James Bond: Hammerhead

James Bond (Dynamite Entertainment) #3

by Andy Diggle, Luca Casalanguida (Artist)

James Bond is assigned to hunt down and eliminate Kraken, a radical anti-capitalist who has targeted Britain’s newly-upgraded nuclear arsenal. But all is not as it seems. Hidden forces are plotting to rebuild the faded glory of the once-mighty British Empire, and retake by force what was consigned to history. 007 is a cog in their deadly machine – but is he an agent of change, or an agent of the status quo? Loyalties will be broken, allegiances challenged. But in an ever-changing world, there’s one man you can rely on: Bond. James Bond.

Dynamite proudly presents James Bond: Hammerhead, collecting the thrilling six-issue mini-series by acclaimed writer Andy Diggle (The Losers, Daredevil, Detective Comics) and featuring the illustrations of rising star Luca Casalanguida.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Fiction, Thriller, Espionage, Comic Book, Adventure

120 pages, Hardcover

First published May 3, 2017

About the author

Andy Diggle is a British comic book writer and former editor of 2000 AD. He is best known for his work on The Losers,Swamp Thing, Hellblazer, Adam Strange and Silent Dragon at DC Comics and for his run on Thunderbolts and Daredevil after his move to Marvel.

In 2013 Diggle left writing DC's Action Comics and began working with Dynamite Entertainment, writing a paranormal crime series Uncanny. He is also working on another crime series with his wife titled Control that is set to begin publishing in 2014.

Reviews

[Matthew · Rating 5 out of 5]

A couple of years ago they started releasing a new James Bond graphic novel series. I have read the first couple of them and I was not all that impressed. Because of this, I did not have high hopes for Hammerhead.



I was pleasantly surprised! This has been the best of the series so far by far! I enjoyed both the story and the art quite a lot. The action really had the essence of both the book and the movie series. It felt like coming home.



One big thing with James Bond is that it has to be the right combination of intriguing storyline, action, and cheesiness. For the previous two volumes at least one of these three things was way out of balance and messed up the whole experience. With Hammerhead, I found the perfect triangle.



So, if you are a Band fan, I do recommend this volume. But, I would only read the first two volumes if you are a hardcore Bond completist.

[Sam Quixote · Rating 4 out of 5]

Spinning off from Warren Ellis’ James Bond series, creators Andy Diggle and Luca Casalanguida take 007 on a new adventure in Hammerhead. A villain called Kraken is targeting Britain’s nuclear arsenal with plans to wipe out London - here comes Bond to save the day! Bah da bah baah, bah da daah!

This was great! Diggle ticks all the Bond boxes with effortless style and panache: dramatically-named villain and evil organisation, exotic locations, lots of violence involving guns and death, dry martinis, sexy times with a bombshell, sharks, and a flashy car with gadgets. It’s also a very entertaining action thriller that’s fast-paced and exciting to read. Newcomer Luca Casalanguida’s art is excellent too - I’m sure he’ll get more gigs off the back of his impressive work in this book.

The only flaw for me was Kraken’s endgame to blow up London. I just don’t get how that’s good for their business or makes Britain “great again” (an obvious slight against Trumpy). Targeting London with a nuke and using Hammerhead, a giant railgun, to blow up the nuke before it hits, yes, but the plan was to just nuke London and then they’d make loads of money…? Sorry, that’s just dumb. Everything else worked for me but Diggle couldn’t stick the villain’s motivation.

Otherwise, James Bond: Hammerhead is a stonking good comic that fans of Bond or great action comics in general will definitely enjoy. It’s also good to know that with Warren Ellis now off Bond, there’s at least one writer like Andy Diggle around to keep up the new quality line of Bond comics.

[Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

"My friends call me 'Tory.'" -- Victoria Hunt

"Then I'd hate to hear what your enemies call you." -- James Bond

"I have no enemies." [pause] "None remain." -- Hunt

"Clearly you're a force to be reckoned with . . . " -- Bond

This installment the 007 graphic novel series, Hammerhead, now features DC and Marvel veteran Andy Diggle at the helm, taking over the reigns from reliable scribe Warren Ellis after the excellent two previous volumes. The only really noticeable changes in tone are an uptick in the unapologetic violence - this one features some particularly harsh moments (I lost count at how many people are shot in the head, to name only one example), which would all but guarantee an R-rating if it would be part of the enduring film series - and a fair number of plot points and/or details, without a doubt referencing James Bond's cinematic adventures, that will strike a familiar chord in longtime fans' memories. (The short list I complied includes his prior Royal Navy service in The Spy Who Loved Me, a group of mysterious but friendly smugglers from For Your Eyes Only, the victim-turned-duplicitous woman in The World Is Not Enough, and the U.K. government being targeted for destruction, which is a common thread used in many of the films from the last twenty-five years.) If it sounds like I'm complaining I'm not - it was briskly paced with just the right amount of action and suspense.

[Dave Schaafsma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Andy Diggle and Luca Casalanguida pick up the third volume after the two Warren Ellis-Jason Masters volumes. The first was that team’s feeling their way into how to do Bond in a contemporary world, and with the second volume they figured it out. This third volume I like second best of the three, maybe 3.75. Casalanguida’s art work has Bondish flair. I love Francesco Francavilla's classy covers. The story—Ooh, Kraken, a conservative organization, plans to nuke London?--is not really all tat memorable, but the action within the story is fun and it’s all Bond, though with less clever than Ellis’s dialogue. The Bond girl is worthy of expectations, a real femme fatale! And Hammerhead satisfies our Bond-induced taste for powerful weapons. Dry martinis, fast cars, wicked wild women, what more can Bond fans want? Get on the bus!

[Chad · Rating 4 out of 5]

Andy Diggle and Luca Casalanguida continues Dynamite's great run of James Bond comics. You get everything you'd expect from a Bond film, gun fights, maniacal villains, exotic locales, beautiful women. Luca Casalanguida may be a newcomer to the scene but I'm guessing we'll be seeing more of his artwork soon. It's great.

Received and advance copy from Dynamite and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this from Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.

Really digging this minimalist approach to James Bond. Story is good, artwork is good. More, please!

[Craig · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not quite up to par with Warren Ellis' work on the title, though for most of its running time, Diggle's story isn't terrible. Still, it is a bit needlessly complicated, and ultimately builds to an endgame that just doesn't make a lot of sense: somehow, destroying London will strengthen the British empire? What the what? Nice art from Luca Casalanguida, though it might have been nice to see what Diggle himself could have turned in artwise. Still, this is a fairly strong entry in this series. Interesting to see where Benjamin Percy takes us next.

[Frédéric · Rating 4 out of 5]

Would have been near perfect if not for the villain's feeble motivations and weird plan to go there what use is nuking London to "make Britain great again"? .

Apart from that Hammerhead is a very solid action-packed book.
Diggle portrays a very decent Bond- for once not totally alone to pursue his mission- and maintains fast pace throughout. Moneypenny is close to the latest movies of the series (Craig's) and agreeably surprised me as being more than simply M's girl friday.

Luca Casalanguida pencils the book and does a very good job of it. His dynamic style is perfectly suited and remains clear and legible all the time.

More 3,5* than 4 because of Kraken's not very convincing masterplan but a very nice read nonetheless.

[Nikki in Niagara · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the third volume in Diggle's new take on Bond and was just as good as I had been expecting. This is a great series and this volume is action-packed from start to finish. There isn't a lot of characterization (we all know the main peeps anyway, don't we?) as the story focuses on plot and action; lots of action. I love this Bond! He's modern set in a modern world but very much the classic, smooth, no bars held Bond of yesteryear. The lady villain is so very much a wonderful "Bond Girl". The art is classy suiting the atmosphere and to sum up: I loved everything about this volume. Each book is its own individual plot from start to finish and I can't wait for another to be published.

[Jesse A · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really great Bond story.

[Sud666 · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hammerhead was ok. An organization called KRAKEN has stolen a nuclear missile and plans to nuke England. But all is not as it seems and there might be someone or something else behind it. Things really come to a header when M, the Defense Minister and Moneypenny end up getting kidnapped.

This could have been really good, but the plot is rather hokey. The smuggler with a heart of gold (also this 60 yr old throws a combat knife 25 yards to spear someone? yeah?), the beautiful blonde he has to sleep with that will cause trouble and even stupid Moneypenny- see in the newer Bond the SJWs turned Moneypenny into a badass. Not only is she a secretary but also to protect M. Ok. Fine..I'm down. But when push came to shove (shoot M so he doesn't divulge info), instead of doing her duty (and it would have kept it a Mexican standoff as M couldn't be shot due to the info he had) she falls for the emotional bait of being accused of sleeping with Bond. She promptly withdraws the weapon (which she had perfectly against M's head) to be an emotional and unprofessional idiot and gets shot in the shoulder. Good thing 007 was there or you really would have shit the bucket. Well done.

So no. This story lacked a lot. The art is never inspiring in this series but it is not putrid. Andy Diggle-try harder next time.

[Derek Royal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Diggle and Casalanguida‘s Hammerhead is an impressive, and adventure-packed, follow-up to Ellis’s first magnificent volume of Dynamite’s James Bond series.

[BookishDramas · Rating 5 out of 5]

This six part Bond graphic novel or comic book as you choose to call it by Andy Diggle has all the elements that make Bond movies the most awaited spy movies in recent times. It has the visuals fit for the big screen and a story that has a sting, all of which are expected from a Bond extravaganza. In the spectrum of spies, Bond probably ranks higher than all other spy capers. There have been many from the times of Ian Fleming till date and probably Ethan Hunt of the Mission Impossible movies would come the closest in terms of success though in terms of recognition, would not hold a candle.
I mean "Shaken not stirred" or "the name is Bond, James Bond" spoken with utter suaveness is one of the most recognized and copied dialogue, right up there with Hasta la vista baby.
That is the popular pedestal on which the character finds itself. Expectations from the series, be it books, movies or graphic novels, are sky high.

This book Hammerhead, is not about a shark although there is the august presence of a shark but is about a new super weapon that has been developed by Britain. Rail guns are technological marvels which in real life has turned out to be a tough nut to crack and as yet unfeasible.
Here we have Britain having developed one and we have an unknown threat in control of the same.
Not getting ahead of the story, the book starts with a night sortie by Bond in true movie style and a lot of bloodshed, earning his license to kill.
But in the overall situation, Bond blunders in the assignment to capture a Hacker who is an important cog in a giant wheel known only as the Kraken, having links to the terrorist and is grounded.
What's with Bond stories and sharks, while having nothing to do with the name we have a very vivid presence in the scene where Bond has got hold of one of the assassination team and while trying to get him to identify the brains behind the assassination of Hunt, the shark takes centerstage and gulps the person whom Bond is interrogating and he dies with a word in his lips hoping for salvation by Bond. He doesn't get support from Bond but the word clue remains.

Following this debacle, M assigns Bond to a mollycoddling assignment, bodyguard to an arms dealer, Owner of Hunt Industries and a weapon contractor of the state including what we find later Q branch; where while he is being Bond, flirting with the dealers daughter, his responsibility is terminated abruptly in a successful assassination attempt.
Continuing his bodyguard responsibility now transferred to the daughter, Bond proceeds to get seduced and a romp in the hay, scratch that, a romp in a state of the art Airplane, owned by Hunt Industries.
Bond now consumed with finding Kraken gets a lead in Yemen, a smuggler who works with Kraken and lands in the hostile territory and we have a unique incident.
Bond cars which are probably the most cherished vehicles in the planet turns rogue and tries to kill him. This is a nicely put storyline with Bond's car going all Christine on him (Christine as in the movie, car possessed). Bond survives practically with the skin of his teeth and is also captured.
We have seen Bond stories with unlikely alliances and another works here with the smuggler.

Parallelly the world has gone to hell while Bond gets sunburnt in Yemen. M with Moneypenny and the corrupt British Minister of Defense are kidnapped while visiting Hunt industries and we come face to face with Kraken, the prodigal daughter. Her team have also managed to capture nuclear warheads and she has plans to destroy London. The British minister also gets his just dues from her men, shot in the head.
Kraken and her group start holding Britain at ransom, years of dabbling in the defense contracts of the realm have given them unfettered access to all defense info and files. Their tech and hacking capabilities have them controlling much of Britain's arsenal.
There is quite a lot of blood and killing in the book and we view Bond as a ruthless killing machine.
Moneypenny is in a robust avatar out of office and chaperoning M as her personal guard. She exudes strength and a latent violent streak very like Bond's in her brief field appearance. Here we see this streak as she takes charge to be the protector of M and more importantly his brain which contains all sensitive information of the realm. She goes to the extent of threatening to kill M when critically outnumbered and out maneuvered by Kraken. Her flirts with Bond in M's office are legendary both in the books and movies, so is it here.
The book brings some nice surprises for the reader with key characters behaving diametrically opposite to what is expected from them.
The Bond car for instance, his eternal partner in crime and an all-round all-weather and all-terrain protector in several movies and books working against him due to a hacked chip is a beautiful crime in itself. The scene reads like payback for the times Bond's antagonists have suffered surprises due to the cars. The scene also underlines its importance in the overall scheme of the story.

In the last chapter of the book, Bond from far-off Yemen reenters the fight into offshore Scotland with a HALO to a submarine that is amongst the few ships that are near the Offshore facility where the arch villain, i.e. villainess Kraken aka Hunt Industries heiress is cooped up with M and Moneypenny as hostages.
The Kraken targets the submarine with the rail gun, annihilating it. Bond makes the appearance at the rig and confronts Kraken and saves the day.
The story presents very strong visuals of a Bond extravaganza with 007 himself an utterly ruthless version of his traditional self as written in the books but never seen before in the movies.

Loved the book, loved the visuals, loved the storyline.
Recommend this as a good read.

[Memphis Evans · Rating 5 out of 5]

You know how some James Bond action sequences are absolutely, over-the-top, spectacular and impossible yet they are presented as realistic and Bond doesn’t react emotionally in the slightest, just delivers a horrible pun and goes on with his life? This book embraces that to the Nth degree and I loved it for that. This was my favorite one yet in this series. There are great character moments for M and Moneypenny as well.

It seems like the art teams on this series have a basic image for Bond, but then every so often skew his look to intentionally evoke one of the various actors who’ve played Bond over the years. I’ve noticed panels in which he looks just like Connery, Brosnan, Craig, Dalton, or Moore.

I was concerned when the whole creative team changed over (except the letterer) after issue 12, but lo and behold, a pretty good book became even better.

[Chad Jordahl · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like the story well enough. Cool, Bond-esque action. I think the dialog could be better. There's one scene where a couple of bad guys talk to each other in broken English, but of course they would actually speak to each other fluently in their native language.
The line art is fine-to-good (although sometimes too cartoonish for the material, for my taste), but I do not like the colors. One specific feature I dislike is the heavy use of Photoshop gradients. And this bugs me: in one scene we see a character's face heavily splattered with blood and then the next time we see the character two pages later the blood is gone, never to return.
Moneypenny is awesome.

[Judah Radd · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Bond comic! Andy Diggle and Luca Casalanguida are spot on with the details. Bond doesn’t drink tea. Bond smokes Moreland cigarettes with 3 gold rings. Etc. This is a wonderful blend of cinematic fantastical 007 and hard boiled literary 007. It’s tight too. The pacing kept me hooked and the six issues went by fast.

Great read for a Bond fan!

[Ondra Král · Rating 3 out of 5]

Na Diggla docela tuctovej akčňák bez výraznějších zvratů (ten jeden nepřekvapí). Zabaví, ale vracet se k němu nebudete.

[Alice · Rating 3 out of 5]

I got this as part of the Bond comics Humble Bundle, which I'm working my way through when I remember I own it. I wasn't quite on board with the way Bond is drawn, and the story was fairly straightforward, but the occasional line of dialogue, and the final scene, was so spot on it made me grin.

[Dimitrije Vojnov · Rating 3 out of 5]

Diggle u ovom stripu pravi malo tipičniju Bond avanturu ali čini se da na ovom prostoru ponovo ima vrlo svedenu priču, sa dosta očiglednim a opet on bi voleo - fundamentalnijim preokretima. Crtež je nešto konkretniji i manje stilizovan nego u drugom Diggleovom radu sa istim umetnikom ali i dalje to je strip koji dobro izgleda, iako je Bond u njemu nažalost najbezličniji lik, i pripovedački ali i grafički.

[Theresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

James Bond: Hammerhead (Hardcover)
by Andy Diggle
James Bond is the man of action, he has all the skills but it is those who support him like Money Penny that will show that he has a mission and a reason to be alive. For when James Bond finds that not all villains are easy to recognize it is Money Penny that saves him in the end.

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

Trying to work out if this is the first graphic novel I've ever reviewed. It might well be!

I'm a huge Bond fan, both the books and movies, so it was interesting to see how well it translated to the graphic novel format. Have to say I was impressed - a very authentic-feeling Bond story, plenty of action and nice one-liners thrown in.

Will definitely be looking out for more of these in future.

[Ken Janisch · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great, as always. I find it amazing that a graphic novel can convey the style, elegance and action of the James Bond universe. The story was creative and well plotted. You read these books and feel like you're in a movie. I highly recommend them all!

[Audrey Stars in Her Eye · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this compilation of the James Bond comics. The art was suited to the story and it hit every James Bond requirements from miraculous rescues, sexy women, and lots of explosions.
Bond is after Kraken an anti capitalist organization who is invested in Hunt Enterprises and their deadly weapons. Bond travels the world to take down the villain.
I can say that I was glad to read it as a graphic novel instead of individuals issues. The issues ending wouldn't have made m e anticipate the next issue. But I did like the momentum it built up when they were all compiled.
I received a copy for review from Net Galley

[Will Robinson Jr. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had a lot of fun with this book. Andy Diggle of Green Arrow: Year One fame has taken over writing duty of the James Bond series from Warren Ellis. The book right away feels different but still carries the cinematic tone that one would expect reading a James Bond comic book. I did have a little gripe with the book. I just felt that the plot and the villain's identity in the story was just a little to predictable. This did not completely ruin my enjoyment of the book. This comic has some of the most well paced action panels I have ever read. The story was a easy and fast pace arc to read. Diggle has established the feel for the world of 007 he is going create going forward. We do get a bit more depth to Money penny and M in the book as well. The artwork and colors work great with the story although it looks a bit cartoony/campy at times. I really enjoyed the book and I am looking forward to reading the next volume. Don't miss these great Dynamite Entertainment comics as well: James Bond, Vol. 1: VARGR, James Bond, Vol. 2: Eidolon, Kirby: Genesis! - Captain Victory, Volume 1, Flash Gordon Omnibus, Vol. 1 and Batman/The Shadow: The Murder Geniuses*

[Becca · Rating 4 out of 5]

I greatly enjoyed the plot line of Hammerhead. It felt like the Bond I grew up with and enjoyed. Great artwork as always. Can't wait to see where they take Bond next in Blackbox.

[Devin · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's hard to express, but this feels like a Bond story. It has sly gunplay, the occasional witty saying, a villain set to trouble the world and even Bond working with honorable ne'er do well smuggler types. The art is crisp, with great flow for the action scenes and the color palette worked well for the murkiness of the spy game. Recommended.

[Michael Emond · Rating 2 out of 5]

So the first two volumes were done by Warren Ellis (my fav writer in comics) and now we have Andy Diggle - no slouch himself. This isn't a bad story, in fact it is a fun Bond story but it isn't anything that is really new or exciting and just can't compare to the Ellis Bond volumes in terms of excitement or creativity or capturing the feel of Bond.

Just a basic - bad guy wants to take over the world and Bond has to stop him. An entertaining diversion but, as I said, nothing new. The art is good but not great. Read it if you are a Bond fan but read the Ellis volumes first.

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you are a fan of James Bond, then you will enjoy this graphic novel. It has all the usual things you would find in a 007 story: evil organization and badly named villain, sexy women, gadgets, and lots of action. It is fast paced and fun to read. And you know Bond always saves the day, but does he get the girl? I enjoyed this one.

[Alex Sarll]

The Ellis/Masters James Bond comics were good, but they were very much Warren Ellis doing James Bond. Whereas with Andy Diggle writing, this is just pure James Bond. Sex, gadgets, terrifying doomsday weapons. Staggering locations leading to outlandish demises (unlike Moffat and Gatiss, Diggle and Casalanguida know all about Chekhov's shark). Drinks snobbery. A plot which is simultaneously excitingly OTT, topical, and ultimately fails to make much sense (but only in ways which don't really matter given it still takes you to a suitably Bond movie denouement - cf the last vaguely decent Bond film, Tomorrow Never Dies). True, I could have done with a little more in the way of callous quipping, but otherwise this is exactly what you want, the films as they'd exist in a 21st century where Dalton wasn't derailed too soon and found a suitable line of heirs. It helps enormously that artist Luca Casalanguida has a little more mystery and sheen, a little less flatness than his predecessor; they say the beauty of action comics is that you don't have to worry about the budget, but Hammerhead looks like it cost at least ten times what Vargr or Eidolon did to film.

(Edelweiss ARC)

[Richard Dobson · Rating 1 out of 5]

I didn't know how to rate this graphic novel, because it is almost perfect in every single way - except for one - the most important one - the lunatic far far faaaaaar leftist storyline.
The author is quite clearly an antifa-loving communist, which unfortunately just ruins it, because the mood and tone and art and everything else is pitch perfect.
But to spit in the face of Ian Fleming - who was an arch-conservative - (his best friend was Tory Prime Minister Anthony Eden) like this is unforgivable.
If you want to have a leftist hero; by all means, go ahead and create one yourself. A new one - a different one.
But to subvert an established hero like James Bond from the way Fleming wrote him into the exact opposite is just cowardly. Have some respect for greatness. Have some respect for the past. Have some respect for the dead.