Nothing like some experimental drugs.
Creative Staff:
Story: Jeff Parker
Art: Ibrahim Moustafa
Colors: Roman Stevens
Letterer: Simon Bowland
What They Say:
Captured by the Russians, Lieutenant Bond meets the beautiful Oksana, who may be his ticket to safety, or lead to his doom. But it’s quite difficult to know ally from foe, when you’ve been drugged. The epic World War 2 tale continues from JEFF PARKER (Aquaman, Fantastic Four) and superstar artist IBRAHIM MOUSTAFA (Mother Panic, The Flash)!
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
One of the things that I appreciate in comics that I don’t get that regularly is a kind of sense of weight and fullness to it. The James Bond: Origin series has been big on that for me with there being a lot of dialogue, interactions, and plot movements so that it takes some time to read instead of just burning through in a couple of minutes. Jeff Parker gets us into an interesting place with Bond here once again and Ibrahim Moustafa brings it to life wonderfully as we go from ship to shore and Bond gets put under the influence. That sequence alone is worth the price of admission as Moustafa delivers some really strong design work here.
Bond being captured aboard the Russian ship wasn’t much of a surprise the last time around but he’s getting quite the treatment here. The captain, Vasily, knows that he knows something and is intent on getting it out of him. But he does it all polite like, such as having him stripped of most of his clothes that “makes him hot” and takes him on deck to cool down. Which is the fastest way to break people most of the time, what with the waves, the cold air, and so on. So it’s fun to watch as Bond outlasts their expectations and then turns the tables on them in a pretty expected but well-executed way. It’s using what’s at hand and opportunity to achieve his goal, which is to try and get some sort of message out before he’s captured again. There isn’t a lot in terms of ingenuity here but it unfolds in a really good way thanks to the tightness of the visuals.
Having Bond awaken in Russia to a beautiful woman is classic Bond, but it’s also got the darkness. Oksana is essentially debriefing him to find out what he knows and taking advantage of possible disorientation. Bond’s obviously better than that but still struggling overall, which makes for a lot of fun as we see him realize that she really is looking to defect and that those in charge, a gruff Russian named Yegor, are intent on making sure that he disputes his own memories thanks to an experimental drug that he’s given. I really liked the time with Oksana that had him remembering his training with V about how to handle such situations as well as just the locations since it has that time period down nicely to give it extra charm and feeling. There’s a lot of back and forth and the whole drugging sequence is pretty intense, but it sets the stage for more of Bond’s attempts at getting home.
In Summary:
The James Bond: Origin series is definitely delighting in a way that I had hoped it would. I’ve long hoped for some sort of film experience looking at this period in his life or a premium TV series format to really get into it as a period piece. Jeff Parker is capturing all that I wanted from it and delivering some engaging work on the young man that will become the most famous of spies. This issue moves us in some great ways between a couple of interesting locations and Ibrahim Moustafa puts it to the page in a great way. I love the look of the residence we see in the back half but I also love the tightness of the ship’s interiors in the first half with how that ramps up the tension. Very good stuff all around and has me once again wanting more very quickly.
Grade: B+
Age Rating: 15+
Released By: Dynamite Entertainment
Release Date: April 10th, 2019
MSRP: $3.99
