The Annotated Books of Magic
Edited and largely written by Neil 'Sledge' Allan
Issue 2: "A Book of Leaves"
John Ney Reiber, Gary Amaro, Peter Gross
First part of storyline "Bindings"
Reprinted in trade paperback "Bindings"
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Page 1 Panel 4: There are three body types that describe an individual's
basic underlying physique: endomorph (heavy-set), mesomorph
(average build), and exomorph (skinny).
Page 2 Panel 6: Mr. Hunter's got a secret. Whatever might it be? Let's go to page 3 to find out, shall we?
Page 3 Panels 3-5: From January to June is only six months. Therefore Mrs. Hunter's pregnancy forced her to marry Tim's father.
Panels 5-6: So Tim's birthday is in June 1981. Since this is obviously winter now, and he's thirteen, we can assume that these events are taking place in late 1994 or early 1995.
Page 4 Panel 7: So maybe Mr. Hunter isn't Tim's biological father, but he was happy to marry Tim's mother anyway.
Page 5 Panels 2-4: Notice the owl posters on the walls. Tim's definitely got a Yo-Yo fixation.
Panel 4: On the desk I see what looks like a tube of model glue. But I don't see any models anywhere. Is Tim a sniffer?
Panel 6: Did Tamlin knock up Mrs. Hunter?
Panel 7: Tim's holding the stone that Tamlin gave him in Arcana Annual #1.
Page 6 Panel 2: The purple stone is glowing red, therefore it must be doing something funky.
Page 7 Panel 1: Sward?
Page 9 Panel 1: Why does Titania think that Tamlin has destroyed Faerie? He's already stated that glamours have been masking this reality. Is Titania repressing?
Panel 2: Titania has just replaced the glamours.
Panel 4: Lord Raptor - no, not an intelligent, basketball playing dinosaur. Rather the more traditional definition of raptor, namely a bird of prey.
Panel 5: The peach may look pretty, but glamours do not affect taste.
Page 10 Panel 2: Any clue as to what is trying to get the nut from the pixie/fairy-like creature?
Panel 3: Sarisen - see BoM #1; Caverns of the Ulven - any ref? Hobble-Children - any ref?
Page 11 Panel 7: Who won't let her heal the rift between Faerie and Earth? If it's the Manticore, why won't he?
Page 12 Panel 1: Note the book in the pile o' bones. Tim's still holding the magic stone thingy.
Page 13 Panel 2: I have no latin experience, so I need translations. Anybody able to help? 'Exitus Acta Probat'?
Panel 5: 'Eheu Fulgaces Labuntur Anni'? Also note that the fairy that the Manticore is working upon is much smaller and deader than perhaps first expected. BTW, the globe is not of the earth.
Page 14 Panel 1: Does anybody recognize the painting?
Panel 2: So the fairy is a specimen. Of interest, that's a mighty strange place for a comma seperator on the specimen plaque.
Panel 3: The white teeth around the Manticore's mouth are not painted on. Curiouser and curiouser.
Panel 4: What's the deal with this cord?
Page 15 Panel 1: 'Non sum qualis eram'? It also appears that Ingram is a specimen, too. This would appear to be Tim's fate, since he is to be the Manticore's new student.
Panel 2: Recognized creatures: Pteranodon, winged lion (a griffin?), giant owl, cow, seraphim (w. horn), giant pufferfish, flying pig (when pig's fly!), fallen angel (w. bat wings), stegosaurus, triceratops, manticore (he's not the only one, and he's mortal), mermaid, raven. If these are all meant to be mythological creatures, what are the dinosaurs, cow, owl and raven doing here?
Page 16 Panel 4: Zeno's paradox: Zeno wagers Achilles that he cannot beat a tortoise in a foot race if the tortoise is given a head start. In the time it takes for Achilles to get to where the tortoise started, the tortoise has progressed some distance. By the time Achilles has covered this distance, the tortoise has again moved forward. And so on. Hence, Achilles always stays behind the tortoise. It's application here, to a boy climbing a wall is a little clumsy, IMO.
Page 18 Panels 1-3: Tim is learning from his last time in Faerie; see BoM Miniseries #3.
Page 19 Panel 3: Tim's also learned that names have immense power. Any specific reference to Jack Bone though?
Page 20 Panel 3: 'ecce signum'?
Panel 4: The bone dolls have danced this pattern into the dirt. They're vaguely reminiscent of crop circles if you ask me. Most importantly, they mean something to the Manticore.
Page 21 Panel 5: The Manticore still has the cord wrapped around his arm. Why?
Panels 6-7: It seems that Tim derives some meaning from these tracings as well.
Page 22 Panel 2: The Manticore is wiping the greasepaint from his mouth.
Panel 5: a headless samurai with wings (?), a big bird (a Moa?), some serpent eating its tail, and a horned dog (or small deer?). Can anybody identify references to these? Of particular foreboding interest is the winged dog in the bird cage.
Page 23 Panel 1: some unidentified beastie. a manchurian lion, perhaps?
Panel 2: Tim's standing by a satyr with a flute. The bird could be a phoenix.
Panel 5 What does Tim see in the unicorn that changes his attitude so quickly?
Page 24 Panel 3: 'et pluno jure'?
Panel 4: 'sicitur ad astra'?
Panel 6: The unicorn's eyes look more alive now. Compare 24:4
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