The legend continues! Stand by for more adventures with the world s greatest and most famous secret agent, James Bond, as some of his most thrilling missions are collected for the first time ever in a deluxe collectors library edition!This bumper action-packed volume collects ultra rare Bond stories that have not been seen since their original syndication between 1976 77: Hot-Shot , Nightbird and Ape of Diamonds. Also featuring a new celebrity introduction and an exclusive selection of recently unearthed James Bond comic strip artwork that has never before seen print, this latest essential volume is not to be missed!
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Ian Lancaster Fleming was an English writer, best known for his postwar James Bond series of spy novels. Fleming came from a wealthy family connected to the merchant bank Robert Fleming & Co., and his father was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Henley from 1910 until his death on the Western Front in 1917. Educated at Eton, Sandhurst, and, briefly, the universities of Munich and Geneva, Fleming moved through several jobs before he started writing. While working for Britain's Naval Intelligence Division during the Second World War, Fleming was involved in planning Operation Goldeneye and in the planning and oversight of two intelligence units: 30 Assault Unit and T-Force. He drew from his wartime service and his career as a journalist for much of the background, detail, and depth of his James Bond novels. Fleming wrote his first Bond novel, Casino Royale, in 1952, at age 44. It was a success, and three print runs were commissioned to meet the demand. Eleven Bond novels and two collections of short stories followed between 1953 and 1966. The novels centre around James Bond, an officer in the Secret Intelligence Service, commonly known as MI6. Bond is also known by his code number, 007, and was a commander in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve. The Bond stories rank among the best-selling series of fictional books of all time, having sold over 100 million copies worldwide. Fleming also wrote the children's story Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang and two works of non-fiction. In 2008, The Times ranked Fleming 14th on its list of "The 50 greatest British writers since 1945". Fleming was married to Ann Fleming. She had divorced her husband, the 2nd Viscount Rothermere, because of her affair with the author. Fleming and Ann had a son, Caspar. Fleming was a heavy smoker and drinker for most of his life and succumbed to heart disease in 1964 at the age of 56. Two of his James Bond books were published posthumously; other writers have since produced Bond novels. Fleming's creation has appeared in film twenty-seven times, portrayed by six actors in the official film series.
Yeah, look. I picked up a couple of these Bond comic compilations in the library mostly out of curiosity, partly because I loved the Bond movies, and partly because I wanted to see how the compare to the Modesty Blaise strips/volumes. Short answer: they don't. The Blaise strips are not only visually much more textured and layered - but so are the stories and the characters. Granted some of the tales are just as ludicrous in Blaise, both the attention to character and backstory makes up for it. In these Bond strips (well, the half dozen or so I've read) the character of Bond doesn't have a charismatic actor to make up for his questionable (or mostly, in these strips: shallow and dull) nature.
On the other hand, these volumes ARE interesting.
"Hot-Shot" is actually a decent terrorism tale worthy of the (cheesier) movies, with a reborn Dr. No. But those who criticised the Moore 007 flicks for being too OTT and nonsensical, check this out:
"Nightbird" is about famous kidnappings via a supposed-spaceship, and "Ape of Diamonds" is about a radio-controlled killer ape.
Like I said...interesting.
But - in the age of Skyfall at the cinema - and of the timeless Modesty Blaise in print - I don't think I'll be revisiting these James Bond comic strips ever again.