The James Bond Omnibus, Volume 001 (2022 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Challenge)

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.'

Marvel Comics Presents #35

The Coldblood story by Doug Moench concludes in this issue. It was a charming little sci-fi story that had a lot of twists to it. Too bad this character never got his own series. Maybe Marvel felt that it had too many similarities to Deathlok.

With just 2 chapters left, Black Panther finally makes it to the compound holding his mother. But before he can find her, he's got to penetrate the fortress-like defenses first. 

In the Excalibur story, my favorite member is highlighted- Kurt Wagner, AKA Nightcrawler. The Loonies and their mysterious boss have put Kurt into a circus setting. This is normally Nightcrawler's forte. But as with his teammates simulated prisons, this circus is designed to play on the mutant's insecurities and fears. Usually those fears are about Nightcrawler looking like a demon with blue skin, fangs and a tail. But how will Kurt react when he discovers that at this circus, he's human and the performers are all monsters?

The one-shot story stars Her. Her is the whom the scientists if the Enclave create after Him revolted and fused into Adam Warlock. Her has taken on the monikers of Paragon, Ayesha and Kismet over the course of her 40 year plus history. Why Fabian Nicieza decided to call the character Her could be because the heroine was still known as Her in 1989. Or, the Deadpool co-creator decided to write a story during her early days. Such past stories aren't unfamiliar territory in Marvel Comics Presents. It's just not made clear whether this is a earlier set tale or not. And I don't know enough about Her's history to know further.

4 decent stories. Not perfect. But I enjoyed it.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Marvel Comics Presents #34

It's Meggan's time to shine. Though she's a bit of a bleached-blonde airhead on the surface, deep down, Meggan has a heart of gold and the tenacity of a beast. Literally!

In Meggan's entrapment, the Loonies have placed the mutant into a setting very similar to the Munsters. With Meggan playing the cousin Marilyn role, the rest of the family despise her and call her a freak which only opens the old wounds of being not quite human. Meanwhile, Kitty Pryde has managed to escape and it's revealed that the Loonies are under the control of a big boss. Only we don't quite know who the mastermind is. Yet!

With the Black Panther story, the favorite character of mine turns out not to be hurt at all! Thus Gene Colan and Don McGregor are forgiven for the red herring cliffhanger from last issue. 

Coldblood's story keeps getting interesting. The next issue is the last chapter. 

Our one-shot story stars Captain America in a team-up with Thin Man. I thought he was the leader of the Great Lakes Avengers. Turns out, he's a minor member of the Liberty Legion whose last appearance, up to this point, was 1976! Interesting paring of heroes. Okay story. 

Marvel Comics Presents continues to be like a roller coaster. This issue just happens to be one of the peaks. 

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Marvel Comics Presents #33

This issue's Excalibur focus is on Captain Britain. I don't mean to offend the people of the UK, but Brian Braddock is the worst member of England's mutant superhero team. Captain Britain is so powerful and yet he's completely insecure. His got a woman who is head over heels in love with him and he treats her like crap. Why did they make him the leader of the team???

So when the Loonies have older incarnations of the hero beat the crap out of him, I kinda cheered. I lie. I really did cheer!

With it comes to the Black Panther story, I hate it! First they killed off a friendly little dog. Then they killed off an innocent child. Now the best character in the whole story gets gunned down. And no, it's not Black Panther! Don McGregor and Gene Colan (Daredevil) have better not have made another poor decision and kill off this guy! 

The 8-page single story stars Namor, The Sub-Mariner. It's a poignant tale about the mass pollution and destruction of our oceans. Unlike other relevant comics stories that have been a part of this series, this story was actually good despite being preachy. I think artwork by a young Jim Lee (X-Men) has something to do with this! Don McGregor redeems himself. Well until I find out what happens in the next Black Panther segment.

Worth Consuming! But just barely!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

Jinny Hex Special #1 (2022 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Challenge)

The story of Jonah Hex continues in the pages of this one-shot special.

Virginia Heck, AKA Jinny Hex, is the great-great granddaughter of the notorious Old West bounty hunter. Jinny's mother has recently passed away. As a result, Jinny has inherited two things: her family's auto body shop and a mysterious chest full of 19th century guns, weapons and futuristic gadgets.

Just as Jinny is about to open the doors to the shop for the very first time, a man moseys in claiming to be an old flame of her mother's. If you do the math, he might also be Jinny's father. While Jinny is longing to fill the gap brought upon by a deceased parent, Jinny's friends are getting bad vibes from this guy. It appears that Jonah Hex's ability to read people is not one of the gifts Jinny inherited from her family. 

I haven't really dove into the Brian Michael Bendis curated Wonder Comics imprint. But as a fan of DC's Western titles, I was interested in learning more about the progeny of Jonah Hex. Though he created Jinny Hex in the pages of Young Justice, Bendis didn't write this story. Eternity Girl's Magdalene Visaggio pens this over-sized special. I appreciated how the writer didn't just focus on the 2020s. Instead, this story goes back to the 1880s and ties in Jonah Hex's legacy with both the character and the plot.

The editors really got me with a clever 'prank.' On one page, Jinny talks about needing to get the Justice League involved. You then turn the page and there's a 2-page scene in which Batman, Black Lightning and Katana are assisting with a brownstone fire. I was really hyped to have these characters taking a role in this special. Unfortunately, it just turned out to be a Snickers ad. No lie! Yup- you fooled me!

Speaking of ads, being an early 2021 DC book, there are a ton for the Future State storyline. I must say I have zero interest in that massive cross-over. I think this is a first for me. The art looks weak. The ideas seem borrowed. And $4.99 per issue is just too rich for my blood. 

A good story with decent art. It does a great job moving forward the Hex family tree. I'm just not sure if Jinny Hex is strong enough of a character to do it on her own.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Completing this review completes Task #16 of the 2022 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge. 'Read a book with a female protagonist.'

Marvel Comics Presents #32

Part two of the Excalibur story and we don't have the whole team. That's okay. Writer Michael Higgins (Power Pack) keeps the insanity up with this Shadowcat starring chapter. It appears that the Loonies have placed each team member of Excalibur into a fantasy world that both plays against their fears and insecurities and also sorta negates their special abilities. 

Quite natural to star things off with Shadowcat. Kitty Pryde might not be the team leader. But she's always been the brains of the outfit!

The Black Panther story continues to improve. Last issue, Black Panther received a letter from his mother. It appears to be a forgery or something written under duress. After an altercation with a would-be assassin, T'Challa finally gets his first real lead as to who may be behind his mother's imprisonment. 

The Coldblood story continues to be amazing.

Lastly in our one-and-done story, the mutant Sunfire stars in a story set against an all-new villain with energy powers that can manipulate matter. I've always felt that Sunfire was an underused character. I disliked that he left the X-Men after his initial mission with the team. So I greatly appreciated having him back if only for 8 pages of story. 

4 great chapters. Here's hoping the series is finally going back in the right direction after several very weak issues. 

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Gotham City Villains Anniversary Giant One-Shot

2021 was a milestone year for several member's of Batman's Rogues Gallery. With a Penguin story by one of the actor's who have portrayed the villain, Danny DeVito, I was excited for the special. And I was very much willing to pay the full $9.99 cover price. 

I won't be making that mistake again.

The DeVito story was all over the place. It should be considered a cautionary for allowing actors free range to craft stories that stroke inflated egos. (Danny Devito played the Penguin in 1992's Batman Returns) I don't want to spoil this story. But it's definitely a fantasy story that never, EVER would happen in legitimate Batman canon.

I'm not ragging on just Danny Devito and what I assume is his comic book writing debut. Ms. Marvels' G. Willow Wilson's story starring Poison Ivy was confusing and too artsy-fartsy. And the Scarecrow story by Wes Craig (Deadly Class) makes an odd left turn and implicates Nightwing as some sort of chosen one in Dr. Crane's bizarre plans which were already too spastic to understand. 

There were some good stories. I loved the twist at the end of the Ra's al Ghul story. The Talia story was decent as well. I enjoyed how Stephanie Williams' (Wonder Woman: Black & Gold) take on the Red Hood kinda had a take on the villain's legend similar to that on Gotham. 

The Mad Hatter story was just fantastic. It would have made a great segment on an episode of Batman: The Animated Series. But the story that shined the most starred the villain that gets so little respect that cover artist Lee Bermejo (Batman: Noel) didn't even bother to put him on the cover: Killer Moth!

Killer Moth gets a bad rap mostly because he gets his butt kicked in Batgirl's origin story. And then by the hero again and again and again. Still, his short story, which was way too short was the cream of the crop! Mairghread Scott crafted an epic in less than 10 pages. If DC would greenlight a Killer Moth series written by the Transformers writer, I would request it in my LCS pull box in a heartbeat!

There's a big difference between this special and the most recent DC holiday special I read in Decmber, is that the festive book tried too to be relevant for just about every race, gender and creed instead of focusing on quality. In this special, I feel that the writers were trying to get too much into the psyche of the characters. Thus storyline suffered greatly in many of the stories. Many of Batman's arch-enemies are insane. If you try to craft a tale from the point of view of a madman, things aren't going to make sense and that's what happened with the Scarecrow, Poison Ivy and Al Ghul stories. I have no idea what Danny DeVito was trying to do with the Penguin. 

While this special was much better than last year's holiday annual, I'm still disappointed. To have to give up a Hamilton plus tax, I'd expect perfection from DC Comics. I hate to not support new comics in a day and age where consumership is greatly waning. But I can't afford to keep throwing my money away on sub-par works. Especially these pricey ones.

Do better, DC!

Rating: 6 out of 10 stars