'James Bond: Felix Leiter' by James Robinson with art by Aaron Campbell is a graphic novel that features the American friend of James Bond.

Felix, in this series, has suffered a tragedy that has left him without a hand or leg. His friend James has helped with state of the art prosthetics, but Felix still feels like a lesser man.

This time around, he finds himself in Tokyo teaming up with another familiar Bond name, Tiger Tanaka. The plot involves a Russian spy, and Felix may find himself in over his head.

I like the character of Felix and this story was ok. The art was adequate. I just found the whole thing pretty average.

I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Dynamite Entertainment, Diamond Book Distributors, and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.

A good idea, but the final result is too generic. I very much enjoyed Felix Leiter whenever he popped up during the James Bond series and he is definitely a character who deserves his own spotlight. While this book isn't bad, neither the story nor the artwork are anything particularly special, and I finished not feeling compelled to continue the series. A missed opportunity to create something truly special.

Please refer to notes to publisher. I am sorry, but although it shows that I downloaded this book on Oct 1st, it never actually got delivered to my Kindle. I have checked the docs and books files on my Kindle account, and it is nowhere to be found. I guess it is still floating around in cyberspace somewhere.

I enjoyed this graphic Novel featuring Felix Leiter. Felix is a supporting character in the James Bond world but here he has a starring role. In this story he is an ex CIA agent, a little worse for wear who accepts a simple assignment in Japan. Of course things go wrong and Felix finds he is stronger than he thinks. The art and story have a noir feelling. The story moves along quickly with plenty of excitement. I look for word to reading more about Felix. Enjoy

From the publisher: Felix Leiter finds himself in Japan, tracking down a beautiful, Russian spy from his past. But when the mission takes a turn for the worse, he will discover that there are more deadly schemes afoot in Tokyo and beyond! From superstar creative team James Robinson (Starman, Red Sonja) and Aaron Campbell (The Shadow, Uncanny) comes the Bond spin-off highlighting 007’s American counterpart, blending spy thrills with the dark alleys and darker deeds of crime fiction!

James Bond: Felix Leiter is awesome! James Robinson has written a winner and I highly recommend it to Bond fans and to others who enjoy a well-written ex-spy-down-on-his-luck protagonist taking on a femme fatale. It's got a very noir-ish feel to it while retaining a real sense of the bigger James Bond world. Pick it up and read it now!

Okay, I've got that out of the way. Felix Leiter was a supporting character in several of the James Bond books and movies. He's even made a couple of appearances in the new comic series. Leiter is currently ex-CIA (he has some medical issues, i.e. - he's missing some limbs and has prosthetics). He now "works" as a private investigator, which is how this book begins. Leiter has been hired by an old acquaintance, Tiger Tanaka (from You Only Live Twice), to find and identify another old acquaintance, Alena Davoff. First, Tanaka is sort of the Japanese James Bond. Second, Leiter and Davoff go back to a joint Russian/American mission involving a war on Afghanistan's heroin trade. There relationship is complicated, to say the least. While he's in Japan, Leiter and Tanaka investigate a biological terror event stemming from a cult. The plot thickens from there.

I've read nearly every Fleming James Bond story and seen nearly every movie, and enjoyed them all on one level or another. However, I found I knew little about Felix Leiter. And I've got to say, I find him an interesting and fun character. The voice Robinson has given him is very much in the old noir detectives style, minus the slang. Leiter is very self-effacing but ready to take on anything. He knows what his strengths are, yet finds he often overestimates his abilities. He is a complicated man, living with the knowledge of the spy he used to be, and the physically broken P.I. he is now. Altogether, this makes him a terrific lead character and narrator.There is also room for character growth, which sets him apart from James Bond.

Robinson also does a nice job fleshing out the supporting characters, like Tanaka and Davoff. They are believable in their abilities and play vital roles in the story. Robinson has also provided a couple of nods to the traditional Bond tale, and has set this story very much in the Bond world of Warren Ellis's comic stories.

Further, because this is a collected edition, there are several bonuses. Various covers are collected in the book, as well as the script to issue #1, and an interview with James Robinson.

To echo my earlier statements, I really enjoyed James Bond: Felix Leiter by James Robinson. It was fun, exciting, and entertaining. I look forward to seeing where this character goes in the future.

I received a preview copy of this book from Dynamite Entertainment and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Felix Leiter teams up with the Japanese 007, Tiger Tanaka, to take the lead in his own miniseries from the folks at Dynamite. Felix is no longer a CIA agent, but now your washed up stereotypical private eye and cyborg. Tiger hires him to follow a Russian spy in Japan when a cult makes a nerve gas attack on Tokyo. The rest of the book is pretty straight forward as they track down the cult. The art and writing are solid but nothing special.

Felix Leiter had what he thought was a simple job in Japan - identify a former Russian agent. But he was made and beat up when back-up did not show. Tiger, his Japanese contact had failed to show due to a mass killing outside a government building. The question them becomes what role did the Russian agent have in enabling the Japanese cult to make suicide weapons out of their members? Plenty of action in the Bond style but done by Felix who tries to use brain over brawn. A different perspective on the Bond universe.

This was definitely my favorite of Dynamite's excellent James Bond series of graphic novels. Ex CIA Felix Leiter was always one of the more intriguing of Fleming's deuteragonists and here he is in all his rumpled and unshaven American glory. Robinson sets Leiter apart from Bond by not giving him the swagger and uber-confidence of the British 00 agents; it may throw off some readers to see a self deprecating super spy but makes perfect sense considering Leiter's current situation as a private detective with missing limbs thanks to Fleming's shark attack.

Story: Felix is brought to Tokyo to track down a rogue Russian spy - one with whom he has an intimate history. But in tracking Alena Davoff, he becomes embroiled in a bigger problem: a Japanese cult whose members are biological bombs capable of killing hundreds. Along with Tiger Tanaka, he will work to find out who is behind the cult and the mass killings.

Robinson has done an excellent job of bringing Bond lore to fruition in a modern age. From Tiger Tanaka (last seen in You Only Live Twice) as Japan's Bond counterpart to Ivan Kraft, the Russian version. In all, we get a Bond from several countries and each has their own unique culture and flavor. It makes sense in a really smart way to contrast the stiff upper lip confidence of the Brits verses the world of honor and frustration of the Japanese, the American scruffiness and seat-of-the-pants actions, and the quiet fatality of the Russians. It made for a fascinating mix.

I think some readers will be put off by Leiter's lack of initiative - most of the hard action is done by someone else with Felix assisting. It makes sense considering Felix is a free agent and not backed by any government. It was a pleasure reading a book where the protagonist can assist the action rather than having to be core of it. E.g., a whole scene where Tiger Tanaka goes to town taking down North Korean terrorists while Leiter quietly takes a different route behind him. The whole point is that by doing things differently, he gets a different picture of the event and therefore provides highly useful services in intelligence instead. He is, after all, now a private detective and his skill set is observation and not physical battles as with Bond or Tanaka.

The art is excellent and the story flows smoothly. Our antagonist, Alena Davoff, is interesting and fortunately not too much of a cliche. I appreciated, especially in this day and age of powerful men sex scandals, that Leiter was the prey, albeit perhaps a willing one. I contrast this with recently published James Bond: Black Box where Bond's sexual appetites feel predatory.

In all, this is why I read graphic novels - to enjoy the action, adventure and excellent storytelling. James Bond: Felix Leiter is an intelligent transition of the character to the modern age but with all the Fleming inspirations intact. I greatly look forward to more stories of Leiter and Alena. Reviewed from an advance reader copy provided by the publisher.

JAMES BOND: FELIX LEITER is the latest James Bond comic book from Dynamite Comics written by James Robinson and illustrated by Aaron Campbell, and features Felix Leiter, who has had a recurring role in the bond stories from the beginning, although previously in a supporting role.

Felix is the main character in this one, and we find him sort of down on his luck having permanent disability and artificial limbs with special features that were gifts from Bond himself.

Alena Davoff is a beautiful Russian agent whom he’s worked with in the past, and previously had a physical relationship with, also someone he’s never really gotten over as his feelings ran much deeper than hers. Seeing her through a window in a bar, he pursues her, and when they meet up she bests him in hand-to hand-combat, leaving Felix even more depressed.

Tiger, an acquaintance from the past is a Japanese agent with a special skill-set who contacts Felix and invites him to look into a mass murder in a public place involving a suicide terrorist using biological warfare, and Felix being bored agrees very willingly to accompany him in the investigation.

Action befitting a Bond story ensues with pursuit of the suspected man behind the killings, and of course they find the actual source is further up the food chain.

Typical Bond espionage story done very well by both author and illustrator, and interviews at the end of the book are well done and give insight into the making of this one.

Although I’m relatively inexperienced at reading comics as an adult, I’ve gained interest due to reviews by friend’s reviews at Goodreads. I recommend this as it appealed to me even though this category isn’t exactly in my wheelhouse, although I’m guessing those of you who read comics will find it a good one.

4 stars.

I would say that this title has been my favorite out of the recent run of Bond and Bond-related comics. Giving Felix center stage, we are offered a slightly different type of story. While still providing all the action and attitude of a typical Bond-like adventure, Felix takes a less self-assured stance on events. He is not James Bond and he knows this. He is more caution at moments and more doubtful of his own abilities, while still rising to the challenges he is faced with.

Effectively plotted and intriguing, this volume brings some refreshing differences to the franchise while still delivering everything that long-time fans expect.

A post-shark-encounter Leiter is in Tokyo, working for the Japanese to identify an old enemy/colleague/lover who’s off the grid. There’s a flashback with Bond, and then we find out why Tiger didn’t keep his end of the bargain in helping to catch his gorgeous adversary.
“You had me at ‘Not the French.’”
About halfway there’s a major plot twist that, quite frankly, was easy enough to guess. Though the story doesn’t actually end in a cliffhanger, there’s enough left unresolved that you’d certainly expect a sequel, especially when there’s a character like Alena to write about.
Tight hands and sphincters are a necessity when you’re pretending to be James Bond.
Too bad the writer made what was a proud character such an idiot, as he admits plenty of times. Then there’s the serious inferiority complex. It’s one thing to make the protagonist complicated, quite another to make him seem like a butt monkey.
Brightly painted poppy fields are a sharp contrast from Tokyo, which has a Blade Runner vibe. . . or maybe it’s all the rain. Florida is also brightly lit, but Helsinki looks like an impressionist painting.
There a whopping 35 pages of extras! Variant covers, author interview, and what looks to be the entire script of the first chapter.

Bond's contact from the Cousins gets his own miniseries, with a strong pitch: Felix is much closer to engaging in actual intelligence work than James, who's more a human WMD. So this is Leiter's chance to shine in his own sphere…except the poor bastard spends much of his own book playing second fiddle to Tiger Tanaka, who's here explicitly Japan's James Bond, except more so. Leiter’s also missing two limbs, and still dealing with the emotional consequences of that, but he has prosthetics which are...sort of semi-gadgety? Better than real-world ones, but not quite badass cyborg cool. Again, playing to the idea of him as feeling like he’s always the bridesmaid, or maybe even the friend who gets bumped from being a bridesmaid in favour of the groom’s sister. Not everything works - Tanaka's tech, and the threat the two of them are facing, try to pitch somewhere between the silliness of invisible cars and the tedium of Daniel Craig films*, yet only end up landing somewhere in the realm of the quietly absurd US techno-thriller procedurals. But on the whole it’s an interesting new angle on this version of Bond’s world, with absolutely gorgeous and moody art from Aaron Campbell. If only Dynamite could have made Kieron Gillen's Bond one-shot this beautiful.

*An interview at the back confirms Robinson as one of the good guys, having correctly identified Skyfall as a load of old toss.

James Bond’s cyborg buddy Felix Leiter is brought in by the Japanese Bond, Tiger Tanaka, to identify a beautiful (but deadly – of course) Russian spy. Things are never that simple though and Felix and Tiger soon find themselves wrapped up in a complex web of intrigue involving a death cult and North Korea!

I’ve been quite impressed with Dynamite’s surprisingly good new James Bond comics. Felix Leiter is the latest spinoff and, while not as good as the others, it’s not bad either.

Nothing about James Robinson’s story really stands out – it’s your standard espionage thriller that’s not especially thrilling. The usual beats are there – femme fatale, villainous organisation, goons, punch-ups, shoot-outs, etc. – with no surprises. Felix isn’t that unique a character either. He’s written as a bit of a klutz who idolises Bond - except he can easily handle all the obstacles thrown his way. Besides the half-assed attempt at giving him a distinctive character, he – and Tiger for that matter – is essentially Generic Action Man.

That said, this is a perfectly readable comic – it’s just not that exciting or memorable. Aaron Campbell’s art though is outstanding and a lot of this book looks wonderful with Campbell capturing the beauty of the Far East.

Felix Leiter is a fine companion piece to Dynamite’s James Bond line though I’d recommend Warren Ellis’ Eidolon and Andy Diggle’s Hammerhead for more entertaining Bond books over this.

Not bad, I guess. Not real good, either. The biggest issue I have with this volume is that the plot involved very little of actual searching for the bad guys: the extent was two panels doing "research" to find them. There were some humorous parts, but I'm not sure it fit into the overall plot of finding a biological terrorist targeting Tokyo.

I'll probably keep reading this series; I do like the character of Felix Leiter, and he could be developed into something stronger than a comic foil to Bond's British seriousness.

Great spin-off from the James Bond books. In the books, Felix is a Bond ally who loses a leg and leaves the clandestine service to work for Pinkertons. Here, Felix is a freelancer caught in a web that finds him grappling with government agents from Japan, Russia, North Korea and Great Britain. I especially enjoyed the Bond-style silhouettes at the introduction of each chapter tying this book to the franchise.