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• Price: $4.99
• Rating: T+
• Pages: 40
• On Sale: February 21, 2018
• Writer: Declan Shalvey
• Artist: PJ Holden
• Colorist: Dearbhla Kelly
• Publisher: Dynamite Entertainment

From the publisher: James Bond’s superior, code-named M, scrambles MI6’s secret agents across the globe. Sometimes, he knowingly sends them to their deaths, for the greater good. But a traumatic event from M’s early days in the field returns to haunt him, forcing M to return to the scene of a crime…HIS crime.

Our WTComics WeView: I have to admit that I was a huge James Bond geek. I use the term “was” because I’ve found that Daniel Craig has turned me off of the property right now. I think due to the fact that James Bond hasn’t been as front and center as it used to be for me, I just haven’t gotten around to digging in to the Dynamite comics yet despite the fact that the new series of Bond comics have been on my list to read for a while. Because of this, I really didn’t know what I was in for when I picked up the M one shot. The question is whether there is comic book continuity to attempt to understand, or if you’ll feel like you are missing something the whole time you are reading the comic. I am pleased to say that none of this is true. Anyone, whether a James Bond fan or not could pick up this book and enjoy the story as it’s told.

This is a well-conceived, well written story about a moment in M’s past that is coming back to haunt him in the present. Declan Shalvey brings fantastic perspective to the story, and you can tell he understands the way the characters should interact, and how they could and should feel when certain situations arise. This story probably could have been drawn out over a four issue mini-series, but instead it is told in a tight one-shot that gives you an incredible amount of characterization on M within a relatively small amount of pages.

The art by PJ Holden is very well done, the panels are easy to follow, emotions are easily read, and he does a nice job illustrating the characters both in the present as well as the past. Holden has a real sense of how locations and buildings should look, and brings a feeling of authenticity to the art. But one of the real heroes of this comic is the coloring by Dearbhla Kelly. The past and present are well delineated by the color, as well the tones are muted during the darker scenes but occasionally broken up by a splash of contrasting color to great effect. As the book draws to a close, the colors shift once again to match the mood of the ending. Overall a really good looking comic.

The James Bond: M one-shot is a welcome look into the past of a fascinating character that certainly doesn’t get as much attention as agent 007 does. There is a lot of history in this book that I believe is well captured by the largely Irish contingent working on it. While not a James Bond story, there is certainly no shortage of intrigue and behind the scenes machinations in this comic to keep fans of the super spy happy. I was happy to see the quality of the book, and if the rest of them are similar, then they will easily jump to the top of my reading pile. Recommended.

Rating: Very Fine (VF) or 8/10

Review by Brett

Love the review? Hate the review? Disagree with me? I’m happy to talk comics on twitter @Brett_WeTalk

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