TITLE:
Guys and Dolls is the name of a musical by Frank Loesser. It was filmed in 1955 with Frank Sinatra and Marlon Brando. Within the context of Promethea it refers to the 5 Swell Guys and the Painted Doll both of whom play a prominent part in the plot of this issue.
SYNOPSIS
Sophie manages to sum up previous versions of Promethea as
well as her own using her mother, Stacia and a nurse as hosts. The Prometheas
manage to defeat all the demons but the Painted Doll blows up himself and Benny
Solomon which leaves the demons in our world where they hide inside Mayor
Baskerville.
QUOTES
"A hospice ringing with the cries of the maimed. It's no better than when I was in Londinium in the 1940's..." - Demon (who was obviously active in our world during WWII in London), pg 1
"...this is all somehow connected with magic" - Kenneth
"Kenneth, get real! This is a diversion by the painted doll! Magic has nothing to do with this..." - Bob, pg. 3 (Bob showing why he's such a great leader ([Not])
"Jeez, is that Sophie's mom? She is way too old for that outfit..." - Promethea(5), pg 5.
"You're useless. You kids, you're useless in an emergency! We should barricade the door" - Trish Bangs, Pg. 6 (against the entire Goetia, I don't think so)
"What puzzles me is which of us is Promethea now? The original little girl Promethea?" - Promethea( )
"All...of...us...are" - Prometheas( ), pgs. 8-9
"We are love" - Promethea( )
"We are beauty" - Promethea( )
"We are art and we are mind" - Promethea(6)
"We are Promethea. I'm rather afraid you're all going to die, poppets" - Promethea(3), pg. 10
"Sophie are you okay alone. We taught you cups, swords and coins, but not wands. We didn't teach you will...- Promethea( )
"Then I'll improvise. That's Sophie's specialty" - Promethea(6), pg 11
"Marchosias said she was strong but he did not say there were four of her" - Demon, pg.11
"It looks like Dolly Demon here is up past her bedtime. Come, Miss Purgatory, you're leaving" - Promethea ( )/Bill, pg 14
"So you used to be a man? You know, Hon, we should talk sometime" - Promethea( )/Bill to Roger, pg 15
"What are you shooting at, ludicrous creature. We're from the Howling. We can't be killed" - Demon
"Really? Now there's a challenge" - Painted Doll, pg. 16
"Just let her go. It's easy letting go is easy. We let go of being children. We let go of being young. We let go of Being Promethea. We...let go...of...everything" - Barbara almost dying, pg. 24
NOTES & ANNOTATIONS
Page 1: Note the bat winged stone head that provides the frame for the panels on this page
Page 1, Panel 4: Crowley-Mathers feud 1904,1905 : Information about this and some history about the Golden Dawn can be found here.
Here is a good biography of Crowley and a biography of Mathers
Pages 2-3 top panel: Nice demons seen here. Note how they refer to Sophie as Sophia Bangs and they refer to Promethea as 'that whore with the caduceus'
Charming
Lower panels: Note the two demons with their snake tounges providing the edges of the panels
Page 2 Panel 2: I'm assuming a teddy bomb is a bomb inside a teddy bear.
Page 3, Panel 2: Buer and also here as well as here
Pages 4-5: All the panels here appear to be circles formed in a pool of liquid (probably the pond all the Promethea's are looking down at in panel 1)
Panel 1: The entire Howling is swarming on that hospital
A quote from Crowley's Confessions Chapter 20
Goetia means "howling"; but it is the technical word employed to cover all the operations of that Magick which deals with gross, malignant or unenlightened forces
Page 5 Panel last: Sophie's pen is the Wand of her will. She is following Barbara/Promethea's instructions of 2 panels ago.
Pages 6-7 Middle panel: Note that the creatures' tounge provides most of the artwork in this panel. This time flowers and leaves instead of snakes
Poem: Sophie crosses out the storylike beginning of "There were..." and changes the present tense to the past "Hell is..." to "Hell was...", "sacred law" becomes "holy writ"; "lovers" becomes "loved ones"; attempt is simply crossed out and not replaced; the "love" on the doctors' face becomes "compassion"; "angel" turns to "seraph"; "strife" to "harm"' "event" becomes "eventuality"; "As for" simply crossed out; "woman" to "mortal"; modern "writers" to ancient "scribes".
How to fix up a poem when you're in a hurry and the demons are knocking at the door
Page 6, Panel 3: Note that Stacia really is wearing glasses with lights on the sides.
Page 7 Panels 2-4: Sophie's pen is transformed into her caduceus
Pages 8-9 Four of the Prometheas lined up with a different sun symbol behind each one. From left to right the versions are
Page 20 bears the following instructions from JH Williams:
MICK PLEASE USE SUPERFINE + SOFT BLENDING LINEWORK IN PANEL 5 MAKE IT
SCRATCHY
LONG + SHORT CROSSHATCH
PLEASE USE SPLOTCHES IN PANEL ONE – THANKS
A variety of techniques appeared to have been used in panels 4 and 5.
Ink
is applied with sponge to create the fine, smoky texture to the left of
the
demon's wing in panel 4. Fine crosshatching in panel 5 provides
dramatic
contrast to panels 3 and 4, which are rendered in the slick,
photo-realistic technique.
Prior to PROMETHEA, photo-realism was the
primary stylistic signature of the Williams/Gray team. (See SON OF
SUPERMAN.)
On PROMETHEA, JH and Mick vary the density of detail and
texture as the narrative demands.
The checkered Painted Doll motif (derived from DC’s '60s ‘go-go
checks’)
and the decorative panel borders are hand-rendered. JH refers to a
fine
spray of white paint as "splotches in panel one," usually applied with
a
toothbrush. The effect both leaves room for colorist Jeremy Cox, and
imparts the original art with texture.
The caption: "Siege of the South Tower, Incident 5: Blow-Up Doll" is
pasted
on. All dialogue is hand lettered, in ink slightly lighter than Mick
Gray's
preferred FW acrylic ink. Traces of blue pencil remain in every panel;
it
appears that only the panel borders and lettering lines show traces of
graphite. J.H. draws the PROMETHEA double page spreads on separate
sheets
of DC company paper, joined on the back with Scotch tape." -- Michael
Draine
Pages 22-23: The Temptation of St. Sonny sounds like a reference to The Temptation of Saint Anthony, a biblical story which has inspired various paintings throughout history by famous artists like
Bosch
Breughel
and many others. Just scroll down a little bit.
Page 24 Panel 4: Note that as Barbara's life ebbs away the sun symbol has its' eyes closed.
