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Your thoughts on Irma Bunt's Post-Blofeld Career in John Pearson's James Bond Biography (1973)?
Dragonpol
https://thebondologistblog.blogspot.com
I'm particularly interested in the ending of John Perason's James Bond - The Authorised Biography of 007 (1973) where Irma Bunt is reported alive and well and continuing Blofeld's biological experiments - this time on rats and not the plants of the Garden of Death in the YOLT novel where she last appeared. Pearson explains that Irma Bunt's skeleton was not anywhere to be found in the Castle of Death...leaving her return open.
What do people think of Bond going off to kill the killer mutant rats bred by Irma Bunt that were to eat livestock in Australia unless the ultimatum of a hefty ransom is paid?
Is it just me or does this sound rather parodical in nature - perhaps a comment by Pearson that the Bond films were going too far in terms of silliness with the YOLT/DAF recent films (the novel being published in 1973)?
I am also aware that Irma Bunt returns in Raymond Benson's short story 'Blast from the Past' (1997) but I want to focus on John Pearson's Bond Biography in this particular if I may.
I'd love to hear your thoughts on this, as always. :)
What do people think of Bond going off to kill the killer mutant rats bred by Irma Bunt that were to eat livestock in Australia unless the ultimatum of a hefty ransom is paid?
Is it just me or does this sound rather parodical in nature - perhaps a comment by Pearson that the Bond films were going too far in terms of silliness with the YOLT/DAF recent films (the novel being published in 1973)?
I am also aware that Irma Bunt returns in Raymond Benson's short story 'Blast from the Past' (1997) but I want to focus on John Pearson's Bond Biography in this particular if I may.
I'd love to hear your thoughts on this, as always. :)
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Comments
Yes, I understand that. The Irma Bunt part at the end is all but forgotten nowadays. Bond agrees to one last mission, even though he is all set to marry Honeychile Rider the following day! Pearson explains the return of Irma Bunt (left unconscious by Bond striking her on the head with his stave just as she was about to ring an alarm) away by saying that only Blofeld's skeleton was found in the Japanese Castle of Death...something Raymond Benson also later picked up and ran with. I find it very interesting to be honest, though I know it's rather unlikely that she would have survived.
Fleming left very few of his villains alive. All the major ones get killed and only small fry like Shady Tree or backroom boys like Kronsteen survive. Recurring villains tend to strain implausibility. Fleming avoided this by having Blofeld play the roles of behind-the-scenes chessmaster, villain-in-disguise, and fugitive-in-hiding, but he knew when the character had outlived his usefulness.
Recurring villains are popular in comic books, but often with deleterious effects. In order to keep the Joker appearing in Batman comics Arkham Asylum has been fitted with a revolving door, through which the Joker strolls to commit mass murder with numbing regularity. Batman could easily break this numbing pattern with a little lethal force, but his no-killing policy conveniently allows villains to stick around for regular crime sprees.
Contrast this with Chester Gould's Dick Tracy, who loved pumping lead into his adversaries. Because Gould kept only a tiny amount of villains alive, he was forced to invent dozens and dozens of worthy adversaries, and I would argue that Tracy's rogues gallery is greater than Batman's. In case anyone thinks I've gone off-topic, I'll note that Fleming read Dick Tracy and referred to it several times in the Bond saga.
I was going to re-read Goldfinger in preparation for TM but having read this, I think I'll revisit Pearson's 007 biography.
I have fond memories of it and along with YB, MPD & Colonel Sun it's one of the few worthwhile extensions to the franchise.
Regarding @Revalator's perspective on re-occurring villains, I don't completely share it. A continuity nemesis can bring a sense of dread and doom to a series and Fleming certainly managed that with Blofeld as did Sir Arthur Conan Doyle with Moriarty. Sometimes having them hovering in the background is enough.
That doesn't surprise me as I know you are a Fleming purist and no fan of or believer in the Continuations. Still, some of us can dream...
Keep in mind though that Blofeld only appears three times--in varying roles with varying appearances--and Moriarty appears only twice in Doyle, and only once in person. Both authors knew that recurring villains are best if they recur only a few times. However, you are right that having the villain hover in the background is a good way to maximize their appearances without sacrificing plausibility. In the Bond films Blofeld was a more interesting villain when we couldn't see his face.
She dies in YOLT, she did her thing, there is no point to have her back. I also agree with @Revelator, that Fleming had his villains short lived for a reason. I am also as you know for some kind of recurring menace, but not overdone. Fleming did it perfectly: Blofeld was a recurrent adversary, but did not overstay his welcome, before him there was SMERSH, pretty much a recurring menace.
Yes, again I understand that all too well and respect your opinion. I used to have the same opinion too. I can still recall reading for the first time that Raymond Benson had brought back Irma Bunt in his short story 'Blast From the Past' and thinking "Hold on, she's dead!" The thing is though, that two different continuation authors have said she is alive so why not roll with it and give it a read?
Ironically John Gardner brought him back too!
Did he ever make a continuation of Dracula?
No, he did not. Gardner did three continuation novels featuring Moriarty and then the Bond continuations he wrote. That was it. :)
If anyone can think of anything else they want me to ask him about then please PM me.
Yes, a very pertinent question, @Birdleson. I will certainly ask him that.
Glad he didn't get his hand on the Count.
No more seriously I find it a poor and lazy idea to bring back characters from the dead in continuations.
Well, it certainly is. It is one contrivance too many, I suppose.
Horror wasn't John Gardner's genre really, although there are elements of it in his Never Send Flowers (1993) which featured serial killers (one of them my namesake). Well worth a read if you want to dip your toe into the Continuation Bonds.
For John Pearson? Can you elaborate on how that influenced him, @Ludovico? I recall us discussing this before (Fantômas).
Yes, though unfortunately John Gardner died on 3 August 2007. That said, I got the chance to email him on a number of occasions, though sadly not about that or Never Send Flowers.
Don't worry. John Gardner was a lovely man and I cherish our emails. I've used some of them in my blog articles. I did a big email interview with him in 2002. I know you have a blog as well. I intend to use more of that material in time as the Continuation is something I'm very interested in.
It also begs the question whether the script writers were influenced by John Pearson's 007 biography - my feeling is that is was definitely in their orbit.
BTW, Dragonpol, what happened to your plans to interview Peter Janson-Smith . He's not getting any younger! I really want to know who else was on that shortlist.
I will try to interview him this week if my nerve holds up!