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The second half of Warren Ellis’s run on James Bond, “Eidolon” is the most entertaining comic ever written about forensic accounting. When an MI6 Diplomatic agent uncovers a series of shady financial transactions that start in Turkey and end in England, 007 has to extract her from the US. Oh, and multiple intelligence agencies are trying to kill the accountant, which complicates matters.
Compared to the James Bond movies, Ellis’s comics are more tightly paced and less bombastic. It’s a refreshing, different sort of storytelling. There's no attempt to ape the action of his silver screen counterpart. He spends more strategizing with MI6 than punching helicopters into volcanoes. And this Bond is teflon-smooth and quippy. At his funniest moments, he reminds me of Sterling Archer.
Jason Master’s art on this series is well suited to both calmer moments of conversation and action-heavy (read: sneaking around and punching people) sequences. He has a clean, representational style that not only makes for expressive characters, but also smooth, clean fight choreography. Guy Major’s colors are clean and, when appropriate, moody—and sometimes pretty, especially in stylishly lit panels.
If you like James Bond—or spy stories in general—read this book. It’s a funnier, tighter take on Bond than the movies, and that is a boon. Don’t just start with “Eidolon” either: go back and grab the “Vargr” arc before this one.
Collected in
- James Bond in Eidolon (#7-12)
Credits
Writer: Warren Ellis | Artist: Jason Masters | Colorist: Guy Major | Letterer: Simon Bowland | Covers: Dom Reardon