''James Bond'' was a

comic strip A comic strip is a Comics, sequence of cartoons, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often Serial (literature), serialized, with text in Speech balloon, balloons and Glossary of comics terminology#Captio ...

that was based on the

eponymous An eponym is a noun after which or for which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. Adjectives derived from the word ''eponym'' include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''. Eponyms are commonly used for time periods, places, innovati ...

, fictional character created by author

Ian Fleming Ian Lancaster Fleming (28 May 1908 – 12 August 1964) was a British writer, best known for his postwar ''James Bond'' series of spy novels. Fleming came from a wealthy family connected to the merchant bank Robert Fleming & Co., and his ...

. Starting in 1958 and continuing to 1983, it consisted of 52

story arc A story arc (also narrative arc) is the chronological construction of a plot in a novel or story. It can also mean an extended or continuing narrative, storyline in episode, episodic storytelling media such as television, comic books, comic strip ...

s that were syndicated in

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

newspapers, seven of which were initially published abroad.

Publication history

''Daily Express'' strips

In 1957, the ''

Daily Express The ''Daily Express'' is a national daily United Kingdom middle-market newspaper printed in Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid format. Published in London, it is the flagship of Express Newspapers, owned by publisher Reach plc. It was first ...

'', a newspaper owned by

Lord Beaverbrook William Maxwell Aitken, 1st Baron Beaverbrook (25 May 1879 – 9 June 1964), was a Canadian-British newspaper publisher and backstage politician who was an influential figure in British media and politics of the first half of the 20th century ...

, approached Ian Fleming about adapting his James Bond stories as comic strips. Fleming was then reluctant, because he felt the comic strips would lack the quality of his writing, potentially hurting his spy novel series while he was still writing. Fleming wrote:

Art by John McLusky

Regardless, Fleming later agreed, and to aid the ''Daily Express'' in illustrating James Bond, Fleming commissioned an artist to sketch whom he believed James Bond to look like. The assigned illustrator,

John McLusky John McLusky (20 January 1923 – 5 September 2006) was a comics artist best known as the original artist of the comic strip featuring Ian Fleming's ''James Bond''. Biography Hector John Dewhirst McLusky was born in Glasgow, Scotland. He event ...

, however, felt that Fleming's 007 appeared too "outdated" and "pre-war", and thus changed James Bond to a more rugged and masculine appearance. The first strip, '' Casino Royale'', was published in 1958. The story was adapted by

Anthony Hern Anthony, also spelled Antony, is a masculine given name derived from the ''Antonii'', a ''gens'' ( Roman family name) to which Mark Antony (''Marcus Antonius'') belonged. According to Plutarch, the Antonii gens were Heracleidae, being descendants ...

, who previously had serialised '' Diamonds Are Forever'' and '' From Russia with Love'' for the ''Daily Express''. The majority of the early comic strips were adapted by Henry Gammidge (other than the ''Dr. No'' adaptation, 1960, by

Peter O'Donnell Peter O'Donnell (11 April 1920 – 3 May 2010) was an English writer of mysteries and of comic strips, best known as the creator of '' Modesty Blaise'', an action heroine/undercover trouble-shooter. He was also an award-winning gothic h ...

, years before he launched his strip ''

Modesty Blaise ''Modesty Blaise'' is a British comic strip featuring a fictional character of the same name, created by author Peter O'Donnell and illustrator Jim Holdaway in 1963. The strip follows Modesty Blaise, an exceptional young woman with many talen ...

''). McLusky later would illustrate twelve more James Bond comic strips with partner Gammidge until 1966. In 1962 the ''Daily Express'' abruptly cancelled their agreement with Ian Fleming when Lord Beaverbrook and Fleming disputed the rights to the James Bond short story "

The Living Daylights ''The Living Daylights'' is a 1987 spy film, the fifteenth entry in the ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions, and the first of two to star Timothy Dalton as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. The fourth film in the series to ...

". Fleming had sold the rights to the ''

Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British Sunday newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of N ...

'', a rival newspaper—upsetting Beaverbrook into terminating his business relationship with Fleming. The dispute abruptly ended the comic strip adaptation of ''Thunderball''. Additional panels were added later for its syndication to other newspapers, and to expand and conclude the story. Beaverbrook and Fleming later settled their differences, and the comic strip serial would continue in 1964 with ''

On Her Majesty's Secret Service On Her Majesty's Secret Service may refer to: * ''On Her Majesty's Secret Service'' (novel), a 1963 James Bond novel by Ian Fleming * ''On Her Majesty's Secret Service'' (film), a 1969 film adaptation of the novel by Peter R. Hunt ** ''On Her Maj ...

''.

Art by Yaroslav Horak

In 1966

Yaroslav Horak Yaroslav Horak (12 June 1927 – 24 November 2020) was an Australian illustrator and comics artist, of ethnic Czech-Russian origin, best known for his work on the newspaper comic strip ''James Bond''. Biography Yaroslaph (Yaroslav) Horak was ...

replaced John McLusky as the artist for the ''Daily Express'' comic strip series and adapted six more Ian Fleming James Bond novels and short stories as well as

Kingsley Amis Sir Kingsley William Amis (16 April 1922 – 22 October 1995) was an English novelist, poet, critic and teacher. He wrote more than 20 novels, six volumes of poetry, a memoir, short stories, radio and television scripts, and works of social crit ...

' ''

Colonel Sun ''Colonel Sun'' is a novel by Kingsley Amis published by Jonathan Cape on 28 March 1968 under the pseudonym " Robert Markham". It is the first James Bond continuation novel published after Ian Fleming died in 1964. The novel centres on the ...

'' with partner Jim Lawrence. ''

'' was also republished in the ''Daily Express'' after first appearing in the first edition of the ''Sunday Times'' magazine on 4 February 1962 and in the

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

magazine '' Argosy'' in June of the same year under the title ''Berlin Escape''. With the success of ''The Man with the Golden Gun'' Horak and Lawrence subsequently went on to write and illustrate twenty original James Bond comic strips for the ''Daily Express'' after being granted permission by Ian Fleming's Trust.

Other James Bond comic strips

In 1977 the ''Daily Express'' discontinued their series of Bond comic strips, although Horak and Lawrence went on to write and illustrate several other James Bond adventures for syndication abroad in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

, for the ''

Sunday Express The ''Daily Express'' is a national daily United Kingdom middle-market newspaper printed in tabloid format. Published in London, it is the flagship of Express Newspapers, owned by publisher Reach plc. It was first published as a broadsheet ...

'' (the Sunday edition of the ''Daily Express''), and the '' Daily Star''. Additionally, John McLusky returned to team up with Jim Lawrence for five comic strips. One strip, ''Doomcrack'', featured artwork by

Harry North Harry may refer to: Television * ''Harry'' (American TV series), 1987 comedy series starring Alan Arkin * ''Harry'' (British TV series), 1993 BBC drama that ran for two seasons * ''Harry'' (New Zealand TV series), 2013 crime drama starring Oscar K ...

, who at the time worked for ''

MAD Magazine ''Mad'' (stylized in all caps) is an American humor magazine which was launched in 1952 and currently published by DC Comics, a unit of the DC Entertainment subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. ''Mad'' was founded by editor Harvey Kurtzman an ...

'' on its film parodies. The 1983 strip ''Polestar'' was abruptly terminated by the ''Daily Star'' midway through its run and was not completed, although the complete story did appear in non-UK newspapers and was followed by several more complete serials before the James Bond comic strip officially came to an end.

Titan Books reprints

Since first publication in the ''Daily Express'', the comic strip adaptations have been reprinted several times. First by the James Bond 007 International Fan Club, in the early 1980s. Then annually, from 1987 to 1990, by the British

Titan Books Titan Publishing Group is the publishing division of the British entertainment company Titan Entertainment, which was established as Titan Books in 1981. The books division has two main areas of publishing: film and television tie-ins and cine ...

company in

anthologies In book publishing, an anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler; it may be a collection of plays, poems, short stories, songs, or related fiction/non-fiction excerpts by different authors. There are also thematic and ge ...

, beginning with ''The Living Daylights'' to tie-in with the release of the eponymous James Bond film.

First Titan Books series

*''The Living Daylights'' (June 1987) — includes: ''The Man with the Golden Gun'' and ''The Living Daylights'' *''Octopussy'' (March 1988) — includes: ''Octopussy'' and ''The Hildebrand Rarity'' *''The Spy Who Loved Me'' (June 1989) — includes: ''The Spy Who Loved Me'' *''Casino Royale'' (July 1990) — includes ''Casino Royale'' and ''Live and Let Die''

Second Titan Books series

Beginning in 2004, Titan reissued these anthologies in larger, revised editions, and also began reprinting stories that hadn't been featured in the earlier books. With a more frequent publishing schedule than the first series, all 52 stories had been published in seventeen books by March 2010. These volumes include new introductory chapters on the history of the strip and the Bond novels, and most of the books have also included special introductions written by Bond film actors, specifically

Caroline Munro Caroline Jane Munro ( ; born 16 January 1949)McFarlane, Brian (28 February 2014). ''The Encyclopedia of British Film: Fourth edition''. Oxford University Press. p. 538; is an English actress, model and singer known for her many appearances in ...

(''The Spy Who Loved Me''),

George Lazenby George Robert Lazenby (; born 5 September 1939) is an Australian retired actor. Lazenby began his professional career as a model and had only acted in commercials when he was cast to replace the original James Bond actor, Sean Connery, playing ...

(''OHMSS''),

Shirley Eaton Shirley Jean Eaton (born 12 January 1937) is an English former actress and singer. Eaton appeared regularly in British films throughout the 1950s and 1960s, and gained her highest profile for her appearance as Bond Girl Jill Masterson in the ...

(''Goldfinger''),

Eunice Gayson Eunice Elizabeth Sargaison (17 March 1928 – 8 June 2018), known professionally as Eunice Gayson, was an English actress best known for playing Sylvia Trench, James Bond's love interest in the first two Bond films ('' Dr. No'' and '' From Russ ...

(''Dr. No''),

Roger Moore Sir Roger George Moore (14 October 192723 May 2017) was an English actor. He was the actor to portray Ian Fleming's fictional secret agent James Bond (literary character), James Bond in the Eon Productions/MGM Studios film series, playing the ...

(''Casino Royale''),

Maud Adams Maud Solveig Christina Adams (née Wikström; 12 February 1945) is a Swedish actress and model, best known for her roles as two different Bond girls, first in '' The Man with the Golden Gun'' (1974) and then as the title character in ''Octopus ...

(''Octopussy''),

Britt Ekland Britt Ekland (born Britt-Marie Eklund; 6 October 1942) is a Swedish actress. She appeared in numerous films in her heyday throughout the 1960s and 1970s, including roles in ''The Double Man (1967 film), The Double Man'' (1967), ''The Night They ...

(''Colonel Sun''), and

Richard Kiel Richard Dawson Kiel (September 13, 1939 – September 10, 2014) was an American actor. Standing tall and often referred to as "the Gentle Giant", he was known for portraying Jaws in '' The Spy Who Loved Me'' (1977) and '' Moonraker'' (197 ...

(''The Golden Ghost''). Titan's comic strip reprints were not initially published in the strips' original publication order; this changed as of the release of ''The Spy Who Loved Me'' volume. *''The Man with the Golden Gun'' (February 2004) — ''The Man with the Golden Gun'' and ''The Living Daylights'' *''Octopussy'' (May 2004) — ''Octopussy'' and ''The Hildebrand Rarity'' *''On Her Majesty's Secret Service'' (August 2004) — ''On Her Majesty's Secret Service'' and ''You Only Live Twice'' *''Goldfinger'' (November 2004) — ''Goldfinger'', ''Risico'', ''From a View to a Kill'', ''For Your Eyes Only'' and ''Thunderball'' *''Casino Royale'' (February 2005) — ''Casino Royale'', ''Live and Let Die'' and ''Moonraker'' *''Dr. No'' (May 2005) — ''Diamonds Are Forever'', ''From Russia with Love'' and ''Dr. No'' *''The Spy Who Loved Me'' (August 2005) — ''The Spy Who Loved Me'' and ''The Harpies'' *''Colonel Sun'' (December 2005) — ''River of Death'' and ''Colonel Sun'' *''The Golden Ghost'' (April 2006) — ''The Golden Ghost'', ''Fear Face'', ''Double Jeopardy'' and ''Starfire'' *''Trouble Spot'' (September 2006) — ''Trouble Spot'', ''Isle Of Condors'', ''The League Of Vampires'' and ''Die With My Boots On'' *''The Phoenix Project'' (February 2007) — ''The Phoenix Project'', ''The Black Ruby Caper'', ''Till Death Do Us Part'' and ''The Torch-Time Affair'' *''Death Wing'' (July 2007) — ''Death Wing'', ''Sea Dragon'' and ''When The Wizard Awakes'' *''Shark Bait'' (January 2008) — ''The Xanadu Connection'', ''Shark Bait'' and ''Doomcrack'' *''The Paradise Plot'' (June 2008) — ''The Paradise Plot'' and ''Deathmask'' *''Polestar'' (November 2008) — ''Flittermouse'', ''Polestar'', ''The Scent Of Danger'', ''Snake Goddess'' and ''Double Eagle'' *''The Girl Machine'' (July 2009) — ''The Girl Machine'', ''Beware of Butterflies'' and ''The Nevsky Nude'' *''Nightbird'' (March 2010) — ''Nightbird'', ''Hot-Shot'' and ''Ape of Diamonds'' ''The Harpies'', included in ''The Spy Who Loved Me'', is the first non-Fleming-based Bond comic strip to be reprinted as well as the first original story. ''River of Death'', in the ''Colonel Sun'' collection, is the second original story to be published (''Colonel Sun'' itself being an adaptation of the first post-Fleming Bond novel). ''The Golden Ghost'' is the first collection comprising all-original stories. The collection ''The Phoenix Project'' indicates that the July 2007 release was to have been ''Nightbird'', but this was not published as schedule

The ''Nightbird'' collection eventually saw print in March 2010 and is considered the final release in the Titan series as all ''Daily Express''-related strips have now been reprinted.

Third Titan Books series

From September 2009 to November 2014 larger volumes called 'Omnibus' editions were released containing more stories in each volume. *''The James Bond Omnibus: Volume 001'' (September 2009) — ''Casino Royale'', ''Live and Let Die'', ''Moonraker'', ''Diamonds Are Forever'', ''From Russia with Love'', ''Dr. No'', ''Goldfinger'', ''Risico'', ''From a View to a Kill'', ''For Your Eyes Only'' and ''Thunderball'' *''The James Bond Omnibus: Volume 002'' (February 2011) — ''On Her Majesty's Secret Service'', ''You Only Live Twice'', ''The Man with the Golden Gun'', ''The Living Daylights'', ''Octopussy'', ''The Hildebrand Rarity'' and ''The Spy Who Loved Me'' *''The James Bond Omnibus: Volume 003'' (March 2012) — ''The Harpies'', ''River of Death'', ''Colonel Sun'', ''The Golden Ghost'', ''Fear Face'', ''Double Jeopardy'' and ''Starfire'' *''The James Bond Omnibus: Volume 004'' (October 2012) — ''Trouble Spot'', ''Isle of Condors'', ''The League of Vampires'', ''Die With My Boots On'', ''The Girl Machine'', ''Beware of Butterflies'', ''The Nevsky Nude'', ''The Phoenix Project'' and ''The Black Ruby Caper'' *''The James Bond Omnibus: Volume 005'' (November 2013) — ''Till Death Do Us Part'', ''The Torch-Time Affair'', ''Hot-Shot'', ''Nightbird'', ''Ape of Diamonds'', ''When The Wizard Awakes'', ''Sea Dragon'', ''Death Wing'' and ''The Xanadu Connection'' *''The James Bond Omnibus: Volume 006'' (November 2014) — ''Shark Bait'', ''Doomcrack'', ''The Paradise Plot'', ''Deathmask'', ''Flittermouse'', ''Polestar'', ''The Scent Of Danger'', ''Snake Goddess'' and ''Double Eagle''

Fourth Titan Books series

From November 2015 a series of hardcover collections was released containing up to six stories in each volume. *''James Bond – SPECTRE: The Complete Comic Strip Collection'' (November 2015) — ''Thunderball'', ''The Spy Who Loved Me'', ''On Her Majesty’s Secret Service'' and ''You Only Live Twice'' *''The Complete James Bond – Dr No: The Classic Comic Strip Collection 1958–60'' (November 2016) — ''Casino Royale'', ''Live and Let Die'', ''Moonraker'', ''Diamonds Are Forever'', ''From Russia with Love'' and ''Dr. No'' *''The Complete James Bond – Goldfinger: The Classic Comic Strip Collection 1960–66'' (March 2017) — ''Goldfinger'', ''Risico'', ''From a View to a Kill'', ''For Your Eyes Only'', ''The Man with the Golden Gun'' and ''The Living Daylights'' *''The Complete James Bond – Octopussy: The Classic Comic Strip Collection 1966–69'' (November 2017) — ''Octopussy, The Hildebrand Rarity, The Harpies, River of Death''

External links

Titan Books' James Bond Graphic Novels List
* MI6 coverage of James Bond comics strips and comic books
Just Johnny's James Bond Comics Website
– A Brief History of 007 Comics
I Love Comix Archive: ''James Bond''Archivo 007
Spanish James Bond comics {{DEFAULTSORT:James Bond (Comic Strip) British comic strips 1958 comics debuts 1983 comics endings Titan Books titles