Casino Royale, Live and Let Die, Moonraker, Diamonds Are Forever, From Russia With Love, Dr. No, Goldfinger, From A View To A Kill, For Your Eyes Only, Thunderball.
I'm familiar with all of these James Bond adventures thanks to watching all of the films with my dad and grandpop as a child. But I've never read any of Ian Fleming's novels that gave birth to the world's greatest spy. Thus I was very excited when I found this anthology at my favorite used book store- Books Do Furnish A Room.
Prior to debuting in the movies, Ian Fleming signed an agreement with The Daily Express to adapt his books into newspaper dailies. Fleming was hesitant at first. He didn't want his works to be dumbed down to an elementary level. Fleming also didn't like on how Bond was originally designed. But I'm glad he finally settled with John McLusky!
The Bond strips were McLusky's first gig. An art teacher at the Slade School of Art, McLusky drew Ian Fleming's creation in a way that is really eerie. That's because McLusky's Bond looked just like Sean Connery- almost 5 full years before the Scottish actor would take on the role in 1962's Dr. No.
The interesting thing about these adaptations are how different they are from the live-action films produced by Albert Broccoli. Comparatively, the strips could be considered dull. For example, in Moonraker, Bond doesn't go into outer-space and there's no blimp or Golden Gate Bridge in the adaptation of A View To A Kill. Broccoli clearly felt that in order to enthrall audiences, the wow factor needed to be set to 11. But here in these comics, Fleming crafted some very elegant mystery-thrillers that are very British.
Casino Royale is perhaps the weakest of the stories. For one thing, it was Ian Fleming's Bond debut. Pilots always have kinks to work out. Plus, that story was adapted by Anthony Hern; who just doesn't seem to have a firm grasp on the character. The other stories were adapted by Henry Gammidge with the except of Dr. No which was written by Modesty Blaise's Peter O'Donnell. Dr. No wasn't bad. But Gammidge really seemed the ideal writer for the James Bond comics.
1962's Thunderball was perhaps the most clunky story. Ample time is devoted to Bond's time at a health spa in which he runs afoul of a Tong gangster. The plot to steal 2 nuclear bombs by Ernst Blofeld and his cronies at SPECTRE is drawn out to perfection. But the ending is rushed to just 2 pages with zero actual appearances by baddie Emilio Largo or Bond Girl Domino Derval.
For a solid minute, I felt that maybe some pages were omitted from this volume. But the numbering of the strips don't skip. I later researched this and discovered that The Daily Express temporarily ended it's relationship with Fleming and rushed a quick ending to the story. After Fleming and Daily Express editor Lord Beaverbrook settled a dispute over the comics strip rights to The Living Daylights, Bond would return to print in 1964.
And that's where we end volume 001. Well, not quite. Ever heard of the Bond story Risico? Neither had I. It's a short story buried within the pages of For Your Eyes Only. So far, there has never been a Bond film called Risico. But maybe!
Risico reads a lot like Ian Fleming's anti-drug opus. In this story, Bond goes to Italy to end the heroin trade that has been flowing into the UK. Just about every character makes PSA sounding statements about the evils of opium and heroin. It almost feels that Ian Fleming watched a few episodes of Dragnet while writing this book. Good story but very propagandized.
The first James Bond Omnibus was a delightful read. The right artist was selected for the strip. It took a little while, but this strip also found it's voice. If you've never read the original works but are more than versed in the films of James Bond, this is a wonderful look at a little known corner of MI6.
Worth Consuming!
Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.
Completing this review completes Task #19 of the 2022 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge. 'That was made into a movie.'
