Collected in THE JAMES BOND OMNIBUS: VOLUME 001 are the first 1,128 comic strips of spy fiction’s all-time superstar, gracing the pages of British newspapers beginning in the summer of 1958. Although they’re credited as being written by Ian Fleming, they really were adapted from his novels by Anthony Hern, Henry Gammidge and Peter O’Donnell, the creator of Modesty Blaise.
Here, Fleming’s first nine 007 books are adapted in chronological order, from CASINO ROYALE to THUNDERBALL. The one kink thrown in there is FOR YOUR EYES ONLY, which was an anthology of short stories. From those five, two made the cut: the motorcycle-assassin story “From a View to a Kill” and the opium-trafficking tale “Risico.”
The strips benefit by having a single artist — John McLusky — for the entire run as collected in this volume, although with his forehead curl, Bond sometimes looks like Superman. Although the book provides fun aplenty, I can’t imagine tackling these originally, with just a few panels at a time in the dailies. For example, in “Casino Royale,” one strip consists solely of Bond signing in at a hotel, followed by a close-up of the guestbook, followed by him saying, “I am expecting a cablegram.” And that’s it.
But how many other comics allowed lines like “Pussy stay by me!” and “Now. Pussy. Out!” to appear in the newspaper? Bond gets his ladies, but their breasts aren’t bared as they were much later in the series (see POLESTAR). Some interest can be found in comparing not only how closely they adhere to Fleming’s novels, but in how little resemblance they bear to the films.
Speaking of, Roger Moore provides the introduction, but it’s mostly about him. I’d rather see one that provided some history of the strip, because you get none. VOLUME 002, due next year, will pick up with THE SPY WHO LOVED ME through THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS. —Rod Lott
OTHER BOOKGASM REVIEWS OF THIS SERIES:
• JAMES BOND: POLESTAR
Related posts:
- James Bond: Polestar
- James Bond in the 21st Century: Why We Still Need 007
- Quantum of Solace: The Complete James Bond Short Stories
- BOOKS 2 FILM >> Casino Royale
- BOOKS 2 FILM >> The Edgar Allan Poe Collection: Volume 1 – Annabel Lee & Other Tales of Mystery and Imagination
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Rod,
The original individual editions by Titan Books, which started becoming available about 5 years ago and were published out of order, have intros by all sorts of people associated with Bond such as Maud Adams, Ian Fleming’s daughter I believe, and also Roger Moore among others. Each volume also has history about Fleming, Bond in books, as well as Bond in the comic strip. Also, there is a book that came out last year called James Bond: The History Of The Illustrated 007 by Alan J. Porter which is all about the Bond comic strip.