Summary:
A musical lesson, set to a familiar children's tune, about the evolution and development of modern human language.

Notes:
page 1. The "Been Unfolded Five (Minus Two)" is a reference to the Ben Folds Five, an upbeat pop band fronted by pianist Ben Folds. The group broke up in 2000, though had a reunion tour only recently. Ironically, there are only three menbers of BF5; Folds thought the "Five" name sounded "better than The Ben Folds Three".

page 1. The "F/U" block is a parody of the "E/I" bug that appears on much of the programming for younger viewers (educational/informative).

page 2. The Lascaux caves are the oldest and perhaps largest and most well-known collection of Precambrian cave paintings in the known world. In actuality they were discovered by four people, not just one--the oldest, Marcel Ravidat, was only 17, and not an adult as pictured in the second panel. He and his three friends, Jacques Marsal, Simon Coencas, and George Agnel, stumbled quite literally on the caves in 1940 when Ravidat's dog, Robot, fell through a small hole in the ground.

page 2. The hand of God (panel 5) is animated in the style of Terry Gilliam, who did the interstitial animation work for Monthy Python's Flying Circus and the Python troupe's films. The account of the Tower of Babel in Genesis doesn't say anything about the Tower being destroyed, some religious texts claim variously that it was knocked down by winds, the top of the structure was set on fire, and the earth swallowed it partially or wholly.

page 2. The graphic on the chart in panel 7 looks an awful lot like that of the Boston Celtics. Note that "Celts" is pronounced with a hard C, as in "kill", rather than a soft one (as in "soap"), like the basketball team.

page 3. The date given in the last panel is 410 A.D. corresponds to the date of the famous Sack of Rome, which, although considered to be a major factor in the decline of the Roman Empire, was not the fall itself. The actual fall of Rome, according to historians, was in the summer of 476. Note, also, the srereotypical Nero caricature, complete with fiddle, in the background; however, he had nothing to do with the fall of Rome, having happened to have died some 400 years before. Nero (54-68 A.D.), of course, is most well-known for playing the fiddle (some sources claim he performed an Italian operetta in full dress) while the city burned, though this is incorrect on several counts. Firstly, the fiddle was not invented for a thousand years after Nero died (in actually, he was skilled at the lute); secondly, reports have Nero nowhere near the city at the time of the Great Fire (in 64 A.D.). Finally, Nero, though perhaps infinitely cruel, wasn't the uncaring and incompetent ruler of legend. He did show concern for the victims of the fire, aiding the newly homeless and spearheading rebuilding efforts. This humanitarianism, however, was tempered by his scapegoating and relentless bloody persecution of Christians, whom he blamed for setting the fire.

page 4. Though the Picts are represented here by a stereotypical Irishman, in actuality they occupied the northernmost regions of Scotland. However, accounts of them do exist in Celtic and Irish manuscripts, and often Irish poets and balladeers portrayed them as similar to themselves in dress and physical appearance.

page 4. To call Vortigern "wise" may certainly be seen as ironic; historians now believe him to be the worst of the modern Briton line of kings.

page 4. The three Germanic tribes are depicted as the Three Stooges.

page 6. Alfred the Great is depicted as ALF, the star of the NBC sitcom of the same name about a short hairy extraterrestrial that crashlands on earth and lives secretly with a suburban family (also, the inspiration for the similar-looking Flungarians of this franchise).

page 7. The mythical Treaty of Wedmore was in actualy a (perhaps unwitting) fabrication on the part of a monk named Aaser (and, yes, that was his real name) and propagatyed by nodern historians. Asser wrote in his Life of Alfred of a treaty signed by King Alfred of Wessex and the Danish monarch Guthrum in 878, folowing Alfred's decisive defeat of the Vikings after a series of skirmishes, raids, and a brief retreat. Likely he confused some details, for the actual dociment was he Treaty of Alfred and Guthrum, signed about 880 A.D. It did indeed portion out a good chunk of England between the Britons and the Danes, as well as have the Danish monarch agree to embrace Christianity and to take Alfred as his adoptive father. Though preliminary talks may have been held at Wedmore, no formal paper was signed there.

This story is part of an arc: 1 2 3

Title: "Up the Demi-Jon Staircase"

Story (out of 24 pages): 17 p.

Writer: J.M. Sweet and Jonah K. Eastman

Penciller: Ethan W. "Meat" Jackson

Letterer:J. Antwon Shea

Colorist: Theo "Jet" Swann

Summary:

In the first chapters of this arc, Demi-Jon enrolled at Carbuncle High, pretending to go good, only to reveal his true plan: sieze control of the school.

In part two, Demi-Jon taunted a helpless (due to an inhibitor collar) Jon by reminding him how alike they really were..that evil was something inherited in the DNA scan, just as much as the powers they share. Jon flatly rejects this notion, saying "You were created in darkness. I was born in the light. You're an anomoly--no better than one of those bottom-feeding fish who dwell in the dark ocean trenches, who will explode if they rise up too high." Rattled noticeably, Demi-Jon left off his vberbal assault for the moment, leaving Jon and friends to plan their escape.

Meanwhile, Jeanne Stonehart, along with Tony Moneran and his crew, made their way into the building through a secret underground route through the sewer system.

Now, as the final chapter opens, Jon--with a bit of help from his friends--escapes Demi-Jon's electrified cage, then starts running. Feverishly he races against the clock to spare hundred of innocent lives. Moments later the collar explodes. The Warriors now face life without their dearest friend and leader...but grieving will have to wait. Demi-Jon gleefully reveals that that there is a second bomb in Jimmo's handcuffs! To say nothing of a force of some four hundred-odd really pissed-off blacks to deal with....

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