The John Steel Files

by Luis Bermejo, Pippa Bowland

Two classic secret agent stories from the golden age of spy fiction! John Steel is a secret service agent during World War II, but by the Sixties he works as a private detective and haunts jazz cafes.

Inevitably he is drawn back into the international world of espionage as he hunts down fugitive Nazi war criminals. Re-presented for a modern audience these never-before-reprinted comics are stunningly drawn by Luis Bermejo with contemporary colouring by Pippa Bowland and a new cover by V. V. Glass.

128 pages, Paperback

First published November 11, 2020

About the author

Luis Bermejo Rojo fue un historietista e ilustrador madrileño.

Reviews

[Simon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is so good! These are a couple of terrific little crime tales that while they are very firmly set in the 60's, as shown by the settings, the feeling it gives you and especially the jazz hip language they also have a common enough theme (blackmail being the main part of one story) that you can still relate to them now.
There is a lot of story packed into each 64 page tale and the art really works very well with the words. These may be 50 ish years old but they still read very well. I really do hope that this does well enough that Rebellion consider follow up volumes

[Alice · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read over the course of 2 baths, this is a fun adventure comic with breathless narrative and action-packed drawings.

There's some lovely Bondian stuff (much of the first adventure takes place in Greenwich Village's jazz clubs and felt very Live and Let Die), and Steel is brought up to date by his young jazz musician pal in a very Dick Tracy/Junior type relationship.

[Bill Coffin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fun throwback to a different kind of comic from a different time. It's guilty of having a few regrettable cultural artifacts within, but the foreword does a good job of pointing them out. THe artwork is absolutely terrific and atmospheric, and the more John Steel you read, the more you realize that it might not be epic storytelling, but it's a fun yarn and one can easily see why it was popular once upon a time...and could very well gain a new audience now.

[Stratospherus · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wasn't particularly impressed with this book. Especially the stilted drawings. The heavy densed narration reads like a pulpy story, and adds to the atmosphere. I wish they made Steel more sympathetic character. Instead, he came as stodgy squire. Also, the first story is better constructed than the second, which felt like a chore to read.

Also, I am dead disappointed with the cheap printing quality of these book.

[Rob McMonigal · Rating 3 out of 5]

Always fun to get exposed to classic comics. This is a total pulp fest w. kid sidekick. It's only for those who really like reading historical comics, though.