James Bond Vol.1: Vargr

Ok then, for the third day of my recent holiday I decided to read the first volume of the Dynamite reimagining of 007 James Bond, entitled Vargr.

Day three's read of James Bond's first volume; Vargr, as told by the great Warren Ellis and Jason Masters, follows Britain greatest super spy who, after getting revenge for the murder of a colleague, inherits said colleagues active cases. However, the first case on this list turns out to be a lot more complex than the simple drug smuggling ring that it first appeared, with Bond coming up against a maniacal doctor and his artificially enhanced, bloodthirsty henchpersons.

Now, I had high hopes for this trade because, as fortune would have it, I got the opportunity to review the initial first issue for Pipedream Comics. Because of this, and the good impression that issue left with me, I decided to put this on my wish list to pick up, which I did a few months back when Dynamite had a sale on Comixology.

Fortunately, these high hopes were not in vain as I found this first trade to be absolutely fantastic and the highlight of my week so far (in regards to comic reading). Everyone knows how great Warren Ellis is, but I think he really pulls the cat out of the bag and really nails both the world and character of Bond. I have to admit I did find it odd how obnoxious the entire cast is when compared to some of Bond's movies but, then again, these are personality traits originally seen in Flemings novels and it fit the story and the idea of Bond to the letter.

But, what was truly fantastic was Masters' artwork. I love his style on this book, with his pencils looking so clean and sterile that it just imbues Bond's character. I'd also have to say that Coupling that with Guy Major's colours really made the whole book look 60's esque and more in line with the classic Bond films. I should also point out that I think Bond looks exactly like Bond should look, not like any one actor and more like Sterling Archer, with a little bit of Timothy Dalton and Daniel Craig maybe.

This trade was a perfect contained story and I could happily have left it there. However, I really loved this James Bond series and kind of wish I'd picked it up as single issues. Therefore, I'm totally going to pick up the next trade and maybe even the Hammerhead mini which came out another time (once I can find the money).

In the meantime though, book four, which I'm thinking maybe the classic Gotham a Central (volume 1 of it anyway).

Star Wars: Vader Down

So, for day two of my recent holiday, I decided to follow through with my choice at the end of day one.

Day two saw me read Star Wars: Vader Down.

A crossover between Star Wars and Darth Vader, this event saw Vader, having tracked Luke Skywalker to a remote planet, forced to crash on that very same planet by that very same farm boy. Now, with no way to escape and no way to call for help, the Dark Lord of the Sith must go toe to toe with a Battalion of Rebels, including the regular Star Wars cast and the son he came looking for.

Going into this, I was in two minds about where it would go. The Darth Vader series had been great thus far, but it's arcs also seemed to be on a sliding scale, enjoyment wise, while the Star Wars series, which was also good, just didn't do it for me. For me, it could go either way.

Thankfully, I really loved this event. Once again, Vader was shown off as an incredibly bad ass character, both highly intelligent and physically imposing, who you could believe deserved the reputation he no doubt had. These comic series really sell me Vader far better than the film's did and once again he came off strong here.

Of course, he wasn't alone in this, as Aphra was also pretty cool after she felt underplayed in volume two, with her back and forth with Han Solo keeping me entertained. I again also loved the evil droids and their interactions not only with each other but also their more heroic counterparts.

Meanwhile, the Star Wars cast were written pretty well too but didn't quite appeal to me as much as the Vader cast did. This would certainly seem to confirm that the Dark Side is definitely better when it comes to Marvel's Star Wars books.

The art, on the other hand, was no where near as one sided. I absolutely adored both Deodata and Larocca's art on this arc, with displaying some truly gorgeous stuff throughout. What I loved most was Deodata's space fight splash pages which were just gorgeous (with the afterbattle splash looking so tragically beautiful, while Larroca, whose Vader depiction I already love, has to, hands down, draw the most beautiful and accurate faces of the Star Wars cast of characters bar none.

I really enjoyed Vader Down as it was full on Star Wars action at its best. I'm kind of wishing I could afford the next Vader volume now as I'm eager to get back onto that story, but I'm also a little curious about the Star Wars side (particularly the hints about Kenobi's diary) and how it had gotten here (and where it goes next).

However, both of these ill table until I can maybe afford their comics in future.

For now, I have other trades to read, of which the first volume of Dynamite's James Bond will be for holiday day three.

Darth Vader vol. 2: Secrets and Shadows

For this last week I've been on holiday, a nice little trip to North Wales (it's surprisingly quite nice, if rather wet) with my wife and son.

It's also a trip which has allowed me to take an iPad full of trades which I have yet to read through, with the sole intention of burning through them at the rate of one a night. I also decided that I would write about my thoughts for each one of these trades and then post them at a rate of once a week (unless something else got in the way).

So night one was Darth Vader volume 2: Secrets and Shadows

Volume two picked up from where volume one left off, with Vader having learned of the existence of his son as well as new Jedi-like weapons created by the emperor, continuing with his plans to capture the former and return to the right hand slot of the former. However, all doesn't seem that easy with his every move monitored by Grand General Tagge, the Emperor's current right hand man, while relying on the dnagerous support of Dr. Aphra and her droids.

Now I've got to admit that, despite my real love of the first volume, this second arc didn't really grab me in the same way. That's not to say that this volume was particularly different, because it wasn't, it's just that the plot felt a lot slower, with a lot more intricate parts. I think the problem with it was that now the objectives had been fully explained, these issues were kind of the planning phase of the entire, series long story arc, which I assume meant they'd be naturally slower.

That's not to say that this isn't still a good book as Gillen really writes some incredible characters which more than make up the slower story for me. Chief among them has to be, naturally, Darth Vader himself who I find to be vastly more dangerous thanks to this book than how he is portrayed over six films. I think this series shows Vader as more just a saber wielding monster but as a highly intelligent, incredibly cerebral man/machine who could, quite possibly match anyone in the galaxy in terms planning. Also, I love the two droids in this series, as both provide some great levity thanks to some incredibly gruesome and twisted humour.

But, for me, what I really love about this book is the art. I previously said how the CGS geeks keep praising Salvatore Larocca's art and after twelve issue, I'm glad to say I totally get it and am on board with those views. Larocca's art is amazing from start to finish, but I really go nuts over his depiction of Vader who he manages to draw with such menace in a face that is nothing but a mask. This alone makes me think the book was worth buying.

Like I said at the start, volume two isn't as good as volume one, but it still has enough good in it to keep me onboard. I can only hope that Vader Down doesn't cause its quality to drop further due to it being a crossover.

Well, I'll find out tomorrow as I think I'll read that for day two.