Review: James Bond #9 - Mobile Edition

More Comics
Review: James Bond #9
By Philip Schweier
August 26, 2016 - 10:44

Dynamite Entertainment
Writer(s): Warren Ellis
Penciller(s): Jason Masters
Inker(s): Jason Masters
Colourist(s): Guy Major
Letterer(s): Simon Bowland
Cover Artist(s): Dom Reardon

James Bond is one of those characters who has managed to evolve with the times. It’s been said that cool never goes out of style, so perhaps he hasn’t evolved as much as his world has. His relationships with his employers, his adversaries, and his gadgets have all grown more complex.

I am uncertain at what point in the overall narrative for “Eidolon” I have come in, but as this chapter opens, Eve Sharma of MI5 pays Her Majesty’s Secret Service a visit, apparently regarding an incident in which an agent – James Bond – was attacked at Heathrow Airport. She seems intent on claiming the investigation for MI5, even though it was directly on MI6 personnel.

MI6’s investigation leads them to a series of transactions ending with the Strategic Reserve Fleet. M explains it’s a project squirreled away the British government in the event of an EMP taking out England’s technological weaponry. It consists of a fleet of steam-powered locomotives, complete with an underground railroad system. M sends Bond for a first-hand look.

And here’s where the story gets dicey. As Bond prowls around, there is no dialogue or captions (cuz he needs to be quiet like). It’s up to Jason Masters’ artwork to convey what goes on in these dark tunnels. Bond runs up against some bad guys, takes a few of them out (how, I’m still uncertain). Several panels that are 70 percent black fail to clearly convey action. Gunshots, sure, but I’m fuzzy on the details. Maybe they’re not that important. It’s hard to say, because the chapter stops. It doesn’t end, it stops.

Perhaps it a failing of a graphic novel broken up into chapters, which need to hit a specific page count. Perhaps the ending is simply supposed to be James Bond cornered by bad guys. I don’t know. It’s hard to judge a portion of a story, but this portion that I have read leaves me no desire to read more.