REVIEW: James Bond: Agent Of Spectre #5

Double-O-Double-Cross

James Bond: Agent Of Spectre #5 opens up where we last left Bond & his long time enemy Blofeld who are ambushed by Titania, who has taken control of Blofeld’s staff and, by extension, his entire island lair. The super spy and his nemesis actually make a great team despite the latter appearing less formidable than the former. Again the book sports its sketchy style, making some of the female characters a little less appealing but seeing as the only major female appearance in the issue is from Titania, whose face is obscured by a battle suit most of the time, it’s less noticeable here. The hero and villain are forced back to back to dispatch waves of Spectre staff while Titania, who is sporting an experimental Talos suit that enhances all of her combat abilities, taunts the two.

Ethics Of Empathy

Blofeld deals with the seemingly endless waves of troops while Bond battles the souped-up Titania. In an amusing display, Titania manhandles 007’s like he’s her little brother and she’s just play wrestling with the poor fella. In this book, two characters meet a gruesome end that I won’t spoil here. Bond has a Climax encounter with both Blofeld and Titania, one over a perilous plummet, while the other is an explosive climax as the island goes up in flames during a typical action movie countdown.

While Bond and Blofeld battle, they also have a philosophical battle over what elements make a man strong and what elements lead to weakness. This exciting scene is where 007’s bonds and loyalty are put to the test against Blofeld’s ideology and aversion to such sentimental elements. To throw Bond off his game, he’s revealed that he’s known Felix Leiter isn’t dead and that he’s sent somebody to deal with Bond’s closest friend. Just like its film based contemporaries, compassion and empathy prove valuable assets, and Blofeld’s plans blow up in his face along with his island and a landmine.

Will James Bond Return?

The writing and art team behind these books have earned my stamp for a successful story arc. It’s been a joy to read and review these bite-sized Bond wonders that feel like they could easily be adapted to a movie or video game format, given their exciting premise and spot-on characterization. Anybody even remotely interested in James Bond looking for something to read while they wait for the upcoming No Time To Die should check these out comics. I’d love to see this version of 007 thrown into more exciting adventures now his cover as a Spectre operative is blown. With the status quo returned, a sense of normalcy returns to the world of Bond without feeling forced or contrived, which is a rare sight in comic books these days.

Like I’ve said in my previous reviews of this series, “these books look and feel like the movies”, I can’t offer higher praise than that.

Final Score 4/5

Writer: Christos Gage

Artist: Luca Casalanguida

Publisher: Dynamite Comics