JAMES BOND: 007 (VOL. 3) #1, by Dynamite Comics on 1/10/24, gives the indomitable super agent a new mission when a newly completed clean bomb, stolen from Soviet Russian, disappears.
The Details
- Written by: Garth Ennis
- Art by: Rapha Lobosco
- Colors by: Jorge Sutil
- Letters by: Rob Steen
- Cover art by: Dave Johnson
- Comic Rating: Teen
- Cover price: $4.99
- Release date: January 10, 2024
Is JAMES BOND: 007 (VOL. 3) #1 Good?
Garth Ennis returns to Dynamite for a James Bond adventure to recover bomb technology that achieves the holy grail of guerilla warfare. Ennis’s classic approach to Bond embodies the wit, action, and slickness you’ve come to expect from fiction’s greatest superspy.
Ennis’s tale puts Bond on the hunt for a nameless, faceless group of thieves who stole bomb technology that freezes its target in a deadly tomb of ice before melting away and protecting all valuables around the target. The incomplete tech was stolen from Soviet Russia decades ago, but now that British scientists have got it working, the tech is stolen and the research destroyed. Bond has to figure out who was involved to get the research back.
Bond fans will be pleased to know that Ennis sets Bond’s latest mission in the present, but Bond’s personality and wit have not been “updated for modern audiences” in the least. Brief bits of dialog and humor are decidedly not politically correct, and it’s likely that true Bond fans are happy to keep it that way.
What’s great about JAMES BOND: 007 (VOL. 3) #1? Ennis lays out Bond’s latest mission with expert, almost military precision and efficiency. When Bond’s investigation catches the attention of a group of assassins, Bond is more than prepared to deal with the attackers, setting the tone and establishing Bond’s legendary status as an unrepentant killer immediately.
What’s not so great about JAMES BOND: 007 (VOL. 3) #1? Storywise, there’s not a single thing wrong with this issue. Ennis is writing Bond in top form.
How’s the art? This issue marks our first exposure to Rapha Lobosco’s artwork, and it’s a solid first showing. Lobosco’s action scenes are well done, there’s a surprising bit of gore (surprising for a Bond comic) that fits well with the situations, and the panel compositions are excellent. As a plus, Jorge Sutil does a great job using changing color saturations in adjoining panels to express movement and mood.
Keep scrolling for a closer look at the covers, or Click Here to jump right to the story description with some spoilers.
What’s JAMES BOND: 007 (VOL. 3) #1 About?
[SPOILERS AHEAD – Click here if you just want the score without spoilers]
We begin with a brief prologue to set the stage for Bond as a cold-blooded killer when he interrupts a meeting attended by a drug cartel family intent on exacting revenge on Bond for killing one of their own. Bond ensures no vendetta will take place.
Later, Bond is called into a meeting with M to discuss the recent theft of clean bomb technology, codenamed Stalvoda (“Steel Water”). The tech freezes and kills anything living instantly while leaving the surrounding valuables (property, valuables, etc.) undamaged. The unfinished tech was stolen from Soviet Russia decades ago by former 00 agent Archie Tryon. If the tech was stolen from now, after it’s been perfected, from the highest security lab in the world, that means it was an inside job.
We conclude the issue with a sunny day at the beach, comparing notes, and a big boom.
Keep scrolling for a closer look at preview images of the internal pages, or Click Here to jump right to the score.
Final Thoughts
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JAMES BOND: 007 (VOL. 3) #1 marks Garth Ennis’s return to Dynamite with a peak James Bond story. Bond is as charming and deadly as ever in his hunt to recover cutting-edge bomb tech, and Ennis sets the tone for a classic Bond right out of the gate. 007 fans will be well and truly pleased.
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