By Justin McCarty

Dynamite continues its revival of the James Bond mythos in comic form in this six-issue arc called Black Box. This series has had a lot of praise for its ability to tell some pretty terrific stories so far. Unfortunately, I think this was one of the weaker runs in the series. All the components are there. The Aston Martin, obligatory girl, exotic locations, an ugly megalomaniac, the gadget that saves the day, and of course there's Q -- except he is called Boothroyd in this story, as in Major Boothroyd from the first movie and the sixth novel. None of it really comes together, however.

James Bond is in the French Alps, doing what an assassin does when he is beat to his target by a beautiful and mysterious woman. With his mind on her, he is sent out on a mission to find and destroy a data drive holding all of the world's secrets before an evil Japanese mogul uses it to destabilize the world. He wants to bring Japan back to its former world power glory. And that is pretty much the plot. A very standard James Bond story.

There is an undercurrent of emotional scarring that attempts to connect Bond to his girl for story telling purposes, but it is all rather surface and on the nose. Ian Fleming created a world where scarring was inherent to the nature of the characters. There was always some outward flaw that reflected the ugliness inside. Blofeld had a scarred face. In the books, James has a scar on his cheek. I’ve liked that the current stories took care to render that for us. All the villains have a grotesqueness to them.
Dr. No had metal hands. Scaramanga a third nipple. None of these things have to be discussed, it’s part the illustration of who they are on the inside.

My objections to the character’s emotional conflict notwithstanding, there was a lot to love about this James Bond story. Visually, we got a near-perfect look of a high-stakes world of espionage. Everything is sexy. Japan is bright. The action scenes were exciting even if they felt a little short or cut off. Maybe I just wanted more. With all that action and dazzle the eye could get lost but the layouts never let you lose your place. Really, you don’t come to a Bond story necessarily for the emotional conflict. You come for the action. (If you want action and emotional conflict try reading From Russia With Love or for a deep look into an emotionally scarred James Bond read On Her Majesty’s Secret Service.) 

Black Box is a mixed review for me. I love James Bond. I want every story to be the best one ever. I can be a little biased as a fan that way, too. There was plenty to distract me from the fun of this story. The plot devices were not subtle. The Black Box is a literal box, really. The emotional conflict of the characters scars lacked subtly. I thought it was cool at first that they called Q Boothroyd, but it was said so much it was eventually distracting. I really wanted the action and bad guys to make up for all that. It just never quite got there.

All that said Black Box is still a pretty fun read. If Ben Percy and Rapha Lobosco show up on another James Bond story I’d pick it up. Also, I’d hate myself if I didn’t mention Dominic Reardon’s covers, they were amazing.

Score: 2/5

Jame Bond Black Box
Dynamite Comics