Creative Staff:
Story: Greg Pak
Art: Marc Laming
Colors: Triona Farrell
Letterer: Ariana Maher
What They Say:
The ODD JOB epic begins in a new ongoing James Bond comic series by superstars GREG PAK (Planet Hulk, Mech Cadet Yu) and MARC LAMING (Star Wars, Wonder Woman)! Agent 007 tracks a smuggler into Singapore to secure a dangerous case, contents unknown. But a Korean mystery man wants the case as well, for very different reasons. And if Bond and this new rival don’t kill each other, the ruthless terrorist organization known as ORU will be more than happy to finish the job.
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
I’ll admit up front that I’m somewhat wary of a new ongoing series for James Bond. I liked parts of the previous ongoing we had but when Dynamite shifted to a couple of years of miniseries and specials everything came up spectacular. That said, bringing in Greg Pak to write it is definitely a good sign as one can imagine there are a number of writers wanting to play with this character. And Marc Laming delivers some great artwork here, especially with the closequarters fight sequence that sprawls over several pages. There’s a lot of power and intensity to it and you can hear the movement and impact from it with how it’s presented. There’s a lot to like and a lot of attention that an ongoing will get over a miniseries. And Pak has a lot to live up to based on what’s been coming out for a while now.
The opening installment is light on plot until we get toward the end of it but that works well in a theatrical kind of sense. Taking place in Singapore, things go down badly at a club with a Russian that’s involved in a deal that goes bad and is looking for his extraction. While he’s doing his best to play it cool, it goes south eventually but isn’t the primary focus. What we get initially is the fun of seeing Bond at the club playing cards in a quieter area than the dance and music section and he’s having a surprisingly enjoyable game with a man known as Mr. Lee. There’s a lot to like in seeing the personalities of both of them here with Bond quiet and intense while Lee is loud and then louder, which Bond points out as something of a tell for him. But the reality is that Lee is an unknown agent and after the same thing as Bond.
That’s what leads us to the extended kitchen seen as Bond gives chase to the Russian only to have Lee make it clear to “the old man” that he’ll be taking the case and whatever else. Laming illustrates this beautifully with the movements but it’s Triona Farrell’s color design that stands out even more here, particularly with the red and blue contrast between the two, as it’s just evocative amid the motion. Though Bond comes up short, giving him something to continue hunting after, I’m glad that we got the connection in the final pages to what the other Bond books have been doing with the new Moneypenny and her field knowledge being useful in handling not just Bond but the mission itself, giving us clues as to what the case may represent and the intense need to acquire it.
In Summary:
I’m looking forward to seeing where this series goes as Greg Pak can certainly spin a yarn and there’s the appeal for many writers in getting to craft something for Bond. What I’m looking forward to is seeing if he leans into any of the film formula elements or more from the novels – or eschewing both and blazing his own path. Dynamite has had some great writers and artists working on Bond for the last couple of years and both Pak and Laming along with Farrell have a lot of potential based on this first installment. I’m admittedly hedging my bets a bit because of my wariness over a new ongoing but all the right elements are here and I’m hoping that the team can pull it off by the end of the opening arc.
Grade: B+
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: Dynamite Entertainment
Release Date: November 7th, 2018
MSRP: $3.99