James Bond (comics)

James Bond's success after the start of the film franchise in 1962 spawned a number of comic books around the world. Initially, these were adaptations of various movies. In the late 1980s and continuing through to the mid-1990s, however, a series of original stories were also published. After a hiatus in 1996, the Bond comic book publishing license was picked up again and made a revival debut in 2015. The comics were published by various past and present companies, including DC Comics, Marvel, Eclipse Comics, Dark Horse and Dynamite Entertainment.

English publications

Adaptations

The first James Bond comic book appeared in December 1962 — an adaptation of the first Bond film Dr. No. Originally published by Classics Illustrated in the United Kingdom, it was later reprinted in the United States by DC Comics as part of its Showcase anthology series in January 1963.

The next James Bond comic book did not appear for nearly 20 years, when Marvel Comics published a two-issue adaptation of the 1981 film For Your Eyes Only (which was also published in a single-issue magazine edition and a paperback release). Marvel later adapted the 1983 film Octopussy in magazine format.

In 1989 comic books featuring Bond began to appear on a semi-regular basis for a few years, starting with an adaptation of Licence to Kill published in 1989 by Acme Press/Eclipse Comics and illustrated by Mike Grell, which was published in both trade paperback and hardcover edition. Grell would go on to write the miniseries Permission to Die, the first James Bond comic book storyline not adapted from a previous work, which was published over a two-year period by Acme/Eclipse.

Swedish publications

Swedish comic book publisher Semic Press started a James Bond comic book magazine in 1965, which was simultaneously published in Norwegian, Danish, and Finnish editions. Originally, the contents were derived from the James Bond newspaper strips; translated and edited to fit the comic book format. As time passed the archive of newspaper strip stories was depleted and was reprinted over and over again.

By the early 1980s, Semic decided to acquire rights to produce their own Bond stories directly for the comic book. The first James Bond story produced by Semic was published in Swedish James Bond #1/1982 It was called "Den gyllene triangeln" ("The Golden Triangle"), drawn by Escolano and written by Norwegians Terje Nordberg and Eirik Ildahl under the pseudonym "Johann Vlaanderen." About half a dozen new 24-page black & white stories were produced each year. The main artists were Sarompas, Josep Gual, and Manuel Carmona. The main writers were Sverre Årnes, Jack Sutter, and Bill Harrington.

Between 1982 and 1991, Semic produced 42 comic magazine stories and five (graphic novel) albums, of which three were based on Bond movies. Two of the albums were completely original, never having appeared in the newspaper. Some of the Swedish James Bond comic issues used material from Dark Horse Comics' Bond comics, including one limited series and the 1994 Shattered Helix series.[24]

Eight of these issues were also published in the Netherlands by Semic Press.

External links

When Bond Battled Dinosaurs – A History of James Bond Comics

References

When Bond Battled Dinosaurs – James Bond 007 – CommanderBond.net – James Bond at Its Best retrieved 2006-11-10^
SilverFin The Graphic Novel released in UK The Young Bond Dossier, retrieved October 2, 2008^
Dynamite's first "James Bond 007" comic will be VARGR by Warren Ellis

Original series

Dark Horse Comics

In 1992, Dark Horse Comics obtained the rights to produce James Bond comics (acquired via the UK publisher Acme Comics, formerly known as Acme Press)[8] and issued a number of limited series and stand-alone stories that began with Serpent's Tooth, a three-issue miniseries published over the course of two years, with an original story written by Doug Moench and illustrated by Paul Gulacy. The second miniseries made of supposedly four issues debuted in 1993, called A Silent Armageddon was delivered by Simon Jowett and John M. Burns, but only two of the planned four issues were released. The miniseries, to this day, remains incomplete in its publication.

Light of My Death was the third Bond story to be published by Dark Horse Comics which, unlike its predecessors, was released alongside different intellectual property franchise titles in four issues, a period piece set in the 1960s written by Das Petrou and illustrated by John Watkiss, including a reprisal appearance of Tatiana Romanova from From Russia with Love.

Following the instalment was a Dark Horse/Acme two-issue miniseries Shattered Helix in 1994, with Jowett returning to pen the story, and the art receiving its illustration by David Jackson and David Lloyd. The next one followed in the footsteps of Light of My Death in its publication vein, released alongside an unrelated franchise title in Dark Horse Comics #25, called Minute of Midnight from Doug Moench and Russ Heath, which was supposed to be setting up a major story arc for a planned ongoing series on Dark Horse's behalf before their rights on the Bond comics were expired.

The last miniseries to be published by Dark Horse/Acme was The Quasimodo Gambit in three issues, an original experience written by Don McGregor, who completed scripting it six years prior to its publication, and illustrated by Gary Caldwell, completing its run in May 1995.

The list of comics published by Dark Horse (many with Acme Comics' packaging) includes:

Serpent's Tooth (1992–1993) by Doug Moench and Paul Gulacy
A Silent Armageddon (1993, incomplete) by Simon Jowett and John M. Burns
Light of My Death (1993, appearing in Dark Horse Comics #8, #9, #10, #11) by Das Petrou and John Watkiss
Shattered Helix (1994) by Simon Jowett, David Jackson and David Lloyd
Minute of Midnight (1994, appearing in Dark Horse Comics #25) by Doug Moench and Russ Heath
The Quasimodo Gambit (1995) by Don McGregor and Gary Caldwell

Dynamite Entertainment

In October 2014, Dynamite Entertainment acquired the license from Ian Fleming Publications to produce and publish a series of comic books concentrating on Fleming's literary hero in two different timelines. One will be a period piece, expanding on his days prior to the events of Casino Royale with original stories. The other, by Warren Ellis and Jason Masters with a contemporary setting, has been published as a monthly comic since November 2015.[9] The first six-issue story arc was titled Vargr,[10] followed by a second arc titled Eidolon.[11] The monthly ongoing series, as revealed in October 2016, was taken over by writer Benjamin Percy.[12] The title was announced as Black Box, written by Percy and illustrated by Rapha Lobosco.[13]

English publications

Adaptations

Swedish publications

See also

External links

References

Original series

Dark Horse Comics

Dynamite Entertainment

Dark Horse Comics

Dynamite Entertainment