Summer of '83

This summer sees two important James Bond 40th anniversaries. The first is the anniversary of the Roger Moore Bond film Octopussy, released in June 1983. I loved Octopussy when I saw it that summer and I still love it today. It will always be one of my favorite James Bond films. Remember when Bond movies provided fun and fantasy? Long live Octopussy!

Unfortunately, we never got a proper tie-in edition of Fleming's Octopussy and this was before the resumption of the novelizations (with the exception of these). As with For Your Eyes Only, the closest we came was a Marvel comic book adaptation written by Steve Moore with art by Paul Neary. The FYEO adaptation was published as two standalone comics, a paperback book, and a magazine. For Octopussy we just got the magazine. But you can bet I snapped it up and still have it. 

But there was another Bond release that summer that had me just as excited. John Gardner's third 007 novel Icebreaker was released by Putnam in April in the U.S. and July in the UK. Boy, was this a different James Bond from the movies! I admit at the time I didn't fully appreciate Icebreaker as it felt a little too different, not just from the films, but from Gardner's first two books that stuck closer to the Bond formula. But from day one I loved the title and idea of a largely snowbound 007 adventure set in the Arctic Circle. With subsequent re-reads, Icebreaker has become my favorite Gardner book and one of my favorite continuation novels in general. Long live Icebreaker!

Happy 40th Anniversaries to Octopussy and Icebreaker. For me these were both All Time Highs.

The James Bond MOVIE COMIC adaptations

Today I take a look back at the intermittent history of James Bond comic film adaptations.

Showcase's Doctor No.

Doctor No (1962)
The first American comic book to feature James Bond was originally drawn for the British Classics Illustrated series. It was reprinted in the U.S. as part of DC’s Showcase series to tie-in with the first James Bond film. The story was censored, deleting all racial skin color and dialogue thought to be demeaning. The 32-page comic follows the movie script and most of the characters are drawn to resemble their screen counterparts. It was also published in Greek and Swedish editions.

For Your Eyes Only (1981)
After a mysteriously long absence, 007 returned to U.S. comic books in an adaptation of the 1981 James Bond film For Your Eyes Only starring Roger Moore. Marvel Comics published FYEO in three versions: a two issue comic book, a magazine, and a mass market paperback which Marvel called an “illustrated book.”

Marvel's For You Eyes Only individual issues.

Marvel's For You Eyes Only magazine.

Mass market "illustrated book."

Octopussy (1983)
Marvel once again adapted the new Bond film Octopussy into a comic book, but this time it was only available in magazine form. The artwork by Paul Neary and layouts by Rita Cilia are excellent, maybe the best of all the Bond adaptations. It was also adapted in Scandinavia with original artwork, so Octopussy is unique for having two comic adaptations.

Marvel's Octopussy.

Scandinavian Octopussy with original art.

Never Say Never Again (1984)
Argentinean publisher Editora Columba, who published several original Spanish-language James Bond film adaptations in various D'artagnan comic magazines during the ‘60s and ‘70s, adapted the unofficial Thunderball remake Never Say Never Again starring Sean Connery in 1984.

A View To A Kill (1985)
The 15th James Bond film and the last to star Roger Moore was adapted as a comic in Scandinavia and Germany where it appeared as a trade magazine edition.

Scandinavian A View To A Kill.

The Living Daylights (1987)
The Bond film that introduced Timothy Dalton was also adapted in Scandinavia. A nice bonus here is that it features the “flying carpet” sequence cut from the final film.

Swedish The Living Daylights.

Licence To Kill (1989)
Eclipse brought Bond comics back to the U.S. with an adaptation of Licence To Kill by Permission To Die author Mike Grell. Published in a magazine size hardback and paperback, it’s been said that Timothy Dalton would not allow his likeness to be used, so a more generic Bond was used.

Eclipses Licence To Kill hardcover and paperback.

GoldenEye (1996)
Topps adaptation of the 1995 Bond film GoldenEye, which introduced Pierce Brosnan as 007, was originally meant to be in 3 parts, but only issue #1 ever appeared. A lengthy delay in getting approval for the racy illustration on the cover of issue #2 led to the series being cancelled prematurely. Topps was reportedly going to launch an ongoing series of original 007 adventures following publication of GoldenEye, but this also never materialized. GoldenEye marked the end, at least to date, of the James Bond film comic adaptations.

GoldenEye 00 Convention Special and issue #1.

The cancelled GoldenEye issues #2 and #3 covers.

DR. NO comic sells for £142 in auction

DC Comics 1962 tie-in comic to the first James Bond film, Dr. No, has sold for £142 in auction.

The 47-year-old comic was one of 700 comic lots sold by Cameo Auctioneers in London, and was snapped up by a Bond fan. Adrian Cowdry, film memorabilia and comic consultant to Cameo, said the magazine, part of DC Comics' Showcase anthology series, was the first time a Bond film had been seen in comic form.

Mr Cowdry said: "This Dr No comic is extremely rare and in impeccable condition given it is nearly 50 years old. It is a 'must-have' for fans of James Bond, Ian Fleming or Sean Connery."

He added: "The comic was aimed at reaching the comic reading masses. Hundreds were printed but in those days very few people thought comics would be worth keeping. Kids read them then give them to friends or threw them out, or their parents would put them on the coal fire."