Posted in: Comics | Tagged: 007, Comics, dynamite, entertainment, forbidden planet, james bond, mike lake

James Bond Returns To Comics In 2015 From Dynamite – His Origin, World War II And Much, More. Creators, Time To Step Up.

And with that, Dynamite wins NYCC.

Dynamite Entertainment, has partnered with Ian Fleming Publications, in a deal arranged with Curtis Brown and Forbidden Planet founder Mike Lake, to bring James Bond back to comics.

And that's a worldwide publishing deal, and covers the entirety of the James Bond oeuvre. Which means classic Bond, new Bond, adaptations of the books and the creation of new work, the lot.

His origin story, his tales of World War II, everything. Bad guys and Bond girls from the films, the books, new creations, the lot. Print, digital, comics, OGNs, collections, the lot.

And from what I've heard that means a bunch of A-list creators. But they still have room. I understand the publisher is encouraging creators to contact them and Mike Lake if they have any interest in telling Bond stories.  But that they'll have to realise they'll be go up against multiple Eisner award winners…

I've been aware of this project since early conception and I helped introduce a few important folks to each other along the way. It has stalled, it has been reignited, it has seen hands thrown up in the air, before grasping the other and shaking it. And now the signatures are on paper.

Classic Illustrated originally published an adaptation of the Dr No novel in the UK in 1963, later reprinted by DC Comics.

Two decades later, Marvel adapted the films For Your Eyes Only and Octopussy. Licence To Kill was adapted by Eclipse in 1989 with Mike Grell, who would then write Permission To Die, an original James Bond comic from the publisher.

In the nineties, Dark Horse published Bond comics for a few years though one  Silent Armageddon was left unfinished. Topps then published a 1995 adaptation of Goldeneye, which was also unfinished, and the planned original series never appeared either.

And then nothing for thirteen years until the graphic novel adaptation of the Young Bond novel Silverfin by Kev Walker. But then nothing in the years since, while Bond appeal has continued to grow.

Meanwhile in Sweden, Semic Press ran James Bond newspaper strips in comic book format, before acquiring rights to create new material, running from 1982 until 1991, some based on the films, but mostly original. One was adapted as a movie without James Bond being mentioned at all, which was a nifty trick.

There were also original Spanish (pictured above), Dutch and even James Bond manga, but they were relatively short lived. And nothing has been approved by the Fleming estate for decades.

Oh and the Dynamite deal? It will cover all these too…

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