Graphic Novel Review - the James Bond Comic Strips from Titan Books

It's so hard not to pull out the old 'shaken, not stirred' catchphrase when discussing James Bond, agent 007 on Her Majesty's Secret Service!

I'm sure most of my readers are aware of the Bond franchise, specifically the films of which about 20 have been made over the course of 40 years. Of course, the character really began life in a series of novels by the incomparable Ian Fleming. What most people may not realize is that the films are very, very different from the original novels, with many events and sequences never being used, or shuffled around and appearing in different titles.

Then there are the added licensing attempts, such as comics. Several have been straightforward movie adaptations, such as Marvel's For Your Eyes Only, or brand new stories altogether, such as Permission to Die by Mike Grell and several mini-series from Dark Horse Comics.

Somewhere in this wave of material comes a comic strip. Appearing in the Daily Express in the U.K., a James Bond comic strip was produced and Titan Books has seen fit to reprint several of these strips by storyline. Remarkably, what makes these strips so impressive is that they began in 1958, a scant 6 years after Fleming wrote the very first James Bond novel and another 4 years before the first film would be produced!

What makes this important to fans of the franchise, as well as connoisseur's of graphic literature, is that these stories may have familiar titles yet they have nothing to do with the films. Rather, they are almost straightforward adaptations of the novels, which are radically different and in many ways superior to the film versions. It's like seeing an all new take on material that could have come across as tired, but it isn't.

Pardon the historical lesson, but these very facts are what make these reprints from Titan so fascinating. The particular volumes I reviewed, Man With The Golden Gun and Octopussy, originally appeared in daily strip form in 1966. Though I'm not a real big fan of the comic strip format in general and haven't dabbled too much in reprints of strips, these are masterfully adapted by Jim Lawrence, featuring almost 200 days apiece to tell the complete story. That means a lot of action, as well as enough dialogue to properly develop story and character. Though some of the references and stereotypes are very dated, to see these original stories given the graphic treatment is a joy to behold. A lot of the credit for that goes to artist Yaroslav Horak, who's gritty, noir style is perfect for spy stories. If you need a modern day comparison to Horak's style, it reminded me a lot of Howard Chaykin.

These volumes are straight up action adventure from a bygone era. Though modern fans used to computer coloring and full page panels by the latest 'hot' artist may scoff at these simpler daily strips from a simpler time, it's really a disservice to dismiss these very well done adaptations of one of the world's greatest literary figures. I personally can't wait to get the volume from Titan of one of my favorite Bond stories: On Her Majesty's Secret Service!

There have been a lot more volumes produced since I read these, including many original works and adaptations outside the original Fleming novels. I plan on returning to this series of reprints and see if my glowing review still holds up after reading subsequent volumes.