December 18, Mt. Laurel, NJ: All bets are off in Dynamite's hotly anticipated new James Bond series, Agent of SPECTRE, coming this March and written by Christos Gage.
There's a civil war brewing within the iconic nefarious organization of SPECTRE. A power-hungry rookie American member has her crosshairs aimed at the one and only Number 1. Ernst Stavro Blofeld turns to his last chance and requests assistance from his eternal nemesis, as he and Bond come face to face for the first time in Dynamite's comic books. With an objective that amounts to pulling apart SPECTRE in the process, and the life of ally Felix Leiter on the line, everyone's favorite spy is caught within the web.
Writer Christos Gage (Spider-Geddon, Superior Spider-Man) enlists for his first mission with Her Majesty's Secret Service. Some fans may not know that the acclaimed comics scribe is also a prolific television screenwriter, with credits on Daredevil, Hawaii Five-O, and even the award-winning Spider-Man video game on Playstation. He brings that same multi-discipline cinematic flair to a character known across media.
"I've been lucky enough to work on many iconic characters in my career, but this is my first time writing Bond, and I'm having a blast," said Christos Gage. "Throwing him into a web of intrigue with his archenemy Blofeld as an untrustworthy ally is thrilling enough, but to have the amazing Luca Casalanguida as my artistic collaborator, not to mention covers by legends Steve Epting and Sean Phillips, is an embarrassment of riches. They give me a license to kill...creatively...and I plan to use it!"
Gage is joined by fan-favorite 007 artist Luca Casalanguida, returning from Hammerhead, Kill Chain, The Body, and other works like Lost Soldiers. The talented squad is rounded out with colorist Heather Moore.
Last but certainly not least is the duo of spectacular cover artists. Steve Epting's espionage-inspired work on the Eisner Award-winning Captain America and Velvet make him the perfect match for the perfected prototype of the genre. His stylistic and slick covers will be evocative of the classic book covers, posters, and title sequences of the storied franchise. While Sean Phillips is a master of grounded stories of crime and gun-toting antiheroes, with a handful of Eisners under his belt too.
This latest case is full of action and intrigue, as Bond's travels take him from the United States capital, to Blofeld's ancestral estate in Greece, and of course the British headquarters of MI6. Beloved characters M and Moneypenny will appear, as well as some trademark gadgets, such as a CornerShot gun.
Gage, Casalanguida, and company are hueing to a more novel-accurate portrayal of Blofeld that even many Bond fans may not be as familiar with. Just as conniving as ever, the original Blofeld is a massive man and a true equal to Bond, both physically and mentally. With the two entangled in an uneasy alliance for now, the series could go anywhere as the two must eventually come to blows when all the bodies are down. And in the end, is this a dark path that Bond can even return from?
JAMES BOND: AGENT OF SPECTRE #1 is solicited in Diamond Comic Distributors’ January 2021 Previews catalog, the premier source of merchandise for the comic book specialty market, and slated for release in March 2021. Comic book fans are encouraged to preorder copies of the issue with their local comic book retailers. It will also be available for individual customer purchase through digital platforms courtesy of Comixology, Kindle, iBooks, Google Play, Dynamite Digital, ComicsPlus, and more!
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About Dynamite Entertainment
Dynamite was founded in 2004 and is home to several best-selling comic book titles and properties, including The Boys, The Shadow, Red Sonja, Warlord of Mars, Bionic Man, A Game of Thrones, and more. Dynamite owns and controls an extensive library with over 3,000 characters (which includes the Harris Comics and Chaos Comics properties), such as Vampirella, Pantha, Evil Ernie, Smiley the Psychotic Button, Chastity, and Peter Cannon: Thunderbolt. In addition to their critically-acclaimed titles and bestselling comics, Dynamite works with some of the most high-profile creators in comics and entertainment, including Gail Simone, Christopher Priest, Leah Moore, Kevin Smith, David Walker, Vita Ayala, Danny Lore, Neil Gaiman, Garth Ennis, Darick Robertson, Mark Russell, Brandon Thomas, Amy Chu, Reginald Hudlin, Nancy Collins, David Walker, Steve Orlando, Greg Pak, Jenny Frison, Matt Wagner, and a host of up-and-coming new talent. Dynamite is consistently ranked in the upper tiers of comic book publishers and several of their titles - including Alex Ross and Jim Krueger's Project Superpowers - have debuted in the Top Ten lists produced by Diamond Comics Distributors. In 2005, Diamond awarded the company a GEM award for Best New Publisher and another GEM in 2006 for Comics Publisher of the Year (under 5%) and again in 2011. The company has also been nominated for and won several industry awards, including the prestigious Harvey and Eisner Awards.
About Ian Fleming Publications Ltd.:
Ian Fleming Publications Ltd is the Fleming family-owned company that looks after the James Bond literary brand, by promoting and making available all of Ian Fleming’s 007 books across the world. They also keep the brand alive through the publication of new stories by authors such as Anthony Horowitz, William Boyd, Jeffery Deaver, Sebastian Faulks, Raymond Benson, John Gardner, Kingsley Amis, Samantha Weinberg, Steve Cole and Charlie Higson. Alongside James Bond publishing, the company also manages the rights for Fleming’s two non-fiction books and his only children’s book, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.
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