New Ongoing Bond Comic

24567

Comments

  • superadosuperado Regent's Park West (CaliforniaPosts: 2,651MI6 Agent
    edited November 2015
    I just bought the first issue from a local comic shop and was disappointed how short it was; maybe it's been a long, long while since I read a comic book in a monthly format (not the same as graphic novels) so I am unsure if the length is standard nowadays…the main content of the already thin comic seems like it was only half of the book, with the rest images of the alternate covers and miscellaneous promotional ads for Dynamite Comics. From a consumer's perspective, the cost of $4 for literature that's more like a pamphlet, e.g., it is not a good value. A word about the variant covers; sure, I get the concept, seeing comics and even magazines do about 4 variant covers, but for VARGR, there are enough variant covers for almost the whole alphabet (A, B, C, etc), which I think is extremely exploitive and predatory towards collectors.

    Furthermore, I completely misunderstood the premise of these Bond comics by Dynamite. Going by the press release from months ago, I thought that these would have a retro setting based on (1) The original Fleming stories, and (2) "original" stories with a retro setting that would explore Bond's world from even before CR, in-between periods like with Trigger Mortis, and stories that explore what happened to characters introduced in the Fleming books, which would necessitate a retro setting.

    From their press release:
    "Dynamite has been granted worldwide rights to publish comic books, digital comics and graphic novels starring 007, Fleming’s iconic secret agent will re-live the exploits that have thrilled and captivated fans for over half a century in fresh visual adaptations of the classic Bond stories.

    Moreover, Dynamite plans to create a series of brand new adventures unveiling the defining – and largely undocumented – early years of Bond’s career. These new stories will draw inspiration from the Fleming canon to explore Bond’s ‘origins’: his raw early years before he gambled with his life in the first novel, Casino Royale (1953). Some other familiar faces from the expansive 007 mythos will also make appearances in this series - criminal masterminds, hired henchmen, glamorous Bond Girls and secret service allies"

    " ...CBR also has an interview with Dynamite Senior Editor Joseph Rybandt. According to Rybandt, the 10 year license from IFPL will include adaptations of the original novels ("we have our writer for the adaptation of Casino Royale who just started writing the script") as well as an origin series of graphic novels to be set in the period of the original novels."

    As for VARGR, I'm plainly reminded of the Dark Horse comics (except those were made with a decent length), which for me, unfortunately, includes the effect of a retelling of Bond in a contemporary setting that severely lacks soul of the character and his world...like a story from a continuation novel, except the opportunity to grab the readers' imagination and attention was lost because of the brief format of comics. That would be critical for modern stories to anchor interest, which was successfully done with the Mike Grell trilogy from the 90s, which just oozed with Bondian elements and which crammed so much of that in its equivalent of the PTS...so in sum, I'm disappointed with this new comic and I'll hold off from going forward until Dynamite introduces the promised Fleming adaptations and their new "retro" stories...and on top of that, maybe I'll need to wait a couple of years until these stories are re-released in thicker compilation volumes for it to be worth my money and effort in reading it.
    "...the purposeful slant of his striding figure looked dangerous, as if he was making quickly for something bad that was happening further down the street." -SMERSH on 007 dossier photo, Ch. 6 FRWL.....
  • Robbo88Robbo88 Newcastle, England.Posts: 253MI6 Agent
    superado wrote:
    I just bought the first issue from a local comic shop and was disappointed how short it was; maybe it's been a long, long while since I read a comic book in a monthly format (not the same as graphic novels) so I am unsure if the length is standard nowadays…the main content of the already thin comic seems like it was only half of the book, with the rest images of the alternate covers and miscellaneous promotional ads for Dynamite Comics. From a consumer's perspective, the cost of $4 for literature that's more like a pamphlet, e.g., it is not a good value. A word about the variant covers; sure, I get the concept, seeing comics and even magazines do about 4 variant covers, but for VARGR, there are enough variant covers for almost the whole alphabet (A, B, C, etc), which I think is extremely exploitive and predatory towards collectors.
    .

    Yeah the amount of covers is really extraordinary. Also you would have to have some deep pockets to track them all down. Yeah comics usually are like that, I would of waited for the collected issues to come out in a graphic novel. But that will be the end of next year by the time we see that.
    "Sic Parvis Magna"
    "Greatness From Small Beginnings."
  • Polar Bear 0007Polar Bear 0007 CanadaPosts: 129MI6 Agent
    I couldn't agree with Superado more..........

    What a disappointment, just another marketing money grab. My local comic store got me the original and blank cover. He called today stating he got me a collectors cover (which one, I don't know), it's $40 and waiting to be picked up....... 8-)
    This is where we leave you Mr. Bond. (Pilot, Apollo Airlines)
  • IA-SteveBIA-SteveB IowaPosts: 62MI6 Agent
    I quit collecting comics long ago. I can't justify spending $4 for a monthly short story anymore. When I was a kid and they were 75 cents, that was a different story. I may check this one out, though.
  • Silhouette ManSilhouette Man The last refuge of a scoundrelPosts: 8,644MI6 Agent
    I would buy this if it was all collected together behind one cover; I take it this is what they are planning to do with this once they get all of the individual comics out?
    "The tough man of the world. The Secret Agent. The man who was only a silhouette." - Ian Fleming, Moonraker (1955).
  • Robbo88Robbo88 Newcastle, England.Posts: 253MI6 Agent
    I would buy this if it was all collected together behind one cover; I take it this is what they are planning to do with this once they get all of the individual comics out?

    Yes they will indeed. Probably be around next September time.
    "Sic Parvis Magna"
    "Greatness From Small Beginnings."
  • Silhouette ManSilhouette Man The last refuge of a scoundrelPosts: 8,644MI6 Agent
    edited November 2015
    Robbo88 wrote:
    I would buy this if it was all collected together behind one cover; I take it this is what they are planning to do with this once they get all of the individual comics out?

    Yes they will indeed. Probably be around next September time.

    In that case I'm probably wait until then as my Bond reading list just keeps on piling up! :) -{
    "The tough man of the world. The Secret Agent. The man who was only a silhouette." - Ian Fleming, Moonraker (1955).
  • am747am747 Posts: 720MI6 Agent
    I've never read a graphic novel - although I'll freely admit that some of the best films/TV in recent years has come from that medium - and the last comic I read was Victory, but I'll definitely give this one a go when it comes out.

    I've been meaning to pick up the Omnibuses one by one but haven't got around to it. You recommend them, AOS?

    Graphic novels when done right can be breathtaking. The best non-super-hero graphic novels that I have read are:

    1. Maus 1 & 2 by Art Spiegelman
    2. Louis Riel: A Comic-Strip Biography by Chester Brown
    3. Logicomix: An epic search for truth by Apostolos Doxiadis and Christos Papadimitriou

    You can get more info on them from Amazon. Would love to get more recommendations on books such as these. :)
  • Mr SnowMr Snow Station "J" JamaicaPosts: 1,736MI6 Agent
    stag wrote:
    Interesting. The last comic I read was the Dandy but would give this a go.

    Id recommend the Bond Omnibus Collections of the Comic Strips printed in the Daily Express -{

    I'll definitely second this. I have every one of these collections, the writing and graphics are brilliant.
    "Everyone knows rock n' roll attained perfection in 1974; It's a scientific fact". - Homer J Simpson
  • Shady TreeShady Tree London, UKPosts: 2,965MI6 Agent
    I've read three issues of 'Vargr' - and it's a disappointment. True, Bond's look is traditional here, dating back to the 'Daily Express' incarnation with the trademark comma of black hair. And the 'world' of this comicbook is somewhat inflected by darker aspects of Daniel Craig's Bond movies. But after a possibly promising start, 'Vargr' degenerates into a series of brutal, gory shootings, pegged to a flimsy plot, and with very little of the popular 'feel' of Bond (from either books or movies).
    Critics and material I don't need. I haven't changed my act in 53 years.
  • Silhouette ManSilhouette Man The last refuge of a scoundrelPosts: 8,644MI6 Agent
    Shady Tree wrote:
    I've read three issues of 'Vargr' - and it's a disappointment. True, Bond's look is traditional here, dating back to the 'Daily Express' incarnation with the trademark comma of black hair. And the 'world' of this comicbook is somewhat inflected by darker aspects of Daniel Craig's Bond movies. But after a possibly promising start, 'Vargr' degenerates into a series of brutal, gory shootings, pegged to a flimsy plot, and with very little of the popular 'feel' of Bond (from either books or movies).

    This isn't particularly high on my "to get" list then by the sounds of things! :#
    "The tough man of the world. The Secret Agent. The man who was only a silhouette." - Ian Fleming, Moonraker (1955).
  • Sir MilesSir Miles The Wrong Side Of The WardrobePosts: 26,416Chief of Staff
    ^ indeed ! I'd contemplated buying these off eBay - for 'completest' means only...not too sure now :#
    YNWA 97
  • Silhouette ManSilhouette Man The last refuge of a scoundrelPosts: 8,644MI6 Agent
    I think that they're collecting them all together into one book form of comics aren't they - best to wait for that to be released I feel, especially if the story's not very good. -{
    "The tough man of the world. The Secret Agent. The man who was only a silhouette." - Ian Fleming, Moonraker (1955).
  • asioasio Melbourne, AustraliaPosts: 546MI6 Agent
    As a former comic book collector (and now self-published comic creator) I was intrigued by this new series, and had my brother include this in his 'standing orders' at his local comic book store here in Melbourne.
    But after reading the first 3 issues, I'm going to drop it when the VARGR storyline ends at issue #6. Issue #3 was an improvement but so far I've felt there's very little substance to the story, and the bland interpretation of James Bond leaves me feeling underwhelmed by the whole experience. Plus the fact I'm shelling out $5.50 Australian per issue makes me feel a bit ripped off.
    Drawn Out Dad.
    Independent, one-shot comic books from the outskirts of Melbourne, Australia.
    twitter.com/DrawnOutDad
  • ShatterfangShatterfang Posts: 538MI6 Agent
    edited February 2016
    WHat I Like
    * Plenty action with decent choreography
    * And not over the top movie action, but down to earth, more realistic, ian fleming novel action
    * entertaining
    * Semi-continuous with the films: Moneypenny is black and they are using the post skyfall Mi6 building
    * Bond has a face unique from any the actors

    What I don't like
    * The artwork - too flat
    * M is black just for the sake of being PC ( And the ink color that they went with is weird)
    * I'm guessing this is a 6 issue arc, and there isn't really much plot or story wise at all.
    * there is no character development for bond
    * bond keeps doing coded messages that are stupid and make no sense. and in issue #4 he does it right in front of who he knows is definetely the enemy. He wasn't fooling anyone with "Hello grandpa, my friend's cousing didn't work out." By the way, the first coded message he used text, in issue #4 he calls them and talks in front of the villain?????


    Recomendations for improving:
    * Get a better artist
    * expand the next story arc after Vargr wraps up to 12 issues. they obviously need more time to tell these stories, 6 issues isn't going to cut it for bond.
    * stop trying to be clever with the coded messages

    If this was a novel, it would have plenty of action, at the bare bones, it just needs to be paced out more with story and character development.

    My reviews:
    #1 - a pre-title sequence, a title page if you will, followed by M's debriefing, and a visit to Q branch - Starts out just like a movie, and this Bond feels a bit like sterling archer - plenty of descent wit.
    #2 - Fresh off the plane, Bond instantly gets attacked by 2 double agents [very Fleming-esque]. afterwards when he takes his suitcase and starts walking to station G it was badass and hilarious at the same time. Then we get to see German sector of Mi6 which probably takes up way too many pages, and then we get a decent infiltration with bond on what the villain is up to.
    #3 - This is probably my favorite action scene so far. The action, however plot wise, just to have the villain send bond on a wild goose chase to a drug smuggling warehouse (with bad guys that aren't even working for the villain), is an excuse to have an action scene. And in storytelling its always better if story drives the action than if action drives the story. but it was action packed and well choreographed. i loved when bond pulls the shelves down on everybody, that was so awesome. Issue 3 is also where most of the ultra sadistic stuff happens, maybe too sadistic for some, in how bond ruthlessly kills the guy in cold blood, and then afterwards on how the henchman (who isn't rememerable enough to remember his name) shoots up all of sector G. I'll admit its a little Tarantino-esque, so it is way more bloody than anything bond fans are used to, but it works on some level. After the fight scene, the random bar that bond goes to and the shooting up sector G scene took way too many pages up, the warehouse could've taken up 10 pages instead of 15, and the sector g shootout could've taken 5 instead of like 8 .
    #4 - The waste way too many pages with bond coding a secret message in front of the villain. in fact we can just drop m all together. We don't have to see bond reporting back to m, we can just asume it happens behind the scenes. The fight scene was great, with a villain that can't feel pain a la Reynard. i wish the oxycotin effect was explained better, i didn't get exactly what effect a pain killer was having on a guy that couldn't feel physical pain. and then when he started bleeding through his eyeballs, it went way over the top. im pretty sure oxycoton overdose doesn't do that. i think bond is ruthless enough to do that to a villain but i don't think he would bleed through his eyeballs. after the fight, bond gets in a very stick situation and it ends on a good cliffhanger.
  • PPK 7.65mmPPK 7.65mm Saratoga Springs NY USAPosts: 1,227MI6 Agent
    Even though I find myself wanting each issue to run longer than it really does, I am really enjoying reading this series. I keep hearing Timothy Dalton's voice in my head when I read James Bond's lines. Also I am really enjoying Jason Masters artwork(why I had not heard prior to picking up this series).
  • chrisisallchrisisall Western Mass, USAPosts: 9,061MI6 Agent
    Is it just ME?
    I went to my local comics store & looked over the Bond comics, and sad to say the art was pretty flat & unimpressive IMO. I have a few from the past by Mike Grell & Paul Gulacy that I treasure, but to me, it has to look interesting or else I'd rather just be reading a novel....
    Dalton & Connery rule. Brozz was cool.
    #1.TLD/LTK 2.TND 3.GF 4.GE 5.DN 6.FYEO 7.FRWL 8.TMWTGG 9.TWINE 10.YOLT/QOS
  • PPK 7.65mmPPK 7.65mm Saratoga Springs NY USAPosts: 1,227MI6 Agent
    Yes, I will agree that Mike Grell & Paul Gulacy's stories had better art, most of what I saw was not very interesting to me and I have been reading comic books since 1989. Hopefully, the next storyline will have nicer artwork and a stronger story.
  • PPK 7.65mmPPK 7.65mm Saratoga Springs NY USAPosts: 1,227MI6 Agent
    Just found out that the new comic story Eidolon from Dynamite comics arrived yesterday. Looking forward to checking it out. More details about the series here:https://www.mi6-hq.com/sections/articles/comics_eidolon_preview?t=&s=&id=04099
  • superadosuperado Regent's Park West (CaliforniaPosts: 2,651MI6 Agent
    PPK 7.65mm wrote:
    Just found out that the new comic story Eidolon from Dynamite comics arrived yesterday. Looking forward to checking it out. More details about the series here:https://www.mi6-hq.com/sections/articles/comics_eidolon_preview?t=&s=&id=04099

    It seems that one of the covers is inspired by the the LTK poster photo, which is actually an improvement IMO.
    "...the purposeful slant of his striding figure looked dangerous, as if he was making quickly for something bad that was happening further down the street." -SMERSH on 007 dossier photo, Ch. 6 FRWL.....
  • PPK 7.65mmPPK 7.65mm Saratoga Springs NY USAPosts: 1,227MI6 Agent
    Got the first issue of Eidolon and I must stay that I enjoyed so far. Hope that James Bond gets the girl this time.
  • MilleniumForceMilleniumForce LondonPosts: 1,214MI6 Agent
    Recently bought the graphic novel of VARGR, good series, beautiful art. Will wait for Eidolon to be published all in one book, I prefer having it like that!
    1.LTK 2.AVTAK 3.OP 4.FYEO 5.TND 6.LALD 7.GE 8.GF 9.TSWLM 10.SPECTRE 11.SF 12.MR 13.YOLT 14.TLD 15.CR (06) 16.TMWTGG 17.TB 18.FRWL 19.TWINE 20.OHMSS 21.DAF 22.DAD 23.QoS 24.NSNA 25.DN 26.CR (67)
  • welshboy78welshboy78 Posts: 10,292MI6 Agent
    They are doing Casino Royale - out November
    Instagram - bondclothes007
  • PPK 7.65mmPPK 7.65mm Saratoga Springs NY USAPosts: 1,227MI6 Agent
    Just found out today that in October their is another mini-series called Hammerhead written by Andy Diggle with art by Luca Casalanguida. More about it here: https://www.mi6-hq.com/sections/articles/comics_hammerhead_preview?t=&s=&id=04118

    Looking forward to reading both Hammerhead and the rest of Eidolon.
  • PPK 7.65mmPPK 7.65mm Saratoga Springs NY USAPosts: 1,227MI6 Agent
    Got issue #8 of Eidolon today, it was a great read with lots of action. Eidolon is an old term for spectre or ghost, as M mentions during his debriefing with Bond and Bill Tanner. Also both Tanner and Bond have correctly guessed that someone is working behind the scenes prevent the information Cadence Birdsong has from being learned. Looking forward to the next issue.
  • 007Downunder007Downunder Hobart, Australia Posts: 373MI6 Agent
    I hadn't read comics for years but have really enjoyed the marvel films and Dark Knight trilogy. When I found out there was a Bond comic series I got them added to my son's order and have enjoyed them . Only up to #2 of Eidolon
    Anthony
  • Le SamouraiLe Samourai Honolulu, HIPosts: 573MI6 Agent
    Short but good interview with the new writer of the Bond comic 'Hammerhead', Andy Diggle:
    http://io9.gizmodo.com/how-james-bonds-new-comic-hammerhead-explores-the-two-s-1785144556

    'Hammerhead' sounds interesting. Mine is something of a minority view, but I like it when the socio-political aspects of James Bond are explored, and I appreciate that Diggle asks "Is 007 a force for positive change, or a protector of vested interests?" It's a question worth asking.
    —Le Samourai

    A Gent in Training.... A blog about my continuing efforts to be improve myself, be a better person, and lead a good life. It incorporates such far flung topics as fitness, self defense, music, style, food and drink, and personal philosophy.
    Agent In Training
  • writingsonthewallwritingsonthewall SpainPosts: 417MI6 Agent
    I just happened to read the first arc, "Vargr", and have to say I quite liked it. Ellis is always a sure bet, and even if some of the scenes are rehashes of already-made ones (Bond's escape at the beginning of #5 comes to mind) they're always edgy and witty. Definitely enjoyable, reads better as a book (out past August) yet the cliffhangers are well crafted. I could imagine this storyline becoming a Craig movie with some tweaking done to the script.

    Will eagerly check Eidolon and Hammerhead.
    "Enjoy it while it lasts."
    "The very words I live by."
  • jan old skooljan old skool The NetherlandsPosts: 71MI6 Agent
    Just arrived today. Apart from Vagr I never read 007 Comics. However this being the classic version 1958-1960, it got me interested. Another addition or addiction (?) to the 007 literature collection.


    23A44272-B59A-4BDD-9D16-9B7D1A7A1E4B.jpg
    this never happened to the other fellow
  • PPK 7.65mmPPK 7.65mm Saratoga Springs NY USAPosts: 1,227MI6 Agent
    edited April 2017
    Just ordered issues #4 &5 of Hammerhead today, looking forward to finishing the story. Also I ordered the first issue of the Felix Leiter series as well. Finally their is another storyline called Black Box featuring 007 which arrives in March. It is written by Benjamin Percy with art by Rapha Lobosco. The story finds Bond being hunted by a world class assassin who targets other assassins. The story also has Bond investigating a digital security breach. Looking forward to reading this when it arrives.
Sign In or Register to comment.