Dynamite's Bond comics and graphic novels

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  • NickTwentyTwoNickTwentyTwo Vancouver, BC, Canada
    Posts: 7,547
    Yeah it’s fairly frustrating that none of these graphic novel stories seem to be able to stick the landing.
  • QBranchQBranch Always have an escape plan. Mine is watching James Bond films.
    Posts: 14,571
    Solstice hit the spot - the best of the lot! And that was just a one shot!
  • MurdockMurdock The minus world
    Posts: 16,351
    I've been tearing into these and my top 3 are.

    1. Hammerhead.
    2. Black Box.
    3. Solstice.

    I'm enjoying Dynamite's run. There have been a few duds but ultimately they are pretty good in my book.
  • Posts: 128
    Anyone hear anything about when the next issue of Himeros will be out?
  • Posts: 5,993
    According to comiclist, it will be out on january 19th 2022.

    https://blog.gocollect.com/dynamite-entertainment-extended-forecast-for-01-05-2022/
  • NickTwentyTwoNickTwentyTwo Vancouver, BC, Canada
    edited January 2022 Posts: 7,547
    QBranch wrote: »
    Solstice hit the spot - the best of the lot! And that was just a one shot!

    Gonna have to dive into this one again soon! I do remember it positively, but I can't recall much of it in detail.

    Dynamite should use this medium to do faithful adaptions of Fleming's short stories.
  • DarthDimiDarthDimi Behind you!Moderator
    Posts: 24,179
    Any word on MR?
  • NickTwentyTwoNickTwentyTwo Vancouver, BC, Canada
    Posts: 7,547
    DarthDimi wrote: »
    Any word on MR?

    Oh yeah, I forgot they were doing those. :))
  • MaxCasinoMaxCasino United States
    Posts: 4,629
    Amazon has a full graphic novel release date for Himerous: June 21, 2022.

    https://www.amazon.com/James-Bond-Himeros-Rodney-Barnes/dp/1524121738/ref=sr_1_38?keywords=james+bond&qid=1641337596&s=books&sr=1-38

    Like everyone else, I'm still waiting for Moonraker! I hope they ask Van Jensen back, even though he said he wasn't going too.
  • NickTwentyTwoNickTwentyTwo Vancouver, BC, Canada
    Posts: 7,547
    I'd love to see Lee Bermejo do a Bond graphic novel. Tim Sale did a really compelling Bond image once as well.

    c1chv2ryk5511.jpg?auto=webp&s=6174b2b562beb7e0e91c2d330d2972f0cc0f7253
  • Posts: 128
    Gerard wrote: »
    According to comiclist, it will be out on january 19th 2022.

    https://blog.gocollect.com/dynamite-entertainment-extended-forecast-for-01-05-2022/

    Thanks!
  • 00Heaven00Heaven Home
    Posts: 575
    Has anyone read the latest issue of Himeros?

    Did so yesterday... and it's just bad.
  • ImpertinentGoonImpertinentGoon Everybody needs a hobby.
    Posts: 1,351
    Ok, so I'll still do the running commentary thing, just because I like chronicling my thoughts, but I don't expect a lot from this.
    So the Nigerian Minister of Defence's position here after a man just told him "Dude, pedophilia is totally fine and actually a sign that I am a man of high status" is "Yeah I don't really mind the pedophilia and sex trafficking. It's the bad press about this illegal arms deal with a pedophile that worries me. Cancel Culture, amirite?"?? This book...

    So the point of the gun is that it doesn't leave bullet fragments and poisons the victim? Why did you shoot him in the head? And what kind of a semi-illegal arms dealer goes around just murdering government officials?

    Also, the art isn't good at all here. I don't like Antonio Fuso's work, but the first two issues he did were much better than what Giorgio Pontrelli is doing here.

    Two pages about how Bond doesn't have a pilot's licence but can still fly a plane? Sure, why not.
    Also, weren't they last on a boat on their way to the island? Why now a plane?

    Ok, so Bond finally says he's kind of attracted to her, but you know the whole having been a leading part of a child sex trafficking ring is a bit of a downer. Glad we finally have clarity on that one. I was actually afraid they were going to end up sleeping together, the way this has been going previously.

    Her room on the child sex trafficking island was styled like her childhood bedroom. That isn't creepy at all...

    This is just such bad dialogue. My god.

    Again with the nonsensical geography in gunfights.

    OH FOR F**K'S SAKE.

    Yeah, it's bad, guys.
  • 00Heaven00Heaven Home
    Posts: 575
    Ok, so I'll still do the running commentary thing, just because I like chronicling my thoughts, but I don't expect a lot from this.
    So the Nigerian Minister of Defence's position here after a man just told him "Dude, pedophilia is totally fine and actually a sign that I am a man of high status" is "Yeah I don't really mind the pedophilia and sex trafficking. It's the bad press about this illegal arms deal with a pedophile that worries me. Cancel Culture, amirite?"?? This book...

    So the point of the gun is that it doesn't leave bullet fragments and poisons the victim? Why did you shoot him in the head? And what kind of a semi-illegal arms dealer goes around just murdering government officials?

    Also, the art isn't good at all here. I don't like Antonio Fuso's work, but the first two issues he did were much better than what Giorgio Pontrelli is doing here.

    Two pages about how Bond doesn't have a pilot's licence but can still fly a plane? Sure, why not.
    Also, weren't they last on a boat on their way to the island? Why now a plane?

    Ok, so Bond finally says he's kind of attracted to her, but you know the whole having been a leading part of a child sex trafficking ring is a bit of a downer. Glad we finally have clarity on that one. I was actually afraid they were going to end up sleeping together, the way this has been going previously.

    Her room on the child sex trafficking island was styled like her childhood bedroom. That isn't creepy at all...

    This is just such bad dialogue. My god.

    Again with the nonsensical geography in gunfights.

    OH FOR F**K'S SAKE.

    Yeah, it's bad, guys.

    Hah, yes. All of this.

    Did you feel Bond was very Connery looking in the art of this one or was it just me?
  • ImpertinentGoonImpertinentGoon Everybody needs a hobby.
    Posts: 1,351
    00Heaven wrote: »
    Ok, so I'll still do the running commentary thing, just because I like chronicling my thoughts, but I don't expect a lot from this.
    So the Nigerian Minister of Defence's position here after a man just told him "Dude, pedophilia is totally fine and actually a sign that I am a man of high status" is "Yeah I don't really mind the pedophilia and sex trafficking. It's the bad press about this illegal arms deal with a pedophile that worries me. Cancel Culture, amirite?"?? This book...

    So the point of the gun is that it doesn't leave bullet fragments and poisons the victim? Why did you shoot him in the head? And what kind of a semi-illegal arms dealer goes around just murdering government officials?

    Also, the art isn't good at all here. I don't like Antonio Fuso's work, but the first two issues he did were much better than what Giorgio Pontrelli is doing here.

    Two pages about how Bond doesn't have a pilot's licence but can still fly a plane? Sure, why not.
    Also, weren't they last on a boat on their way to the island? Why now a plane?

    Ok, so Bond finally says he's kind of attracted to her, but you know the whole having been a leading part of a child sex trafficking ring is a bit of a downer. Glad we finally have clarity on that one. I was actually afraid they were going to end up sleeping together, the way this has been going previously.

    Her room on the child sex trafficking island was styled like her childhood bedroom. That isn't creepy at all...

    This is just such bad dialogue. My god.

    Again with the nonsensical geography in gunfights.

    OH FOR F**K'S SAKE.

    Yeah, it's bad, guys.

    Hah, yes. All of this.

    Did you feel Bond was very Connery looking in the art of this one or was it just me?

    Can't say that it came to mind for me, no. I was mainly distracted by his humongous upper lip in some panels. No idea why an artist would draw a face like that.
  • 00Heaven00Heaven Home
    Posts: 575
    00Heaven wrote: »
    Ok, so I'll still do the running commentary thing, just because I like chronicling my thoughts, but I don't expect a lot from this.
    So the Nigerian Minister of Defence's position here after a man just told him "Dude, pedophilia is totally fine and actually a sign that I am a man of high status" is "Yeah I don't really mind the pedophilia and sex trafficking. It's the bad press about this illegal arms deal with a pedophile that worries me. Cancel Culture, amirite?"?? This book...

    So the point of the gun is that it doesn't leave bullet fragments and poisons the victim? Why did you shoot him in the head? And what kind of a semi-illegal arms dealer goes around just murdering government officials?

    Also, the art isn't good at all here. I don't like Antonio Fuso's work, but the first two issues he did were much better than what Giorgio Pontrelli is doing here.

    Two pages about how Bond doesn't have a pilot's licence but can still fly a plane? Sure, why not.
    Also, weren't they last on a boat on their way to the island? Why now a plane?

    Ok, so Bond finally says he's kind of attracted to her, but you know the whole having been a leading part of a child sex trafficking ring is a bit of a downer. Glad we finally have clarity on that one. I was actually afraid they were going to end up sleeping together, the way this has been going previously.

    Her room on the child sex trafficking island was styled like her childhood bedroom. That isn't creepy at all...

    This is just such bad dialogue. My god.

    Again with the nonsensical geography in gunfights.

    OH FOR F**K'S SAKE.

    Yeah, it's bad, guys.

    Hah, yes. All of this.

    Did you feel Bond was very Connery looking in the art of this one or was it just me?

    Can't say that it came to mind for me, no. I was mainly distracted by his humongous upper lip in some panels. No idea why an artist would draw a face like that.

    Yeah, in general the art is exceptionally poor in this one.
  • Posts: 128
    Yeah, I too have been let down by HIMEROS, and all the more so knowing that month's issue is the conclusion. I think back to HAMMERHEAD, KILL CHAIN and BLACK BOX, all stories that felt like fully fleshed out Bond adventures with lots of globetrotting, clever action sequences and most of the other tropes we come to expect from a satisfying Bond story. These five issue arcs just aren't cutting it. On the other hand, BIG THINGS felt very rushed at the end but that one got six issues, so who knows.
  • MaxCasinoMaxCasino United States
    Posts: 4,629
    Well, Dynamite have 3 more years with the license. I think we could see more, but I wouldn’t be offended if they stop. I’d just be sad we didn’t get more James Bond Origin or a faithful adaptation of Moonraker.
  • What annoys me is both Kill Chain and Felix Leiter left on cliffhangers which haven’t been continued. Ever since the Body Dynamite’s output has been on a downward trajectory which is a shame because 4 of 5 years ago I genuinely believe they couldn’t miss.
  • edited January 2022 Posts: 3,566
    2Wint2Kidd wrote: »
    What annoys me is both Kill Chain and Felix Leiter left on cliffhangers which haven’t been continued. Ever since the Body Dynamite’s output has been on a downward trajectory which is a shame because 4 of 5 years ago I genuinely believe they couldn’t miss.

    I won't disagree that The Body was the beginning of a very disappointing batch of offerings. I suspect that the Bond series has been a big disappointment for Dynamite as well as it has been for Bond fandom. Sales on the Bond titles don't seem to have been very strong....point the finger as one might, it's hard to defend the quality of the series offered AND hard to argue that Dynamite ought to be putting a greater effort into a poorly performing series. I expect the Fleming novel adaptations have been particularly disappointing, sales-wise, from Dynamite's point of view. At the very least, Bond fandom ought to be a bit more supportive of those books...and if the sales justified the expense, I'm sure Dynamite would be pushing to get those out more often.
  • Very much agree @BeatlesSansEarmuffs. I understand that the sales have been disappointing, but on the other hand the sales are going to continue to be disappointing with a lack of quality, as there isn’t much positive word of mouth for these recent series. At least with the earlier titles there was good word of mouth and if they continued in that direction it may have got people hooked somewhere down the road. But with titles like Himeros and Agent of Spectre (which I actually haven’t read) I’m not going to go out of my way to read it because I haven’t seen too many people on here sing it’s praises.
  • 2Wint2Kidd wrote: »
    Very much agree @BeatlesSansEarmuffs. I understand that the sales have been disappointing, but on the other hand the sales are going to continue to be disappointing with a lack of quality, as there isn’t much positive word of mouth for these recent series. At least with the earlier titles there was good word of mouth and if they continued in that direction it may have got people hooked somewhere down the road. But with titles like Himeros and Agent of Spectre (which I actually haven’t read) I’m not going to go out of my way to read it because I haven’t seen too many people on here sing it’s praises.

    How about the Casino Royale and Live and Let Die adaptations? Have you read those? It's got to be hard to come up with new, original Bond stories, and easy enough for Bond fans to say that recent material just doesn't live up to expectations...but these Fleming adaptations ought to be more satisfactory to Bond fandom. Still, as I say, it looks like the sales on those titles aren't living up to Dynamite's expectations. Have you read them? What did you think?
  • edited January 2022 Posts: 3,566
    2Wint2Kidd wrote: »
    Very much agree @BeatlesSansEarmuffs. I understand that the sales have been disappointing, but on the other hand the sales are going to continue to be disappointing with a lack of quality, as there isn’t much positive word of mouth for these recent series. At least with the earlier titles there was good word of mouth and if they continued in that direction it may have got people hooked somewhere down the road. But with titles like Himeros and Agent of Spectre (which I actually haven’t read) I’m not going to go out of my way to read it because I haven’t seen too many people on here sing it’s praises.

    ^This^ should give a few of us pause. If you want to see the Bond comics series continue, perhaps you may want to be a little more generous with your reviews. (Naw, we're fans, we reserve the right to be hyper-critical whenever we feel like it...)

    From my POV, Agent of Spectre was at least an interesting concept. Himeros, not so much -- but at least they explained the meaning behind this arc's title in the current issue. That's gotta count for something ...

  • NickTwentyTwoNickTwentyTwo Vancouver, BC, Canada
    edited January 2022 Posts: 7,547
    2Wint2Kidd wrote: »
    Very much agree @BeatlesSansEarmuffs. I understand that the sales have been disappointing, but on the other hand the sales are going to continue to be disappointing with a lack of quality, as there isn’t much positive word of mouth for these recent series. At least with the earlier titles there was good word of mouth and if they continued in that direction it may have got people hooked somewhere down the road. But with titles like Himeros and Agent of Spectre (which I actually haven’t read) I’m not going to go out of my way to read it because I haven’t seen too many people on here sing it’s praises.

    ^This^ should give a few of us pause. If you want to see the Bond comics series continue, perhaps you may want to be a little more generous with your reviews. (Naw, we're fans, we reserve the right to be hyper-critical whenever we feel like it...)

    From my POV, Agent of Spectre was at least an interesting concept. Himeros, not so much -- but at least they explained the meaning behind this arc's title in the current issue. That's gotta count for something ...

    With you 100%. IMO, if you think something (franchise, for lack of a better word) is worth supporting, you should support it through the good and the bad. If it gets to a point where a majority of the 'franchise' is bad, then it makes sense to question whether or not to continue supporting it.

    Of course, it feels like rewarding bad content by spending money on it, but I think being a fan of something like Bond means taking a long view on Bond, rather than just evaluating whether or not you support this individual thing or that individual thing.

    I feel like I'm going to be in the minority here. :)) But it's just my thoughts.

    We are fans, and we should be hyper-critical of the material, for sure, but I feel like we should, as fans, be engaging with that material in the first place. And if that means buying a graphic novel that is getting bad reviews, so be it.
  • MaxCasinoMaxCasino United States
    Posts: 4,629
    2Wint2Kidd wrote: »
    Very much agree @BeatlesSansEarmuffs. I understand that the sales have been disappointing, but on the other hand the sales are going to continue to be disappointing with a lack of quality, as there isn’t much positive word of mouth for these recent series. At least with the earlier titles there was good word of mouth and if they continued in that direction it may have got people hooked somewhere down the road. But with titles like Himeros and Agent of Spectre (which I actually haven’t read) I’m not going to go out of my way to read it because I haven’t seen too many people on here sing it’s praises.

    ^This^ should give a few of us pause. If you want to see the Bond comics series continue, perhaps you may want to be a little more generous with your reviews. (Naw, we're fans, we reserve the right to be hyper-critical whenever we feel like it...)

    From my POV, Agent of Spectre was at least an interesting concept. Himeros, not so much -- but at least they explained the meaning behind this arc's title in the current issue. That's gotta count for something ...

    With you 100%. IMO, if you think something (franchise, for lack of a better word) is worth supporting, you should support it through the good and the bad. If it gets to a point where a majority of the 'franchise' is bad, then it makes sense to question whether or not to continue supporting it.

    Of course, it feels like rewarding bad content by spending money on it, but I think being a fan of something like Bond means taking a long view on Bond, rather than just evaluating whether or not you support this individual thing or that individual thing.

    I feel like I'm going to be in the minority here. :)) But it's just my thoughts.

    We are fans, and we should be hyper-critical of the material, for sure, but I feel like we should, as fans, be engaging with that material in the first place. And if that means buying a graphic novel that is getting bad reviews, so be it.

    That’s how I treat James Bond. The more I study him the more I grow as an artist.
  • 2Wint2Kidd wrote: »
    Very much agree @BeatlesSansEarmuffs. I understand that the sales have been disappointing, but on the other hand the sales are going to continue to be disappointing with a lack of quality, as there isn’t much positive word of mouth for these recent series. At least with the earlier titles there was good word of mouth and if they continued in that direction it may have got people hooked somewhere down the road. But with titles like Himeros and Agent of Spectre (which I actually haven’t read) I’m not going to go out of my way to read it because I haven’t seen too many people on here sing it’s praises.

    How about the Casino Royale and Live and Let Die adaptations? Have you read those? It's got to be hard to come up with new, original Bond stories, and easy enough for Bond fans to say that recent material just doesn't live up to expectations...but these Fleming adaptations ought to be more satisfactory to Bond fandom. Still, as I say, it looks like the sales on those titles aren't living up to Dynamite's expectations. Have you read them? What did you think?
    I do actually really like the Fleming adaptations, in particular LALD. I actually forgot about those when writing that as I seem to have a disconnect from the adaptations and the original stories, which I must say I do actually prefer the original stories. That was more what I was referring to. I do also enjoy Origin as well for the record.
    2Wint2Kidd wrote: »
    Very much agree @BeatlesSansEarmuffs. I understand that the sales have been disappointing, but on the other hand the sales are going to continue to be disappointing with a lack of quality, as there isn’t much positive word of mouth for these recent series. At least with the earlier titles there was good word of mouth and if they continued in that direction it may have got people hooked somewhere down the road. But with titles like Himeros and Agent of Spectre (which I actually haven’t read) I’m not going to go out of my way to read it because I haven’t seen too many people on here sing it’s praises.

    ^This^ should give a few of us pause. If you want to see the Bond comics series continue, perhaps you may want to be a little more generous with your reviews. (Naw, we're fans, we reserve the right to be hyper-critical whenever we feel like it...)

    From my POV, Agent of Spectre was at least an interesting concept. Himeros, not so much -- but at least they explained the meaning behind this arc's title in the current issue. That's gotta count for something ...

    With you 100%. IMO, if you think something (franchise, for lack of a better word) is worth supporting, you should support it through the good and the bad. If it gets to a point where a majority of the 'franchise' is bad, then it makes sense to question whether or not to continue supporting it.

    Of course, it feels like rewarding bad content by spending money on it, but I think being a fan of something like Bond means taking a long view on Bond, rather than just evaluating whether or not you support this individual thing or that individual thing.

    I feel like I'm going to be in the minority here. :)) But it's just my thoughts.

    We are fans, and we should be hyper-critical of the material, for sure, but I feel like we should, as fans, be engaging with that material in the first place. And if that means buying a graphic novel that is getting bad reviews, so be it.
    I will say I do intend to read Agent of Spectre and Himeros. I will more than likely buy them when they come out in hardcover. If the series had had a more positive word of mouth I would be more inclined to read each issue when it comes out rather than wait a year or two when they come out in hardcover. With Dynamite I love there early success so much that I do want to support them at least until this deal runs out.

  • ImpertinentGoonImpertinentGoon Everybody needs a hobby.
    Posts: 1,351
    That’s one good think about the scattered approach they have taken to this. Me not liking Himeros has absolutely no bearing on whether I will pick up the next series, because it will be by a completely different team and they can pick and choose which parts of canon they want to incorporate for that. So in theory, there is always potential for greatness, because the duds don’t hang around too long.

    As for financially supporting a franchise you like, even if the current output isn’t good, I don’t know. There has to be a way to show Dynamite that this current series isn’t good, while there still is an interest in the property overall. Last thing I want is for them to continue down whatever this road is. I’ll buy the last issue, because I’m a completists and there is a certain addiction factor (maybe they’ll turn the whole thing around in the last issue?) and as I said, I’ll check out whatever comes next, but I wouldn’t blindly buy stuff, you know you won’t like (and to be very clear, just because 00Heaven and I don’t like Himeros doesn’t mean nobody will. Check it out, if it seems in any way interesting to you), just to prop up the franchise. Maybe buy 3 more copies of Hammerhead or something instead?
  • edited February 2022 Posts: 3,566
    And speaking of "turn(ing) the whole thing around in the last issue"... I've just read issue #5 of Himeros. Now, just to set the stage for those of you who haven't read it, this storyline has Bond assigned to protect a woman who is, for all intents and purposes, Ghislane Maxwell. If you don't know the name, Google her. She's a real-world person, and you may or may not think she should be the focal point of a Bond-level storyline, but there we are. There is an internal monologue here from Bond, given to us in the captions of pages 16-17 of this story's final issue, that captures 007's essence better than anything else I've seen from Dynamite thus far. This soliloquy is spread across the 10 panels that comprise these two pages. While the art in these pages shows Bond prepping for a mission (choosing his weapons, suiting up, and stealthily approaching/dispatching the baddies,) the captions read: "It happens every time. I'm assigned a mission...then somehow, I become attached to a cause. This somehow, runs deeper. Someone has to avenge the voiceless. Against those who wield power irresponsibly. Seeking out the exploitable in the name of pleasure and profit. There is no reconciliation with that lot. They are vermin. And they overrun the world." Cue the gunfire. Baddies are going down...

    I don't know about anybody else...but I can kind of relate to a hero with that sort of mind set.

    Interestingly, the 5 issues of Himeros have two different artists on them, and the (inevitable) collected edition of this storyline may suffer from the inconsistency in their artistic approaches. Personally, I was a little annoyed by the technique employed by the initial artist, Antonio Fuso... so I really didn't mind seeing him replaced by Giorgio Pontrelli in the last few issues. On panel 5 of Page 18, that sure looked like the face of a world-weary Sean Connery pointing his gun at us. Maybe there's hope for Dynamite's version of 007 after all...
  • ImpertinentGoonImpertinentGoon Everybody needs a hobby.
    Posts: 1,351
    Due to Amazon being idiots and destroying the Comixology service they bought, I have yet to get my hands on #5, but this has actually made me interested. Thanks.
  • "Amazon being idiots and destroying (the property) they bought..." makes me worry for the fate of cinematic 007 far more than any actions Daniel Craig & Eon may have taken. Good luck to us all in this regard (and I hope you can find #5 soon.)
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