IFP promises to take Bond’s world in new directions

Ian Fleming Publications used ther other popular Ian Fleming property, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, for the theme of their holiday card this year. But it's this paragraph in their year end email that will be of interest to Bond fans:

"Our other new projects are focussed on taking Bond’s world in new directions, and we look forward to telling you about them over the next few months via our website and social media channels."

Happy Holidays from The Book Bond. 

LIVE AND LET DIE now shipping from Amazon

Even though Amazon shows a January 14 release date, my copy of Dynamite's Live and Let Die graphic novel arrived at my door today. I had passed on their Casino Royale (how many versions of that book do I need?), but I'm excited by the idea of the other Fleming novels receiving faithful comic adaptations. I'm especially looking forward to Moonraker, although that has yet to be announced.

Purchase Live and Let Die from Amazon.com.

Collected JAMES BOND 007 VOL. 1 released

The collected James Bond 007 Vol. 1 by Greg Pak and Marc Laming has been released by Dynamite.

The ODD JOB epic begins in a new ongoing James Bond comic series by superstars GREG PAK and MARC LAMING! 

Agent 007 tracks a smuggler into Singapore to secure a dangerous case, contents unknown. But a Korean mystery man wants the case as well, for very different reasons. And if Bond and this new rival don't kill each other, the ruthless terrorist organization known as ORU will be more than happy to finish the job

Purchase from Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk. James Bond 007 Vol. 2 is due for release in March of next year.

Dynamite announces REFLECTIONS OF DEATH for 2020

Dynamite has announced a new original James Bond graphic novel for release early next year called Reflections of Death. Below is the cover art by Fay Dalton, which beautiful evokes the 1970s Bantam covers, and the official press release.

James Bond in "Reflections of Death" is a 128 page hardcover of nonstop thrills and intrigue. Several Dynamite Bond veterans return for this tapestry, including Benjamin Percy, Andy Diggle and Greg Pak and the writers of the December-launching new ongoing series, Vita Ayala & Danny Lore. Stars of both Dynamite and comics at large Gail Simone and Mark Russell join the team as well. Artists enlisted for the mission include Luca Casalanguida, Robert Carey, Jordi Perez, Dean Kotz, Eoin Marron and Kewber Baal. All wrapped up in another beautiful noir and pulp flavored cover by Fay Dalton. 

With a framing story Ayala and Lore, over 20 total creators will collaborate to contribute stories that both stand on their own and tie into an overarching narrative. The central figure through the anthology of case files is Moneypenny. She's been kidnapped. and the mystery of her captors and their demands will only be revealed when, or if, 007 is able to complete his missions. While Moneypenny herself may have some surprises up her sleeve. 

"We're incredibly fortunate to work with so many talented creators, and of course they all want to write one of the most crucial characters in modern fiction!," said Nick Barrucci, Dynamite CEO and Publisher. "Just in time for the new movie, for fans to enjoy a bounty of Bond too!"

You can pre-order Reflections of Death at Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk.

The second coming

For some reason I've been thinking a lot lately about For Special Services, John Gardner's 1982 followup to his debut Bond novel License Renewed. The second in a series can be tricky. The Bond movies have a way of fumbling the second outings of a new actor (The Man With The Golden Gun, Licence To Kill, Tomorrow Never Dies, Quantum of Solace). I even think Anthony Horowitz's Forever and a Day is a rare #2 book fumble.

But For Special Services got it right. It gave us the new Bond in a fresh setting (America) and built on all the strengths of the first book. Even going with a white cover was somehow perfect. And I still think it has one of the most Bondian titles of all the Gardner books.

So here's remembering For Special Services, the second coming of Gardner's Bond.

You can see a nice newspaper ad for For Special Services HERE.

FOREVER AND A DAY paperback released in U.S.

The paperback edition of Forever and a Day by Anthony Horowitz has been released in the U.S. The cover uses the same art as the U.S. hardcover (at least the photo on Amazon shows it to be the same).

A spy is dead. A legend is born. This is how it all began. The explosive prequel to Casino Royale, from bestselling author Anthony Horowitz. 

Forever and a Day is the story of the birth of a legend, in the brutal underworld of the French Riviera, taking readers into the very beginning of James Bond’s illustrious career and the formation of his identity.

Purchase the Forever and a Day U.S. paperback on Amazon.com.

The Folio Society releases LIVE AND LET DIE

The Folio Society has released their next illustrated slip-cased Ian Fleming classic, Live and Let Die.

Live and Let Die is the eighth volume in the enormously popular Folio Bond collection. Fay Dalton continues her excellent work as the series artist, bringing exquisite glamour and tension to the page with each volume. This time round Bond’s mission takes him into the eerie world of the occult, and Dalton makes particular use of light and dark to heighten the drama: the night sky turns the sea a baleful orange in one image, while Mr Big’s underground lair almost seems to echo with dripping water. As ever, Dalton takes particular care with the glamorous figure of Bond’s love interest, and the Solitaire she has created is beautiful and filled with quiet defiance.

The Live and Let Die Folio Edition is priced at $62.95 and is available now from the Folio Society website.

Also available are illustrated editions of Casino Royale, Moonraker, Diamonds Are Forever, From Russia With Love, Dr. No, Goldfinger and Thunderball.

Dynamite reveals next JAMES BOND series

Dynamite and Westfield Comics have revealed the writers and story details for the next series of James Bond comics (looks like they've dropped "007" from the title).

New series, new team, new missions! Vita Ayala (Morbius, Age Of X-Man), Danny LorE (Queen Of Bad Dreams) and Eric Gapstur (James Bond 007) present a fresh take on the world's greatest secret agent. When a priceless piece of art is found to be fake, investigations lead down a rabbit hole of international crime and corruption. But what the hell does James Bond know about the world of art forgery? Featuring a cover by superstar Jim Cheung (Justice League, Young Avengers), that will be revealed as an interlocking image over the first three issues!

Dynamite is also offering this terrific "Vintage Incentive Cover" that evokes the famous Signet paperbacks.

You can read an exclusive interview with co-writers Vita Ayala & Danny Lore at Westfield Comics.

ANTHONY HOROWITZ is "game" to pen a third James Bond novel

In an interview with RadioTimes, two time Bond author Anthony Horowitz revealed that he is "in discussions" to potentially write a third 007 book.

"I would certainly consider it. I don’t know when [it’ll happen], because I’m pretty busy at the moment. I’ve got a sequel to Magpie Murders I've just finished, literally last week, and I've got two more Hawthorne novels to write, another Alex Rider… but if I can, and if the estate – the Ian Fleming family – and the publishers are happy for me to do it, then I’m certainly game. I would love to. I think there’s one more in me at least."

Horowitz's two Bond novels are Trigger Mortis (2015) and Forever And A Day (2018).

Ranking the IAN FLEMING Bond Novels

This is a well-done ranking of the Ian Fleming James Bond books by 007 fan Calvin Dyson. I'm excited that he plans to do the continuation novels next. Enjoy.

High time for the BOND 25 title reveal

Today Eon Productions revealed the title of the 25th James Bond film:

Of course, my mind went right here:

No Time To Die will be released in April 2020. (High Time To Kill was released in May 1999.)

Collected JAMES BOND ORIGIN now shipping

The collected hardcover edition of James Bond Origin Vol. 1 by Jeff Parker with art by Bob Q is now shipping from Amazon.

At last, the definitive account of James Bond's exploits during World War II!

MARCH, 1941: Seventeen-year-old James Bond is a restless student in Scotland, an orphan, eager to strike out and make his mark on the world. But a visit by an old family friend coincides with THE CLYDEBANK BLITZ, the most devastating German attack on Scotland during the War. James will fight through hell to survive, coming out the other side determined to make a difference. He'll find his calling in a new British government service, secret in nature...

Purchase James Bond Origin Vol. 1 from Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk. The U.S. Amazon is also offering a signed edition for release August 13.

When OUTER SPACE belonged to 007

On this 50th Anniversary of the historic Apollo 11 moon landing, here's a look back at James Bond's own space adventure. Moonraker, the film and novelization by Christopher Wood, was released 10 years after Apollo in the summer of 1979. Below is the U.S. paperback edition from Jove.

£2.5 million IAN FLEMING book collection for sale

Rare bookseller Peter Harrington is offering an astounding collection of rare Ian Fleming James Bond books and memorabilia for a cool £2.5 million (over $3 million U.S.). Below is the press release.

London — Peter Harrington, the UK’s largest rare bookseller, this year celebrates its 50th anniversary, and is thrilled to offer for sale an exceptional collection of Ian Fleming material for £2.5m, which it will be exhibiting at this year’s Masterpiece London. It is the most significant Fleming Collection to ever appear on the market and contains inscribed first editions of every James Bond book published in the author’s lifetime.

Amongst these inscriptions are some sensational associations:

• An omnibus edition of Casino Royale, From Russia With Love and Doctor No inscribed to James Bond;
• Live and Let Die inscribed to Winston Churchill;
• The Spy Who Loved Me inscribed to Robert Kennedy;
• Moonraker inscribed to Raymond Chandler;
• From Russia with Love bearing a personal inscription from Fleming to his wife.

The Collection also includes a number of manuscripts, pre-publication proofs, advance copies and ephemera, and a number of books from Fleming’s personal library. These include a notebook kept by Fleming on a trip to Japan, from which selected passages appear in You Only Live Twice, books from his childhood and a copy of Raymond Chandler's last novel inscribed to Fleming by the author.

Ian Fleming’s books about James Bond are perennially popular and there is an extremely enthusiastic fan base for both the books and the films. Continued interest is fuelled by the release of each new film, with Bond 25 (working title) the latest film, set for release early next year. An indication of the price trend of James Bond first editions can be seen with a particularly fine copy of Casino Royale which Peter Harrington has been lucky enough to sell four times in the past few years: for £22,000 in 2002; £26,000 in 2006; £30,000 in 2008; and in 2013, for £50,000.

It is remarkably rare to see a whole collection like this for sale, as they are usually broken up, and it will appeal to someone looking to acquire a complete and exceptional Fleming collection all in one go. This collection is the highest valued Peter Harrington has ever offered for sale. The 81 items come from a New York collector, who has been assembling the collection for over 30 years and it is offered for sale as a collection for £2.5m.

Pom Harrington owner of Peter Harrington Rare Books says: “The significance of this collection cannot be overstated. From typescripts which document Fleming’s creative process, to inscriptions which provide an insight into his personal life, few collections tell such a complete story about an author. We are extremely excited to be able to present it at this year’s Masterpiece fair, alongside a selection of other carefully chosen items.”

Masterpiece London takes place in the grounds of the Royal Hospital in Chelsea from Thursday 27th June until Wednesday 3rd July and is open daily from 11am until 7pm on Friday 28th, Saturday 29th and Sunday 30th June and until 9pm on all other days.

To view the full list of items in the Fleming Collection, CLICK HERE.

Thanks to Raymond Benson.

Jaguar from THE FACTS OF DEATH and HIGH TIME TO KILL

Bond author Raymond Benson has shared the following on his Twitter. This is great. I love the Bond book cars, and the Jaguar XK8 was a great one.

I found the awesome design/drawings by the brilliant Fergus Pollock of the Jaguar XK8 that James Bond drove in my novels THE FACTS OF DEATH (1998) and HIGH TIME TO KILL (1999). Fergus helped come up with the "extras." @JaguarUK @Jaguar @JaguarUSA pic.twitter.com/xXcBRNm9tq

— Raymond Benson (@RaymondBenson) June 3, 2019

Happy Birthday IAN FLEMING

View this post on Instagram

To celebrate Ian Fleming’s birthday we’re giving you the chance to win two fantastic prizes. Click on the link in our bio and enter by midnight tonight (BST) to be in with a chance of winning. Good luck! #jamesbond #ianfleming #ianflemingsjamesbond #007 #jamesbond007 #competition #astonmartin #secretcinema #birthday @vintagebooks

A post shared by Ian Fleming, Author (@ianflemings007) on May 28, 2019 at 3:08am PDT

KINGSLEY AMIS on James Bond in 1989

Here's a short BBC interview from 1989 in which the first James Bond continuation author, Kingsley Amis, talks about the the new Bond film, Licence To Kill.

CLICK TO LISTEN

The surprising scarcity of Steve Cole's last two YOUNG BOND books

Every collector knows that some books marketed as a "limited edition" can turn out to be anything but. Or, even if limited (i.e., expensive), they never really become desirable enough to increase in value, and often decrease. This has happened with some of the recent James Bond continuation novels, which have seen multiple "special" and "limited edition" releases. But many can still be found at their original price or lower.

The exception appears to be the last two Steve Cole Young Bond novels, Strike Lightning and Red Nemesis, both of which were released as a "limited edition" hardcovers at the same time as the paperback editions. These hardcovers have proved to be very elusive and are now listing online for quite a bit of money. That is if they show up at all. At the moment, I can't locate a single copy of Red Nemesis. Chances are this final book may have had an especially small print run.

Publishers sometimes print only what is pre-ordered. This is what happened with the John Gardner novels. Gardner's later books are harder to find than his earlier works, with his last book, COLD, especially difficult to find in hardcover. But it now looks like Red Nemesis might be even harder to find than COLD, and this only a few year after publication.

So if you bought these at the time...feel good about it!

Thanks to Tanner at Double O Section for the alert.

BOND 25 launched at Ian Fleming's Goldeneye

The cast of the next (still untitled) James Bond film was announced today at Ian Fleming's Goldeneye villa in Jamaica.

The location for today's #BOND25 Live Reveal is GoldenEye, 007 author Ian Fleming's Jamaican villa. pic.twitter.com/Zd7Sr8hNRd

— James Bond (@007) April 25, 2019

"Bond 25" features Daniel Craig as 007 and Rami Malek as the villain. Léa Seydoux will return as Dr Madeleine Swann. Jeffrey Wright returns as Felix Leiter. Locations are Jamaica, Norway, Italy and England. The movie is set for release April 8, 2020.

For more visit www.007.com.

FOREVER AND A DAY paperback released in the UK

The paperback edition of Anthony Horowitz's Forever and a Day has been released in the UK. The cover uses the same art as the UK hardcover, but with the addition of a tag reading "The Number One Bestseller". The book is released by Vintage.

Purchase the Forever and a Day UK paperback on Amazon.co.uk.

The U.S. paperback is set for release November 5, 2019.

The Folio Society releases THUNDERBALL

The Folio Society has released their next illustrated slip-cased Ian Fleming classic, Thunderball.

Thunderball, the latest volume in the Folio Bond Collection, features a new delectable series of images by Fay Dalton, and introduces one of Ian Fleming’s greatest villains – the nefarious Blofeld.

Fay Dalton continues her celebrated work on Folio’s collectable Bond series, bringing fans of the agent more of her glamorous, sexy and dangerous interpretation of Fleming’s iconic creation. In this latest set of illustrations, Dalton glories in the darker side of the adventure, depicting Blofeld’s grisly execution of an underling, and the brutish Emilio Largo, doused in hellish light and ready to extract the information he needs from his prone victim, by whatever means necessary. Balancing these sinister visions are glittering images of the casino, the cool spectacle of a plane sinking beneath the waves, and the sunlit tropical fantasy of Bond carrying a bikini-clad girl from the ocean.

The pictorial slipcase – such a feature of this lavish series – shows Bond exploring a seabed fraught with hazards, in one of the book’s most memorable scenes. A stylish cloth binding, inspired by Bond’s impeccable suits, rounds off this exquisite edition.

The Thunderball Folio Edition is priced at $62.95 and is available now from the Folio Society website.

Also available are illustrated editions of Casino Royale, Moonraker, Diamonds Are Forever, From Russia With Love, Dr. No, and Goldfinger.

The Young Bond Dossier is going OFFLINE

My first James Bond website The Young Bond Dossier will be going offline sometime in the coming week as I've decided to not renew the URL for another year.

Launched in 2006, The Young Bond Dossier is where I covered the Young Bond series with news, interviews, and event reports. In 2007 it became the official news feed to youngbond.com. I stopped updating the site in 2011 as the adult James Bond books came back into the fore, and integrated young and old Bond book coverage here at The Book Bond.

While I've migrated select past news stories here, there are galleries that contain variant and international Young Bond covers and event photos that will vanish along with the site. So here's your notice to snatch what you like before it all goes the way of the Wayback Machine!

And while on the topic of my websites, while I will continues to update The Book Bond with news of upcoming releases and IFP projects, I spend most of my time these days at my Houdini blog WILD ABOUT HARRY. So if you have any curiosity about the Handcuff King, have a visit! Oh, and I also have a little Sherlock Holmes blog called The Battered Tin.

UPDATE: It appears the site is already offline. I thought I was in a grace period. Well, that's all folks!

BONDAGE QUARTERLY

As I continue to pair down my Bond collection, one thing I'm holding onto are all my fan club related publications. Back in the day, this was how fans received the latest news and rumors. I loved these for the excitement they brought (even it the news wasn't always accurate). I still love them for capturing a place and time in Bond fandom.

Below are two of the earliest issues of Bondage Quarterly that I own (May & August 1975). These were newsletters sent to members of the American James Bond Fan Club, and are fun to read over for what they got right and wrong. Enjoy the news!

Click to enlarge.

Click to enlarge.

CLICK HERE for a look back at all the issues of the American Fan Club's main publication Bondage. CLICK HERE to see how the fan club would let members know that a new book was on the way.

Hugh Hefner's inscribed OHMSS to be sold

Hugh Hefner's inscribed copy of Ian Fleming's On Her Majesty's Secret Service will be offered for sale by Johnson Rare Books & Archives during the Rare Books LA festival at the Pasadena Convention Center, February 1-2. The website Fine Books & Collectibles reports:

Along with books by these writers, one of the most iconic books from Hefner’s library being offered at Rare Books LA is an inscribed first edition of Ian Fleming’s On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1964). The novel was serialized in Playboy before its publication in book form.

For more information on Rare Books LA visit the official website.

UPDATE: Per Tanner from Double O Section, this sold for $40,000 within the first few minutes of the show.