New James Bond book released today

Released today is the second James Bond comic collection book from Dynamite Entertainment. This one contains the story Eidolon. The story is by Warren Ellis (pictured above) and drawings by Jason Masters. This was there second and final James Bond collaboration. The first one was Vargr that you can read more about here.

What's being released today is the hardback version of the six comic books and it sells for as little as $16.50 / £18,62on Amazon.

Reading their two James Bond stories between films is an excellent way to kill time. Some reviews say that they are even better then the last films.

This story is high octane action packed non-stop ride towards the ending. And the best way to read it is in this hardback since you do not need to wait a month for the next episode.

Dynamite Entertainment is working hard on James Bond comics nowadays. Both Hammerhead and Service are upcoming story's to be released in hardback. Also a comic adaptation on Ian Fleming's Casino Royale is said to be out in may this year. If you have not read these stories yet I suggest that you order them right now from the links below. They are that cool!

You can buy the book at Amazon US here and Amazon UK here!

VARGR the hardback version. Here is my review

It has been a very long time since the last time I read a comic book. Not that I do not like them. I just got older and started to enjoy books even more. As as Swede and being in my late thirties there was one comic that everybody read when I grow up and that was THE PHANTOM. I had roughly 700 The phantom comics, 300 James Bond Comics and 200 The Saint comics when my collection was at its peak. A few years back a friend of mine (he is now 78 years old) gave me the 23 first issues of SUPERMAN (in Swedish) as a gift. They are amazing to own.

What I am trying to say is that I really loved comics growing up. 

That is why I was so exited to hear that there was a new James Bond comic series coming out. I had never heard of either Warren Ellis or Jason Masters but I did understand that they could pull this of in a great way.

I started collecting all the comics but decided to wait and read them until I had them all at home. Of course then it was decided that the VARGR series were to be released in a hardback so I ordered that as well.

So now I have finally read the entire series and there is many things I like about it and some I am not too fond of. I will not write a review of the actual story but all I will say is that I like it. 

The beginning of the comics is more like the film version of James Bond and its trademarked pre credit sequence. I like that a lot, especially since it takes place in Helsinki that is close to Sweden where I live. You have to understand that we, the Scandic people, is not used to having Bond visiting us in any way or form. It is also nice to notice that Bond in the end goes to Norway. Another Scandic country. A country where Bond committed his first kill according to Ian Fleming.

I also enjoy that the story is set in present day. There are many scenes within the story were I react to the strips showing Bond with something modern, like a mobile phone that does not work for instance.

What I also liked about this story is that there is no Bond girl. We always have that and it feels good that for once she is not present.

Some of the pages by Jason Masters are fantastic. Especially the spread in the end of the series where Bond is sneaking around in a big ship hunting down the villain. I also enjoy a page where Bond is exhausted and needs to stand still and rest with his hands on his knees. We have never seen that in 50 years and that makes him more human in this story.

But there is one thing that I think was overdone and not needed. It was the amount of head shots with exploding heads  or dead bodies whit blood all over the place. Maybe I am just weak but this has also never been visible before in a Bond film and I like it that way. But I think that this might be just what is Warren Ellis and Jason Masters speciality. Dark and gore.

I also get the feeling that at least Jason Masters must have been a fan of Tintin or maybe it is Guy Major who has done the colouration of the book that likes Tintin. For some reason I think of Tintin when I read the strips.  

I am happy that I bought this book and I will buy the upcoming book as well but I guess it will be out for Christmas or right after. I have already noticed that Felix Lighter will feature in that story.

As a special treatment to the fans the book includes all the different cover artworks that was produced for the comic series.

What did you think about the VARGR comic? I would love to read your comments below!

Warren Ellis and Jason Masters VARGR hardback can be bought here.

You can see my other blog posts regarding VARGR here.

The hardback cover is shown below.

The final issue of VARGR is finally here

Today we finally see the release of the Dynamite Entertainment James Bond comic VARGR. It was first set to be released on April 6 but was postponed to April 20. As I have written before this seems to be quite common in the comics industry. Why Dynamite Entertainment dont wait three extra months to release the comics so they can be certain that they can deliver on the advertised release date is for me a question. I believe the answer is that the work they order needs to be cashed in as soon as possible. No money should ever sit and wait.
I just dont think this is the way to treat loyal customers or people working with the comic.

What if Eon Productions failed to deliver a James Bond film on time?
I work daily with sales of films and we do have the same issue in our industry. But when a date is set the industry make sure to deliver the film on time.

Anyhow I am so glad that during the weekend I can sit down with my complete set of VARGR comics and read them for the first time. I have waited to read the story until I had all comics and it do look so great. I absolutely love the drawing above by Jason Masters. Its like he has captured a younger Bond then normal but still very though. Somewhere around 28 years old instead of the regular 35-40 years old.

During March Dynamite Entertainment sold a little more then 15 000 copies of VARGR taking the comic to the #126 on the comic charts in the US.  

I am happy to mention that both Warren Ellis and Jason Masters have received renewed confidence and will release a new James Bond story called EIDOLON and set (at this point) to be released on June 15. Below you can find a short synopsis about the story that includes SPECTRE.

After World War Two, army intelligence groups created ghost cells called "stay-behinds" across Europe in the event of a Warsaw Pact surge. "EIDOLON" is the story of a SPECTRE stay-behind structure - ghost cells of SPECTRE loyalists acting as sleepers until the time is right for a SPECTRE reformation and resurgence. The time is now. 

Here is a world exclusive for you!

I am very proud to share whit you the blogs first world exclusive.

To celebrate that this blog JAMES BOND - THE SECRET AGENT has passed 20 000 page views in just six months and that our Facebook page very soon will pass 400 followers (just two to go). I have been in contact with the very talented Jason Masters to draw an exclusive painting of James Bond to be used as a header for this blog.

I have been waiting for his drawing for a few days when it showed up in my inbox today. And boy was I satisfied.

JASON MASTERS began his career in commercial advertising and went on to work as a professional comic book artist for DC, Marvel, and Dynamite Comics.
Masters got his big break in comics when he met Ethan van Sciver, a prominent artist for DC Comics, at a book signing in Johannesburg a few years ago. Van Sciver passed on his portfolio to his editor at DC, who a few months later, contacted him about working for DC Comics as an artist.
Masters' early work includes Human Target and Red, a comic series penned by Warren Ellis, for Wildstorm Studios, an imprint of DC. He went on to work on various Batman titles, including Legends of the Dark Knight, Batman Incorporated, Batwoman, and Nightwing. For Marvel he worked on Guardians of the Galaxy, Wolverine, and X-Men. His biggest gig arrived in 2015, when he was handpicked by comics legend, Warrren Ellis, to handle the artwork as ongoing series artist on Dynamite's high-profile relaunch of the James Bond comic book, the first all new 007 comic series in over 20 years.
The series, under the helm of Ellis and Masters, has received popular and critical acclaim and is currently one of Dynamite Comics bestselling new series. Jason Masters lives in Johannesburg, South Africa. 

See the full drawing he painted fort the blog below.

And if you are a fan of Jason Masters work like I am you can follow him on Twitter here

VARGR Issue 5 is finally out

Issue 5 out of 6 of the James Bond comic series VARGR is now out and have found its way all the way to Sweden.
The issue was supposed to be released on March 2 but was postponed twice and was finally released today on March 16.
I find it quite wired that the release date for the next issue is never mentioned in the comic itself. I also find it strange that the publishers work with their material so close to the release date. Would it not be more easy to have a deadline for the material with a release date a few months ahead so that problems can be solved without hurting the sales.

Anyhow the fifth issue is now out and the sixth and final chapter is said to be released on April 6. Then I will shut down my computer for one night and finally read the entire story.

Below you can see the cover for issue 5.

A reviewer had this to say about the Vargr series:

A tense action thriller that knows how to take its time and deliver a page turning comic. Whoever’s writing the next Bond flick should check this book out and take notes!

You can order your issue here!

VARGR Issue 4 is here

Dynamite Entertainments forth issue of the James Bond adventure VARGR is now available to buy in comic shops.
The story is written by Warren Ellis and has Jason Masters as the artist. This is the forth out of six numbers to be released.

June 21 this year a hardback version of the complete VARGR story will be released and later this year a new James Bond story by Warren Ellis and Jason Masters will be released.

I am waiting to read the story until I have all six comics at home.

Below you can see the cover art for issue 4. Issue 5 will be released sometime in March, 2016.

Look here to se all covers for issue 1.
Look here to se all covers for issue 2.
Look here to se all covers for issue 3.

To order the hardback edition from Amazon please click below:

The magazine covers for VARGR issue 3

A few weeks back Dynamite Entertainment in the US released their third out of six continuation comics called VARGR written by Warren Ellis and drawn by Jason Masters.

The first issue of this comic was released in 19 different covers and the second issue was released in seven different covers. The third and the latest issue was only released in two different covers.

Since I no longer is to familiar with comics and how their release pattern is nowadays I was afraid that is was lack of sales for the comic that made the amount of covers less and less with each new issue. So I asked my comic retailer about this and he said that it is quite common that the first release of a new comic have lots of different designs to use as marketing. So (as we say in Sweden) there should be no danger on the roof.

This made me check out the sales figures for VARGR during December and according to this web page VARGR had the 128 spot of of almost 400 comics during December with a total sales of 21 254 issues of the comic. I do not know if thats a good number or not. My guess is that this is the sales figure from Dynamite to resellers so there is no guarantee that these was actually sold to end customers.

Ian Fleming Publications has said that they are planing for a new James Bond comic adventure and I sure hope they will stick to that plan.

I have not yet read the story. I am waiting until I have all six comics at home to sit down and enjoy them all at once.

Below you will find the two covers that was released for issue 3.

A Christmas card from Ian Fleming Publications no less!

I was taken by surprise today when I received a Christmas card from Ian Fleming Publications. Since we are all fans of Ian Flemings work and that is the reason that you all come over and read this blog I wish to share this information with you the blog reader. It does include a few things to really look forward to during 2016...

December 2015

It's been yet another eventful year for us, with our publishers around the world making the most of the surge in excitement for James Bond properties, prompted by the release of Eon Productions' 24^th Bond film, SPECTRE.

Our biggest event was the publication of Trigger Mortis by Anthony Horowitz on 8^th September. This book is particularly special, because Horowitz used a previously unseen outline for a television script penned by Ian Fleming as the springboard for his story.   The book has been extremely well received both here and in the States and featured in both the UK chart and the New York Times Bestsellers' list.

The book has been published by friends new and old around the world, and everyone has had a lot of fun with the motor-racing and rocket theme.  In the UK, for example, Orion designed a cover which could be turned into a model rocket.   They also produced a special, limited edition for Waterstones which included the original TV outline, Murder on Wheels, and worked closely with Random House to ensure that the original Fleming novels, Goldfinger in particular, benefited from the attention Trigger Mortis received.   Orion recorded and published an audio version read by David Oyelowo, acclaimed star of the award winning film Selma, with US and Canadian release in the careful hands of American publishers, HarperCollins.   We thank all our publishers for their enthusiasm and ingenuity.

Our first ever continuation Bond novel, Colonel Sun by Kingsley Amis, received unexpected  attention this year, when Eon Productions asked to use a section from it within the script of SPECTRE.   Although it had been available in ebook form, it had not been in physical print for more than a decade.   With extremely short notice, Random House published a lovely paperback edition in time for the film's release.   Our international publishers of Colonel Sun have made the most of the opportunity, and an audio edition will be re-released by W F Howes shortly.

Last year, we announced a new partnership with Dynamite Entertainment for James Bond comic books and graphic novels.   Production of their first Bond series entitled Vargr, set in the modern day, commenced early this year.   The series is being written by the highly respected Warren Ellis, and each issue is strikingly visualised through visceral artwork by Jason Masters.   Dynamite are also developing a series of adaptations of the original Fleming novels and one exploring the origins of Bond, along with projects involving other characters from the Bond canon, next year.

Film years are always good news for the Fleming Bond novels, and this year was no exception.   Even though it is not based on a Fleming novel, there was increased interest in the origins of the criminal organisation, SPECTRE.   Random House and Amazon have both produced omnibus volumes of the Fleming titles which feature SPECTRE under the title The SPECTRE Trilogy.   Our audio partners are doing the same, and Titan, who publish the Express comic strips, have produced a SPECTRE anthology of the original Horak and McClusky comic adaptations, newly enhanced for incredible sharpness and detail.

Also to coincide with the film release, The Folio Society have produced a beautifully illustrated edition of Casino Royale and will be giving the same loving treatment to From Russia With Love next year.   Fay Dalton is the chosen artist, wonderfully evoking the period setting and luxurious, but equally glowering and dangerous, atmosphere of Bond's first outing.

The new Young Bond series continued with the paperback release of Shoot to Kill in November, and the upcoming Heads You Die is due for publication in May 2016.   Additionally, there are two further novels by Steve Cole in the pipeline which will see Bond progressing through the 1930's amidst the building tension of pre-War Europe.

Over the airwaves, Radio Four released their fourth Fleming radio play this summer, performing Diamonds Are Forever, with Toby Stephens reprising his role as James Bond.

We would like to congratulate Fergus Fleming and The Ian Fleming Estate on the publication of The Man with the Golden Typewriter; a collection of Ian Fleming's letters edited by Fergus. It is a fascinating read, particularly for those of us in the publishing industry, and they should be very proud of it.

I've just skimmed the surface of all we've done this year, as there's been a lot of activity on our older continuation authors as well.   Works by John Gardner, Raymond Benson, Sebastian Faulks, Jeffery Deaver and William Boyd continue to garner new translation deals overseas, but we don't have the time to list them all here.

Looking forward, we are exploring licensing around our literary assets;  having taken tentative steps into this area in the past, we are now taking a more serious approach and have enlisted the help of Jo Edwards and her team at Random House Enterprises.

And finally, there have also been new developments in the IFPL team. Tilly has been with us as Finance Manager for just over a year, and Jonny Davidson has joined us as our Administrative Assistant after Phoebe left us in the Spring.   I am delighted to welcome them both.   The advent of a younger team has meant that we are now very active in social media, and I would like to encourage you to keep track of our activities throughout the year on our website, but also on Facebook, Twitter, and now Instagram.

Corinne B Turner

Managing Director

The seven covers for VARGR issue 2 is here

Last week issue two out of six of the James Bond comic VARGR was released across the globe. As I said a month ago, its really fun to notice that I can get it all the way up north in Sweden on the first date of the US release.

Once again the comic has been released with different cover designs. Once can choose to see this as collectors editions made by resellers OR a sad way for the publishers to take advantage of the James Bond collectors frenzy. I have decided to only collect the official version of the comics but for the hard core collectors of this magazine there are many to order on Ebay.

For issue one there was 19 different covers to collect but for issue two it's only seven covers to collect. You can see six of them below. The last one was also released as a 100 limited edition cover in black and white. This has yet to surface on the net but is pictured in issue 2.

Dynamite comics has also released a special version with only the official painting on the cover, no logos and no letters. You can order it here but it cost $50 compared to normal asking price of $4.

There will soon also be a CGC graded copy for sale with the price tag of $99. Watch this space if you wish to order. 

The above was also released without the logo and text.

The above was also released in black and white.

Here are the ALL 19 covers of the James Bond comic VARGR, Issue 1

It was very long since a James Bond comic hit the stores. Finally the wait has come to an end.

Living in Sweden (as I do) we were very blessed for a long time when it comes to James Bond comics. Between 1965 and 1994 Swedish publishers SEMIC released around 200 comics. I do have them all in my collection and the ones between 1965 and 1980 had amazing covers with truly rare drawings of Sean Connery on the cover. I actually have one of the covers for sale as a reprint. You can find it here!

Now the new comic is called VARGR and the story is Warren Ellis and the strips are made by Jason Masters. Publishers are Dynamite. It hit stores last week and even I who live in Sweden was able to get my hands on the first issue the same day as it was on sale in the US.
I have just had a short look inside it so far. I actually intend to collect all the issues before I start reading them. One month apart is just two darn long to wait until the next episode. "Christmas only comes once a year" and for me it will come when all issues have been released. 

Now I am not to familiar with the Comic word any longer. I stopped collecting comics a long time ago. Therefore I must confess that I was really angry when I realised that the comics will be released in different shops with different covers depending on how many prints that comic shop actually bought. This truly feels like I way to fool the hardcore collectors into buying all different versions. That will never happen in my world. There is a saying in Sweden. Don't hit the hand that feeds you! Meaning that publishers should not make collectors angry, that might just end up in us loosing interest in their product. On the other hand I am aware of publishers struggling but this is not the right way to make revenue.

To the right you can see the official cover of issue 1.

So there is a whole bunch of different covers of the first issue of VARGR. As I remember, The Comic stores was offered their own cover if they ordered more then 500 copies. In other words, some of the covers are more rare then others.

I have therefore collected all different cover designs for the first issue I could find on the internet. And I must say that many of them has amazing covers that are far better then the official cover for the first Issue. I also like the James Bond 007 logo. Clean and neat with some work put into it.

Below you will find the 19 less common cover designs and some sketches for them.