MediaBistro is glad you can watch classic episodes of THE PRISONER for free online at the AMC website...but what they would really like to see is a reissue of the 1969 tie-in novel by Thomas M. Disch…and the never-produced tie-in 1976 comic by Jack Kirby.
I wouldn’t mind seeing the Jack Kirby comic, but I already own two copies of the Disch novel, the original Ace paperback(50 cent cover price) and the IBooks reissue of a few years ago.
While the Kirby comic might have been interesting to see (and I’ve seen penciled pages from it), I doubt it would have been a success — particularly issued nearly ten years after the TV series concluded. (But then, Kirby did a comics adaptation of 2001 around the same time; and it was apparently enough of a success to spin off an ongoing series.)
I wish they would also reissue the David McDaniel novel, “Who is Number Two?”
McDaniel was one of the best the writers for the Man From UNCLE tie-ins, and I was thrilled (back in the day) that he’d written a Prisoner book.
He was one of my writing mentors back when I was trying to figure out the craft. He taught me how to get inside the head of a character not my own and make it work.
There are individual copies of the three books floating around. I found an omnibus edition of them–with a price reflecting its rarity.
I’m glad I’ve a first edition (well-thumbed) of the one I like the best!
If I read the book, would I finally understand the series? Rest in peace, Patrick McGoohan.