Kill Chain by Andy Diggle

James Bond: Kill Chain by Andy Diggle

My rating: 3.68 of 5 stars


*I received this book from Dynamite Entertainment and Netgalley for an honest review*

I have something of a kind of love/hate relationship going on with the Bond franchise. I got hooked on watching John Wayne films shown late at night or during the day by my grandfather. I got hooked on watching Bond films by way of marathons via my father. Though it was my mother who had collected the books as they were published – the original books – that I found in the basement and read (the Ian Fleming ones, I had to get the others myself). This was back when I was like ten (13? I forget now). Watched and loved the films. Read and mostly enjoyed the books. This was back when Timothy Dalton was Bond, at least on the big screen, my first Bond experience was with the original Connery, though – see: movie marathons), and my first Bond film in the theater was License to Kill.

I just loved watching Bond films. Reading the continuation novels. Then there was a six year gap (something like that) do to legal issues (what I was told at the time, I’ve never looked it up to see if accurate). And I kind of fell away from Bond while he was off the big screen. Oh, sure, I continued reading Benson Bond books, but . . . they lacked something. So I drifted away.

When I looked again, I was smacked in the face, so to speak, by certain aspects of Bond that were despicable (like how Connery’s Bond doesn’t like being told ‘no’ when it comes to sex; and, weirdly, just hates when the woman is all over him (see: Goldfinger for both – with lesbian Pussy Galore being forced by Bond, and apparently liking it so well that she turned on her boss; and … okay, I can’t find which woman I mean here for the other, was she not in Goldfinger? I recall a hotel room, the woman comes on to Bond, he pushes her away, because ?, film continued). So I had that to deal with. And I still watched the films, read the books, and stuff. But it was always there in the back of my mind – the male-thing (saw Lasenby’s film again the other day – weird dynamic there, Bond in that film didn’t force himself onto women, and actually seemed happier when the woman wanted him – the women at the institute he was undercover at; sure there was the ‘bribed to date gangster’s daughter’ part, but he didn’t force himself onto her).

All that just to note that I’ve mostly steered clear of the comic series. But hey, might as well try, eh?

James Bond in ‘Kill Chain’. As the book description notes: the spy world is in massive conflict, there’s a plot against NATO, MI6 and the CIA are in conflict, and the Russian SMERSH (seen a few times in the films, a lot more often in the books) is plotting against . . . well, the West. SMERSH being the Soviet Union spy service in WWII in real life, which was either disbanded or absorbed by the KGB after the war (I forget which), though found extended life in Fleming’s books and the Bond films. The book opens in Russia. Where some unknown man is talking to another unknown man – while that second man literally uses his fists on rocks (okay, not really, he slams two rocks together in his fists).

After unknown man 2 makes an arrow head, the scene shifts to two people fighting – a man and a woman. Presumably the man is James Bond, though, eh, I mostly say that because: 1) of the three men seen so far, he’s the closest to Bond’s looks; 2) he almost immediately gets sexual with the woman. You know, like Bond does. It’s his thing. Afterwards, and I’m only continuing this so I can mention – the woman takes a shower while wearing her clothing? I think? While she does that Bond robs the place. Because, hey, he’s a spy. All of this, by the way, the two men in Russia, and Bond & blonde woman in some undisclosed location – are the ‘precredits’ action. The after title credits action shifts ‘stuff’ to Rottendam. Which I mention because the book description notes that ‘operation in Rottendam goes catastrophically wrong’ so I guess I get to see that now. (Whereupon we learn that Bond and the blonde woman, later called ‘Rika’, were actually already in Rottendam).

Oh bloody hell – so action finally occurs and . .. Bond drives his car through a crowd? Seriously? After everything we’ve had happen lately with so many terrorists driving cars through crowds, the first actual action in this comic shows Bond driving a car through a crowd? Pfft. (counter: he’s trying to get away from a gunman in a boat; counter-counter – so? Just don’t show him driving the car through a crowd, but just along the road, racing away from the boat, while the boat fires at him, showing Bond drive through a crowd just seemed needless; wait, he was chasing the guy in the boat, not racing away . . crap, trying to figure out action in graphic comic form isn’t always easy, hehe).

Right, so, as said, conflict in the spy world – and that’s what the reader reads.

Oh, wait, what the heck is this book doing with SMERSH in it? If it’s set in modern times? At least that’s what I assume when Bond is given a cell phone. Gah – it’s not always easy to tell, some ‘continuation’ novels are set back in Fleming’s time period, some are set in ‘modern’ time periods (most recent ‘continuation’ book I read was set in Flemings time – 1969 – William Boyd’s Solo). Having SMERSH involved made me think this had to be set before the Soviet Union fell, but cell phone. You know what would have helped? Dates. What graphic novel forgets to include dates when giving location data? Pfft.

I’ll devote a second paragraph to this issue: not knowing the date is seriously annoying when trying to read a book. The world changes to bloody fast to be ‘generic 20th to 21st century Earth’. Mmphs. Though the evidence, including Leiter missing an arm, lost in that first Bond film I saw at a movie theatre, plus the cell phone, makes me think this really is 21st century ‘current present time’. Also Leiter mentions that the current administration hates things like NATO and the world. And England’s mentioned to be getting ‘out of Europe’. And Stuff. So, yes, modern times. Mention of SMERSH in book description, plus lack of dates really messed me up here.

Right so – one specific problem mentioned: the lack of dates and the mention of SMERSH without mention of the current date from beginning of book (you know, have ‘present day’ or ‘2018’ listed next to ‘Russia’ as every other graphic novel would do it), caused me issues. SMERSH being mentioned can be and was explained in the book. And I did eventually pick up that this was ‘present day’. The fact that I had to spend so much time thinking about it, though, is a major issue. Heh, I didn’t mean to have a third paragraph on dates. I meant this to be my: beyond that one specific problem, already mentioned, the book was interesting and good, paragraph.

Good strong story. The ‘forcing himself onto women’ didn’t come up, though he did avoid the advances of one woman who was quite clearly desirous of spending ‘quality time’ with Bond. Course it wasn’t the right time – but with Bond, when is it ever the right time?

Rating: 3.68

March 11 2018




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