6 replies to this topic

[George White]

Apart from the ref to Dick Tracy in A View to A Kill and the TV watch from DT in Casino Royale 1967, and the possible hint to the Octopussy Daily Express strip in SPECTRE (Franz being the name of the guy who finds Hannes Oberhauser's body in the Octopussy strip), has Bond ever taken influence from comics, i.e. similar plots, characters, so on? 

[David_M]

Steranko gave Nick Fury an invisible car decades before DAD.  Well, technically it was clear plexiglass or something, but it was done for camo purposes, and billed as "invisible."  

 

The old Golden Age "Crimebuster Comics" from Charlie Biro's shop featured a popular villain called "Iron Jaw," who will remind you of a certain tall fellow we all knew and loved.

 

Buck Rogers had a jetpack long before Bell figured out the real deal and Bond flew one in TB.

 

On the whole, however, Bond actually owes more to pulps than he does comics.

 

Since you included the Daily Express strips, the reveal of Dr No in the strip, where Bond and Honey look at the "aquarium" glass and No sneaks in to answer Bond's unspoken question "How much did this cost," is practically a storyboard for the eventual film version.

[Dustin]

Not sure if this is what you are looking for, but Colonel Sun owes a big deal to the Modesty Blaise comic strip. The storyline TOP TRAITOR (September 65 - February 66) prominently features the abduction of the head of the Secret Service Sir Gerald Tarrant, the M-figure in the Modesty Blaise stories. Interestingly, while Colonel Sun is a favourite continuation with many fans, the comic itself makes much more of the initial idea than Kingsley Amis managed to. In 1973 Peter O'Donnell cannibalised his own idea for the Modesty Blaise novel The Silver Mistress. You can compare the comic and the two novels using this plot; chances are you will find both of O'Donnell's works superior to Colonel Sun with its sagging in the middle. Did Bond steal? Well, let's say it's not exactly a common plot for a fantasy/super-agent story. But in spite of its potential Bond doesn't seem to have much luck with it; it's strangly lacking in excitement both in Colonel Sun and TWINE.

[George White]

Any others?

What pulps has Bond stolen from? Fu Manchu/Dr. No obviously , but are there stuff from things like the Shadow, Doc Savage?

[David_M]

Well, "stolen" might not be the best word.  Let's say Bond's a "spiritual brother to" the pulps.

 

Beyond specific details like a homing device in a shoe or a grappling hook and rope in a belt (Doc Savage), Bond's just very "pulpy" in the broad sense.  I covered it in some detail in an article I did for the old "Mr KissKiss BangBang" site back in the 90s (later reprinted in an issue of ThrillerUK) but which you can read here, if interested.

[George White]

Borderline, but a Smurf promotional campaign in association with BP is advertised at the garage where Macnee has his last carwash in AVTAK.

The Smurfs originated as Franco-Belgian comic characters in Spirou. 

[Professor Pi]

The villain plot to create an earthquake in AVTAK was done in 1978's Superman The Movie.