Sometimes fists do solve the problem at hand.
Creative Staff:
Story: Greg Pak
Art: Marc Laming
Colors: Triona Farrell
Letterer: Ariana Maher
What They Say:
ODD JOB continues, by superstars GREG PAK (Planet Hulk, Mech Cadet Yu) and MARC LAMING (Star Wars, Wonder Woman)! Northern Australia: Agent 007 infiltrates an illegal outpost, to prevent a uranium dealer’s negotiations with terrorists. Or, that WOULD be his mission, if not for the interference of a (seemingly ever-present) Korean secret agent. Will James Bond stay on target, or will his fury towards John Lee overtake his priorities?
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
The Odd Job arc has been a decent bit of fun so far but I’m finding myself more drawn to the areas that aren’t getting a lot of attention over the bigger action pieces. Greg Pak has had a couple of slightly convoluted issues so far that feel like they’re getting ironed out better here so that there’s a better flow and sense of story to it that’s working. Marc Laming continues to deliver a great looking book here as I love the way he handles the action, of which there’s a lot here, but also giving us plenty of good quiet pieces within London or elsewhere that feels fully realized. Just the piece starting in Australia was gorgeous and highly cinematic.
The highlights for me involve M and Mr. Park coming together in London out in a street cafe to talk. While there’s always the visual of high level communications being done in films through tense situations over great distances, having these two together and just trying to be as honest as they can is great, since they do lay out enough of what they’re after and the reality of the tension and, well, not distrust but the need to have certain things acquired. This is also how I felt in listening to everything from Moneypenny throughout the book as she’s on the headset with Bond and becoming increasingly frustrated with him not going according to plan or listening to anyone. She’s trying to handle her job in the right way, which is connected to what M and Park are working on, and his lack of listening has her ready to toss him out a window.
Bond is definitely fun to watch here as he’s working a two-track approach. He’s intent on getting the case from the smuggler and dealing with his bodyguard but he also intends to eliminate John Lee. Intelligence agents of this sort are in their own space and it plays well watching as Bond does a number of public things in order to draw him out as they move toward the outpost where deals like this are made. Bond does push the limits here in going after Lee while dealing with the smuggler, but it works out well as it has a good sense of intensity about it as the two fight. I also liked that nod we got from the bodyguard that has bigger objectives here, rendering the smuggler to little more than just a body moving in motion until she’s ready to dispose of it.
In Summary:
Things are picking up well here and the sense of scale works well as it’s kept both very personal while also highlighting just what’s at stake. I like what Greg Pak is working with here in the story concepts but it took a bit to shake off the Odd Job associations overall as I don’t think it really helped it as much as it hindered it for me. I’m enjoying his take on Bond and am looking forward to more of him with Lee and Moneypenny based on events here. Combine this with some great layouts and designs from Marc Laming, some that are really cinematic, and it’s a very fun ride.
Grade: B+
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: Dynamite Entertainment
Release Date: January 30th, 2019
MSRP: $3.99
