Adaptations The
first James Bond comic book appeared in December 1962 — an adaptation of the first Bond film
Dr. No. Originally published by
Classics Illustrated in the
United Kingdom, it was later reprinted in the
United States by
DC Comics as part of its
Showcase anthology series in January 1963. The next James Bond comic book did not appear for nearly 20 years, when
Marvel Comics published a two-issue adaptation of the 1981 film
For Your Eyes Only (which was also published in a single-issue magazine edition and a paperback release). Marvel later adapted the 1983 film
Octopussy in magazine format. In 1989 comic books featuring Bond began to appear on a semi-regular basis for a few years, starting with an adaptation of
Licence to Kill published in 1989 by
Acme Press/
Eclipse Comics and illustrated by
Mike Grell, which was published in both trade paperback and hardcover edition. Grell would go on to write the miniseries
Permission to Die, the first James Bond comic book storyline not adapted from a previous work, which was published over a two-year period by Acme/Eclipse. In 1995,
Topps Comics obtained the rights to publish an adaptation of the new Bond film,
GoldenEye, which was announced as a three-issue miniseries. The second issue of the miniseries was delayed due to concerns over the cover art for the issue, and ultimately Topps chose to discontinue publishing the adaptation, and also canceled plans for an ongoing James Bond comic book series. A graphic novel adaptation of
Charlie Higson's first
Young Bond novel
SilverFin was released in the UK on October 2, 2008. The book is illustrated by
Kev Walker.
Dynamite Entertainment's senior editor Joseph Rybandt, hinted that a graphic novel adaptation of Fleming's first Bond thriller,
Casino Royale is in the pipeline, while they work on an original monthly series, but it wasn't officially announced until July 2016 with Van Jensen adapting the novel closely into comic book format and
Matthew Southworth illustrating it, aiming for a November release later that year. However, Southworth left the project due to "creative differences", and was replaced with
Dennis Calero as the artist, while the cover artwork is provided with by Fay Dalton. After months in the pipeline, Dynamite released the graphic novel on 11 April 2018.
Original series Dark Horse Comics In 1992,
Dark Horse Comics obtained the rights to produce James Bond comics (acquired via the UK publisher
Acme Comics, formerly known as Acme Press) and issued a number of limited series and stand-alone stories that began with ''
Serpent's Tooth, a three-issue miniseries published over the course of two years, with an original story written by Doug Moench and illustrated by Paul Gulacy. The second miniseries made of supposedly four issues debuted in 1993, called A Silent Armageddon'' was delivered by
Simon Jowett and
John M. Burns, but only two of the planned four issues were released. The miniseries, to this day, remains incomplete in its publication.
Light of My Death was the third Bond story to be published by Dark Horse Comics which, unlike its predecessors, was released alongside different intellectual property franchise titles in four issues, a period piece set in the 1960s written by Das Petrou and illustrated by
John Watkiss, including a reprisal appearance of
Tatiana Romanova from
From Russia with Love. Following the instalment was a Dark Horse/Acme two-issue miniseries
Shattered Helix in 1994, with Jowett returning to pen the story, and the art receiving its illustration by David Jackson and
David Lloyd. The next one followed in the footsteps of
Light of My Death in its publication vein, released alongside an unrelated franchise title in
Dark Horse Comics #25, called
Minute of Midnight from Doug Moench and
Russ Heath, which was supposed to be setting up a major story arc for a planned ongoing series on Dark Horse's behalf before their rights on the Bond comics were expired. The last miniseries to be published by Dark Horse/Acme was
The Quasimodo Gambit in three issues, an original experience written by
Don McGregor, who completed scripting it six years prior to its publication, and illustrated by
Gary Caldwell, completing its run in May 1995. The list of comics published by Dark Horse (many with
Acme Comics'
packaging) includes: • ''Serpent's Tooth'' (1992–1993) by Doug Moench and Paul Gulacy •
A Silent Armageddon (1993, incomplete) by Simon Jowett and John M. Burns •
Light of My Death (1993, appearing in
Dark Horse Comics #8, #9, #10, #11) by Das Petrou and John Watkiss •
Shattered Helix (1994) by Simon Jowett, David Jackson and David Lloyd •
Minute of Midnight (1994, appearing in
Dark Horse Comics #25) by Doug Moench and Russ Heath •
The Quasimodo Gambit (1995) by Don McGregor and Gary Caldwell
Dynamite Entertainment In October 2014,
Dynamite Entertainment acquired the license from
Ian Fleming Publications to produce and publish a series of comic books concentrating on Fleming's literary hero in two different timelines. One will be a period piece, expanding on his days prior to the events of
Casino Royale with original stories. The other, by
Warren Ellis and Jason Masters with a contemporary setting, The first six-issue
story arc was titled
Vargr, followed by a second arc titled
Eidolon. The monthly ongoing series, as revealed in October 2016, was taken over by writer
Benjamin Percy. The title was announced as
Black Box, written by Percy and illustrated by Rapha Lobosco. On 18 June 2018,
James Bond Origin was officially unveiled by Dynamite as a long-lasting period-piece series, of which the first issue will be making its debut in September later in the year, with the first story arc being delivered by
Jeff Parker and Bob Q. It focuses on a seventeen year old Bond at the height of World War II as he bursts on his way out fighting to survive, thus leading him to make a decision that will change his life forever. Additional standalone series are also in the pipeline, of which the first in arrival was unveiled as
Hammerhead, a six-issue miniseries, bringing new creators
Andy Diggle as the writer and Luca Casalanguida as the artist on board, debuting in October 2016. In February 2017, Dynamite unveiled another standalone instalment called
Service by creators
Kieron Gillen and Antonio Fuso, presenting a 48-page comic book set to come out in May 2017. On 17 April 2017, a new miniseries was announced with Diggle and Casalanguida, along with the rest of the crew returning from
Hammerhead in a follow-up, called
Kill Chain, offering many variant covers for the first issue, set to debut in the month of July. In August 2017, Dynamite unveiled yet another one-shot Bond comic to be brought by writer and illustrator Ibrahim Moustafa, titled
Solstice, set for a November 2017 release. On 4 October 2017, Dynamite announced a new six-issue miniseries entitled
The Body written by Ales Kot, debuting in January 2018. On 10 October 2023, Dynamite announced a new ongoing series written by
Garth Ennis, debuting in January 2024.
Spin-off miniseries has also been announced in October 2016 with the role of the protagonist given to Bond's known CIA ally,
Felix Leiter, starring in his own first ever adventure and solo ride, simply called
Felix Leiter, written by
James Robinson and illustrated by Aaron Campbell, set to come out sometime in January 2017. On 23 May 2017, another spin-off was announced,
Moneypenny, which centers on
M's secretary and security agent,
Moneypenny herself. On 21 November 2017, a third spin-off was announced aimed for February 2018 release, a 40-page one-shot comic book centered on
M himself, exploring his backstory as well as dealing with his past that comes back to haunt him, delivered by creators
Declan Shalvey and
P.J. Holden. The list of comics published by Dynamite Entertainment includes: •
James Bond (monthly series) (2015–Present): •
Vargr (2015) by Warren Ellis and Jason Masters •
Eidolon (2016) by Warren Ellis and Jason Masters •
Black Box (2017) by Benjamin Percy and Rapha Lobosco •
Hammerhead (2016) by Andy Diggle and Luca Casalanguida •
Service (2017) by Kieron Gillen and Antonio Fuso •
Kill Chain (2017) by Andy Diggle and Luca Casalanguida •
Solstice (2017) by Ibrahim Moustafa •
The Body (2018) written by Ales Kot, illustrated by Luca Casalanguida, Antonio Fuso, Rapha Lobosco, Eoin Marron and Hayden Sherman •
James Bond Origin (2018) by Jeff Parker and Bob Q Spin-offs: •
Felix Leiter (2017) by James Robinson and Aaron Campbell •
Moneypenny (2017) by Jody Houser and Jacob Edgar •
M (2018) by Declan Shalvey and P.J. Holden ==Swedish publications==