Compiled and edited by Laura Drescher
All Things Timothy
First story reprinted in ???
First published in June 1999.
Writer and artist: Peter Gross
Colorist: Sherilyn Van Valkenburgh
Separations: Jamison
Letterer: Comicraft
Cover artist: M.W. Kaluta
Assistant editor: Cliff Chiang
Editor: Stuart Moore
Disclaimer: The Books of Magic, The Books of Faerie, and all related characters and titles are copyrights and trademarks of DC Comics, Inc.
The Books of Magic, The Books of Faerie, and these annotations are intended for mature audiences only. Comments and additional information should go to Laura Drescher.
Reproduction in any form without permission of the editor (as agent for the contributors) is forbidden.
- Page 1
- Panel 1: Tim's father didn't kill himself, really. Details are in Issue 60. It's also explained why Tim is going up the fire escape to get into the apartment.
- Page 2
- Panel 2: Notice the star on Cyril's shoe; it's left over from Issue 54.
- Page 4
- Panel 2: We've seen Tim's box before, in the beginning of Issue 54.
- Page 6
- Panel 2: The figures around the Other are his versions of (clockwise from upper left) the Wobbly, the gargoyle from Issue 56, Tanger the Gnarl, two Leahs (notice the bull-like tattoo on the foreground Leah's hip, Circe has one like it), Awn the Blink, the Manticore, someone I can't identify (can you? Tell me.), and Crimple.
- Page 7
- Panel 5: There's a Mermaid-Leah on the right bottom side (she appears also in Panel 1 of this page). Abover her is the Wobbly, and on the top of the tower is the Umbrella Fellow from Issue 57 (although he has both arms).
- Page 10
- Panel 1: Readers on the mailing list were confused about this page's meaning for In-the-No. On April 21, 1999, Peter Gross posted this to the mailing list:
"He did get overextended to the point of collapse--I did a crappy job of showing it--my eyes were bigger than my stomach on that one."
- Page 11
- Panel 1: The guy on the right side of the bench is saying what Tim is writing. Bizarre.
- Panel 6: The T. is Thomas Currie.
- Page 15
- Panel 1: The Encyclopedia Mythica has this to say about sirens:
"In Greek mythology, the Sirens are creatures with the head of a female and the body of a bird. They lived on an island (Sirenum scopuli; three small rocky islands) and with the irresistible charm of their song they lured mariners to their destruction on the rocks surrounding their island."
- Page 19-20
- All Panels: It would seem that when one of Tim's creations understands what made it it is (or becomes) "undone."
On April 21, 1999 on the mailing list, Greg "don't call me Stripey" Lam asked:
"Did the chairbound version of Mr. Currie agree to the switch? I wasn't sure."
Peter Gross replied,
"There wasn't meant to be a switch, but seeing as how some readers thought there was...who knows. As I wrote the scene, it was just Thomas getting to see where he came from. But now I'm thinking that if Tim used a real piece of Thomas somehow, then maybe that piece would revert to the source. That could explain why Thomas was able to survive the destruction of his world. As it was, when Thomas spoke to his "true" self, he was meant to be speaking rhetorically. Basically he was saying, better to be you in that chair, than to be me with the weight of what I did upon me."
- Page 21
- Panel 4: There's the Umbrella Fellow again, this time without his right arm. I suppose that one panel was a fluke, or from too far away to be accurate.
Contributors include:
Greg Morrow is the editor of the Sandman Annotations, whose format and legal information I have used here.
Sascha Segan inspired me with his page, Suburban Mythos: The Books of Magic, and helped me begin these annotations.
Greg Lam asked Peter Gross about Thomas Currie and his chairbound version.
The Encyclopedia Mythica provided a definition of sirens.
Peter Gross gave explanations of In-the-No's demise and Thomas Currie's discovery on The Books of Magic Mailing List.