Dynamite Entertainment has announced an agreement with Ian Fleming Publications, which gives them a worldwide license for a new comic series featuring the world’s most famous secret agent, James Bond.
The arrangement will allow Dynamite to publish comic books, digital comics, and graphic novels depicting Bond’s exploits, according to Newsarama . Under the terms of the agreement, Dynamite will be allowed to adapt the fourteen James Bond novels originally penned by Ian Fleming as well as a new series of canonical adventures set to feature Bond.
Untold James #Bond story by Ian Fleming to be basis for new #007 novel http://t.co/qkoh68ahUJ pic.twitter.com/F7FR0YC5nk
— CBC Books (@cbcbooks) October 4, 2014
As Corinne Turner, Managing Director of Ian Fleming Publications, pointed out in a press release, the deal hardly marks the first time that James Bond has appeared in the pages of comics.
“It’s over sixty years since the publication of Casino Royale, and now more than ever it’s an exciting time to be a Bond fan,” She noted. “We’re thrilled that 007 will be revisiting the world of comics, as Fleming’s novels have a long and successful history in this medium, ever since they began to be published as newspaper comic strips in the late fifties.”
As MTV News points out, Dynamite plans to explore the early origins of James Bond’s character, examining his life prior to his first official mission. They also revealed that familiar characters from the Bond universe will be appearing as well.
“These new stories will draw inspiration from the Fleming canon to explore Bond’s ‘origins’: his raw early years before he gambled with his life in the first novel, Casino Royale (1953),” the press release noted. “Some other familiar faces from the expansive 007 mythos will also make appearances in this series — criminal masterminds, hired henchmen, glamorous Bond Girls and secret service allies — alongside all-new characters.”
Like comics? Like James Bond? Well you’re in luck, James Bond comics are coming to Dynamite Ent. In 2015! #HYPE ! pic.twitter.com/DgUWcW2Z7A
— Superhero Report (@SuperheroReport) October 7, 2014
According to editor Mike Lake, the new series will not only feature the well known villains that Bond has previously faced but will also examine their origin stories, while introducing new enemies for the super-spy. As The Inquisitr has previously noted, it is rumored that the Bond franchise may reveal an iconic new villain in the next film, though it is unclear whether that character will appear in the comics.
“Ian Fleming’s James Bond is one the best-known characters in the world, yet we know very little of his background and beginnings,” he said. “The Bond villains are some of the most memorable figures in popular culture … where did they come from? And in some cases, where did they go?”
While details of who will be writing and illustrating the comics remain unknown, Dynamite’s new James Bond series is expected to launch in 2015.
[Image via Comics Alliance ]