John McLusky and Yaroslav Horak’s art does a strong job capturing both action and locale — two essential ingredients in any Bond tale — though occasionally the newspaper strip format can get a bit confining. The McLusky drawn ski chase in “Secret Service” is neatly recreated (though, as with the movie, it stints a bit on the avalanche aftermath), while Horak’s treatment of the skin diving scenes in “Octopussy” and “Hildebrandt Rarity” provide examples of how comics can trump movie storytelling: where the movies’ underwater scenes can come across a bit sluggish, the comic strip can imply more frantic movement.
As for the artists' rendering of our hero, though the range of stories cover the history of Bond actors, the face the strip most recalls is one-shot George Lazenby. Seems apt to this Secret Service loyalist. Third volume in the omnibus series, set for later release in 2011, begins collecting Lawrence’s original stories, along with an adaptation of Kingsley Amis’ one book attempt to carry on the franchise after Fleming’s death, Colonel Sun.
As I noted in a review of a later collection of Lawrence and Horak Bond strips, the non-Fleming strips are enjoyable even if they do occasionally stretch the bonds of credibility. For purists, though, the first two volumes in this Bondnibus are the way to go.
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