As much of an icon as James Bond is the lions share of the world knows him more through which Bond actor they love most. There’s the Sean Connery camp, the Roger Moore camp, I’ll bet someplace somewhere there’s even a camp for Pierce Brosnan. Personally I cheer loudest for newest Bond Daniel Craig but still, I’m seeing Bond through the performance of an actor. Few have really discovered Bond through the original Ian Fleming novels and those who have gone back to read them still tend to place an actor in their mind’s eye.
The James Bond Omnibus from Titan Books is a collection of the original 50s and 60s comic strips that first brought Ian Fleming’s novels into a visual medium. I’m a sucker for all things newspaper strip and to see some of my favorite Bond stories handled this way is so refreshing. Using various writers to condense Fleming’s stories into strip form these comics are a real testament to a medium that’s largely overlooked.
The writing here is crisp and intelligent, deftly moving the stories along without rushing them. This collection harkens back to a time when newspaper strips were seen as intelligent reading for young professionals and the writing reflects that. The scripts bring as much action, intrigue and Bond charm to their strips as Fleming did to his original novels.
These also aren’t random Bond stories slapped together for a quick buck. The James Bond Omnibus contains complete newspaper strip stories for Casino Royale, Goldfinger, Dr. No, Live & Let Die, Thunderball and five more classic Bond books. Even if you’re a huge Bond fan reading your favorite stories this way will give you a new perspective on the world’s most famous spy.
The other thing that allows these strips to bring new life to Bond is the incredible artwork by John Mclusky who perfectly captures the exciting world of a super spy by never letting up on the action. So much of the newspaper strip work today is frozen within the square barrier but Mclusky’s art moves with the fluidity of a motion picture. He also does more with simple shadowing that most artists today can handle with a computer.
Mclusky has a style that allows him to cram massive amounts of detailed content in every panel without losing the focus of the story. It’s also cool to see the very first idea of what Bond looked like and how that clearly led to Sean Connery getting hired for the original films.
The James Bond Omnibus is the perfect thing for not just James Bond fanatics but also anybody who loves comic books, newspaper strips or all of the above. This isn’t just a collection of James Bond stories this is a slice of history, a moment in time where Bond was open to interpretation and creative license. Try to imagine what it was like to experience James Bond without all the baggage the movies bring, it’s pretty damn cool. The book is also beautifully bound and features an introduction from Sir Roger Moore. If you have a Bond fan on your Christmas list this is a must have for them.
