World Comic Book Review

26th March 2024

James Bond 007: Hammerhead (Review)

James Bond 007: Hammerhead Dynamite Entertainment, August 2017 (collected edition) Writer: Andy Diggle This is our second look at US publisher Dynamite Entertainment’s license of Ian Fleming Publications’ world famous character, the British spy James Bond. Our previous review related to the story “Vargr”, written by Warren Ellis. (Our third critique, to come, will double … Read more

Allies #1 (Review)

Allies #1
Bubble Comics, March 2017
Writer: Natalia Devova

“Allies” is a new comic book series from Russian comic book publisher Bubble Comics. The new series focuses on the character Nika Chaikina, who used to be a master thief-cum-secret agent working under the code name Red Fury (the character featured in our article on Russians in Comic Books), tasked with finding the Holy Grail, an important relic from Arthurian legend.

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Russians in Comic Books

As tensions between the West and Russia have dramatically increased in the past year, so too has the characterisation of Russia in Western comic books.

As we discuss below, most of Western comics’ attention this century has been directed towards the menace of the Soviet Union and its state-sponsored spread of communism as an ideology and a system of government antithetical to Western democracy and capitalism. But in the past five years, particularly, there is a new orientation towards perceptions of Russia in comic books.

In addition, we also take a quick look at the contemporary Russian comic book industry, and its penchant for copying American concepts.

1. Vladimir Putin and Post-Soviet Russia

A brief rundown of the geopolitical sequence of events leading to where we are now is worthwhile:

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Injection Vol 1 (Review)

“Injection” Vol 1 (review)
Image Comics, July 2016
Writer: Warren Ellis

British writer Warren Ellis has been intensely prolific over the past year, penning the following titles:

a. “Trees“, another Image Comics publication;
b. James Bond – Vargr;
c. a title for Marvel Comics, “Moon Knight”;
d. another title for Marvel Comics, “Karnak”;
d. a novel entitled “Normal”.

“Injection” is the latest from Mr Ellis, and it consists of his trade mark dense concepts and dry wit. But Mr Ellis is treading on old ground in other ways, too.

If you were to squint long enough, “Injection” is a blurred, fuzzy, contemporary and bleaker version of Mr Ellis’ wondrous title, “Planetary” (1998-2009, Wildstorm Comics). In “Planetary”, three (and sometimes four) archeologists explore mysteries each of which have a core in popular culture. These range from pulp heroes from the 1930s to Japanese monster movies to American and English superheroes.

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