Javier E. Trujillo reviews the fourth issue of Dynamite’s newest James Bond thriller, 007: For King and Country!
Confronted by Felix Leiter and 005, Bond must consider the possibility that Gann has a secret agenda, one that could decide the fate of the world! Who can he trust?
Writer: Phillip Kennedy Johnson
Artist: Giorgio Spalletta & Alessio Avallone
Colour artist: Claudia Giulani
Letters: Jeff Eckleberry
Main cover: Joseph Michael Linsner
Packager & editor: Nate Cosby
Plot
Felix and 005 make their case to Bond, revealing what they believe to be Gann’s ultimate goal-usurping Myrmidon for herself! Felix gives Bond some equipment to place near Myrmidon’s servers, but that’s all the help he can offer for now.
As Bond ponders what the truth is, Agent Clark sends him an alert that she’s being attacked by Myrmidon agents. Bond comes to her rescue and takes her to a hotel. Meanwhile, M learns that Bond is in Washington, DC. In turn, M alerts 009.
Bond and Clark get each other up to speed. She gives Bond a sultry look, but he exits the room, calling Gann. They outline what their next steps should be with Bond appearing to wrestle with who is really playing whom. He then goes back into Clark’s room to seduce her and find out what else she knows. All the while Fromm is on the phone with 009, ordering him to kill Bond.
Opinion
Johnson continues to thrill me with the twists and turns of this story. After last issue’s surprise of Felix possibly betraying Bond to MI-6, we get to the truth of the matter. Or do we? As Bond fans, Felix has earned our trust, but Johnson puts the former 007 in a situation where he has to wonder which of his longtime friends is playing him. It makes for an intriguing conflict for Bond as it does feel like he’s truly on his own.
We get a brutal hand to hand fight scene in this issue. The action is well staged and while it is very violent, it is tastefully obscured to not be too gory. Having dealt with Rook in the last series, Bond is more proficient at fighting these Myrmidon agents. With Clark being injured and tased, Bond is once again on his own…or is this part of the plot to endear Clark to Bond, so he can be manipulated later? Again, I love that Johnson is making me doubt everyone’s motives in this story.
Claudia Giulani is indispensable on colours. She not only adds shades, but textures to the art, making it really pop and give dimension. Some of the art’s backgrounds can be very minimalistic and lacking detail, but Giulani fills it in, providing the right dramatic mood.
Spalletta and Avallone continue to make a fantastic pair. Their styles are very complimentary and I love their take on Bond. His more casual outfits seen in this issue are reminiscent of Daniel Craig or Timothy Dalton and of course, it’s always nice to see the literary Bond’s scar.
The “Bond Cocktail” is well mixed here. We see Bond’s brutality, his fighting prowess, the self-doubts he possesses, and of course, how he can woo someone else to reach his objectives. Maybe we don’t see fine tailoring or luxury cars, but this is an excellent spy thriller as Johnson continues to ratchet up the tension.
You can feel all sides closing in on Bond as the issue progresses and even his friends can’t be fully trusted. The potential reveal of Gann’s true motives make sense and provide a great deal of excitement, given what may have really been going on with her these last two series. When all this is said and done, will Bond find himself reinstated as 007 given whom he has allied with? Are their two villains that Bond will have to defeat by the end? It’s safe to say that I am eagerly anticipating these last two installments!
