James Bond: Himeros

James Bond (Dynamite Entertainment) #14

by Rodney Barnes, Antonio Fuso (Illustrator)

Himeros is the Greek God of sexual desire and one of the Erotes, the winged gods of love. When Aphrodite was born from the sea-foams she was greeted by the twin loves Eros and Himeros.

But when sexual desire goes too far, it takes the legendary super-spy James Bond to bring justice to the most vulnerable among us as he investigates the suspicious death of an accused sex trafficker - one whose ties run deep... and deadly.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Thriller, Adventure

120 pages, Hardcover

First published August 30, 2022

About the author

Comic book writer

Reviews

[Bill · Rating 1 out of 5]

Dynamite have published some good James Bond graphic novels, but this isn't one of them. The story is dull, the artwork equally so, & Himeros adds a new dimension to the word boring.
Even if I could forgive the writer for letting 007 refer to someone as "a bloke" this feels like someone has been asked to write a James Bond story having never read a Bond book or even seen a Bond film. An unforfivable travesty.

[Iain · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5* Dynamite's James Bond series are becoming increasingly hit or miss, and this one falls into the latter category. Taking a story ripped from the headlines, and doing nothing to try and hide it, Bond spends a lot of time protecting, and making excuses for, a very dubious woman. The artwork starts off well, but suffers with a change of artist for the latter parts and becomes increasingly disjointed.

[Robert · Rating 3 out of 5]

The basis for a good story is here, but the execution is flawed. The art is closer to pencil sketches than finished work, and the ripped-from-the-headlines plot pulls too many punches to be either entertaining or topical.

[Alex Sarll]

A James Bond story about Epstein, which I imagine might elicit varied reactions. Personally, I was keen; after all, the last good Bond film was about a Maxwell/Murdoch composite, so there's a case for the series doing well when it has specific real world monsters in mind, instead of rather vague embodiments of capitalism and terrorism and such. Plus, writer Rodney Barnes has form on addressing society's sore spots through a genre lens, as in his Image series Killadelphia, which uses vampires to explore race and inequality in America. Of course, there he also has stunning visuals, whereas here, as is too often the case with Dynamite's Bond stuff, those gorgeously evocative Francavilla covers hide rather clunky interiors from someone less celebrated, here Giorgio Pontrelli. More than that, though, there's a sense of something off about Bond himself. Pulling the comics back from the gadget-heavy era of the films is one thing, but showing him at a car hire place seems too far the other way, and if it's understandable that he's going light on the flirtation when he's been tasked to escort the story's Ghislaine stand-in, his relationship to the whole business still feels a little too uncomplicated:
"I've been to every corner of the world. Met every type of human being there is to know. The kind I've encountered the most are the bad ones. The bastards couldn't care less about their fellow man. Or woman. I've wondered at times if it's evil that motivates these men. The crimes going beyond mere greed to cruelty. Believe the maths of this world is primitive in nature. The strong prey upon the week. Of course, that's not news. But the world is changing. What was once accepted in the darkness has been pushed into the light. That's what gives me hope."
Would a secret agent really be so keen on an end to secrets? And that's even before we get into some of the dodgier behaviour in Bond's past (although, of course, maybe not this Bond's past), or any suspicion that perhaps Her Majesty's Government might not want the whole truth about this sort of thing brought to light, what with Her Majesty's favourite son and all. Speaking of which, I know we do have under secretaries of state, but would you introduce one as such, ie "Under Secretary Seneda is here"? And while Barnes and/or the editors did well to remember maths not math in that earlier quote, I'm not convinced they quite landed the Britishism in "I'm going to Wilhelm's island. Even with Sarah, we'll need more evidence to bring down the big blokes."
Still: the very fact that the villain of the story really had an island base is enough to reaffirm it as Bond territory, isn't it? Granted, here it's shifted to the Pacific, and has a laser defence grid which may or may not be under the control of that woman who may or may not have been just as guilty as the billionaire financier who – at least in this version – definitely didn't kill himself in custody. The island also seems to bring Bond back to himself, such that after spending too much of the story on the back foot, suddenly he's killing all and sundry with ease because he's more peeved, to the extent that even for the genre it ends up stretching credibility. This was an interesting idea, but the execution doesn't show anyone involved at their best.

[Darcy · Rating 4 out of 5]

As you know, there are different iterations of James Bond, each with its own group of adherents. Some prefer the gadgets, others the over the top action, while others are more true to the original that Fleming crafted, which is an agent reliant upon his intellect and instincts. I am firmly in the latter camp and is why I enjoyed this book written by Rodney Barnes. This is not a story with a megalomaniac bent on world domination, (And if these guys have the money to build lairs inside of volcanoes, just what more do they want anyway?), rather is about Richard Wilhelm, a billionaire pedophile who "kills himself" in his jail cell. (Hmm... sound familiar?) However, there are others who were linked to his exploitative crimes that would prefer their identities to remain secret. This is complicated somewhat by the now extinct criminal's right hand assistant, Sarah Richmond, knowing about all the skeletons. Now another criminal, an arms dealer, tainted by his association, needs her removed, permanently. Enter 007.

What I found enjoyable about this story was the fact that it was really Bond against the assassin sent to eliminate Sarah. This is a cat and mouse game while at the same time Bond is trying to obtain the evidence that will put a lot of privileged folks behind bars. There are some terrific ruminations where James contemplates why he does what he does and why he is so ruthless in performing his tasks. At the same time his relationship with Ms. Richmond is complicated by her associations with Wilhelm meaning she is not truly an innocent in his activities. Deep stuff and compelling.

Sure there are gun fights, fisticuffs, car and boat chases, even a new type of gun for the baddies, all making this a secret agent romp. But peel away the layers and you have a more soul searching story that reveals more about the man and that makes this a compelling read.

[Dimitrije Vojnov · Rating 3 out of 5]

Posle čitanja nekoliko James Bond stripova iz pera najeminentnijih autora a samim tim pretpostavljam i sa crtežom kvalitetnih crtača, jedna od stvari koje postaju očigledne jeste fundamentalni problem ovog koncepta jer se o serijalu ne može govoriti.

Najveći problem je i u crtačkom, pa i pripovedačkom pogledu sam Bond.

Nažalost, on iz stripa u strip ne uspeva da dobije dobar vizuelni ali ni karakterni identitet. Stilovi crtača se razlikuju i samim tim problem variranja Bonda od stripa do stripa nije problem, ali se on u samim stripovima razlikuje od panela do panela, i na kraju ovo su stripovi u kojima super-negativci sa manjim nego megalomanskim planovima, uglavnom, zapravo nose radnju.

Kako u formatu koji čine heroji, a samim tim i superheroji, niko još (a da ja znam) nije uspeo da dešifruje kako uraditi Bonda kao vizuelno i fabularno protagonističnog heroja ostaje ozbiljno pitanje.

Ova kontemplacija sasvim slučajno zapala je baš na strip Rodneya Barnesa, na njemu sam stekao taj utisak i zaokružio ga, ali sam HIMEROS je daleko od najslabijeg strip-Bonda. Zapravo ripped from the headlines priča inspirisana Jeffreyem Epsteinom je vrlo potentna, i pokazuje iskrenu zainteresovanost autora - nažalost nije razrađena u zadovoljavajućem pravcu.

Naime, slučaj Epstein vapio je za malo interesantnijom razradom iz ugla Jamesa Bonda, naime neko promiskuitetan i okružen lepoticama bi zapravo morao biti bitno investiraniji u takvu priču, verovatno kao (nesvesni) vinovnik njegove delatnosti.

Barnes nije sposoban da uprlja Bonda na taj način, možda nije ni spreman i time propušta dobru priliku da realnu formu kriminaliteta iz stvarnosti obradi iz vizure agenta 007 kod kog seks igra veoma važnu ulogu.

[Andrew Ives · Rating 3 out of 5]

Himeros is not a long story, spanning 5 comic books. Although this is a Bond story, it could just as easily be Diabolik or Bourne or anything of that ilk, as many of the Bond elements - the Aston Martin, Martini, Walther PPK, gadgetry, corny jokes after a villain meets their end - are absent, and there is no mention of any previous missions or villains to tie this in either. Like the movies, there is plenty of action, with gunfights and fistfights every few pages, which is arguably too much and makes for a sparse read. The plot is quite clearly based on Jeffrey Epstein's demise and, I think, is rather too grubby and heavy a theme for a lightweight Bond story, let alone a comic book such as this. I also found the artwork rather patchy: The 5 covers have an appealing retro style, but I wouldn't say they were wonderfully well-drawn. However, the 5 variant(?) covers in the back are rather better and more eye-catching, even more suited to this story, than the Fleming-era styled artwork. Some of the story panels are very nicely-drawn, yet others seem really quite 'lazy' by comparison. Himeros is ok, just a little grubby and disappointing. 3/5

[Donald · Rating 4 out of 5]

“But with all things, there’s a price to pay.”

This volume is a Bond-ian take on the Jeffrey Epstein case. 007 is bit more preachy than I've seen in the past, but the action is good and the story is well paced. In fact, it read a little too fast and was over before I was ready for it to be! It doesn't delve too much into the sex trafficking issue, but it very much seems based on the basic events of the Epstein case. A good 007 story!

"Himeros is the Greek god of sexual desire and one of the Erotes, the winged gods of love. When Aphrodite was born from the sea-foams she was greeted by the twin loves Eros and Himeros."

[Steve · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have to admit I had trouble getting into this story as the plot revolves around a Jeffry Epstein type financier, the arms dealer working to get that information, and main "Bond Girl" is his assistant. The art was spare but conveyed the action well but I didn't feel like Bond really had a plan and the premise that the secret information on the island hadn't been discovered felt odd as people came and went from the island at will, all world governments feeling that if it is left undisturbed it's ok? Reprinting James Bond: Himeros issues #1-5.

[Neil Wright · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although the story felt a bit of a Jerry Epstein rip off the comic was good on the whole.

Maybe not as James Bond storyline as you would expect and the baddy wasn't as impressive as previous installments but another good read.

Impressed with what dynamite continue to churn out and looking forward to the 2024 titles.

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

Skirting very closely to the real life Jeffrey Epstein case, Himeros sees Bond involved in bringing rich 'untouchable' sex traffickers and their client base to justice.

Not the worst story in the series, but far from the best, and the artwork lacked the crispness of some of the earlier instalments.

[Dakota Morgan · Rating 1 out of 5]

Barely a short story's worth of material here. Generic Bond has to keep a generic femme fatale safe from a generic crime lord. There's an island and a bunch of goons. The bad guy gets his comeuppance and Bond is safely single by the end. Nothing to see here.

[Tim]

I read this as individual issues.

[Tony Drummond · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a quick read and under whelming. My main problem was that this felt like a generic action story rather than having the Bond feel. Story and visuals were OK but not anything memorable.

[Jesse A · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent story but the art was a little hit or miss.

[Bill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rounding out my latest comic book foray, I liked this one even though it seems it has been critically panned. It was a fifty minute siesta on a Saturday afternoon that I found satisfying. It takes a controversial ripped from the headlines type scenario and applies it to a Bond story. It is kind of thin and there are some animation issues that make things confusing, but it worked for me.

[Christian Evangelista · Rating 2 out of 5]

Setting aside all politics, it’s a wild swing for IFP to put out a story that’s clearly based on Jeffrey Epstein and has Bond protecting a Ghislaine Maxwell-expy. The interesting idea about video games with embedded intelligence data is introduced and then quickly dropped. The sex trafficking story is an interesting thought but I’d have preferred to have it told through one of the other girls, similar to Sevrine in Skyfall, rather than through Sarah Richmond. All in all the story is probably my least favorite of the Dynamite run. It doesn’t give us anything really new, nor exciting. The artwork is at least good, but that doesn’t make up for the story deficiencies. 2/5 stars.