James Bond Omnibus Volumes
Dutchfinger
Holland With LovePosts: 1,240MI6 Agent
I only recently discovered these actually excisted: The James Bond Omnibus volumes.
They are a collection of the James Bond comic series that used to be printed daily in the Daily Express from the 50'ies somewhere up to the late 70'ies.
The first volume contains the comic versions of Casino Royale, Live and Let Die, Moonraker, Diamonds Are Forever, From Russia with Love, Dr. No, Goldfinger, Risico, From a View to a Kill, For Your Eyes Only and Thunderball!
They are all supposedly faithful adaptions to some extent) of the Ian Fleming novels. They sound quite intresting, and I am thinking of getting the first volume.
My question is, is there anyone here that also owns these or has any knowledge on the subject? Are they any good?
They are a collection of the James Bond comic series that used to be printed daily in the Daily Express from the 50'ies somewhere up to the late 70'ies.
The first volume contains the comic versions of Casino Royale, Live and Let Die, Moonraker, Diamonds Are Forever, From Russia with Love, Dr. No, Goldfinger, Risico, From a View to a Kill, For Your Eyes Only and Thunderball!
They are all supposedly faithful adaptions to some extent) of the Ian Fleming novels. They sound quite intresting, and I am thinking of getting the first volume.
My question is, is there anyone here that also owns these or has any knowledge on the subject? Are they any good?
Better known as DutchBondFan on YouTube. My 007 movie reviews: Recapping 007
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Do any of you care to share some photos from the omnibus comics?
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I own all the Fleming-derived comics, and they are definitely worth getting. They're a must-buy for anyone who's finished the original novels and is hungry for more Fleming. And they are indeed faithful to the books, which means that the comic versions of LALD, MR, DAF, "From a View to A Kill," YOLT, and TMWTGG are truer adaptations than the films. And since the comics started earlier than the movies, they're period pieces from the same era as their sources. If you've ever wanted illustrated versions of the Bond books, buy the comics. You'll have a lot of fun comparing them to how you pictured the books.
That said, the first set of adaptations--CR, LALD, MR, DAF, FRWL, DN, and GF--have their limitations. First, they are slightly bowdlerized, with less violence and sex than the books or movies. Second, they often read like digests rather than thorough adaptations, because the stories aren't given enough room to breathe. Also, while John McLusky's art is proficient, his characters tend to look the same.
Putting aside the aborted adaptation of TB (cancelled due to a snit by Lord Beaverbrook), the comic strip really hits its stride with OHMSS and YOLT. These are truly excellent adaptations. Instead of rushing through the book in a couple months, Henry Gammidge was able to spend over half a year with each. His version of OHMSS is even more faithful than the film (and makes for a fascinating counterpart) and his version of YOLT is priceless, because it's unlikely that we'll ever see a closer adaptation of this strange and incredible novel. Gammidge makes a few changes, but they're justified. For instance, Blofeld is given more a more ingenious death...
After YOLT, a new creative team took over. Yaroslav Horak's artwork might be too busy and stylized for some, but I find it more stylish, exciting, and skilled than McLusky's. Jim Lawrence, the new scriptwriter, displayed great powers of imagination. His version of TLD is extremely faithful but adds a brilliant twist in the final panel. His version of TMWTGG is arguably better than Fleming's. Most impressively, Lawrence was given the task of turning several of the "problem" stories--TSWLM, "The Hildebrand Rarity," and "Octopussy"--into action strips, and he succeeded in expanding the stories while retaining their original appeal. His version of Colonel Sun is faithful, effective, and would have delighted Kingsley Amis. I've only read two of Lawrence's original Bond stories--The River of the Death and The Harpies--but they struck me as fine, if outlandish, pastiches, and more Bondian than anything Gardner wrote.
Indeed, considering Lawrence and Horal's legacy, their work deserves film adaptation more than any continuation novel, especially since comics are already a visual medium. The makers of the Bond films should have taken a look at Lawrence's success in adapting TMWTGG, TSWLM, OP, and "Hildebrand."
The Niven story isn't quite true. Fleming's first choice seems to have been Richard Burton, though later down the line he mentioned Niven as a possible Bond.
I can add little to Revelator's excellent comments. Some of the stories are quite far fetched and border being silly. Remember, the original stories (post Fleming) are comics, and as such, are very different from the Fleming novels....
As I've just read Colonel Sun, it will be interesting to read the graphic novel
Version.
Left, but the bottom was badly battered !
Take that copy and would wait for a new one to be delivered, as I wasn't
In a rush. So it will probably be next week before I get it now.
Not officially. John Pearson gives it a few lines, referring to the Russians using certain drugs and playing on his subconscious resentment of M, but that's about it. There may be some fan fiction, though.
I'll get a flick through it this week, and look out for the others. -{
Dynamite Entertainment, of Mount Laurel, N.J., has announced perhaps the biggest deal in its history, landing the worldwide rights to publish comic books, digital comics and graphic novels starring Ian Fleming's Secret Agent 007.
As part of the deal, Dynamite plans to create a series of brand-new adventures about the little-known early years of Bond's career, in addition to bringing back famous villains and a bevy of Bond babes.
"James Bond is one of the greatest cultural icons in the world," Dynamite CEO and publisher Nick Barrucci said in a statement. "The original prose storytelling serves as the basis for one of the most successful film franchises ever, a franchise that reinvents itself to be in tune with each generation. By doing so, it allows the character to be an ever-progressive pop-culture phenomenon, one that energizes existing fans and engages new fans, thus helping to ensure that Bond's relevance and importance will live on forever. The high-octane action, the charm, the unquestionable allure of this man of action - it all stems from Ian Fleming. We are excited to build upon Fleming's source material with new canonical stories, and are honored at Dynamite to be a small part of his legacy, to be able to bring new stories to fans around the world.