Dynamite's Bond comics and graphic novels

MaxCasino

coco1997 wrote: »

Looks like the hardcover of the previous Dynamite story will release on July 25th:

https://www.amazon.com/007-Book-Phillip-Kennedy-Johnson/dp/152412320X/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3NLEO310AMYQV&keywords=007+dynamite&qid=1681916775&sprefix=007+dynamite,aps,113&sr=8-1

With Agent Of Spectre and Himeros being released September 12, for now.

https://www.amazon.com/JAMES-BOND-AGENT-SPECTRE-Christos/dp/1524120472/ref=sr_1_14?crid=G5D8DLA13GP7&keywords=James+Bond&qid=1681917048&s=books&sprefix=jame+,stripbooks,1070&sr=1-14

https://www.amazon.com/James-Bond-Himeros-Rodney-Barnes/dp/1524121738/ref=sr_1_24?crid=G5D8DLA13GP7&keywords=James+Bond&qid=1681917183&s=books&sprefix=jame+,stripbooks,1070&sr=1-24

ggl007

zebrafish wrote: »

Can someone point me to the comic where Bond has one of his first missions, with action on a train? I can't describe it better, as I only saw one page online. It is rather well drawn.

This? https://www.playboy.com/read/james-bond-origin-a-train-to-catch

andyb

So Agent Of Spectre and Himeros have gone back yet again? What an absolute farce.

MaxCasino

andyb wrote: »

So Agent Of Spectre and Himeros have gone back yet again? What an absolute farce.

Yes, it sucks. I think Comicsgate really hurt them a few years ago.

ImpertinentGoon

Just got around to reading For King and Country #1. Really high-Level but nothing spectacular so far, I’d say. A whole lot of set-up with some good action and great character beats to make the exposition go down a bit smoother. The author just really knows how to pace out an issue and an arc. Art‘s good. I also thought of Casalanguida, which is kind of the Dynamite Bond base-style, if you ask me. So I’m good with it.

Gerard

The new Previews is on line, and thanks to it, here are the synopsis and covers for 007 : For King and Coutry # 4 :

The former 007 and 002 are tired of running from Myrmidon. Time to take the fight back to London.

Oh, and the first arc of the series, titled Myrmidon, will be published in hardcover the same month.

CharmianBond

It's always interesting and humbling how much an artist looks like their artwork. That said though Puebla's version of Book Bond is one of my favourites and I haven't gotten chance to read my copy of issue 1 yet but that might be because I can't take my eyes away from her cover. It looks even better in print.

Gerard

Thanks to Previews, here is the synopsis and the covers for issue 5 of 007 : For King and Country :

"THE BEST DEFENSE IS A DOUBLE-"O"-FENCE!

No more hiding - it's time for 007 and 002 take the fight to Myrmidon!"

SIS_HQ

Gerard wrote: »

Thanks to Previews, here is the synopsis and the covers for issue 5 of 007 : For King and Country :

"THE BEST DEFENSE IS A DOUBLE-"O"-FENCE!

No more hiding - it's time for 007 and 002 take the fight to Myrmidon!"

I liked the first and second one, not much for the rest.

Gerard

And here are the synopsis and covers for issue 6, which will be the last issue of this mini-series :

FINAL ISSUE! It all comes down to this - Bond vs. Myrmidon, no holds barred, no quarter given!

CharmianBond

I've finally managed to catch up with the current run so I've read half of it one sitting and I'm enjoying for the most part. I'm even going to go so far as to say that King and Country has the best interior art of all the Dynamite comics. I love how it's very modern with the detailed vehicles but the style harkens back to 1950s comics which is fitting for the 70th anniversary. I love how Bond and Leiter are depicted, the rest of the cast are drawn very expressively and the action scenes are really well done. Also, Bond with a beard is really doing it for me (sorry Pierce and Daniel but that's what you call a beard).

I have to say the story is letting it down a bit. The comics have been more outlandish and sci-fi and I think you can get away that but it being basically a mash up of No Time to Die and Double or Nothing should be my idea of perfection, it can't help feeling a bit derivative though. And maybe it is because I rattled through them but there was a lot of action and I wish we'd had more moments to slow down, I would've loved a little bit longer exploring Bond in exile. That said I liked getting to see the different Double Os and I'm still intrigued to find out what secrets Gwen Gann is keeping.

BeatlesSansEarmuffs

I've enjoyed King and Country so far. I do think that 007 is a difficult title to do (creatively) in single-issue formats, so it could well be that readers waiting for collected editions are going to find those more satisfying than the individual "floppy" issues. A proper Bond story needs so many different elements -- action as well as an evolving plot with a spectacular villain, beautiful women in keeping with the depiction of the "Bond world" (drinks shaken not stirred and food to match) as well as the greater globe well traveled as only Bond can show it to the readers... basically, a good Bond story fully depicted has just too many different elements to fit comfortably into 20 pages. You need at least 100-120 pages (that is, 5 or 6 single issues) to do the whole thing justice. Unfortunately, I think this title has reached the point of diminishing returns for the publisher. Too many unsatisfactory storylines (lookin' at The Body here primarily) turned off too many potential readers...and now, my perception is that the initial runs of Phillip Kennedy Johnson's far more engaging storylines just aren't getting strong enough sales to justify collected editions to the number-crunchers making the decisions at Dynamite Comics. I would urge those of you waiting impatiently for any collected editions (or dare I even mention, graphic novels like the long-delayed Moonraker) to go ahead and buy whatever Bond comics you can find when they are released. Additionally, let your preferred comics retailers know that you're wanting and ready to buy any James Bond 007 comics that come on the market, so they can make a point of ordering them for you. Or you can just sit back and wait for whatever you're specifically wanting...and inevitably get disappointed when the James Bond 007 character disappears entirely from Dynamite's catalog. My advice here boils down to one simple thought: Support the title or realize that you're contributing to its demise.

TR007

Dynamite have been frustrating license holders. I’m happy to no longer show support as the last 3 years or so have proved disappointing.

Earlier projects like Felix Leiter and the Fleming adaptations were wonderful but left unfinished. What we get now is hackneyed products with weak stories and abysmal artwork.

I’d be happy to see the 007 license go to another publisher.

BeatlesSansEarmuffs

TR007 wrote: »

Dynamite have been frustrating license holders. I’m happy to no longer show support as the last 3 years or so have proved disappointing.

Earlier projects like Felix Leiter and the Fleming adaptations were wonderful but left unfinished. What we get now is hackneyed products with weak stories and abysmal artwork.

I’d be happy to see the 007 license go to another publisher.

I'd be happy to see the existing publisher be more successful with the license. Simply put: I'd like to see ANY US publisher be any kind of successful with the Bond license. Consider the history of Bond comics in the USA: DC released one and only one 007 comic book -- Showcase #43 in 1963, a reprinting of the Classics Illustrated UK adaptation of Dr. No. After that, nothing... nada... no Bond comics at all for nearly 20 years. During the whole of the '60s, unquestionably Bond's most successful era as a cultural force... nothing in terms of the American comic book market. Finally, in 1981 and 1983, Marvel released adaptations of For Your Eyes Only and Octopussy. Nothing further from Marvel (the U.S.'s largest and most successful comic book publisher) after those. A few years later, Eclipse published a couple of Bond comics in collaboration with the UK's Acme Press. Next up was Dark Horse Comics; but after a mere half-dozen offerings from 1992-1995 they too allowed the license to lapse. Finally, and most abysmally, Topps Comics acquired the license for an adaptation of Goldeneye in 1995. Intended as a 3-issue adaptation of the then-current movie, Topps released one and only one issue of the projected series. Work on issue #2 broke down for...... reasons never officially explained.

And that's been it for Bond in comic book form in the USA... until 2014, when Dynamite obtained the license. You want to see the license go elsewhere? Scant chance of that, I suspect. When the license passes from Dynamite's hands (and eventually it will, we just have no way of knowing when) I suspect other American publishers will have little interest in picking up the license. The Bond series will have already failed in American comics from so many other sources, why even bother trying? When the Bond rights are again available to US comics, I'd be very surprised to see them picked up for at least a decade.

"What we get now is..." something I suspect you haven't even looked at. The reviews of Phillip Kennedy Johnson's scripts for the last 2 story arcs have been getting positive reviews. The artwork for these arcs has likewise been improved. Maybe more to your liking, maybe not... but certainly nowhere near "abysmal." Give these more recent arcs a look, I think you just might be surprised. Or ignore the Dynamite Bond comics altogether and wait for a new publisher to take over the license ... but I'm afraid you'll be in for a long wait.

TR007

BeatlesSansEarmuffs wrote: »

TR007 wrote: »

Dynamite have been frustrating license holders. I’m happy to no longer show support as the last 3 years or so have proved disappointing.

Earlier projects like Felix Leiter and the Fleming adaptations were wonderful but left unfinished. What we get now is hackneyed products with weak stories and abysmal artwork.

I’d be happy to see the 007 license go to another publisher.

I'd be happy to see the existing publisher be more successful with the license. Simply put: I'd like to see ANY US publisher be any kind of successful with the Bond license. Consider the history of Bond comics in the USA: DC released one and only one 007 comic book -- Showcase #43 in 1963, a reprinting of the Classics Illustrated UK adaptation of Dr. No. After that, nothing... nada... no Bond comics at all for nearly 20 years. During the whole of the '60s, unquestionably Bond's most successful era as a cultural force... nothing in terms of the American comic book market. Finally, in 1981 and 1983, Marvel released adaptations of For Your Eyes Only and Octopussy. Nothing further from Marvel (the U.S.'s largest and most successful comic book publisher) after those. A few years later, Eclipse published a couple of Bond comics in collaboration with the UK's Acme Press. Next up was Dark Horse Comics; but after a mere half-dozen offerings from 1992-1995 they too allowed the license to lapse. Finally, and most abysmally, Topps Comics acquired the license for an adaptation of Goldeneye in 1995. Intended as a 3-issue adaptation of the then-current movie, Topps released one and only one issue of the projected series. Work on issue #2 broke down for...... reasons never officially explained.

And that's been it for Bond in comic book form in the USA... until 2014, when Dynamite obtained the license. You want to see the license go elsewhere? Scant chance of that, I suspect. When the license passes from Dynamite's hands (and eventually it will, we just have no way of knowing when) I suspect other American publishers will have little interest in picking up the license. The Bond series will have already failed in American comics from so many other sources, why even bother trying? When the Bond rights are again available to US comics, I'd be very surprised to see them picked up for at least a decade.

"What we get now is..." something I suspect you haven't even looked at. The reviews of Phillip Kennedy Johnson's scripts for the last 2 story arcs have been getting positive reviews. The artwork for these arcs has likewise been improved. Maybe more to your liking, maybe not... but certainly nowhere near "abysmal." Give these more recent arcs a look, I think you just might be surprised. Or ignore the Dynamite Bond comics altogether and wait for a new publisher to take over the license ... but I'm afraid you'll be in for a long wait.

You suspect wrong. Of course I’ve been reading the current material. Hence my disappointment with it.

BeatlesSansEarmuffs

TR007 wrote: »

BeatlesSansEarmuffs wrote: »

TR007 wrote: »

Dynamite have been frustrating license holders. I’m happy to no longer show support as the last 3 years or so have proved disappointing.

Earlier projects like Felix Leiter and the Fleming adaptations were wonderful but left unfinished. What we get now is hackneyed products with weak stories and abysmal artwork.

I’d be happy to see the 007 license go to another publisher.

I'd be happy to see the existing publisher be more successful with the license. Simply put: I'd like to see ANY US publisher be any kind of successful with the Bond license. Consider the history of Bond comics in the USA: DC released one and only one 007 comic book -- Showcase #43 in 1963, a reprinting of the Classics Illustrated UK adaptation of Dr. No. After that, nothing... nada... no Bond comics at all for nearly 20 years. During the whole of the '60s, unquestionably Bond's most successful era as a cultural force... nothing in terms of the American comic book market. Finally, in 1981 and 1983, Marvel released adaptations of For Your Eyes Only and Octopussy. Nothing further from Marvel (the U.S.'s largest and most successful comic book publisher) after those. A few years later, Eclipse published a couple of Bond comics in collaboration with the UK's Acme Press. Next up was Dark Horse Comics; but after a mere half-dozen offerings from 1992-1995 they too allowed the license to lapse. Finally, and most abysmally, Topps Comics acquired the license for an adaptation of Goldeneye in 1995. Intended as a 3-issue adaptation of the then-current movie, Topps released one and only one issue of the projected series. Work on issue #2 broke down for...... reasons never officially explained.

And that's been it for Bond in comic book form in the USA... until 2014, when Dynamite obtained the license. You want to see the license go elsewhere? Scant chance of that, I suspect. When the license passes from Dynamite's hands (and eventually it will, we just have no way of knowing when) I suspect other American publishers will have little interest in picking up the license. The Bond series will have already failed in American comics from so many other sources, why even bother trying? When the Bond rights are again available to US comics, I'd be very surprised to see them picked up for at least a decade.

"What we get now is..." something I suspect you haven't even looked at. The reviews of Phillip Kennedy Johnson's scripts for the last 2 story arcs have been getting positive reviews. The artwork for these arcs has likewise been improved. Maybe more to your liking, maybe not... but certainly nowhere near "abysmal." Give these more recent arcs a look, I think you just might be surprised. Or ignore the Dynamite Bond comics altogether and wait for a new publisher to take over the license ... but I'm afraid you'll be in for a long wait.

You suspect wrong. Of course I’ve been reading the current material. Hence my disappointment with it.

And you don't like Gwen Gann? You don't think Myrmidon is the best pseudo-Spectre we've seen in quite awhile? You don't even like Joseph Michael Linsner's covers?? Each to their own, of course -- but what exactly ARE you looking for in a 007 comic book?

coco1997

coco1997 wrote: »

Looks like the hardcover of the previous Dynamite story will release on July 25th:

https://www.amazon.com/007-Book-Phillip-Kennedy-Johnson/dp/152412320X/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3NLEO310AMYQV&keywords=007+dynamite&qid=1681916775&sprefix=007+dynamite,aps,113&sr=8-1

Looks like Myrmidon has disappointingly been delayed until October now.

BeatlesSansEarmuffs

Gerard wrote: »

And here are the synopsis and covers for issue 6, which will be the last issue of this mini-series :

FINAL ISSUE! It all comes down to this - Bond vs. Myrmidon, no holds barred, no quarter given!

I've been liking the Linsner covers in this series & will be happy to grab his offering for issue #6 as well. Just picked up issue #5 and I must say, these past two mini-series (written by Phillip Kennedy Johnson) have been much more to my liking than what had been coming out prior to these. Whenever the Myrmidon collection are released, I urge you to give them a try!

2Wint2Kidd

I’ve finally caught up with Agent of Spectre. I thought it was ok, I liked the references to Eidolon, but it just shows once again how weak Dynamite’s output has been since Kill Chain. It’s a nice concept, but I thought With a Mind to Kill took a similar concept and did it much better.

I’m kind of lost with what’s come out since Agent of Spectre. I know of Himeros, how was that? And what’s come out since then? Just by quickly reading through the last few pages on this thread, it seems for King and Country isn’t too bad. Anything else decent?

ImpertinentGoon

Himeros was quite bad imho. There are some longer posts about it somewhere in this thread..
After that, I think For King and Country (I think the first run was just called 007 and then they retroactively applied that title?) is the only thing out and still running. I like it a lot, although I haven't gotten around to reading the latest issues.

Gerard

The first run of 007 received retroactively the title of Myrmidon. At least, that's what the trade paperback is called.

MaxCasino

After 2 years of waiting for the full graphic novel, I finally read Agent of Spectre. Overall, a decent Spectre story. You can tell a fan wrote it, on a deadline. I enjoyed seeing the 4 way conflict, between Bond, Leiter, Blofeld and Jones. Good modern day versions of all characters. I particularly liked the connection with Eidolon, it’s nice to see Bond stories connect. However, it would have been interesting to have Felix Leiter connect with Spectre after his spinoff book. All in all, a good afternoon read. Probably going to read Himeros this week. With Dynamite Comic’s license with IFP to run out in under 2 years, do you think we’ll get some announcements in the next year about a renewal? I don’t think IFP will want to continue with Dynamite, but I could see another company picking up the rights. I just hope the For King and Country full graphic novel wouldn’t be delayed from November.

DarthDimi

My favorite publisher for Bond would be a relatively young one with a fabulous output called AWA Studios, led by former editor-in-chief at Marvel, Axel Alonso. Their creative teams include people like J. Michael Straczynski, Frank Cho, the very gifted Mike Deodato, the fabulous Garth Ennis, and the ever brilliant Christa Faust. I started collecting their output since the first issue they ever published in 2020, and they have since built a truly impressive archive. If artists like Straczynski and Faust could get their hands on Bond, I'm sure it would rock. These people actually get something out of a four- or five-issue canvas.

NickTwentyTwo

DarthDimi wrote: »

My favorite publisher for Bond would be a relatively young one with a fabulous output called AWA Studios, led by former editor-in-chief at Marvel, Axel Alonso. Their creative teams include people like J. Michael Straczynski, Frank Cho, the very gifted Mike Deodato, the fabulous Garth Ennis, and the ever brilliant Christa Faust. I started collecting their output since the first issue they ever published in 2020, and they have since built a truly impressive archive. If artists like Straczynski and Faust could get their hands on Bond, I'm sure it would rock. These people actually get something out of a four- or five-issue canvas.

You seem to know your stuff, and so I'd be super interested in seeing something like this from a proven collection of artists. I was pretty well ready to write off this format altogether for Bond, but maybe it's just the current players.

Still want to read Agent of Spectre so I might try to pick that up somewhere soon.

MaxCasino

I read Himeros in one go yesterday. I enjoyed it. It felt like a modern day take on some of Bond’s shocking twists. Sarah Richmond was one of the better Bond Women in a while. She had just the right amount of mystery, while arguably driving the story. Villains were OK, but their mystery worked in their favor. Overall, another good afternoon of reading James Bond. Hopefully, the full graphic novel Myrmidon (book one) will make it’s November release as I’m looking forward to it. Gwendolyn Gann, formerly Agent OO3 sounds interesting. I actually like when Bond teams up with other 00 agents. It proves he’s not the only one that MI6 can rely on. As I said above, there's a sad truth with Dynamite Comics' Bond graphic novels. It's how I feel with ALL their collected graphic novels since Casino Royale, lol. I only believe I own them when I see them in my hands. I still like most of their work, but a Moonraker adaptation might be the best closer for the creative license, with it's 70th anniversay and the end of Dynamite's 10 year contract being up. Save my ideas for villain spinoffs for the actual novels, in my opinion. Ironically, I enjoyed Dynamite’s takes on Goldfinger, Oddjob, and Blofeld. I wish that Mr. Big could have gotten more time to shine in Big Things, with the story itself being longer.

LucknFate

I just want to say friends that I've been catching up on this thread for the first time and it has some of the more interesting Bond discussion and insight into the character/storytelling on this forum, which makes me surprised to hear the comics may not be great. I encourage some of you to put pen to paper and work with an artist if you're not one yourself to see what you can come up with (not snark, I think you all have a good grasp on what you want to see, or at least don't want to see).

MaxCasino

https://twitter.com/PhillipKJohnson/status/1710418216135073914

A panel from For King and Country. PKJ also says he'd be at NY Comic Con next week. With some announcements.

mtm

DarthDimi wrote: »

My favorite publisher for Bond would be a relatively young one with a fabulous output called AWA Studios, led by former editor-in-chief at Marvel, Axel Alonso. Their creative teams include people like J. Michael Straczynski, Frank Cho, the very gifted Mike Deodato, the fabulous Garth Ennis, and the ever brilliant Christa Faust.

Interestingly, Garth Ennis is now writing a Bond comic.

Garth Ennis, co-creator of Preacher, Hitman and The Boys, is to be the new writer of the James Bond 007 comic.

James Bond #1 will be published by Dynamite Entertainment in January 2024, drawn by Rapha Lobosco.

"When I took a look at the Bond of the Fleming novels, as opposed to the larger-than-life figure from the movies, I saw a great deal more potential — a much darker character in a more interesting world," said writer Garth Ennis.

This new story titled "Your Cold, Cold Heart" finds Bond dealing with a truly disturbing silent killer. A relic of the Cold War, the deadly compound Stalvoda — roughly meaning "steel water" in Russian — is thought to have achieved the impossible – the holy grail of arms manufacturers: is it possible to kill an enemy without inflicting any visible damage and leaving no trace whatsoever? Right as the weapon is perfected, though, it escapes the lab. MI6 naturally assigns their top operative to the hunt.

https://bleedingcool.com/comics/garth-ennis-james-bond-ian-fleming-original-novels-007/

ImpertinentGoon

Oh wow. That’s going to be interesting!

And for those more in the know about comics: Is there some rule that an author change has to mean a new #1? Because Dynamite putting out something like nine different „James Bond #1“ is kind of a bad joke at this point.

Murdock

Why aren't they giving their new issues new titles? It's so confusing now that they are either James Bond, James Bond 007 or just 007. It's so annoying.