James Bond's origin comes to comics in 2015
Dynamite Entertainment now has a license to kill.
The comic-book publisher announced Tuesday that it has obtained the rights to publish comic books featuring iconic British secret agent James Bond from Ian Fleming Publications, the company holding the copyrights for Fleming's 14 Bond books and other publications. Dark Horse Comics last held the license and released comics in the 1990s.
Dynamite can publish original stories as well as adaptations featuring 007, and it's planning to first launch a series next year focusing on Bond's origin and early career before he first appeared in Fleming's 1953 novel Casino Royale.
The character has a long history in comics dating to newspaper strips in the 1950s, Corinne Turner, managing director of Ian Fleming Publications, said in a statement. "Dynamite are the perfect partners to take on the challenge of continuing this legacy.
"Now more than ever it's an exciting time to be a Bond fan."
Bond has become a legend in the movie industry as well, with Sean Connery, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan and most recently Daniel Craig all playing the man of action on screen since Dr. No in 1962.
But under the deal, Dynamite can add new characters to the mythology while also digging into Bond's uncharted history and fleshing out his cast of megalomaniacal masterminds, colorful henchmen and the ever-present Bond girls.
"The Bond villains are some of the most memorable figures in popular culture. Where did they come from? And in some cases, where did they go?" said Dynamite editor Mike Lake.
However, the inherent charm and continuing lure of Bond always goes back to Fleming's work, according to Nick Barrucci, Dynamite CEO and publisher.
"The original prose storytelling serves as the basis for one of the most successful film franchises ever, a franchise that reinvents itself to be in tune with each generation," he said.
"We are excited to build upon Fleming's source material with new canonical stories, and are honored at Dynamite to be a small part of his legacy, to be able to bring new stories to fans around the world."