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geekwayne's review against another edition
4.0
'James Bond: Black Box' by Benjamin Percy with art by Rapha Lobosco is a decent take on James Bond.
The story starts in the French Alps with James being targeted. When he sees the face of his intended killer, he must know more about her, but he is off on another adventure. Of course, you know she will show up again if you know much about James Bond.
The main story involves a villain who has secrets on the world leaders that he is going to use as blackmail. Bond wants to find it first, but there are other agents in on the hunt as well. There is also a scarred villain who makes masks of the people he has killed.
The story is breathtaking and cinematic in scope and pace. The art was nice and solid. I did have a problem with a couple odd story skips, but it only broke the rhythm slightly for me.
I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Dynamite Entertainment, Diamond Book Distributors, and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.
The story starts in the French Alps with James being targeted. When he sees the face of his intended killer, he must know more about her, but he is off on another adventure. Of course, you know she will show up again if you know much about James Bond.
The main story involves a villain who has secrets on the world leaders that he is going to use as blackmail. Bond wants to find it first, but there are other agents in on the hunt as well. There is also a scarred villain who makes masks of the people he has killed.
The story is breathtaking and cinematic in scope and pace. The art was nice and solid. I did have a problem with a couple odd story skips, but it only broke the rhythm slightly for me.
I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Dynamite Entertainment, Diamond Book Distributors, and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.
joshgauthier's review against another edition
4.0
*Advance copy received from NetGalley*
This is a definitely solid entry into Dynamite's Bond titles. Percy brings strong writing and the artistic style is engaging as well as consistent with what we've seen before in these comics. Furthermore, "Black Box" delivers everything one would expect from a Bond story - action, intrigue, dynamic settings, Bond women, classic villains. All of this plays out along with the modern influences that have shaped Bond in recent years. All in all, the story is well-constructed and engaging all the way through.
Indeed, it is adherence to Bond tradition that brings about most of this comic's shortcomings as well. The one main female character ultimately needs to be rescued. The villain is an outsider (to Bond and the British) with a disability. The secondary villain is a character-type we've seen before. As such, while this is well-constructed for a Bond adventure, it plays out by the numbers and does little to either set itself apart or address some of the inherent representational problems that tend to exist within Bond storylines.
This is a definitely solid entry into Dynamite's Bond titles. Percy brings strong writing and the artistic style is engaging as well as consistent with what we've seen before in these comics. Furthermore, "Black Box" delivers everything one would expect from a Bond story - action, intrigue, dynamic settings, Bond women, classic villains. All of this plays out along with the modern influences that have shaped Bond in recent years. All in all, the story is well-constructed and engaging all the way through.
Indeed, it is adherence to Bond tradition that brings about most of this comic's shortcomings as well. The one main female character ultimately needs to be rescued. The villain is an outsider (to Bond and the British) with a disability. The secondary villain is a character-type we've seen before. As such, while this is well-constructed for a Bond adventure, it plays out by the numbers and does little to either set itself apart or address some of the inherent representational problems that tend to exist within Bond storylines.
booknotes_athina's review against another edition
4.0
*Advance copy received from NetGalley*
I really enjoyed reading James Bond: Black Box. The story is very good and the designs that go along with it are amazing. I read it in one sitting and then went back to look at the designs in more detail.
The story is what a James Bond story should be and I really liked it. It had everything from action, villains to women and intrigues.
More reviews on my blog: http://booknotesbyathina.blogspot.com
I really enjoyed reading James Bond: Black Box. The story is very good and the designs that go along with it are amazing. I read it in one sitting and then went back to look at the designs in more detail.
The story is what a James Bond story should be and I really liked it. It had everything from action, villains to women and intrigues.
More reviews on my blog: http://booknotesbyathina.blogspot.com
jimboule's review against another edition
1.0
Le dessin et l'encrage, quasi enfantin, ne sont pas du tout à la hauteur des albums précédents et ne donnent pas envie de poursuivre la lecture au delà de quelques pages.
mamanda_ru's review against another edition
3.0
It was ok. It appeared they were trying to give James Bond the "Dark Knight" treatment, but for me it didn't work. It felt more like a dark, serious Archer episode than it did James Bond. Part of James Bond's charm comes from the ridiculous stunts and the cheesy lines. He doesn't need to be a dark alcoholic hit man.
micah_thelibrarian's review
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
depreydeprey's review against another edition
4.0
In an accompanying article included in this collection Percy says he is trying to meld Ian Fleming's tone with the more campy feel of the Roger Moore Bond films and thankfully he leans more towards Fleming in this collection. The book is moody and shadowy and pleasantly hops around the globe from action sequence to action sequence. I really liked it.
stevenk's review against another edition
4.0
In the Author Interview at the end of this collection of the six issue miniseries Benjamin Percy says he was influenced by the Fleming novels and the Roger Moore movies in particular and that is a good description of the feel of this story. Bond is sent on a mission to retrieve stolen electronic secrets from a mysterious Japanese technocrat and crosses paths with an assassin who steals his victims faces as well as a beautiful assassin who kills assassins. The art does a good job of conveying the action and I enjoyed the dialogue and overall story of international espionage with James Bond style.
willdrown's review
3.0
The Eduard Risso-ish art doesn't save this from being a drab and mediocre story with a weak villain, a hollow love interest, and a wholly unnecessary "deep" narration. Still, the colour palette is genuinely wonderful and the story isn't bad, just unremarkable.
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