Version Information

Version 1: 26/9/2006, Created after my first read-through I made a few notes which became version 1.

Version 2: 9/10/2006, Created after serveral re-reads and excellent contributions, including some from the Great Maker himself, John Reppion.

Version 3: 12/12/2006, Created after serveral further excellent contributions

Credits

Cover

The Steel Claw in front of a door with the Number 10. In the UK the residence of the Prime Minister is No. 10 Downing Street

Raymond says "Note that the cover matches the end of the issue."

Cover Tag Line

"HANDS ACROSS THE WATER" The tag line refers to any joint UK/USA effort such as WWI and WWII. Ryan Taylor adds "The cover line 'Hands across the water', is probably a reference to the Wings / Paul McCartney song"

Page 1:

6 Panels, The Vault

Panel 1:

One eyed robot (?)

Large nosed robot (?)

Helmet: Colonel Dan Dare Ryan Taylor agrees "Dan Dare's helmet"

http://www.dandare.info/home/home.htm

Hand: "Thing" from the Addams family (or the Hand from I.P.C.) mythicalbeast says "I was wondering about the Hand myself. Is it the IPC hand or something else? Don't see why there should be a connection with Cursitor Doom."

Hellstone adds "Must be the Hand. Any connection to the Gauntlet of Fate, you think?"

Ryan Taylor adds " I did think that it was this hand, until I saw this character later on in front of Mytek (page 20)"

http://www.internationalhero.co.uk/t/thehand.htm

Loki says "I'd go with it being the Hand, most likely, though I wouldn't be surprised to find there's more than one living hand in old British comics. Since the Hand was more spectral, don't rule out this being the Hand from the 1980s Eagle - originally belonging to a man in the Mafia, it got transplanted after his death, only to manipulate its new owner to gain revenge, until he finally had it cut off again. "

Robert Hardy says "The disembodied hand that Danny finds in the glass case is surely the Hand of Orloff, one of Danny Doom's "familiars" in the original Valiant strip. He kept it in a glass case in his underground vault, and it came to life whenever he needed help out of a tight corner. In Albion it obviously remembers him, as it reacts to his presence and latches onto him as a sort of pet at the end! "

Nazi Unifrom: Masterman's uniform from Zenith (I miss Zenith I wish they'd bring it back) Ryan Taylor agrees "Masterman's costume"

http://www.internationalhero.co.uk/m/mastman.htm

Hellstone says "I think I see a vague silhouette of the trademark "question mark helmet" from "League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" in the rear."

Panel 2:

Big gun (?) Ryan Taylor adds "Not sure about Charlie Peace's gun? "

Panel 3:

General Jumbo's wrist remote control Hellstone adds "Not officially of course, since Jumbo isn't an IPC character. But the "army" comment makes the connection even more obvious."

Ryan Taylor adds "No mistaking General Jumbo's wrist control thing middle panel, middle row. "

Panel 4:

Two silhouettes - Mole and someone wearing a top hat (maybe The Blue Wizard)

Robot Monkey

Robot Gangster

John Reppion finally reveals the identities of the robot pirate, gangster and monkey "Although they never actually get named in the issues, in the scripts they all had names. The pirate is Salty Sue, the mobster is Sluggsy and the simian is Swiss Army Monkey (or Sam for short). We had a slightly bigger part planned for Sam but it didn't pan out in the end."

Panel 5:

Thing again

Weird cat (?)

Panel 6:

http://www.internationalhero.co.uk/c/cloak.htm

The Cloak's Cloak Ryan Taylor adds "Is that the Cloak's outfit behind Charlie in the last panel?"

Page 3:

7 Panels, Nolan and Eagleton

Panel 2:

Nolan and Eagleton each have their own pet hate, for Nolan it's The Spider since presumable New York was at one time terroised by the Spider and for Eagleton it's Grimly Feendish since they have a long history.

Panel 3:

"…HURRACANE WOULD BE OUT OF THAT DEMOB HOUSE…" Demob = Demobilise = retire from military service

Panel 7:

"…AND THERE ARE PEOPLE IN HERE WHO ARE QUITE DEADLY ENOUGH AS IT IS." Is Eagleton again referring to Grimly Feendish or does he know Danny's secret ?

Page 4:

8 Panels, The Spider and Faceache

Page 5:

8 Panels, Lock Down

Panel 2:

"BLOTT NEEDS BACKUP." Ryan Taylor says "Reference Blott from the Swots and the Blotts?"

Panel 4:

Hellstone adds "With Martha in the cell, obviously."

Panel 8:

A regular motif in horror movies is the sleeper who suddenly opens there eyes and they are shining. Hellstone adds "Also common is the hypnotized man whose wakeup is triggered by a secret keyword or phrase. Like, for example, "gates of Hell"?"

Page 6:

9 Panels, Shoot Out

Panel 1:

Shield with big "W" ? - rings a bell but I can't place it -- is it a company logo ?? Hellstone adds "Hmm... Wonderman? But he didn't use a shield, did he?" http://www.internationalhero.co.uk/w/wondman.htm

David A. Simpson says the following; "My memory says that this came from an advert for Walls ice cream that ran in British comics in the mid 60s. I can't be more specific than that, but it might trigger someone else's memories"

John Reppion confirms "Ah right, Shane tells us that we're wrong actually: "the shield DOES belong to the 'walls' man, and he DID have a shield in some of the adverts, and I'm SURE I saw him at some 'Alton Towers' event when i were a wee nipper." Leah had convinced me that it was Wonder Warthog's shield you see... "

http://www.internationalhero.co.uk/w/wallwond.htm

Panel 6:

Is that the Cloak ? Hellstone says "It looks like he has a nose, so I don't think so." Loki agrees "Nope, it's the gangster robot."

Panel 7:

Hellstone identifies Sylvester Turville a.k.a. the Spellbinder:

http://www.internationalhero.co.uk/s/spellbnd.htm

Loki agrees "they've just released Sylvester Turville "

"SHAUN O'BRIEN" - ??

Panel 8:

"POPS" tatoo? Ryan Taylor says "Pop from ‘Pop, Dick and Harry’ of Beezer fame in panel 8."

Page 7:

7 Panels, Grimly Feendish

Raymond says "Is that Charlie Peace taking the Brain?"

Page 8:

6 Panels, The Graveyard

Panel 1:

"BRIAN KINGSLEY" - from Brian's Brain, now we know what Eagleton was referring to when he mentioned The Brain's betrayal

http://www.internationalhero.co.uk/b/brianbrn.htm

Ryan Taylor agrees.

"CRABBE" - Crabbe's Crusaders

http://www.internationalhero.co.uk/c/crabcrus.htm

"FREDERICK CARNO" - Carno's Cadets

http://www.comicsuk.co.uk/Interviews/ScottGoodall/CarnosCadets1.htm

http://www.comicsuk.co.uk/ComicInformationPages/JetPages/JetHomePage.asp?ReturnPage=CIP

Ryan Taylor agrees. Loki adds " I'd say yes, since it was Fred Carno who led the cadets. "

As an aside Fred Karno was the stage name of the theatre impresario who discovered both Charlie Chaplin and Stan Laurel.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Carno

"JOSEPH MCCLAINE" - Joe 90 Ryan Taylor agrees "Wasn't Joe 90's real name Joe McClaine?"

"ERIC DOLMANN" - Penny's Dad

"JONATHAN SMALL" - Tri-Man Ryan Taylor agrees "Jonathan Small was Tri-man"

Panel 4:

"ANGUS MCCRAGGAN" - Cursitor Doom's sidekick Ryan Taylor agrees "Angus McCraggan was an accomplice of Cursitor Doom"

Panel 5:

Micro (?), Elasto, Raider (?) Loki says "it's the gangster robot, Elasto and Mole - which makes sense, as Mole is the one marking the gravestone, something his powers would allow him to do easily. "

Page 9:

7 Panels, END GAME

Panel 1:

Beryl the Peril Loki says "given she goes toe to toe with Hurricane a few pages later, I'm increasingly of the opinion this isn't Beryl but Pansy Potter, the Strongman's daughter. "

http://www.internationalhero.co.uk/p/pansypot.htm

Raymond says "And wondering if the "Beryl the Peril" character might be "Dinah Mite"?"

http://www.bustercomic.co.uk/dinah.html

Minnie the Minx

Dr Emil Gargunza ? Loki says that it is "more likely the Toymaker" http://www.internationalhero.co.uk/t/toymakr1.htm

or maybe even the Builder

http://www.internationalhero.co.uk/b/builder.htm

Both have the hair, the glasses and the right evil look.

Two additional female prisoners

Typhoon Tracy hellstone says "Yeah, but he's lost some weight. And lotsa muscles."

Loki adds "Think that might be The Dwarf behind Tracy"

Panel 4:

Prisoner with Schoolboy cap – rings a bell Hellstone says "Jimmy with the magic patch?" http://www.internationalhero.co.uk/m/magpatch.htm

Loki suggests " looks a bit like either Tweedle Dee or his brother" http://www.surfhome.de/tenniel/tweedle.gif

Panel 6:

At last we find out who Danny is !!!!!!!!! mythicalbeast says " Well, I think I guessed right in the end because the picture of him reading a comic in the kid's home looked just like the Danny Doom character, but I have to admit that the 'don't know how to spell my own name' thing was a red herring that had me thinking he was Grimly Fiendish's son for a while. Check out how similar he looks in issue one. Not to mention the body language being mirrored in both characters. Anyway, now we know! "

Loki says "Yup - Danny Doom, and that's Cursitor Doom who's been asleep all this time."

Page 10:

9 Panels, "The Legend Testers"

Panel 1:

Is that the Blue Wizard and Dr. Ratty ?

Hellstone says "Definitely Blue Wizard. But his skin color is wrong."`

Ryan Taylor agrees "In the first two panels, that's the Blue Wizard and Oakman from the Amazing Three in the Jackpot. Have they omitted Tanya deliberately in reference to her death in Zenith: Phase 3?"

http://www.internationalhero.co.uk/t/tanya.htm

“LEO SATOS: ARTIST OR MADMAN” ?

“ANOTHER 1001 DODGES” – Roger was at it again

“THE MIDWICH MYSTERY” – related to The Midwich Cuckoos by John Wyndham

“DARE” – About Colonel Dan Dare ?

Panel 2:

“THE TURVILLE CURSE” – The Spellbinder

Panel 3:

Oakman and Dr. Ratty ?

Hellstone says "Two members of the Amazing Three, but no sign of Tanya? Could that mean that her death in "Zenith" is canon in the Albion universe?"

Panel 4:

“THE EPHEMERAL COLOR […] ” ??

Panel 5:

“THE GHOSTS OF ST. LUKES” mythicalbeast says "The Ghosts of St. Lukes refers to a single page humour strip from Lion called The Spooks of St. Lukes"

Panel 8:

Weird rabbit John Reppion says "This is the little chap you've mistaken for a rabbit."

http://nyanko.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/chamb/dangermousechars.html

Ryan Taylor spotted him also "Is that Nero, Baron Greenback's pet from Dangermouse in the front case?"

Hammer wielding prisoner,

smiling prisoner,

Is that the Toymaker with Frankie Stein’s head ?

Hellstone says "Could very well be. The Toymaker didn't use to have a moustache, though."

Genie lamp and Yellow scarf

Ryan Taylor says "That looks like Screwy Driver from the Dandy waving a hammer in the foreground. The Professor from Frankie Stein appears to be recovering the head of his monster (although didn't he spend the entire series trying to dismantle the monster?)"

Page 11:

9 Panels, Monster Make Up

Panel 1:

Devil costume,

giant robot,

The dwarf Hellstone says "could it be Gogra?"

Loki says "If by robot, you mean the digging machine in the background, that's Black Sapper's mole. As for the dwarf, I think its Gogra rather than THE Dwarf, and he's just spotted Mytek. "

Panel 4:

bowler hat, Beryl the Peril, gumgirl

Raymond says "On the hat there's "10/6" 10 shillings and sixpence !! The Mad Hatter"

http://www.alice-in-wonderland.net/alice6.html

Panel 6:

Loki says "on the next couple of panels, the women's wing bullies get their comeuppance, because Martha has retrieved her Monster Make-Up."

http://www.internationalhero.co.uk/m/marthamonster.htm

Panel 9:

Viking ?

Page 12:

7 Panels, MAGGOT !!

Panel 4:

Oh my God, Archie is dead mythicalbeast says "Archie's not really dead, his head at least was saved so he can be resurrected by Penny. 'You cannot kill that which doesss not live' as Judge Death used to say."

Hellstone says "Just like Kenny, Archie will surely rise again. And again. And again."

Loki agrees "He'll be rebuilt"

Panel 5:

Nolan still obssessed with The Spider

Panel 7:

Security is handling Capt. Hurricane (the hero of WWII) with cattle prods.

Page 13:

9 Panels, Squelchies

Panel 1:

Is that one of the Blotts dead?

Panel 5:

Grimly Feendish and the Squelchies (could be the title of a band) Hellstone says "Is this the final moment of Eagle Eye, Junior Spy?"

Robert Hardy answers "No, Nolan finds Eagleton dragging himself along in a slime-covered condition in panels 1&2 of page 22. ( Nolan accuses him of "loafing around!". ) Fiendish preferred to leave his old adversary alive - perhaps hoping for a future rematch? "

Panel 9:

John Reppion says "Grimley's speech is a kind of call to arms and an explanation of the spirit of Albion"

Page 14:

1 Panel, Escape

Panel 1:

Tri-Man's Power Ray mythicalbeast says "Did anyone spot Jamie with his magic torch on page 14? Not Tri-Man's power ray! "

http://www.toonhound.com/jamiemagictorch.htm

Hellstone says "Why would this guy give Tri-Man's powers to someone else? If it didn't look so much like a flashlight, I'd guess that this was Danny's Tranny or even Minnie's Mixer"

Ryan Taylor adds "Jamie and his Magic Torch or Laser Eraser (from Buster / Jackpot) to the left? My money's on Jamie"

Loki agrees "as someone else said, this is Jamie with his magic torch."

http://www.internationalhero.co.uk/d/danytran.htm

http://www.internationalhero.co.uk/m/minnimix.htm

"LOOSE BRAYNE" Brickman LIVES http://www.activeimages.com/brickman/

Giant grey prisoner Hellstone says "Could be the Screamer" http://www.internationalhero.co.uk/s/screamer.htm

Loki suggests that it "might be Fred from Fiend's Beans" http://www.internationalhero.co.uk/f/fienbean.htm or Jimmy Jeckle http://www.internationalhero.co.uk/j/jeckhyde.htm but given his blueish colouration, I'd say this was the Incredible Bulk http://www.internationalhero.co.uk/i/incbulk.htm

Rubberman

Justine, the Winger Messenger of Justice all grown up

Ryan Taylor agrees "The afore-mentioned Justine the winged messenger in the middle"

Silo / rocket ?

Page 15:

1 Panel, Escape

Panel 1:

Giant eye -- too big to be Maisie's Magic Eye

Big man in black Loki says "as we see on the next page, this is Captain Hurricane."

Ghost pirate Ryan Taylor says "The ghostly pirate is also bugging me. I do remember reading a strip from my youth which featured this exact character (he had a detachable head as I recall) but do you think I can remember it? It was in a Buster type comic as I recall."

Loki adds "Firebrand Frobisher" http://www.internationalhero.co.uk/f/firebran.htm

Robert Hardy says "The peg-legged pirate on page 15 is the Ghostly Guardian, from an early 70s Valiant strip. As far I remember he was Firebrand Forbisher, a ghost who haunted Masthead manor ( a deserted house built in the shape of a pirate ship ) and befriended a runaway orphan named Jim who was his descendent."

Nick Jardine, Toys of Doom Ryan Taylor says "The bloke with the robot seems familiar. Was there a character in the Topper / Beezer who had a toy chest thing that he would make a load of robotic devices from? " Ryan Taylor adds "There was a character in the Beezer called 'Tommy's Toybox', where the hero had a box of toys from outer space with which he could make robotic devices."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beezer

"DEATHSHEAD" -- The Cloak's arch-enemy (is that the Cloak in shadow behind him?) Ryan Taylor says "Blake Edmonds outfit from Deathwish on the right?" http://www.internationalhero.co.uk/d/dethwish.htm Loki agrees it is The Cloak in the shadow "yes, I'd say so"

The Terror Toymaker

Ryan Taylor says "Leopard from Lime Street / Billy the Kat / Katie in the background?"

Page 16:

7 Panels, Danny's Story

Panel 6:

"...CASTLE BAALESKINE..." mythicalbeast says "Baaleskine castle is an adaptation of Aleister Crowley's Scottish title 'The Laird of Boleskine'. It's a house near Loch Ness where on dark and stormy nights the Scottish Tourist Board, sorry, sober local inhabitants swear you can still sense the vibrations of his Abramelin conjurations... Mr Doom does look a little Crowleyish n'est pas? "

Page 17:

8 Panels, The Fourth Dimension

Panel 2:

"YOU ARE MY IPSISSIMUS NOW" -- a very high grade of magician

Raymond says "The Golden Dawn grades covered the first four spheres of the tree of life. The Rosae Rubae Et Aurae Crucis grades the next three. The Third Order grades were Magister Templi "Binah", Magus "Chokmah" and Ipsissmus. Ipsissimus was the supreme ritual grade of the Third Order indicating that the magician had attained the state of consciousness symbolized by Kether on the Kabbalistic Tree of Life."

The Legend Testers and Adam Eterno (said "Angus McCraggan" and meant Adam Eterno, d'oh -- thanks Mythicalbeast and Loki)

http://www.internationalhero.co.uk/e/eterno.htm

Page 18:

6 Panels, BLOODY HELL !

Panel 1:

Short vulcan kid and squashed head display

Panel 5:

Syrius Thrice ?

Worzel Gummidge, Ryan Taylor says "Worzel Gummidge's head in the bottom left panel."

waistcoat with atom symbols Loki says "I think that's Atomic Tommy's jacket" http://www.internationalhero.co.uk/a/atomtom.htm

"OAKI"

Panel 6:

rubberface Hellstone says "Those are the two faces of Janus" http://www.internationalhero.co.uk/t/twoface.htm Loki agrees "Janus"

Page 19:

6 Panels, HURRICANE VERSUS BERYL

Panel 1:

"...HARRIDAN..." A woman regarded as scolding and vicious

Panel 9:

"...BONCE..." head

Page 20:

6 Panels, Mytek

Panel 1:

Mytek,

Agro - Moonie's Magic Mate, Hellstone says "Doesn't look much like him, but maybe"

bird costume - Loki says "might be Birdman's" http://www.internationalhero.co.uk/b/birdman.htm

Reminds me of the costume of a villian in a episode the Avengers "The Winged Avenger" http://wingedavenger.theavengers.tv/WingedAvenger/winged_main.htm

robot,

the hand, Loki says "given the spectral appearance here, this does suggest the other hand seen earlier in the issue isn't the same one."

alien,

lobster craft. Hellstone says "Did Crabbe's Crusaders have a craft?" Robert Hardy has the answer " yes, Crabbe's Crusaders in the Buster comic did have a craft, the "Crabbocraft", which is what I took the red "lobster" on page 20 to be"

Page 21:

8 Panels, Gogra

Panel 3:

prisoner ? Ryan Taylor suggests "That has to be Keyhole Kate in panel 3."

http://www.comicsuk.co.uk/ComicInformationPages/DandyPages/DandyHomePage.asp

Panel 4:

"LITURIANS: DAKK, TOGG, KEN-DAR" Loki identifies them "Pete's Pocket Army"

http://www.internationalhero.co.uk/p/pockarmy.htm

Page 22:

8 Panels, Monster Love

Page 23:

5 Panels, Back on the Queen

Panel 2:

Robot ? Loki suggests "maybe the Steel Commando"

Panel 3:

Loki says "note the man looking over Archie's remains. Wonder who he is, and if the question mark curl of smoke from his pipe is a clue."

Panel 5:

Big blond, little blue man and Charles Peace

Page 24:

7 Panels, Number 10

Panel 1:

Outside No. 10 Downing Street

Panel 3:

Tony Blair wearing a sleeping cap !

Panel 6:

Tony and Cherie Blair

Panel 7:

In the very last panel of Albion #6, we see the Steel Claw, with a single speech bubble, saying "TALK TO THE HAND". I am given to understand that that particular scene, that last panel in Albion, was one that Alan Moore was anxious to have included, through all the various editing processes.

The expression Talk to the hand, which is a shorter version of the phrase Talk to the hand, the face ain't listening, originated in the 1990s, mostly among young black Americans, and became popularised worldwide through being used on American talk shows like Jerry Springer and Ricki Lake. Entries can be found for the phrase on Wikipedia and Urban Dictionary, as well as elsewhere.

The phrase has been used as the title of at least two books: Talk to the Hand: The Utter Bloody Rudeness of the World Today, or Six Good Reasons to Stay Home and Bolt the Door by Lynne Truss, author of Eats, Shoots and Leaves; and Talk to the Hand: A Doonesbury Collection by G. B. Trudeau.

More to the point, however, is the fact that there is a song called Talk to the Hand in Jerry Springer: the Opera, which was written by Stewart Lee, who interviewed Alan Moore for BBC Radio 4's Chain Reaction series, and who included an interview with Moore about Glycon as part of Don't Get Me Started, his recent Channel 4 documentary about blasphemy. Moore is certainly a fan of Jerry Springer: the Opera, and the Talk to the Hand song in particular, as can be seen in this entry from December 2003 in Neil Gaiman's blog, where he says:

I gave him a Jerry Springer The Opera CD as his Christmas present, which he accepted once he'd established that it did indeed have the "Talk to the Hand" song on it, and he gave me a limited edition "League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" book, along with a Christmas Card (drawn by Alan).

Contributions by: Robert Hardy, Hellstone, Loki, mythicalbeast, John Reppion, Raymond Scurr, David A. Simpson, Ryan Taylor