Thursday 17 August 2017

James Bond Vol.1: Vargr

Ok then, for the third day of my recent holiday I decided to read the first volume of the Dynamite reimagining of 007 James Bond, entitled Vargr.

Day three's read of James Bond's first volume; Vargr, as told by the great Warren Ellis and Jason Masters, follows Britain greatest super spy who, after getting revenge for the murder of a colleague, inherits said colleagues active cases. However, the first case on this list turns out to be a lot more complex than the simple drug smuggling ring that it first appeared, with Bond coming up against a maniacal doctor and his artificially enhanced, bloodthirsty henchpersons.

Now, I had high hopes for this trade because, as fortune would have it, I got the opportunity to review the initial first issue for Pipedream Comics. Because of this, and the good impression that issue left with me, I decided to put this on my wish list to pick up, which I did a few months back when Dynamite had a sale on Comixology.

Fortunately, these high hopes were not in vain as I found this first trade to be absolutely fantastic and the highlight of my week so far (in regards to comic reading). Everyone knows how great Warren Ellis is, but I think he really pulls the cat out of the bag and really nails both the world and character of Bond. I have to admit I did find it odd how obnoxious the entire cast is when compared to some of Bond's movies but, then again, these are personality traits originally seen in Flemings novels and it fit the story and the idea of Bond to the letter.

But, what was truly fantastic was Masters' artwork. I love his style on this book, with his pencils looking so clean and sterile that it just imbues Bond's character. I'd also have to say that Coupling that with Guy Major's colours really made the whole book look 60's esque and more in line with the classic Bond films. I should also point out that I think Bond looks exactly like Bond should look, not like any one actor and more like Sterling Archer, with a little bit of Timothy Dalton and Daniel Craig maybe.

This trade was a perfect contained story and I could happily have left it there. However, I really loved this James Bond series and kind of wish I'd picked it up as single issues. Therefore, I'm totally going to pick up the next trade and maybe even the Hammerhead mini which came out another time (once I can find the money).

In the meantime though, book four, which I'm thinking maybe the classic Gotham a Central (volume 1 of it anyway).

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