"In shaking off their garish modern continuity to take us back to James Bond's childhood, Dynamite Comics managed to produce their first worthy entry of post-Fleming 007 material. James Bond: Origin tells a simple, well-illustrated story of Bond's experience growing up during World War II, covering the missions he embarked upon which shaped him into a legend and resists bogging itself down with obnoxious modern politics and cringe-worthy humor. Taking the present day out of the equation managed to fix almost all the issues I've had with Dynamite Comics thus far. We'll see if they can keep it up."

""This one's for Clydebank!"--James Bond

Origin, Volume 1 is the seventh in the Dynamite series updating James Bond for the new millennium, even as we await a black female Bond in the film series. And one couldn't imagine a more different volume from the sixth, post-colonial text by Ales Kot (that ŷ������ readers liked least so far, but I liked very much) and this sort of straightforward chronological origin story by Jeff Parker that establishes Bond's patriotic foundations (I guess the crusty, Scotch-soaked cynicism in Bond comes later).

In 1941 Bond is going to school in Scotland when he experiences first hand the Clydebank Blitz, a Luftwaffe attack on Scottish ship yards, and thereupon joins the Royal Navy. He's smart and fast and strong, so he is directed by his superiors to spy work, but he's not yet Secret Agent Man with that License to Kill. We see his careful development in all areas of combat and surveillance and then we see him in a series of three, one-issue adventures, including his time on a sub in the process of destroying a German destroyer with (this happens later) a stolen German fighter plane. The preposterousness of the action is quite the point in a Bond adventure. He's a version of Captain America; he's Captain Great Britain.

But you're wondering what about the women? How is he as a lean young gorgeous man with the ladies? In another story, "Isabel," the title character, a young Portuguese girl, helps the young Bond fight the local Nazi infiltration, "helping" in some ways that we have come to know so well, va va voom! So, yeah, the debonair Bond is attracting women at a very early age, no surprise. Another short piece, "A Train to Catch," which appeared in Playboy (perfect for Bond, eh? that fifties pin-up style) features babe Esmee as the "centerpiece" (though have no fear, the sex is as ever off-screen in Bond stories) in James's effort to blow up a Nazi transport train. (What do you mean, was he successful??! Have you no idea who the future 007 is?!) Both women are not just sex objects, I note, as they really are instrumental in the action as are so many "Bond women."

The art from Bob Q is period-appropriate, sepia-toned in places, perfect for WWII. Finally. I like and appreciate both Kot's post-colonial critique of Ian Fleming's sexist, racist, imperialist world and Parker's straightforward case for his patriotism and militant stance, responding as most would do to the attack on Great Britain. They both make good cases for their views, and tell good stories.

Incidentally, I also just read Kyle Higgins' The Dead Hand, also a kind of spy thriller comic about Brits and Russia, WWII, the "origin story" of another MI6 operative. Parker's story is better, in my view, but if you like WWII spy stories.. . ."

"It's 1941, a teenage James Bond enlists in the British Navy after surviving a bombing raid. He's also recruited into what will become the OSS. We see his time as a midshipman on a submarine before he's ever sent into the field as an agent. I think that's what I like most about this series. Bond is not yet his debonair, swaggering, infallible self yet. He has doubts. He's still trying to figure things out like any teenager. He makes mistakes. Bob Q's art is perfect for this series. It has the slightest stylistic, cartoon look to it with enough grit and action for a WWII book. Hopefully, we'll see more of Bond's WWII adventures from this creative team."