92 replies to this topic

[Tiin007]

From Ian Fleming Publications:

 

http://www.ianflemin...graphic-novels/

[sharpshooter]

This is fantastic news, especially the new adventures bit. 

 

2015 is shaping up to be another Bond filled year.

[Dustin]

A very exciting announcement. I've long since thought fresh Bond material might best be suited to the graphic novel form. That part of this will now see the light of day as a remake of the classic Daily Express strips I wouldn't have thought. It will be most interesting to see this. As far as I know Doug Moench is on Dynamite's team, I wouldn't be surprised if he were involved with the reappearance of 007 on the pages of the 9th art.

With entirely fresh material though a lot will depend on who they bring in for the story. Off the top of my hat I can't think of any name in the Dynamite vaults that would interest me in relation to Bond. Dynamite has acquired a tall list of classic comic, pulp and TV characters, but the roaring success in the comic scene these days always seems to happen elsewhere. Maybe this was the reason IFP didn't pick up on Higson's War Bond. Or maybe Higson is actually involved in the comic project...?

[Gothamite]

To be perfectly honest, I'm a little bit worried about this.

"Ian Fleming's James Bond is one the best-known characters in the world, yet we know very little of his background and beginnings,"

"The Bond villains are some of the most memorable figures in popular culture… where did they come from? And in some cases, where did they go?"

 

...Not only is James Bond's history detailed throughout the novels (and even in some of the actual films) but then there's Higson's 'Young Bond'. I know far more about James Bond as a youngster than I do about young Bruce Wayne or young Clark Kent. I know where he went to school, what countries he visited and when, why he got expelled, what kind of food he liked, when and how he lost his virginity...what new ground exactly do they hope to cover? It just sounds like the editor isn't familiar with the licence beyond the films.

 

The same is true of the villains...entire sections of the novels (and the films!) are devoted to establishing where they came from. I really don't want to just see rehashed versions of all of that when we could be seeing brand new content. 

 

This probably seems a bit reactionary, but it would appear to me that they're more interested in the lazy public perception approach and pretending like they're the first people to have these great ideas about making the character three-dimensional, instead of actually doing their homework and reading the books on which half the films are based.

 

Plus, Dynamite have a history of buying licenses for classic characters (Flash Gordon, The Shadow, The Green Hornet), giving them to an all-star creator who might do two or three so-so issues before handing it over to nobodies who squander it away. I'm skeptical, but I'll hold my judgement until I read them.

Edited by Gothamite, 07 October 2014 - 09:17 PM.

[Iceskater101]

I think this could be interesting! I found out about this and since I am new to the whole comics thing, I might want to pick this up!

[Turn]

I admit I have mixed feelings about this too. While it's can be a good thing to have more Bond product available, the brand seems to have a very uneven history in comics form. Aside from the collected Daily Express strips, I think some of the more intriguing comics were those that were done in the '60s and '70s in various non-English-speaking countries and would like to see some of these collected and translated into English the way they did with the Manga Batmans a few years ago. 

 

While I liked the first new series that started in the early '90s, I wasn't as taken with some of the later such as the one where Bond fought a mutated lizard villain and fought dinosaurs. There's even a thread here devoted to it. It seems hard sometimes to translate the character to another medium without becoming dicey.

 

I'm not sure how readapting the Fleming books into modern comics form will be. I think those previously done were quite good and especially intriguing when comparing them to their film versions. It will likely never happen but what I would like to see adaptations of the continuation authors' stories. You take a chance whenever you start playing with the early years.

 

As Gothamite said, we'll just have to wait and see and hope for the best. Maybe we'll finally get the long-term series we've always longed for or maybe the quick flameout that's seemed to characterize Bond's association with the comic form. 

[Grard Bond]

I bought ten years ago all the classic Bond comics based on the Fleming stories (the rest I was not interested in), but I don't want to read new, different versions of it.

[tdalton]

It'll be interesting to see how this goes.  I would imagine that there's probably more reason for optimism on this front than there is on the book front.  

[Call Billy Bob]

Far more interested in the new adventures than the retellings...

[billy007]

Retelling Bond's past before earning 00 status in an adult format might be worth reading.

"Young Bond" did its job but it was still young adult.

Retelling classic Fleming in a new format might enciurage new readers.

 

Wait and see.

[Double Naught spy]

Great news!  I'm intrigued by the fact that, after all these years since the Daily Express newspaper strips, they are planning to revisit the Fleming novels in illustrated form.  

 

Good luck to the artist(s) - the bar was certainly set pretty high back in the day by McLusky. . . and then elevated even further by Horak. 

[007jamesbond]

deleted wrong place

[Bryce (003)]

Quite looking forward to this. Of the Bond comics over the years, The "Permission To Die" trilogy published in the early 90's by Dark Horse is among the best and certainly filled the void during the 89-95 film hiatus (aka: The Dark Years) and were very well done in terms of both story and artwork.

 

Based on what info we have at this point, the potential sounds really good.

[AMC Hornet]

 The "Permission To Die" trilogy published in the early 90's by Dark Horse is among the best ... very well done in terms of both story and artwork.

Sorry, Bryce, but I have to say:

 

You wot?

 

PTD was little more than an illustrated fanfic - just as derivative as any I've read (revisiting Vavra's gypsy tribe, collapsible helicopter, the villain dressing up as the Phantom of the Opera??!! )

 

Even the title, coming just after the film Licence to Kill (which Mike Grell also produced in comic form) lacks originality.

 

As an OC collector, of course I had to round up all three issues, but I was disappointed with the end result. Subsequently I've never been interested in any of the follow-ups to the original McClusky serials.

 

But that's just me.

[Bryce (003)]

Fair enough AMC, but I really enjoyed it and it was some Bond when I was really aching for something, anything aside from the Gardner works which were filling the void. I'm no comic/graphic novel expert, but much like Peking duck or Russian caviar, I do know what I like. 

[AMC Hornet]

Fair enough in return.

[Dustin]

I only have the first part of PERMISSION TO DIE, so I can't really judge the whole thing, only that first act. That said I've heard before that some readers were decidedly underwhelmed by it.

 

But regardless how you judge it, it does have a number of unique aspects to it. To the best of my knowledge it's the first and only Bond original comic trying to amalgamate Fleming's original with Gardner's continuation Bond and the silver screen version. And it's the only piece of Bond writing that foresaw - in 1989, no less! - the return of the DB5. At least with this little detail Mike Grell was spot on...

 

The artwork is not overly mind-blowing, but also not too terrible for late 80s. Some panels are quite atmospheric, some look strangely disproportionate, as if washed once too often a bit too hot (the Bond-M scene particularly). Not entirely wrong but half a beat off, as if Grell wasn't comfortable with the perspective he took. 

 

That said, my edition has a b/w Bond image front and back inside, a depiction of a relaxed Bond in dinner jacket holding his gun in his left, and while that face may just be that bit too pretty it's the only one that I know of that uses the famous scar to effect without looking utterly hideous. The same splendid effect keeps turning up in the panels on Bond's face, a very good balance of handsome features and a disfigurement that is rarely used in illustrated Bond (with McClusky you could never tell whether there was supposed to be a scar or if it was just heavy jowls; his Bond started looking middle aged around MR - if not earlier - and Horak's was strangely lined in general). 

 

Grell gives us a kind of 'titles' with classic cinema images of the Bond films, the golden girl, Thunderball's divers, Dr No, so on. Then the famous DB5 in front of Universal Exports (now operating supposedly as a pub, as far as one can tell from the sign...), a Q-branch workshop supposedly taken straight out of TLD, a female technician (deaf-mute) from Gardner's LR, a Q out of a nightmare and the ASP from Gardner's ROH. When I leafed through the copy at the comic dealer I really thought I was in for something great. 

 

However, the contents really didn't live up to all the potential. Bond's mission takes him to Budapest but here we get little more than a glimpse taken from a postcard. Knowing the city myself I have to say there was huge potential missed, especially when you think Grell could have done there whatever he pleased to do, no authorities could have stopped him. The Grand Hotel on the Margaret island (not the Grand Budapest Hotel!) with its surrounding park and the Roman ruins of Aquincum in Budapest would have made far more interesting settings. But then you'd have to know the city to use these.

 

As far as the story is concerned I can't tell a lot from the first part. Yes, Vavra may seem derivative, but I actually liked hearing of this old ally again. At the time it was rare to even get a mention of former adventures as Gardner in his continuations seldom made use of original characters, not even his own. Back in the day I found myself waiting eagerly for the next part. Somehow, life got in the way and I forgot about it.

 

No, PTD is not on par with Modesty Blaise comic strips (to remain in the genre), not even the weaker ones of the later years. And it's surely far from XIII, which started out in the mid-80s and beat this Bond comic in almost every respect in its early years. But at a time when there was precious little new Bond material to speak of PTD provided fans with a little much-needed relief. 

 

Not to be underestimated, given the times...

Edited by Dustin, 20 January 2015 - 01:40 PM.

[Messervy]

I'm discovering this topic... with great enthusiasm!

 

On paper (no pun intended, surely) I'm all for it. But of course we'll have to wait and see how this will actually be drawn. Even with a solid writer, this could end up lame if the drawings are weak.

 

Any news as to when this is supposed to be released?

[Messervy]

Any fresh news?...

[Dustin]

Not that I would know of, it's pretty quiet on that front. Could be deliberate to try and use the hype of SPECTRE later this year, and mayhap the novel by Horowitz, too. The comics will be after all a sideline of the core business. Unless the new comics are really groundbreaking material that makes the industry stop dead in its tracks they will probably sail with a limited budget for promotion. Could be we'll not hear any news until ComicCon.

[Orion]

http://comicbook.com...d-for-dynamite/

 

Author and artist announced!! Also some brilliant preliminary artwork.

 

Bigger names than I was expecting. I love Warren Ellis writing especially his (criminally short) run on John Constantine: Hellblazer.

I'm approving that early artwork, very moody and a good indicator that the series will be worth getting even if just for the art work!

[Orion]

http://www.comicbook...ites-james-bond

 ...and some more info on the series courtesy of Dynamite editor Joseph Rybandt. Interesting tidbit where he reveals other stories' writers have already been chosen...

[quantumofsolace]

http://www.theguardi...e-jason-masters

 

http://www.wired.co....ames-bond-comic

[Syndicate]

When will the comics be out here in the U.S.?

[stromberg]

Not really a comic guy, so I can't really tell if it's good or bad news (sounds like good news).

But I can tell that the city in the background of this image is Helsinki:

 

[Orion]

Not really a comic guy, so I can't really tell if it's good or bad news (sounds like good news).

But I can tell that the city in the background of this image is Helsinki:

 

Warrren Ellis is a HIGHLY respected and acclaimed writer of comics, shockingly huge name in comics for this project  Between having a Sam Mendes directed Bond film, an Anthony Horrowitz written novel and a Warren Ellis comic book series, Bond is doing very well this year for highly acclaimed individuals taking on the character in their respective fields. 

[archer1949]

They had me at "Warren Ellis".

Seriously , if you haven't, check this guy's stuff out. It's brilliant.

[Orion]

When will the comics be out here in the U.S.?

November as far as I know, presumably in the hope SPECTRE will help their sales.

[Marcin]

I'm looking forward to reading it! The cover art of VARGR looks absolutely fantastic. I'm not familiar with Warren Ellis, but it appears he's a respected writer.

When I first heard about this project I was a little bit concerned. Dynamite Entertainment is not a top comic book publisher, mainly focused on adaptations of tv and movie franchises. But now I believe we may get some really good stories (adaptatons of Fleming novels are quite unnecessary, though). Fingers crossed!

[Thevan7F]

I read about too somewhere. I subscribe with Dynamite comic Red Sonja & John Shaft. I will also Subscribe their James Bond comics.  I be back on this post what I think of it. I hope they draw him in his classic Walther PPK I hope everyone hope as well. I hope the video like Bloodstone & Nightfire titles I hope they use.

               

Edited by Thevan7F, 11 July 2015 - 02:51 AM.