Machines these days do seem to have a mind of their own.
Creative Staff:
Story: Andy Diggle
Art: Luca Casalanguida
Colors: Chris Blythe
Letterer: Simon Bowland
What They Say:
After a massacre in Dubai, 007 closes in on the mysterious Kraken. But while investigating a mercenary safehouse in Yemen, Bond discovers the most advanced Q-Branch technology can sometimes prove less an asset than a liability. And a weapon is only as lethal as the man who wields it…
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
The Hammerhead series has had a good couple of first issues as it got us into the setup for what’s to come and that’s been pretty accessible while also providing for some welcome pieces of the usual Bond material, such as the sex and violence. There are things readers do expect in the property and Diggle has been delivering well on that in addition to the main story itself which is slowly unfolding. What helps is that when it does come to the action he’s got Casalanguida illustrating it and there’s just such a great flow to what’s going on that you can’t help but to be caught up in it. And the work is so good that you don’t mind burning through the action quickly and then savoring it with a second read by going through it panel by panel.
Story is kind of light in this installment but it is moving things along. With Bond now having a name to work with when it comes to Kraken, he’s off doing his thing while Victoria has to make a quick return due to business, namely in the form of a chopper going down on route to one of the businesses and it carrying a warhead that was being decommissioned. You can see easily how it’s something that Kraken orchestrated in order to acquire it and that has its own urgency since once having it you know it won’t take long for him to use it as he sees fit. Victoria’s role is smaller here but there’s a couple of good moments in those opening pages with her and Bond that does leave you wanting to see more of it play out.
For the most part, however, this issue is action and adventure. Bond’s got his modified car and is on the move to Yemen to track down the smuggler through some of those that work for him and that makes for some quick yet intense moments as he does his best to get the information he needs. There’s some wonderful tightness to how Casalanguida illustrates this, especially with Blythe’s color work, that brings a really neat moodiness to it. But more impressive is how he manages to make a not-car-chase sequence work when Kraken takes over the car remotely and puts Bond as the target within it. It’s whiplash fast in how it plays out but it’s beautifully illustrated to make it fast and furious.
In Summary:
While the story itself is light, though we’re angling toward some reveals in the next issue, Hammerhead moves along at a very good pace and definitely keeps things exciting. I want more of Victoria to see what’s really going on there as well as more time with her and Bond as there’s some very fun chemistry there. The action dominates this issue for the most part and I imagine it’ll read wonderfully amid the compiled release but it also has a very good flow here thanks to how well Casalanguida handles it all. There’s a lot to like here both as an individual installment as part of the larger work and it’s quickly becoming my favorite of the Bond comics so far.
Grade: B+
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: Dynamite Entertainment
Release Date: December 14th, 2016
MSRP: $3.99
