Being a Bond fan, I was looking forward to this. Unfortunately, I felt cheated.

It was the Bond recipe, but missing the edge that makes James Bond, 007, the hero we all love.

Whether is was the gore or whether it just came across as very amateurish, I'm not sure.

Despite being written by the legendary Warren Ellis, I thought the weakest part of the book was the story; it's a decent plot, but the execution is strictly formulaic Bond. The true highlight of the book is Jason Masters' stunning art. The opening pages contain one of the most beautifully executed action sequences I've ever seen.

'James Bond, Vol. 1: VARGR' by Warren Ellis with art by Jason Masters is the start of a new comic book series about James Bond. The story moves quick and the art is quite good.

The book starts out kind of like the movies, with a small lead in story. In this one, James is in Helsinki on a mission of vengeance. When he gets back to London, he finds himself on a new case, and in the midst of some new rules. 00 agents aren't allowed to carry guns in England now which doesn't sit well with Bond. He also ends up in Berlin on one mission that turns into something completely different.

This is not the James Bond from the novels, and he's a bit rougher than in most of the movies. This is a Bond who speaks little and acts quickly and violently. There are pretty good action sequences which are easy to follow with the clean and clear art. But, when it was said and done, it felt like a standard action piece and not specifically a James Bond story. I look forward to seeing where they go with the series, but for now, I have to wonder if we need more James Bond stories.

I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Dynamite Entertainment, Diamond Book Distributors, and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.

Very basic plot, but I wouldn't expect a lot of detailed plotting in a graphic novel of this nature. Good artwork,though.

Starts off really well, but unfortunately, doesn't stick the landing. I, too, had high hopes for a Warren Ellis-penned James Bond story and it looks like he'll deliver, with cybernetic bad guys and a weird drug that's flooding the black market in England. Unfortunately, that's about the extent of it. I really wish Ellis could have pushed for something a bit more circumstantial and perhaps Global Frequency-level in his plotting, but maybe there are limits to what can be done with the property? The artwork was good and I was really enjoying this until I came to the very limp ending. Boo!