'History is moving pretty quickly these days, and the heroes and villains keep changing parts. In general, the Dynamite production is a pretty faithful adaptation of Fleming's original novel, and I think we'll see more coming out. The Dynamite crew makes Bond a bit more of a bastard, more of a tough guy, than the Seasn Connery version we love, but it (necessarily) tones down the sexism of the original Fleming without losing the sexiness, as Bond gets his girl.

Hey, I know how to play baccarat! It may come in handy if I ever got on a table at Monte Carlo! One central part of the action I liked is Bond's winning at high stakes baccarat to undermine the financial backing of some stakeholders in the story.

There's an added contemporary commentary in the text which is sometimes amusing, such as counting the dozens of cigarettes he smokes every day. The darker, muted visuals fit the tone of the original Fleming work (vs the glossy, debonair Sean Connery Bond, which I loved). James Bond: Casino Royale (2018) is a kind of illustrated novelization of Fleming's first 007 book, published in 1953, using quite a bit of Fleming's actual language to narrate it (rather than a graphic novel where the visuals tell much of the story. In 2019, he was awarded a grant from the Atlanta BeltLine to create “Up Hill” with artist Joshua Ray Stephens, a comic book public art installation that reimagined the myth of Sisyphus as a Looney Tunes cartoon.ĭynamite is doing two Bond-related things 1) new Bond stories for the present generation based on the spirit of original, darker, Fleming novels and 2) graphic novel versions of the original Fleming novels. In 2018, he created a comic book biography for Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams. In that role, he has traveled internationally to work with students and refugees, teaching them to share their stories through the medium of comics. In 2016, Jensen was named a Comic Book Ambassador by the U.S. His work can be thrilling, hilarious or terrifying, but it is always heartfelt. Jensen is known for creating fiction that combines mind-bending genre concepts with deeply emotional, character-centered stories that have earned praise from fans and critics alike. He also has co-created acclaimed series including Two Dead from Simon & Schuster/Gallery 13 (with National Book Award-winning artist Nate Powell), Cryptocracy from Dark Horse (with Pete Woods), and Pinocchio, Vampire Slayer from Top Shelf/IDW (with Dusty Higgins). He has written some of the world’s biggest characters, including James Bond and The Flash, Superman, Wonder Woman and the Green Lantern Corps for DC Comics.

He became a newspaper crime reporter, then a magazine editor, and eventually an author of comic books and graphic novels. Van Jensen was born and raised in the farm country of Western Nebraska where he wrote and drew stories as soon as he could hold a pencil.

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