Last year, Dynamite Entertainment let us know it had acquired the rights to the James Bond franchise, and now, with the San Diego Comic Con just days away, the publisher has announced Warren Ellis and Jason Master will take on the iconic character.
The first six-issue story arc in the James Bond 007 comic book series will be entitled “VARGR.” James Bond returns to London after a mission of vengeance in Helsinki, to take up the workload of a fallen 00 agent… but something evil is moving through the back streets of the city, and sinister plans are being laid for Bond in Berlin.
It’s a pretty big deal to grab Ellis, who has written for Dynamite Entertainment for several years, most notably on Project Superpowers.
“Warren Ellis is one of the most brilliant writers of the 21st century, not just in comics but across all media,” says Nick Barrucci, CEO and Publisher of Dynamite Entertainment, in a prepared statement. “When we approached him for the launch, we hoped he could make time in his very busy schedule, and we are ever fortunate and thankful that he was able to. We met with Warren and the everyone at IFPL, and Warren’s passion for the novels showed. He really is the perfect writer for Bond, and I can’t express how excited we are that Warren is tackling the ongoing series. This will be James Bond unlike anything you’ve ever seen before, true to Ian Fleming’s source material yet bursting all preconceptions of what a Bond story should be.”
James Bond continues to be one or the most popular characters in media, and continuing his adventures in comics will no doubt grab more readers. For years, Bond’s adventures could be found in the comic section of the paper, and many of those adventures are currently collected in trade paperback form.
“We have the extraordinary opportunity to create the very best James Bond stories that you’ve never read, and we have one of the most extraordinary contemporary adventure writers in the world to launch with,” says Editor Mike Lake. “After more than 40 years in the business, this is the best project I’ve ever had a hand in, and am very proud to have helped bring it about.”
Joining Warren Ellis is artist Jason Masters, who is very excited to work with Ellis.
“I’ve wanted to draw something Warren Ellis wrote since I first read his work on The Authority,” says artist Jason Masters. “Each of his carefully composed pages is filled with wonderful ideas that make you wish you were smarter. More ingenious than Warren’s writing might be Dynamite’s decision to have him write James Bond. James Bond by Warren Ellis! I’d buy that sight unseen if I wasn’t lucky enough to be the guy drawing it.”
The first issue of the James Bond series arrives in November.
