?

Franka Potente from "Running Lola"
Would that be the same movie as Run, Lola, Run?

That sounds more like American Gothic by Grant Wood.

I haven't heard of that one. I think the name of the painter was Norman Rockwell, as Benn pointed out; I haven't seen a lot of his work, but what I have seen were rural or small-town settings - an old farmer and his wife standing next to each other; a tired family sitting on a bench, that kind of stuff.

And why Black Sun? Was there an eclipse going on at the time? (Or was the president black at which point the title should read black son? ;-)

No, the president was white. And I couldn't see any eclipse. That's why it has puzzled me a great deal. The only explanation I can think of is that this pres. was like the sun, and his killing was like the sun being darkened. But I would apply that more to Kennedy - the comics don't tell much if William Sheridan was even better than Kennedy, or what he did, just general praise that he was good.
I also don't think it has to with the writers culture, because I have never heard fancy names like these for events in the french/ belgian culture (okay, I don't know that much about it, but still I get to hear some.)

I wonder if the Asian War could be a reference to a (fictional) war with China?

I think its the vietnam war, since its fought in the jungle, and China doesn't have a lot of jungle, AFAIK. Also, there would be two wars then - vietnam and china - and its referenced only as singular Asian war. And in one of the albums we see the black wall memorial in Washington, so I think Vietnam happened, but dragged on longer in the cosmicverse.

I wonder what Asian countries we (the US) were having problems with back in 1984?

Search me, I have a bad memory - it was 20 years ago, do you realize? My feeling is that the writers weren't going for actual problems at that time - esp. if the first album was set in the future, rather then the "Now" - but were using the vietnam war since that had all they needed - soldiers trained as fighting machines and special units; jungle war; dirty war; soldiers coming home after the war and not being able to cope; etc.

For some reason or other, the losses seemed to have been considerably less, since so far there weren't that many disabled veterans around, or grieving families - the Smiths had lost their only son to the war, and Steve Rowland was there, but not everybody in XIIIs age group has been drafted. Of course, maybe we are seeing a skewed picture in regard to that, and the losses in some part of the population/country where very high, but XIII has been visiting the other parts.

Would that be the same movie as Run, Lola, Run?

I guess that's the english title - the Original Title was "Lola rennt" which translates to "Lola is running".

An English translation of the first 3 volumes was published starting in 1989 as Code XIII by Comcat Comics (an imprint of Catalan Communications which went out of business in 1993).

I wonder why Code XIII? It's not only the mark, but by extension the name he's called often.

Good start, but if it only went as far as album 3, you missed out the very important album 4 - the first real explanation of the conspiraci(es) - and album 5, which closes the first conspiracy arc.

album 6+7 are the Greenfalls arc.
Album 8 picks up the conspiracy arc again, which is then closed in album 12.
album 9 to 11 are the middle america arc, which starts a new adeventure and at the same time new revelations about old history.
Album 13 (appropriately enough) is a special: a file of the research done by two journalists over three years about XIII and all that's connected to him. Nicely done, with a lot of text giving the bios and background of major and minor characters, two-page comics telling what happened before start date, and a lot of real photos of military equipment, location etc.
albums 14-15 have XIII escaping again the authorities, and pick up the middle america adventure.

And why Black Sun?

The other - extratextual - explanation may be that album 1 was a test-balloon, and the authors were looking for a name that sounded suitably dramatic. (But nitpickers don't deal in reality )

I wonder why Code XIII?
Probably some editor thinking that English readers would have trouble with just Roman numerals.

It probably stopped at album 3 because Catalan stopped publishing and NBM never picked up the series. (NBM picked up most of Catalan's output, but not everything.)

pick up the middle america adventure
Where they have to take the One Ring to be destroyed. ;-) ;-) Sorry, couldn't resist.

...Where they have to take the One Ring to be destroyed..

nope, not quite. In fact, they have to find three silver watches - sounds interesting, too, doesn't it?

Album 3, Toutes les Larmes de L'Enfer, 1986 (All tears of hell, transl. A. Gittinger)

XIII is imprisoned in the Plain Rock criminal mental hospital - located somewhere in Arizona, New Mexico or the like - and Dr. Johanson treats him with electroshocks to bring back his memory. Meanwhile, Amos and his superior, judge Allenby meet with Carrington and Jones. Amos explains his research has shown that XIII isn't Steve Rowland; that his face was surgically altered to look like him; and asks Carrington's help for files of people with certain physical characteristics similar to Steve Rowland and with the kind of training that XIII has shown, and if any of these men is missing/declared dead or similar. XIII gets a visit of Mangouste, who tells him he has a person inside who will kill XIII, so XIII tries to break out. Meanwhile, Jones has taken a leave of absence, ending up in the hospital station of Plain Rocks, and helps XIII with his escape and bringing him to Carringtons home to recover.

Hits & Misses: on p. 20, XIII is hit with a baton on the head - though the guard should be trained to hit not too hard, I hope - , on p.6/7/8 he is treated with electroshocks which he says give him headaches, on p. 36 he is shot in the left shoulder (again), but not killed (again).

Since we see XIII several times bare-chested in this and the following albums, it should also be noted that his remarkable healing abilities leave no scars of his shot wounds at all! (By album 12, his upper body should be a patchwork of scars from his injuries, but his number is his only mark.)

New name: Ross Tanner, from Carringtons research. (more on that in album 4).

on p. 5, XIII calls the young doc "Toubib", but his name is Ralph Berger. My french dictionary gives Toubib as 1. coll. for doctor, 2. Military doctor. Both seems appropriate. For some reason - maybe because he looks so young and nice? - on p. 22 the hooker calls him Toubib, too, and on p. 40, Jones calls him Toubib (although before, she had called him Ralph.)

Electroshock therapy wouldn't work on the type of amnesia XIII has, and I don't think he would get it sitting in a chair (here are some details - the relevant part is:

---

Quote:

In later years doctors began using anesthetics to knock the patient out plus a muscle relaxant to eliminate injuries.

---

Album 4, SPADS, ?? (This is the only album my library doesn't have, and I haven't yet decided whether to buy it or not. I've only read it once in the bookshop, so its only a preliminary discussion.) This is one of the turning points in the whole story, quite important.

The title refers to the Special Assault and Destroying Sections Rowland was part of. XIII is hidden by Carrington under the name of Ross Tanner in a SPADS training camp in Middle America.
Meanwhile, Amos has discovered that Ross Tanner never existed - his file was put together using bits & pieces of other files. This makes Amos suspect Carrington - who shows him he has no mark - then Jones, who flees. Another man from the list of about 30 fitting the description given in album 3 is Jason Fly. In Jason Flys grave, Amos finds the body of Steve Rowland. When discussing this during a walk in the cemetary with Judge Allenby, Amos remarks that it was Allenby who 2 years earlier declared Steve dead. Allenby is revealed to belong to the conspiracy, but Amos is saved from death by gun by Kim Rowland, who comes driving past and delivers him to the house of "old lion" Henry Sheridan, the father of the murdererd pres. William Sheridan, and Wally Sheridan, who is at the moment running for presidency. (The opponent is the current president, former vice-president Galbrain, who may be manipulated by his smart advisor, Wax.)
Over the next several pages, Amos is told the true story of conspiracy by Admiral Heidegger of espionage, Henry Sheridan and Gen. Carrington: Kim Rowland, working for Heidegger, infiltrated a group of right-wing radicals some years ago after college, one of which was Steve. She fell in love with him and married him, and Heidegger didn't hear from her until she told him of a big conspiracy which had recruited Steve. But this was so close-mouthed she couldn't find out details. She even let herself be recruited (which is why she has a number, too - see album 2), but didn't learn enough. 2 years ago, Steve was declared dead - by Allenby - smuggled back into the country, living in Easttown under the name of Jack Shelton, awaiting orders. He called Kim and they both lived there. Then Steve killed the president, and was shot himself (probably by mangouste) after that, but somehow made it back from "some town in the south" where black sun was, to easttown, to collapse/die on the doorstep of his house in Kims arms.
The counter-conspiracy (Heidegger and the others) still didn't know who was behind the conspiracy, or what further plans they had. So in desperation, Heidegger found Jason Fly, he was operated on, spent some time with Kim - in the hut on kellownee lake, album 2 - to learn to incorporate Steve, and was released to see how the conspiracy would react. Somehow, this was betrayed, however, and Jason was shot and ended up on the beach in album 1. They still don't know what the conspiracy was planning beyond the murder of William Sheridan, or who nr. I is, or the other members are. They still don't know where Kim is, who seems to be hiding out of fear of revenge of mangouste or other killers the conspiracy would send after her if they know of her betrayal. They suspect, however, that the conspiracy is aiming for a coup d'etat taking charge of key positions under cover of a nationwide military exercise. When Amos wants to know how Heidegger knows he can trust Kim, or why Carrington is involved so much, he learns that Kim is Carringtons daughter.
Meanwhile, Jones has caught up with XIII in his training camp. XIII has discovered a Sergeant Betty who saw Steve alive after his proclaimed death with col. McCall of the SPADS. Jones, Betty and XIII flee after another soldiers tries to kill them, but their chopper is out of full and they end up on a small island somewhere.

Thoughts: this is surely the bombshell, contradicting half of what's happened before. The big nit is: once the reader through Amos learns that XIIIs name is Jason Fly, XIII himself seems to know himself in the SPADS camp. Or Jones told him offscreen.

"But its my only line"-syndrome: Kim, who's in hiding from killers like mangouste, who talked to XIII himself for only a couple of minutes in album 2, has the time to expose herself to save Amos skin, but drives off right away, although her father is worried sick over her? Couldn't somebody else save him? (Why didn't he think of back up when dramatically exposing to his superior that he knows he lied?)

For some reason, XIII thinks Betty is an important witness. Why would proof that Steve lived after his offical death substantiate the real story of the conspiracy, and why does XIII believe he can stop the coup d'etat with this one witness? Which court would accept the whole story? Why would the public - if he goes to the press - believe the story pending on this one small detail?

Since this is the normal election campaign, this should date the comic around summer, with the election itself in autumn. If this is the 90s, which year would it be - 90, 92, 94?

What Kim told XIII in the cabin in album 2 - "they told me you are alive, they ordered me to distrust you", "If you haven't lost your memory, you know who I mean. If you have lost it, I am not allowed to answer you, and you are as dangerous to us as the others" takes on a second meaning: was she talking about the conspiracy or the counter-conspiracy?

This conspiracy, while acting dramatic enough by branding the members with numbers, and giving them cyancali pills, doesn't act very logical. If Steve is recruited because he beliefs in the same aims - white supremacy, back to making the US the world power, restoring its former glory and awe etc. - why does he need to be convinced with 1 million $? If Steve is recruited only for the murder, why give him a number at all, which only reveals his association with the conspiracy? Why give the relatively high number of XIII to a low Captain, and the nr. XVII to his wife, if the rest of the conspirators are high-ranking people like Judge Allenby and others who can order the military etc.? (Were they superstitious, and nobody else wanted the nr. XIII? )

The question of why Kim is still hiding will return in album 8 with another round of astonishing discoveries. Interesting in this context is that Henry Sheridan kept the counter-conspiracy so secret even his own second son Wally doesn't know about it.

Time line problem: (see album 1): when XIII is in easttown after startdate, 2 months have passed, and black sun was 3 months, 17 days before that. So Heidegger had only 1 month 17 days max. between the death of Rowland and startdate to
-find Jason Fly in his files (we'll see later, in album 14?, how difficult it was to find him)
-operate on his face, which would take at least a week, probably more, to heal
- put him in the cabin with Kim to learn everything about Rowland for his incorporation
- start as Steve Rowland, be shot, and washed ashore.
I think 1 month is pushing it very close.

His true identity will be hard to establish for sure without any doubt, since there is little 100% proof.
DNA testing?

Since this is the normal election campaign, this should date the comic around summer, with the election itself in autumn. If this is the 90s, which year would it be - 90, 92, 94?
What kind of election? The Presidential elections were 1992 & 1996.

This conspiracy [SNIP] doesn't act very logical.
What fictional conspiracy does? ;-)

Had an funny thought about this the other day. What if it turns out that XIII is really William Sheridan & the assassinated person was an imposter? ;-)

KAM,

DNA testing?

I've wondered about this, too, once in the later comics possible parents appear. Several reasons why its never mentioned, I think:
- In the early 90s, DNA testing was too expensive and took too long and wasn't too exact to identfiy relatives (I think - maybe I remember wrong.)
- Like the fingerprint-ID, the basic problem is how to get a reliable comparision to establish XIIIs ID as ... whoever. He was ID as Steve Rowland because the counter-conspiracy changed the files; when Heidegger employed Jason Fly, he would've taken pains to erase his history to leave no traces which could blow XIIIs cover as Rowland; and the conspiracy has had access to his files, too. So if there's no reliable comparision, he can't be reliably ID.
- The same goes for DNA of his parents - most possible relatives that turn up are dead, often their bodies gone or damaged by time etc.
Extratextual, I think the authors do it on purpose, to keep XIIIs ID for ever vague. (And lets face it - how many of us can be ID with a 100% proof? There's no giant database containing fingerprints, names and DNA scans of people, which is also tamper-proof. Public records can be altered. And for a highly dangerous mission like XIIIs, usually men with no relation are choosen.

This conspiracy [SNIP] doesn't act very logical.
What fictional conspiracy does? ;-)

Well, I don't know, I haven't met any yet. What I meant is that a conspiracy which is organized well, consists of high-ranking people (not criminals), who should be intelligent, who plan ahead for some time to reach their agenda, shouldn't act that inconsiquental. (of course, otherwise we'd have short story syndrome.)

The Presidential elections were 1992 & 1996.

Drat. So my calculations about it being 1991 don't fit. Maybe the authors never calculated, either.

What if it turns out that XIII is really William Sheridan & the assassinated person was an imposter? ;-)

Sorry, won't work. XIII has a small, longish face and dark hair, William (like the other sheridans) is blond and has a broad face.

Album 5, Rouge total, ? (Red Alert, Transl. ?) (Front page and first two pages missing in my edition).

Henry Sheridan dies of old age. At the funeral, Wally Sheridan is shot - where else? - in the left shoulder, so he survives.
XIII, Betty and Jones are rescued from their island by a fisherman. At his village, Betty learns that these fisherman are working for McCall, commander from SPADS, who has tried to kill them in album 4 (so he's a suspect for the conspiracy). The trio escapes and goes to Marquis Armand, a french plantation owner, whose private jet they borrow to fly home.
Meanwhile, in Washington, Heidegger tries to warn Carrington of impending arrest, but too late: under cover of the assassination of William and the attempt on Wally Sheridan, the conspirators have arrested the counter-conspirators! (How's that for ingenuity and devilty?)
All hope is now XIII and Betty (and Jones). They travel to Washington, meet Amos, who takes them to Wally, who as Senator has access to secret headquarters - the conspiracy has moved "Red Alert", the military exercise, 24 hours earlier. In SSH-1 (Supreme strategic headquarter 1), the showdown occurs, the main conspirators are arrested or die, the others are cleared and receive promotions.

On p. 6 ff, we learn that despite what's happened in album 4, Betty still has a crush on XIII. This is important, since although XIII seems to be in love with Jones, he still extrudes a strange charm on most woman he meets (and even on killers like mangouste, who always delay killing him!, not to mention his magnetism with wich he avoids deadly bullets. )

on p. 11, Jones promises XIII to "quit the army once all this is over to help him find his past". His answer: "Once all this is over, we're all either dead, or you'll have been promoted to Colonel for your services to the nation". He seems to be psychic: both predictions come true halfway.

On p. 12/13/14, Betty is sneaking around the sleeping village - angry because XIII kisses Jones, not her - when she overhears a radio conversation. I really like the consistency: Underneath the red t-shirt XIII lend her, Betty is still wearing the risque negligee she wore in album 4 to seduce XIII, but she doesn't go girly when the bad guys talk about raping her before killing them, instead she uses her SPADS training of unarmed combat and grabs the machine gun. (and since this is the first time she's killed for real, she's shaken up afterward. This feels very real!)

Very fun scene and dialogue on p. 23/24: running out of gas, Jones decides to land the jet on a deserted stretch of highway. Behind a billboard, a car with two cops is hidden, however. When the jet rumbles overhead of them, one cop says "I know we live in a country of IDiots, but still.." XIII then says "I hope all hillbillies are having siesta". The cops on p. 25 accuse Jones and XIII "You haven't read the signs: speed limit is 55 mph!" And then Betty, who has flirted with the Marquis the whole time in dignified language, "asks to be excused, since she has to once again help her companions", stepping out with a machine gun.

On p.28 - after they've driven 2800 miles in a car, since airports will be watched - they arrive in Washington. XIII wonders why they stop in the black quarter, so Jones remarks "Did you never notice my skin color? I spent my whole childhood in a quarte like this." and XIII wonders "Your childhood? Funny, I can't imagine you as a little girl." Jones replies "It isn't that long ago - and contrary to you, I can still remember it quite well."

On p. 28, XIII calls Amos "an old friend, who is always where he isn't expected" when Betty asks about him. Quite a development from a cop out to get him in album 1.

The picture on p. 29 dates this in summer (according to KAM, it would be 1992 - or 4 years earlier? Either way, the years don't quite add up.)

Remember the suitcase which spews gas from album 1, in the bankvault? Amos kept it somewhere, since it appears on p. 36, when they trie to break into SSH 1. (XIII has dyed his hair blond for that mission - and he looks good with blond hair, too!)

Though I wonder why on p. 35, second panel, nobody notices how cute the driver of the car is looking (Jones posing as a man using a mustache.) But maybe people really don't look at black car drivers.

Fun scene: after XIII meets Jones in a men's toilet and they leave together, a general they encounter looks very surprised.

When climbing down a high voltage shaft, XIII cautions Jones "Don't touch the cables. With 5000 Volt, you can't keep your reputation of "Iron Lady" any more", to which Jones replies "What I really value about you, XIII, is your sunny humor in all situations of life."

Big unanswered question: McCall has shut Wally, Amos, Betty and Pres. Galbrain, in the presidential apartment, which is very secure and soundproof - Wax says on p. 39 that the armour plated door is electronically locked from outside and the only exit from the room and the telephone is down. On p. 42, McCall says they have 3 min. to live before the bomb blows up. He presses the button on p. 43, and the countdown begins. On p. 44, XIII is kneeling at the wounded Jones. The counter shows 57 sec., but when Jones reminds XIII of the pres., he says "Fu-ck him. I want you to survive!", Galbrain is saying "only 20 sec.", and we see the explosion. So how did they get out of that room with only 20 secs. to spare? (Maybe? Wally knew of a secret exit? Considering album 8? Its never explained onscreen.)

Watche the gunshot-wound in the gut Jones has on p. 43 - XIIIs luck must've extended to her (because she is close to him? ), since she survives this with almost no problems. (She does keep a scar, though - not the healing abilities of XIII himself.) Interesting because in a later album another woman is shot in the gut, too, but dies quite quickly.

Big surprise on p. 46: Wax isn't nr. I, and nobody knows who he is, after Wax dies from cyancali.

P. 47 wraps up and explains some questions (not all). Interesting is that after Standwells confession, 52 people were arrested, yet in album 13, its called "the conspiracy of XX". Seems the lower-ranking members didn't get the nice branding with numbers shtick. It also says that Black Sun happened 14 months previously, its offically unsolved. And since the arrests were of members of congress, the govt., army, justice and finance, it has been kept a state secret and nobody knows about it, so journalists and authors speculate about the true background of Black Sun. (That explains why we didn't read it in the newspapers )

Admiral Heidegger, the only one besides Henry Sheridan who knew more about Jasons Fly background before he became XIII, has died during arrest, so the knowledge is lost.

p. 48 tells that Wally Sheridan was elected 44th pres. without competition, since Galbrain was shocked at having been used, so he stepped back.

Nice text in the last panel: "Everything went its normal course again. IF you can call hate, war, intlerance, hunger, injustice and suppression, which rule the biggest part of a overpopulated planet, normal. But at least for one man, a new chapter began.
A chapter, overshadowed by treachery, fear and anger, which would have broken any other. But who was he really. This question tortured him besides many fears relentless.
The main aim of this man was now to uncover his past, without knowing what was expecting him. Surely he didn't anticipate that the tests he had mastered so far were nothing compared to those that were still awaiting him."

Well, if that isn't a blow - just when you think he can relax, you're told he'll get into bigger trouble than before. (and he does!)

Timeline notes:

on p. 20, Wax and STandwell outline their agenda to Carrington, who counters "Wax, I've often heard that story. Deciscive inlfuence on latin america, taking over the oil reserve in the near east and tutti quanti... and you believe the russians will let that happen?" Wax' reply "Of course. Because till then Moskau and peking won't exist anymore" Carrington "?!?" " The 3. World war? Heavens, Wax. You and your stressed butcher are even more insane than I thought!"

So Russia is still a force to be reckoned with. In a later album, the fall of the Soviet Union will be mentioned in passing, (or at least, that the russians aren't enemies anymore).

although on p.33, when Red Alert starts, one soldier asks another "What's going on?" "I Dunno. Maybe the Chinese are coming." So the chinese are a bigger threat than the russians? Or would the russians be dropping a-bombs instead of invading with an army?

on p. 42, Galbrains realizes he's "been manipulated by Wax like a doll. What a shame... !" Amos "If it's a consolation for you: posterity won't know it. You will be remembered in history like Sheridan, Kennedy, McKinley, Garfield and Abraham Lincoln" So these presidents all existed in comicverse.

Question: on p. 48 of album 5, Lt. Jones has been promoted to Major. Is this a higher rank or lower than Colonel? How much higher than Lt.? (And how much pull does a simple Lt. have, even if she's member of the General Staff and personal assistant to Carrington?)

Interesting that, although the evidence is clearly stacked against XIII in the murder case in the Rowland household (album 2), the supreme court intervenes, and senator sheridan pays his bail. (considering the events of the following albums, I wonder if XIII will be on time for a retrial. Considering that Felicity left the country and will be hard to catch, maybe there'll never be a retrial.) Or does the defense rest on the fact that since XIII isn't Steve Rowland, he couldn't benefit from the deaths? (But he didn't know that at the time, he believed he was Steve.)

The ranking of American military officers is (Army/Air Force/Marine)[Navy equivalent]:

(First Lt)[Ensign]
(Second Lt)[First Lt]
(Captain)[Second Lt]
(Major)[Lt Commander]
(Lt Colonel)[Commander]
(Colonel)[Captain]
(Brigadier Gen)[Rear Admiral 1 -- formerly Comodore]
(Major General)[Rear admiral 2]
(Lt General)[Vice Admiral]
(General)[Admiral]
(General of the Army/Air Force -- equivalent to Field Marshall)[Fleet Admiral]

So a jump from (presumably First) Lt to Major would be two grades of rank, with one more to go to become a colonel.

Album 6, Le Dossier Jason Fly, 1990 (more on the meanings of Dossier see above post by TomM; Transl. A. Gittinger)

XIII travels incognito to Greenfalls, where Jason Fly spent his childhood, according to the file Carrington has on him. Since Jonathan Fly, his father, worked for the newspaper, he starts asking around, pretending to be a writer looking for stuff for a novel. He meets the old Zeke, previous owner of the newspaper, who, although blind, recognizes him by his voice. However, Mangouste is still trying to kill him, and travels after him. Major Jones, who's supposed to go slowly after her gut shot and operation, learns that XIII is in danger, and travels after him. A bomb set by Mangoustes killer blows up in the hotel, not harming XIII but causing an avalanche which cuts of the town and almost buries Jones. XIII is arrested for the bomb, but Jones rescues him. Meanwhile, Mangouste has enlisted the aid of some powerful men of the town who have sth. to hide and are anxious over XIIIs digging, to chase XIII and Jones.

Hits and misses: for two albums, no physical damage for XIII, but a lot for poor Jones. (A kind of compensation?)

This albums starts in autumn and continues in winter.

on p. 10, we finally learn that XIII is suffering from "non-hysteric Korsakoff-Syndrome" paging Sven of Nine as resident Nitpickers doctor : what are the symptons for this syndrome?, which means that he "suffers from anterograde anmesia". Even hypnosis hasn't helped. The psychatrist/psychologist who's treating him speculates that "not only the memory has been damaged, but that his unconciousness is suppressing part or all of memories prior to the accident". He advises XIII to visit places of his childhood, but also tells him that "I can't do anymore for you. Only you can help yourself by putting yourself back in your past to get to the key experiences which cause the blockade of your memory. Maybe then the white wall of mist will lift. But it will be a painful process". Quite right. What XIII learns of possible history in this and the next album is mostly unpleasant and no wonder someone would like to suppress and forget it.
Carrington, going over the file with XIII - p. 13/14 -, also tells him "But this past, is it really so important? Your sufferings are over, you are young and can start anew again." But XIII feels like an exile, but he doesn't even know which country his roots are in. He thinks that neither Carrington nor anybody else can understand that. That must be the arrogance of youth, who thinks nobody can understand their suffering. Well, of course each destiny is different, and each suffering also. But since we're all humans, we can feel empathy to a certain degree because we have suffered similar - not the same fate, but similar. And old man like Carrington have their own load to carry, their own unpleasant past and memories, to understand more than XIII is giving him credit for.

The relationship between XIII and Jones deepens, but both seem reluctant to acknowledge it as such. However, when on p.15, Jones is worried not only that XIII will get into trouble - he thinks with another name, another face and amnesia nothing will happen - but that he will get ...lonely, she is right on both counts. (That he will get into trouble isn't difficult to predict, since he is some kind of magnet for it.) On p. 31, XIII is surprised when Judith is standing naked in the ski lodge, but we don't see if he declined or slept with her. From her behaviour afterwards, she carries no grudge against him, so he was being gentle.

Nice touch: on p. 5, XIII touches a nerve with Jones by calling her worry over him "motherly" - when she gets angry at him for that, he clearly doesn't understand why. But on p.7, we see that the shotwound left not only a scar, but means that Jones will never be able to have children (and a lonely tear is visible on her cheek). Although Jones so far is an incredible tough, capable Army woman, who has shown not the slightest indication for the wife-mother-path, she is still young - several years younger than XIII, who's close to 30 - and to never be able to have kids is a difficult thing to swallow, even if she would have never chosen to have them and follow her career instead.

When Mangoustes killer attack Jones in her flat, she is clad only in panties and a flimsy blouse, which is a handicap running outside in the winter. Yet jones doesn't learn her lesson from this to wear warm clothes in winter during dangerous times: in album 7, just a few days later, she's running around outside in winter in thin! nightclothes again. (She doesn't like warm pyjamas?)

on p. 22, XIII is recognized by his voice by the old Zeke who knew him as child, although he concedes "your voice has changed, you have become a man, but the intonation is the same". considering all the training XIII has had, I wonder how reliable that testimony of one person is.

The ski trip XIII and Judith take makes me once again wonder at the kind of training americans get. I can't see any rescue gear in case of an avalanche - although it has snowed heavily - or any of the precautions I learned are essentially for ski trips (I was in the alpine club in my youth). And they don't seem to use pelts for the uphill part!, because when XIII decides to test his ability, he drives down without pausing to take the pelts off (they are put under the skis during uphill walking to prevent too much backsliding, but would impede the downhill part). And of course, driving down a steep slope without any warming up to find out if he drives as good as a member of a University Ski team - that's just plain stupID, because it's dangerous. (Maybe XIII by now has forgotten what's it like to live cautiosly like normal people? )

on p. 34, 5th panel, the innkeepers beard is colored white instead of red.

Jones reaction when the avalanche hits the road she is on is interesting: "I don't want to die like this, it would be too mundane.." "XIII, help me...". Luckily, her car isn't in the center, but to the side of the avalanche. However, on p. 38, Tom, (the only handsome, and therefore good man in the sheriffs office) reports that he found "a black woman, whose car had been smashed by the avalanche, luckily, she had let fall herself out of the car in time." Sorry, I don't believe your chances of surviving are better if you get out of the car. Yes, the first aim is to stay on top, and a car wouldn't - but without a beeper and a trained search team, she wouldn't have been found by a deputy wandering along! (Not in real life, that is. People die in avalanches because they don't wear a beeper, or sometimes even when they do, because it takes teams of people too long to find them.)

on p. 39, jones calls herself "the greatest lucky beggar in the western hemisphere, including civilians" when she discovers she survived the avalanche. Obviously, she wasn't remembering XIII himself, who has even greater luck. (Maybe it rubbed off on her since they spent some time togehter? )

Why are journalists so bad at observing events as eye-witnesses? David Rigby - who trained at a journalist school - says he saw jones kill Dr. Robertson and the blond killer, when he really saw jones only shoot the killer. The killer had shot the doc before. (And Jones reassesses her "luck-statement" after meeting a killer 5 min. after waking up! But she survives, so she is lucky.)

Important clue on p. 45: Mangouste calls himself Captain Curtis of FBI. This means that Nr. I, who has given Mangouste the orders to go after XIII, not only hasn't been caught yet, but also that he has access to FBI credentials. (Unless mangouste manufacture them himself, but I don't believe that a killer knows how.)

on p. 13, Carrington reads from the file that in his last university year, Jason Fly was approached by agent for counterespionage, and due to this, his file was started. He was supposed to start training in White Sands in Sept. Jason received his diplomas in Juli, and wasn't heard from again. XIII says that 6 years are missing, but Carrington says all details are buried with Heidegger.
considering what we learn in album 7, I find it unlikely that the counterespionage didn't discover the same background on Jason Fly and considered taking him, or not even make a note in his file.

TomM,

thanks. So if Colonel is one rank under the first General rank, that explains why Colonels carry such weight (I always though Colonel was quite low - must've confused it with some other rank.)

So, when in albums 2+3 XIII thought himself to be Capt. Steve Rowland, he outranked Lt. jones - although she was part of General Staff! - but now, she would outrank him. But as Jason Fly, he has no rank at all, officially. (In the middle america arc, he will carry a different weight to his new name...)

Album 7, La Nuit du 3 Aout, 1990 (The Night of August 3rd, Transl. still A.G.)

The first page recounts what happened in album 6. Jones and XIII escape the hunt by hiding out at Judith. Jason goes to the house of old Zeke and finds a diary for him about what happened to his father Jonathan fly. He is interrupted by the old Rigby, looking for the diary, and takes him to Davids newspaper shop. Judith tries to visit Zeke in the hospital, but instead the sheriff searches her house (once again Jones has to escape in thin nightclothes, but is caught).
XIII learns that his father was really the famous journalist Jonathan MacLane, who tried to hide in Greenfalls because of the witch-hunt of McCarthy, but was uncovered and killed by the Klu-Klux-Klan members Rigby, Quinn, Murdoch almost 20 years ago. Rigby sr. shoots his son David accidentally during a struggle, and XIII escapes. He rescues Jones from a hanging in the nick of time, they capture the chopper which has to fly David to the hospital, and XIII goes to Rigbys ski lodge alone to rescue old Zeke, meet Rigby sr. and Mangouste. He escapes death once more and captures Mangouste for Amos. He returns after a few weeks /months (the snow is gone, so its probably spring), but can't remember anything (there isn't much left to trigger memories, either). Zeke has died, too, and XIII says goodbye to Greenfalls forever.

Hits and misses: on p. 27, Rigby whacks XIII on the temple with a heavy-looking floor lamp, but this causes only a trickle of blood, no concussion and not even a long period of uncousisness: after a few minutes, XIII jumps out of the next first-floor window.
He is missed by a bullet on p. 36, and he doesn't die when being shot in the chest by mangouste on p. 41. He also isn't shot by Rigby on p. 43, since Zeke finishes Rigby from behind. (I think that mangouste is a lousy killer with that bad anatomical knowledge. Of course, its lucky for XIII that he shoots so bad! In album 1, instead of hitting XIII in the middle of head, he just grazed the temple; now, instead of hitting him square in the chest and heart area, mangouste shoots to one side, so the bullet can be deflected.)

When jones is Judith flat on p.8 ff, she wears a warm sweater, which is sensible, esp. since XIII says that the reason they don't hike out of town is that jones is too weak after her recent operation and being buried in an avalanche. But on p. 17ff, when the sheriff and mangouste come looking for her, she's wearing a flimsy nightgown and robe again! Could Judith borrow her no pyjamas or a jogging suit??

Interesting that all flashbacks of Jason's father are in b/w, so we don't know for sure his hair and eye colour. (Since XIII has brown eyes and hair, he can't have two blue-eyed blond parents; at least one parent must be brown eyed and haired.) But he has a similar facial structure to XIII.

On p. 34, the shaken Jones complains why XIII "always waits for the last minute to act the brave knight". I wonder, too, if there's a real reason he didn't turn up 5 min. earlier.

on p. 44, XIII complains similar to Amos "to stop coming in the last minute, there might be fewer dead people then."

Nice touch: on p. 38, we learn that the two hunters who helped Jones and XIII escape from an impossible dead end on p.5, are working for amos, who was using XIII as bait to catch mangouste. I thought the authors had given XIII incredible powers to escape from impossible situations, but there was a rational explanation behind it. (And a hint was given in album 6, p. 26, when Judith points out that 2 hunters are moving in the same area, but have no hunting experience, since they aren't considering the wind.)

Fun dialogue on p. 10-11: XIII asks Judith for help in hiding Jones and visiting Zeke to protect him, and leaves for his own assignment:
Judith:" And what makes you think that I'm willing to...?"
XIII: "My male intuition. Didn't you complain that not enough happens here? Thanks very much for everything, and take care of Jones, she needs it" (he kisses her on the cheek)
Judith (angry)" This dam-ned S.O.B. This.. This arrogance .. I wouldn't mind to.."
Jones "But you won't do it, and he knows it." "I think I know what's going on in your beautiful head right now: you're wondering what's so special about this guy that he has wrapped you around his finger?"
Judith "And you know the answer, of course"
Jones "No. But if its a consolation to you: for two years I'm asking myself the same question. I don't know if the two of us can already start a fanclub. But give me a glass [of whiskey]".

Fun stuff, about XIIIs charme on women. And a fanclub - Jones is good at predictions, there will be more woman willing to help XIII. (Interesting that there are far more good-looking women in the comics than handsome men. )

And on p. 8, 5th panel, Jones is not looking happy at all when XIII introduces Judith as his friend. (He must have an awful lot of charme to have two women in love with him stay with each other and know about it without causing a catfight, but instead making one care for the other!!)

Watch carefully, the authors are pulling a sleight-of-hand on us again: on p.28, 3rd panel, David drops the diary on XIIIs still body. On the last panel, XIII is jumping out of the window. But he managed to grab the diary, because on p.44, next-to-last panel, it appears again, and explains why XIII survived a direct shot by mangouste.

Very nice of Mangouste to drop an important hint for the next album just before shooting at XIII on p. 41: He tells XIII that I is after him because he "knows who he is. Even if you can't remember. You lost your memory when I shot a bullet in your head aboard his ship."

For some reason, Zeke has written his diary not addressed to a boy he once knew quite well, but to an adult person who doesn't remember his past ("I taught you how to fish, remember?") Almost if he knew that Jason would suffer from amnesia when returning. He also wrote this diary after Jason went to university - p.26, last panel "I followed your path from afar until university", but before Jason was declared dead - he had hoped Jason would return. And even when Jason was grown-up enough to go to university, zeke didn't tell him.

Unanswered question: if the Klu-Klux-Klan and Zeke discovered that Jonathan Fly was Jonathan Mac Lane, why did the counterspionage agency not discover this when recruiting Jason at college? Don't they do a regular background check on the people they hire? Jonathan obviously didn't fabricate his new ID very successful if the Klan discovered it, so shouldn't the counterspionage agency with their resources have found that quite quickly? And wouldn't they have told Jason? (Sorry, we can't hire you, your father was in jail because he was red.) Wouldn't Jason have gone back to talk to Zeke the moment he learned his real name? Or was that the reason Jason disappeared?

On p. 46, XIII says "Yes, madam, its me... I'm the one who always brings bad luck" Previously he was less superstitious. Probably the memory of Zeke dying made him depressed.

130 k! Time for board 2.

Just one little addendum before this board closes:

(I always though Colonel was quite low - must've confused it with some other rank.) constanze

I think you must have meant Corporal (~Hauptgefreiter).