A new sense of self amid the chaos.
Creative Staff:
Story: James Robinson
Art: Aaron Campbell
Colors: Salvatore Aila
Letterer: Simon Bowland
What They Say:
The thrilling series conclusion! Tiger and Felix have cornered their prey, the North Korean agent responsible for the bio-weapons – but Alena Davoff, Felix’s former lover, is still at large, and Felix is dead-set on investigating! He must figure out if Alena is still working for her former Russian handlers… or if she’s gone rogue?
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
The Felix Leiter miniseries has definitely been a lot of fun for a range of reasons, from Leiter himself to the strong use of Tiger Tanaka in a great way. Blending various elements from the Bond property that often don’t get much attention is a good way to get my attention. James Robinson delivered a series that told the tale engagingly for each of the six issues and will certainly work as a full single read as well. Combine that with the great layouts and designs from Campbell, especially in the Tokyo settings, with what Aila brings to the table with the colors and it was a rich looking work whether it was a bright sequence or something dark and very mysterious in the shadows.
This issue does largely serve as an epilogue point and it’s something that’s definitely appreciated, notably because the films tend to not go that route. Felix’s survival after being thrown off the ship wasn’t in doubt but I loved that a good part of the why of it comes from the artificial leg that he has as it provided some buoyancy. His acceptance of these aspects of himself hasn’t been strong but we get a couple of moments with them in this issue that shows him coming around to it in different ways. The whole ocean aspect of the book works well, particularly because of the visuals, with its melancholy mood and the kind of somber attitude that Felix has even while there’s a bit more upbeat coming from him. That, tied with what we see is going on with Tanaka dealing with the other suicide bombers helps to show things are being dealt with but the reality of the situation weighs on them all.
The other part of the book that’s intriguing, and sets us up for more Felix adventures in the future, is his trying to catch up to and understand Alena. Though she’s one step ahead of them – again – when they do get to where they think she is thanks to Felix’s quick thinking, it’s just one more thing for him to figure out in the long run. This brings us a nice connection back to the cold war past with some Felix’s contacts to try and understand where Alena fits into things, whether she’s really representing Russian interests at this time or has gone completely rogue. The answers are fleeting in a way, concrete but not enough to settle anything, and that also feels like what it is with how Felix feels about Alena herself even as he learns more about her conquests and exploits. It’s not an easy position to be in and a difficult one to let go of.
In Summary:
Felix Leiter largely fired on all cylinders for me issue after issue and this finale serves up what I expected from it. We get the closure of the biowarfare storyline that engaged us for most of the run, we saw some growth and forward movement out of Felix, and we got some teases about what can come next with Alena. Robinson and Campbell put together a great book and it’s one that I would easily recommend to fans of the property overall and especially those that wanted more adventures of characters like Tiger Tanaka and Felix Leiter. There’s a good number of things to explore within the Bond franchise that doesn’t directly involve Bond and I hope this is just the start of it.
Grade: B+
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: Dynamite Entertainment
Release Date: June 21st, 2017
MSRP: $3.99
