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By Ian Fleming, Jim Lawrence & Yaroslav Horak (Titan Books)
ISBN 1-84576-174-X
The action goes into overdrive in this 007 compilation from Titan Books as the reprints of the 1960’s newspaper strips reaches the point where Fleming’s last work is adapted, promptly followed by all new adventures from adaptor Jim Lawrence.
The Spy Who Loved Me is fleshed out (Fleming’s novel is written from the view point of damsel in distress Vivienne Michel, and Bond does not appear until the last third of the text) into a taut battle of wits between Bond and Vivienne against a duo of deadly arsonists and hitmen, following the super-agent’s foray against a revived S.P.E.C.T.R.E. gang in Canada to provide a tense battle of wits and suitably gratuitous come-uppances all around.
Veteran strip writer Lawrence swiftly shifts the emphases from the tense, terse prose model to encompass the much more visual prerequisites of the illustrated story-form, and by the next adventure which closes out this volume, the action aspect has been given the spotlight previously awarded to the setting of scenes and building of tension.
The all original material begin with ‘The Harpies’ as Bond goes undercover at a defence contractor’s factory to rescue a kidnapped scientist and end the depredations of a deadly gang of female flying bandits. Both tales are illustrated by the uniquely stylish Yaroslav Horak, whose extreme design style and dynamic lines impart tremendous energy to scenes that must labour under the incredibly difficult restrictions of the three-panel-a-day newspaper format.
Stirring stuff from top-notch creators working on a legend of fiction. What could be better?
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