Dynamite Entertainment has announced Eisner Award-winning writer James Robinson (Squadron Supreme, Scarlet Witch, Starman) and artist Aaron Campbell (Harley Quinn, Uncanny, Sherlock Holmes), with the permission of Ian Fleming Publications Ltd, will team up for a new James Bond coming book miniseries spotlighting Bond’s friend and ally in the CIA, Felix Leiter.
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In the new series, “Felix Leiter — now operating as an independent investigator — finds himself in Japan, tracking down a beautiful Russian spy from his past. But when the mission takes a turn for the worse, he will discover that there are more deadly schemes taking shape in Tokyo… and beyond!”
“Felix Leiter is a fantastically interesting character,” says writer James Robinson in a statement. “He combines the best elements of the James Bond universe with the dark alleys and darker deeds of crime fiction. A private detective, done with a life of spying, who is constantly dragged back into that world, like it or not. I’m excited for readers to see the tale of intrigue and big action that I’ve dreamed up for Felix.”
“We are incredibly fortunate to be working with such talented creators and great properties. When it comes to James Bond, the character is both an icon and a great property, and we’ve worked with very talented creators, including Warren Ellis and Andy Diggle, to capture the very essence of literature’s greatest spy on the comic page. Now, to work with James Robinson on an immediate follow-up to his current original Dynamite series, Grand Passion, is extremely rewarding,” says CEO and Publisher, Nick Barrucci. “When we approached him about writing this particular Bond series, we knew he was the perfect writer to bring this character to comics in Fleming’s original voice. This is a must-read series for any James Bond fan.”
“I’ve been a lifelong fan of James’ writing and it’s beyond a thrill to be working with him on not one, but two comic book projects this year,” says Joseph Rybandt, Executive Editor at Dynamite. “The expansion of the 007 comic book world this time out focuses on his American counter-part, Felix Leiter, and sends him into Japan. It’s a trip all Bond fans are going to want to take this January!”
Robinson has won multiple Eisner-awards. His breakout work was his 1994 Starman series for DC Comics, which reimagined the Golden Age character for a new generation of readers. Robinson has since become known for giving fresh takes to classic concepts, as seen in his runs on Justice Society of America, Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight, Hawkman, and more. He’s also had critical success with his creator-owned series Leave It to Chance for Image Comics and the limited series Justice League: Cry for Justice, and wrote the screenplay for the 2003 film adaptation of Alan Moore’s The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.
Aaron Campbell has worked for Dynamite as an interior artist on The Shadow and Green Hornet. He was also the artist on Andy Diggle’s Uncanny.
Felix Leiter first appeared in Ian Flemming’s very first James Bond novel, Casino Royale, in 1953. Leiter appeared in Live and Let Die, Diamonds Are Forever, Goldfinger, Thunderball, and The Man with the Golden Gun. Originally a CIA operative, Leiter has begun to work for Pinkertons as a private detective when Bond encounters him in Diamonds Are Forever, and is hired by the Agency for certain missions in the later books. In Live and Let Die, Felix is the victim of a shark attack in which he loses part of his right arm and left leg, sporting prosthetic limbs during his subsequent appearances. In this new miniseries, we meet Leiter post-injuries and working independently from the CIA at his own detective agency.
James Bond: Felix Leiter #1 will be solicited in Diamond Comic Distributors’ November 2016 Previews catalog and is slated for release in January.
