Reviews

James Bond 007 Vol. 1 by Greg Pak

the_eggelstone's review

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3.0

Decent series, that only picks up pace in the later chapters. Artwork is alright, even though a bot flat and middway through a noticeable style change.

For a series with arguably a lot of action scenes, these felt hastily drawn and not very engaging.

Unsure, if I‘ll continue reading the other volumes.

priorglass's review against another edition

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4.0

Sleeper agents, Infiltration and a highly skilled trio of assassins. What more could I ask for?

zare_i's review

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4.0

I liked this story a lot and I am particularly glad I read it as collection edition and not issue-by-issue because I am not sure I would have liked it that way as much.

James Bond in this story arc is for all means and purposes an assassin - he is sent to prevent transaction between a known and very dangerous terrorist organization and a crime syndicate and he is ready to do whatever is necessary to achieve the goal.

Everything in his path that does not help him he treats as an obstacle and he either disables it or kills it.

True surprise starts when he encounters his South Korean counterpart (Odd Job homage) - person as dedicated and dangerous as James but with his own agenda. So while chasing the same goal (mysterious package so much coveted by the terrorists) these two super-spies will clash, lie and try to kill each other so much that reader is kept to the very end ignorant of what is actually happening.

I said I am glad I have not read this one issue-by-issue and reason is simple - some of the chapters are just fillers and do deviate from the main story - focus does get back to our hero eventually but these jumps tend to break the story-line.

Art is very good and fight scenes are pretty well drawn - unlike some action comics of late there are no weird anatomical situations and you can figure out what is up and what is down.

All in all good [first half of the] story, interesting protagonists (especially new Odd Job) and rather formidable antagonists. Cannot wait to see what is waiting in follow up volume.

Recommended to all fans of James Bond.

dogfood's review

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2.0

Dynamite Entertainment legte 2018/19 den nächsten Neustart der James Bond-Lizenz hin und engagierte Greg Pak als Autor für den nächsten „ersten“ Band.

Die Story ist nicht wirklich gut, aber die Zeichnungen sind noch schwächer. Beim ersten Zeichner (Marc Laming?) sind die Zeichnungen räumlich desorientiert. Solange der Zeichner bei Close Ups bleibt, sind die Figuren ganz okay. Wenn es ins Räumliche geht oder Actionsequenzen anstehen, wird es schnell schwierig und es wirkt als hätte der Zeichner sich kein Vorstellungen gemacht, wie, wer wo im Raum steht und sich bei Actionsequenzen keine Gedanken über die Implikationen des Raumes gemacht.

Gleich in der Eingangsszene sitzt Bond an einem Spieltisch. Je nach Panel sitzt Bond an der schmalen Seite des Tisches, über Eck mit einer anderen Person. Über Bonds Schulter sind in der Ferne zwei Frauen zu sehen. Zwei Panels später sitzt Bond direkt neben der Person und die beiden Frauen sitzen quasi neben Bond. Auch merkwürdig: einige Bilder wirken aufgeblasen. Die Linien sind deutlich dicker als in anderen Panels.

Und irgendwann wurde der Zeichner gewechselt (dann: Stephen Mooney?), der deutlich wechselhaftere Qualität ablieferte.

Die Story von Greg Pak määndert vor sich hin. Extrem gewöhnungsbedürftig ist der Umstand, dass Pak in seiner Story ein, zwei sehr bekannte Namen aus dem Bond-Kosmos unterbringt und zumindest in einem Fall ist die Darstellung … sorry, aber die Figur ist durch den Film derart belegt, das kannste eigentlich nicht machen und macht inhaltlich nur mäßig viel Sinn.

Alles nicht wirklich gut, aber hier ist die Pointe. _Ein_ erzählerischer Kniff von Pak ist wirklich großartig: die Einführung von „Oddjob“ John Lee als… Gegenspieler? Freund? Feind? Kollege? von James Bond. Diese ambivalente Freund/Feind-Beziehung macht sehr viel Spaß und ist eigentlich die Säule, die diesen Band trägt und am Leben hält. Und auch Marc Laming hat sichtlich enormen Spaß am Zeichnen dieser coolen Figur. Bond + Lee sind der Reiz, der mich auch noch zum zweiten Band greifen lässt.

peachani's review

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adventurous dark tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.75


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iainkelly_writing's review against another edition

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4.0

A solid volume 2, developing Bond and Lee's story and putting a new twist on Goldfinger. Some impressive art work lifts it.

squirrelz's review

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2.0

I don't understand why this was made. It lacks any of the campiness that makes bond fun (quips, silly gadgets, hyper competence) and doesn't make any attempts to develop Bond as a character to make him compelling beyond that.

jmbz38's review against another edition

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adventurous fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

stevenk's review

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4.0

The Odd Job epic begins when Bond crosses paths with a Korean agent after the same mysterious case he is after to stop a deadly terrorist organization. This is the first part of a continuing series that takes the characters and concepts of Ian Fleming's James Bond and updates them for a new era. This mysterious Korean seems like a younger version of the old villain but is he working for the good guys or the bad guys and will he distract Bond from his mission, help him, or is he working against him. Great surprises for the reader as alliances are revealed and the true villain of the story reveals themselves. The art supports the action and the plot is a clever mix of the old and the new that I really enjoyed as a longtime Bond fan in all media.

stevenk's review against another edition

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4.0

Greg Pak's take on Goldfinger continues with more focus on the relationships between Moneypenny, M, and Bond as Bond infiltrates Goldfinger's organization, one that has turned loyal agents before, and goes dark. Bond teams up with Mr. Lee and Agent K to try and determine why Goldfinger is going after diamonds, and how his plans involve the Olympitech Paradise, an autonomous free zone island off the coast of California. Great action and art that brings it and the characters and locations to life. Reprints issues #7-12. I would rate this volume 3.5 stars if Goodreads allowed half stars.