James Bond is best known as a movie hero, but he’s got a long history of comics behind him as well. But nothing has captured both the playful spirit of the movies and the darker, harsher nature of the original novels at the same time quite as well as Dynamite’s James Bond, and in a new arc, Warren Ellis and Jason Masters offer a fresh take on Bond’s adventures.
The opening arc, Vargr, out today in hardcover as well, was very much classic Bond: Perverted henchmen, mad scientists, Britain under threat from designer drugs. It was a heck of a lot of fun, thanks not least to Ellis’ characterization of Bond as a bit of an overconfident jerk. But in order for the book to feel fresh, it needed to step it up and it has beautifully. The Bond of the novels is a cynical man whose one-liners mask his contempt for almost everything around him, a quality Ellis has carefully lifted and worked into his stories. In the new arc, “Eidolon,” that very overconfidence works against him; thanks to his arrogance, he has no weapons, he has no idea what’s going on, and worst of all, he’s trapped in Los Angeles, his personal hell.
The story cleverly works in bits of Bond mythos, like his CIA contact Felix, while telling a fairly credible espionage story in its own right. Masters’ art has been quiet these last six issues, but he’s stepped it up considerably here, making strong use of negative space and working closely with colorist Guy Majors to give the book a sun-drenched, amber noir feel that suits Bond being stuck in the City of Angels. Sadly we only get a Bond movie every few years, but Dynamite is working hard to give us some great Bond every month.
Power Man And Iron Fist #5, Marvel
David Walker and Flaviano Armentaro deliver a lighthearted farce about media, narrative, and how both get out of your control at warp speed. Walker centers the issue around a radio call-in show as a DJ freaks out over Luke Cage fighting Manslaughter Marsdale, and things get unhinged fast. Walker keeps it funny, playing off Cage’s newly discovered slow-burn as he tries to restrain Danny Rand and the media at the same time, but he cleverly uses a Rashomon-inspired structure to fill in both what happened and how the story goes wrong. Armentaro’s art amps up the comedy, but keeps things just restrained enough that the book doesn’t feel goofy. It’s brisk, it’s fun, and it’s smarter than a book about a bromance centered around punching would seem.
Dept. H #3, Dark Horse
Matt Kindt’s murder mystery under six miles of water just keeps getting more fascinating, not least because Kindt gives his characters room to breathe. Kindt is playing the plot close to his vest, as he hints there may be more to the death of a scientist than just somebody losing it under the waves. Dept. H is a unique book even by Kindt’s standards, and promising to get just more fascinating as it goes.
Detective Comics #935, DC Comics
Rebooting Detective Comics as a team book is, it’s turning out, a brilliant idea. James Tynion IV and Eddy Barrows have a lot of characters with a lot of history to juggle, and they manage to do right by everybody without glossing over any member of the team. Barrows, who worked on Martian Manhunter, juggles quite a few tones and has a gorgeous Gotham into the bargain. The hook, though, is the plot, which has an organization hunting Batfamily members, including Batman himself. It’s classic meat-and-potatoes superheroics, and not to be missed.
Rumble #11, Image
John Arcudi and James Harren’s bizarre, brilliant urban fantasy is finally back. Rathraq, the soul of a warrior god trapped in a scarecrow, is trying to get his real body back, but somebody else has it, and they’ve got some rather spiteful plans for it. Anchoring all this, though, is a real, painful plotline about a man and his mother, and why magic sometimes isn’t a good thing. Arcudi is a deft writer, and Harren runs the full gamut here from weird creatures to deep, personal emotions in his art. Rumble is a tough book to summarize, but once you read it, you’ll wish there was more of it.
Wonder Woman #1, DC Comics: Wonder Woman is finally getting the truth about her past in a smart new run from Greg Rucka and Liam Sharp.
Deadpool Vs. Gambit #1, Marvel: Unexpectedly witty and packed with twists, this is a surprisingly good Marvel team-up.
Rai #14, Valiant: Valiant cyberpunk fable explores a few different takes on its central hero, and just how heroic a creature controlled by a villainous AI can really be.
Black Road #3, Image: This grim thriller, set during the war between Christians and Vikings as the former invade Norway, takes a violent but engaging turn, especially as the larger plot comes into focus.
Lucas Stand #1, BOOM! Studios: Kurt Sutter mixes a little demons and time travel in with his trademark profanity and violence as the Sons of Anarchy creator puts out his first original comic.
This Week’s Collections
Northlanders: The Anglo-Saxon Saga, DC Comics (Softcover, $30): Vertigo’s full Viking saga is collected under one cover for the first time.
Colonus, Dark Horse (Softcover, $10): Building off the Dark Horse Presents strip, this book mixes the high drama of space opera with the dark grit of hard SF.
Dark Corridor, Image (Softcover, $15): Rich Tommaso’s full noir epic is here, just in time for beach reading.