Dynamite Entertainment Brings Ian Fleming's 'Casino Royale' To Life

When Dynamite Entertainment, a comic book publishing company, made the announcement in October 2014 that they have acquired exclusive rights to publish comic books and graphic novels based on the James Bond franchise licensed by Ian Fleming Publications that owns the intellectual property and the literary rights to the eponymous character, the firm's senior editor, Joseph Rybandt revealed that, while there are going to be two separate timelines to withhold the series, one contemporary and one period piece, a faithful graphic novel adaptation of Ian Fleming's first Bond thriller, Casino Royale was also being scripted by an undisclosed writer.

That project - of course - was officially announced in July 2016, adapted by Van Jensen, and illustrated by Matthew Southworth, with an original schedule set for November 2016 release. Months went by as well as the first standalone miniseries debuted by that time, no word was heard from the graphic novel front. Responding to a fan tweet, artist Matthew Southworth stated that he had parted ways with the project due to "creative differences" while claiming he'd love to work on the James Bond series if given the chance, again. So the adaptation went delayed and left without an artist at the time.

Preliminary artwork by Matthew Southworth

In June 2017, Dynamite announced that Dennis Calero, known for his work on titles such as Legion of Superheroes and X-Men Noir, was going to serve as the artist for the graphic novel adaptation of Ian Fleming's Casino Royale. The cover artwork was also revealed, delivered by Fay Dalton, whose legendary work was previously provided with to The Folio Society editions of the original James Bond novels by Ian Fleming. Initially set for October release, the project experienced further delays in order to persuade the effort into perfection. Preliminary artwork by Calero however was showcased in black and white back in July, earlier this year. Yesterday, Dynamite offered a preview of finished pages of the title in full color, accessible only to those who purchase a bundle containing every published comic book based on the James Bond franchise by the company itself.

Preview Pages from Casino Royale by Dennis Calero

It appears from the preview pages that there is quite a work of decency provided with to this title, and as one stares into the panels, the novel's pages flash before one's eyes. Stellar work, to say the least. It's also very apparent that artist Dennis Calero modeled the character of James Bond after Michael Fassbender, a fan favorite actor among the Bond franchise community who was strongly desired to be the person to take over the role from Daniel Craig when the latter calls it quits. But, Craig will still be Bond until 2019, till the next film comes out. Back to Dynamite's Royale, it also appears M (Sir Miles Messervy, head of the British Secret Service) is modeled after the first actor who played the character in Eon Productions' film series, Bernard Lee, as well as his office being quite the same. Overall, things are going rather smoothly under the team's efforts. The date, however, is still unspecified. But, Calero hopes the graphic novel to come out in late December 2017. It would make a lovely Christmas present.

Casino Royale cover artwork by Fay Dalton

On other notes, as an aside, collected hardcover editions of Black Box and the spin-off Felix Leiter starring the eponymous character are made available to purchase. The penultimate issue of the currently ongoing miniseries, Kill Chain was also released yesterday, leaving the one last epic chapter to come out at the end of the next month. Andy Diggle and Luca Casalanguida still manage to deliver a heart-throbbing and exciting James Bond thriller that live up to all the fantasies of a secret agent fan. Next week, Ibrahim Moustafa's one-shot comic book titled Solstice will oversee its release, which holds expectations of a rather highly promising experience. James Bond Will Return.

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