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Meet James Bond (Daily Express)

The Daily Express is a tabloid newspaper that began publication in 1900, with a Sunday edition under the name "The Sunday Express" launched in 1918. In 1958, the paper began to run a comic strip based based on the James Bond property, written by Anthony Hern, Henry Gammidge, Peter O'Donnell and Jim Lawrence over the run of the series. The series was illustrated by John McLusky and Yaroslav Horak. Starting in 1958 and continuing to 1983, 007 appeared in 52 comic strips that were syndicated in British newspapers, 7 of which were published abroad.

James Bond Comic Strip[]

Art by John McLusky[]

Fleming007impression

Fleming's commissioned impression of 007

McLusky007

John McLusky's rendition of secret agent 007

In 1957 the Daily Express, a newspaper owned by Lord Beaverbrook, approached Ian Fleming to adapt his stories into comic strips. Ian Fleming at the time was reluctant to allow this because he felt the strips would lack the quality of his writing and could potentially hurt his series while he was still authoring them. Ian Fleming wrote:

"The Express are desperately anxious to turn James Bond into a strip cartoon. I have grave doubts about the desirability of this... Unless the standard of these books is maintained they will lose their point and I think there I am in grave danger that inflation will spoil not only the readership but also become something of a death-watch beetle inside the author. A tendency to write still further down might result. The author would see this happening, and disgust with the operation might creep in."

Regardless, Fleming later agreed and the first strip Casino Royale was published in 1958. The story was adapted by Anthony Hern who had previously serialized Diamonds are Forever and From Russia with Love for the Daily Express. The illustrations of the strip were done by John McLusky who would later go on to illustrate 12 more James Bond comic strips with partner Henry Gammidge until 1966.

CasinoRoyaleComic

The opening panel to Casino Royale. Illustration by John McLusky.

To aid the Daily Express in illustrating James Bond, Ian Fleming commissioned an artist to create a sketch of what he believed James Bond to look like. John McLusky, however, felt that Fleming's 007 looked too "outdated" and "pre-war" and thus changed Bond to give him a more masculine look.

The majority of the early strips were adapted by Henry Gammidge, however the adaptation of Dr. No was handled by Peter O'Donnell, a couple of years before he launched his legendary strip, Modesty Blaise.

In 1962 the Daily Express abruptly cancelled their agreement with Ian Fleming when a dispute between Lord Beaverbrook and Fleming erupted over the rights to the short story The Living Daylights. Fleming had sold the rights to the Sunday Times, a rival newspaper which upset Beaverbrook to the point of terminating his relationship with Fleming. The dispute caused the comic strip adaptation of Thunderball to come to an abrupt end. Thunderball was actually never finished; however, a few additional panels were later added for syndication in other newspapers to expand and conclude the story. Lord Beaverbrook and Ian Fleming would later work out their differences and the comic strip serial would continue in 1964 with On Her Majesty's Secret Service.

Art by John McLusky
Title Writer Date Serial no.
Casino Royale Anthony Hern July 7, 1958 - December 13, 1958 1-138
Live and Let Die Henry Gammidge December 15, 1958 - March 28, 1959 139-225
Moonraker Henry Gammidge March 30, 1959 - August 8, 1959 226-339
Diamonds Are Forever Henry Gammidge August 10, 1959 - January 30, 1960 340-487
From Russia with Love Henry Gammidge February 1, 1960 - May 21, 1960 488-583
Dr. No Peter O'Donnell May 23, 1960 - October 1, 1960 584-697
Goldfinger Henry Gammidge October 3, 1960 - April 1, 1961 698-849
Risico Henry Gammidge April 3, 1961 - June 24, 1961 850-921
From A View To A Kill Henry Gammidge June 26, 1961 - September 9, 1961 922-987
For Your Eyes Only Henry Gammidge September 11, 1961 - December 9, 1961 988-1065
Thunderball Henry Gammidge December 11, 1961 - February 10, 1962 1066-1128
On Her Majesty's Secret Service Henry Gammidge June 29, 1964 - May 15, 1965 1-274
You Only Live Twice Henry Gammidge May 17, 1965 - January 8, 1966 275-475

Art by Yaroslav Horak[]

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Yaroslav Horak's rendition of James Bond

In 1966 Yaroslav Horak replaced John McLusky as the artist for the Daily Express comic strip series and adapted six more Ian Fleming James Bond novels and short stories as well as Kingsley Amis' Colonel Sun with partner Jim Lawrence. The Living Daylights was also republished in the Daily Express after first appearing in the first edition of the Sunday Times magazine on February 4, 1962 and in the American magazine Argosy in June of the same year under the title "Berlin Escape."

With the success of The Man with the Golden Gun Horak and Lawrence subsequently went on to write and illustrate twenty original James Bond comic strips for the Daily Express after being granted permission by Ian Fleming's Trust.

Art by Yaroslav Horak
Title Writer Date Serial no. Main Villain
The Man with the Golden Gun Jim Lawrence January 10, 1966 - September 9, 1966 1-209 Francisco Scaramanga
The Living Daylights Jim Lawrence September 12, 1966 - November 12, 1966 210-263 "Trigger"
Octopussy Jim Lawrence November 14, 1966 - May 27, 1967 264-428 Maj. Dexter Smythe; Yat Foo; Kim Foo
The Hildebrand Rarity Jim Lawrence May 29, 1967 - December 16, 1967 429-602 Milton Krest
The Spy Who Loved Me Jim Lawrence December 18, 1967 - October 3, 1968 603-815 Horst Uhlmann; Madam Spectra; Mr. Sanguinetti
The Harpies Jim Lawrence October 10, 1968 - June 23, 1969 816-1037 Simon Nero
River Of Death Jim Lawrence June 24, 1969 - November 29, 1969 1038-1174 Dr. Cat
Colonel Sun Jim Lawrence December 1, 1969 - August 28, 1970 1175-1393 Col. Sun Liang-Tan
The Golden Ghost Jim Lawrence August 21, 1970 - January 16, 1971 1394-1519 Felix Ignace Bruhl
Fear Face Jim Lawrence January 18, 1971 - April 20, 1971 1520-1596 Ferenc Kress
Double Jeapordy Jim Lawrence April 21, 1971 - August 28, 1971 1597-1708 Fritz Kumura; Pujar
Starfire Jim Lawrence August 30, 1971 - December 24, 1971 1709-1809 Luke Quantrill
Trouble Spot Jim Lawrence December 28, 1971 - June 10, 1972 1810-1951 Baron Sharck
Isle Of Condors Jim Lawrence June 12, 1972 - October 21, 1972 1952-2065 Niccolo Uccelli
The League Of Vampires Jim Lawrence October 25, 1972 - February 28, 1973 2066-2172 Xerxes Xerophanos
Die With My Boots On Jim Lawrence March 1, 1973 - June 18, 1973 2173-2256 Benny 'the Barber' Pignelli
The Girl Machine Jim Lawrence June 19, 1973 - December 3, 1973 2257-2407 Sheikh Harun El-Adar
Beware Of Butterflies Jim Lawrence December 4, 1973 - May 11, 1974 2408-2541 Attila
The Nevsky Nude Jim Lawrence May 13, 1974 - September 21, 1974 2542-2655 Sir Ulric Herne
The Phoenix Project Jim Lawrence September 23, 1974 - February 18, 1975 2656-2780 Kazim
The Black Ruby Caper Jim Lawrence February 19, 1975 - July 15, 1975 2781-2897 Herr Rubin
Till Death Do Us Apart Jim Lawrence July 7, 1975 - October 14, 1975 2989-2983 Stefan Radomir
The Torch-Time Affair Jim Lawrence October 15, 1975 - January 15, 1976 2984-3060 Carmen Perez; Ricardo Auza
Hot-Shot Jim Lawrence January 16, 1976 - June 1, 1976 3061-3178 Mr. Huliraya (Dr. No)
Nightbird Jim Lawrence June 2, 1976 - November 4, 1976 3179-3312 Ferdinand Polgar
Ape Of Diamonds Jim Lawrence November 5, 1976 - January 22, 1977 3313-3437 Hartley Rameses

Other James Bond comic strips[]

In 1977 the Daily Express discontinued their series of Bond comic strips, although Horak and Lawrence went on to write and illustrate several other James Bond adventures for syndication abroad in Europe, for the Sunday Express (the Sunday edition of the Daily Express), and the Daily Star. Additionally, John McLusky returned to team up with Jim Lawrence for five comic strips.

The 1983 strip Polestar was abruptly terminated by the Daily Star midway through its run and was not completed, although the complete story did appear in non-UK newspapers and was followed by several more complete serials before the James Bond comic strip officially came to an end.

Title Artist Writer Date Serial no. Main Villain
When The Wizard Awakes Yaroslav Horak Jim Lawrence January 30, 1977 - May 22, 1977 1-54 Attila Toth
Sea Dragon Yaroslav Horak Jim Lawrence
1977
55-192 Magda Mather
Death Wing Yaroslav Horak Jim Lawrence
1977-1978
193-354 Matteo Mortellito
The Xanadu Connection Yaroslav Horak Jim Lawrence
1978
355-468 Kubla Khan; Tekla Brent
Shark Bait Yaroslav Horak Jim Lawrence
1978-1979
469-636 Col. Yurogin
Doomcrack Harry North Jim Lawrence February 2, 1981 - August 19, 1981 1-174 Madam Spectra
The Paradise Plot John McLusky Jim Lawrence August 20, 1981 - June 4, 1982 175-378 Gabriel Starovsky (Father Star)
Deathmask John McLusky Jim Lawrence June 7, 1982 - February 2, 1983 379-552 Ivor Nyborg
Flittermouse John McLusky Jim Lawrence February 9, 1983 - May 20, 1983 553-624 Dr. Cat
Polestar John McLusky Jim Lawrence May 23, 1983 - July 15, 1983 625-719 Robert Ayr
The Scent Of Danger John McLusky Jim Lawrence
1983
720-821 Madam Della Rosa (Madam Spectra)
Snake Goddess Yaroslav Horak Jim Lawrence
1983-1984
822-893 Vidyala
Double Eagle Yaroslav Horak Jim Lawrence
1984
894-965 Wulf Ehrnt

Titan Books reprints[]

007GoldfingerComic

2004 Titan Books anthology reprint of Goldfinger

Since first publication in the Daily Express, the comic strip adaptations have been reprinted several times. First by the James Bond 007 International Fan Club, in the early 1980s. Then annually, from 1987 to 1990, by the British Titan Books company in anthologies, beginning with The Living Daylights to tie-in with the release of the eponymous James Bond film.

First Titan Books series[]

  • The Living Daylights (June 1987) — includes: The Man with the Golden Gun and The Living Daylights
  • Octopussy (March 1988) — includes: Octopussy and The Hildebrand Rarity
  • The Spy Who Loved Me (June 1989) — includes: The Spy Who Loved Me
  • Casino Royale (July 1990) — includes Casino Royale and Live and Let Die

Second Titan Books series[]

Beginning in 2004, Titan reissued these anthologies in larger, revised editions, and also began reprinting stories that hadn't been featured in the earlier books. With a more frequent publishing schedule than the first series, to date seven books have been released with more scheduled. These volumes include new introductory chapters on the history of the strip and the Bond novels, and most of the books have also included special introductions written by Bond film actors, specifically Caroline Munro (The Spy Who Loved Me), George Lazenby (OHMSS), Shirley Eaton (Goldfinger), Eunice Gayson (Dr. No), Roger Moore (Casino Royale), Maud Adams (Octopussy) and Britt Ekland (Colonel Sun). Titan's comic strip reprints were not initially published in the strips' original publication order; this changed as of the release of the The Spy Who Loved Me volume.

  • The Man with the Golden Gun (February 2004) — includes: The Man with the Golden Gun and The Living Daylights
  • Octopussy (May 2004) — includes: Octopussy and The Hildebrand Rarity
  • On Her Majesty's Secret Service (August 2004) — includes: On Her Majesty's Secret Service and You Only Live Twice
  • Goldfinger (November 2004) — includes: Goldfinger, Risico, From A View To A Kill, For Your Eyes Only, and Thunderball
  • Casino Royale (February 2005) — includes: Casino Royale, Live and Let Die, and Moonraker
  • Dr. No (May 2005) — includes: Diamonds Are Forever, From Russia with Love, and Dr. No
  • The Spy Who Loved Me (August 2005) — The Spy Who Loved Me and The Harpies
  • Colonel Sun (December 2005) — River of Death and Colonel Sun
  • The Golden Ghost (April 21, 2006) — The Golden Ghost, Fear Face, Double Jeopardy, and Starfire

The Harpies, included in The Spy Who Loved Me, is the first non-Fleming-based Bond comic strip to be reprinted as well as the first original story. River of Death, in the Colonel Sun collection, is the second original story to be published (Colonel Sun itself being an adaptation of the first post-Fleming Bond novel). The Golden Ghost, announced for an April 2006 release, is the first collection comprising all-original stories. By 2011 they had released each of the Daily Express strips in paperback form, and in 2015 they began to publish the strips based upon Fleming's work in large hardcover editions.

See also[]

External links[]

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