By Justin McCarty

James Bond: Solstice, Dynamite’s winter one-shot is out and does not disappoint. This story takes Bond out of his normal duties to do a favor for M. I was reminded of Ian Fleming’s short stories, with their low key plots and smaller stakes. From A View to a Kill comes to mind. Frequently in James Bond stories, the writer will try to throw everything that is James Bond at the story, often turning it into a paint-by-numbers affair. At least that’s how I felt about the last James Bond comic I read. This story gave us a distinctly Bond story without the cliche’. Everything is here but done in a creative and subtle way. I haven’t had a chance to read all the one-shots, but if they are all as good as this I’ll have to correct that soon.

Solstice has M send James on a mission that he is definitely overqualified for. But when the mission involves the potential corruption of an MI6 agent, M wants the best. 007 must track down and eliminate a rogue Russian operative courting a young woman, it’s believed he will use her to gain access to her loved one working inside MI6. Using some great elements to tell the story, Solstice shows 007 finding his man, tailing him, and ultimately taking him down. 

Stylistically, Moustafa is spot on. Maybe my favorite looking Bond story yet. He makes motions and the layouts move. The pacing carries you along, keeping you glued to the page. The figures have just the right level of cartooning. The tone is extremely important in a James Bond story and a hard thing to get right. Tonally, Bond can swing from light and jokey to dark and serious, all in one story, and it must be done smoothly. Thanks to Boyd’s colors, Solstice nails it. 

I’m still not sure what the purpose is for calling Q Boothroyd. Maybe it is to meld the novels and the movies better? (The first few movies weren’t sure what to call him either.) Q or Boothroyd isn’t a character Fleming intended for us to care about. Otherwise, he would have made him more than a brief plot device in one book, rather than just referring to the Q-branch. It’s the movies that made us love him. I prefer Q. Maybe it’s time he got his own one-shot. Give a team a chance to turn him into more than a one-dimensional character, with a backstory and a full name. Flesh out the character.

Moustafa makes this book so much fun to look at. The subtle touches on James’ movements, the way he stands or waves his hand, all coming through perfectly in the linework. The best panel is on page twenty, where his line work really stands out. In the first panel, James is turned as the Russian comes down him, his hand just pulling his Walther from its holster. There’s no wonder Moustafa is Eisner nominated. The colors really stand out when we get to see Moneypenny decorating the office Christmas tree. The warmth between her and James comes through in the touches of gold highlighting the two. Solstice is a quite comic, so the dialogue is spare; where the letters shine is the little deets, beeps, kliks, and wrrrrs, every little letter telling so much story.

Solstice is subtle at times, understated even, with a fantastic emotional arc, but it’s still a James Bond story. It’s out now. Pick it up today!

Solstice is even one of the best story names yet.

Score: 5/5

James Bond: Solstice
Dynamite Entertainment