Dynamite Entertainment 2016
Written by Andy Diggle
Illustrated by Luca Casalanguida
Coloured by Chris Blythe
Lettered by Simon Bowland
Bond finds himself at the mercy of Malfakhar, a Yemeni smuggler and black marketeer. But both men are mere pawns in a far greater game, with the fate of the world hanging in the balance. As the Hammerhead weapon is deployed and the true identity of the criminal mastermind Kraken is finally revealed, 007 makes a last desperate bid to prevent nuclear war!
Oh yes and thank you Mr. Diggle! What a fantastic way to keep this so twisty until that moment when you go whammo guess what it’s…. From the moment that M and the Secretary of Defense met with Miss Hunt, she was called away from James after the warhead was stolen, you know something about this scenario is going to happen. All these people in one place it just spells disaster.
Meanwhile James is busy he’s been taken by Karim Malfakhar, aka the Fox. This is another perfect example of why I’m a huge Diggle fan. The writing here went nothing like I was expecting and the way this played out for me was utterly brilliant. The characterisation here is phenomenal and the morals and scruples of those in the field they are as flexible as the assignments they take. Then there’s this whole idea that if you know your foe personally or by reputation then things may or may not be what you expect. It’s this that makes it incredibly interesting and surprisingly fun.
Luca and Chris do some mighty fine work on the interiors here too. There’s a classic comic style that has some wonderful intensity to it. From that opening scene in the storm to seeing James stern face and throughout the attention to detail here is superb. The use of page layouts utilising angles, perspective and those backgrounds really help take us on a more complete journey through the story.
I think the way this story is structured is fantastic. James is the ultimate man’s man and in this story we see how that works to his advantage and the realisation of something he should’ve known all along. I do wonder when he first figured out who Kraken was though. It’s like a switch was flipped in the story though as you see James have much more determination once he realises where he needs to be and who’s responsible. The intensity brought to the story here by this amazing creative team has all the electricity that a major motion picture needs.
How underrated is Moneypenny? I mean sure she’s responsible for keeping M safe from harm but from what we see this issue that goes to a whole new level. She’s either the world’s best bluffer or she’s one scary individual and either way she’s a damn iteration of the character.
Never been a better time to be a Bond fan than right now with everything Dynamite is putting out!