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James Bond 007: Nightbird
Written By: Ian Fleming
Art By: Jim Lawrence, Yaroslav Horak, and Neville Colvin
Our friends at Titan Books have produced yet another fantastic collection that reprints a handful of story lines from the James Bond comic strip that ran from 1958 to 1983, in the United Kingdom and other various newspapers around the globe. However, don’t let that fool you about this collection, packed full of retro-hipness that reminds you of how bad-ass James Bond can be, with surely some of his most interesting adventures to ever grace newsprint or comic books. James Bond 007: Nightbird collects three story lines, and prints for the first time the only remaining strips of a lost story line never before printed.
The first comic strip is the mentioned never-before-published “War Cloud,” with artwork by Jim Lawrence. Obviously, since the strip was never finished or published, story wise it leaves a lot to be desired, however the fantastic action that lies in the few pages, and the opportunity to see an unknown piece of Bond history, make it worth its weight in this collection. The second story in the collection is “Hot-Shot,” drawn by Horak, which tells the tale of 007 and a Palestinian freedom fighter, who cross paths with terrorist group “Eblis,” which leads to a very cool surprise villain from Bond’s past. Inspired by the 1970 hijackings and published in 1976, “Hot-Shot” is as interesting today as it was in yesteryear. The third story in the collection is the title story “Nightbird,” with art also by Horak, which is my favorite in the collection, and tells the story of what first appears to be martians from another world (who fly a bird shaped craft) holding people for ransom, but turns out to be so much more. The fourth and final tale is “The Ape of Diamonds,” which tells the story in which 007 is sent by MI-6 to investigate a ten-foot tall ape who is taking out Arab delegates, but oddly enough leaving a calling card. The art on this last one starts out drawn by Horak, but Neville Colvin, who also worked on the amazing British strip Modesty Blaise, takes over. The writing on all the stories is great. The artwork is loved by many, although I personally have mixed feelings on it. To me the characters look like drawings of heads that were sculpted, like in the Thunderbirds or Stingray TV shows or something, however, it is a unique style (at least from an American p.o.v.) and grew on me by the end.
If you want a great time, pick up James Bond 007: Nightbird. I guarantee if you love action, spies, or Bond, you won’t be able to put it down. Also check out other great strip collections from our friends at Titan Books, Modesty Blaise and Roy of the Rovers!
Drew McCabe
drew@comicattack.com