borg

Prior to 1989 the only James Bond that ever made it to comic books were standard adaptations, like an early comic book version of Dr. No.  With the film Licence to Kill starring Timothy Dalton as Bond, writer/artist Mike Grell, known for his work on Green Arrow, Warlord and Jon Sable, was asked to create the adaptation.  Before entering the comics world in 1972, Grell had worked in the military as a member of the U.S. Air Force based on Asia.  According to stories he shared at a convention a few years ago, he served in several capacities, including intelligence work, which filtered throughout all his best comic book projects.  Each of his characters has a bit of James Bond in them.  So it’s not surprising that Eclipse Comics asked Grell to create a new Bond story in comic book form after his successful Licence to Kill adaptation.  Grell’s Permission to Die was the first James Bond graphic novel not adapted from one of Ian Fleming’s original Bond stories, and although Dark Horse would later license Bond for comic book stories, it is Grell’s that stands out as the truest to both the original novels and the films.

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