007: For King and Country #4 // Review
There’s a gun in the office, and it’s pointing at his head. James Bond knows full well he can’t trust anybody. He’s been around his line of work for long enough to know that much. One might have thought that James Bond could have trusted 005, especially given the possible consequences. The biotech involved in the situation is deadly, and it’s mutating. Bond’s got his hands full in 007: For King and Country #4. Writer Phillip Kennedy Johnson continues a starkly simple espionage story with artists Giorgio Spalletta and Alessio Avallone. Color comes to the page courtesy of Claudia Giuliani.
There’s a reason why Bond is being held at gunpoint by an ally. The reason has to do with a great many complications that have quite a lot to do with Bond’s current situation. Gann killed Nassar. Half of Myrmidon was recruited by Gann. She’s very well-placed to be the usurper. Bond, of course, doesn’t believe a word of it. Bond’s American contact is there for the story. Can’t vouch for it, but he tries to rationalize with him. It’s not an easy situation. Bond’s a fugitive. The American could go to prison just for letting Bond walk out of the room.
Johnson is remarkably sharp with the basic nuts-and-bolts of the espionage thriller. The more sophisticated backstory and exposition feel like a fairly silly and indecipherable mess, but Johnson knows how to set up the pieces in the foreground with a perfect elevation in tension. Three spies hang out in a room...each with a distinctly different reason for being there and a distinctly different motive. The American pulls a piece of tech out of a safe. He hands it to Bond, telling him that he can’t even confirm that what he’s handing him even exists. “Spies don’t need bombs or lasers anymore,” he says. “Just a wifi connection.” It’s sharp and slick stuff on the surface.
Spalletta and Avallone have little difficulty keeping things tight and focused during the cloak-and-dagger intrigue. The occasional tight shot accents generally well-laid-out dramatic scenes with every individual holding his or her ground against the larger dramatic backdrop. Spalletta and Avallone don’t really get a chance to excel until the action explodes towards the end of the issue. There’s a graceful brutality as the action moves across the page, which occasionally manages to feel perfectly stylish and suit the title character. Giuliani’s colors coat everything in clean, basic tones that help deliver the overall feel of the action and intrigue.
The series hits its stride in an issue that mixes in a bit more dramatic intrigue than the prior issue did. Johnson’s skill at bringing together dramatic dynamics in the foreground serves as a solid foundation for action, even if everything going on in the background is really quite silly. It’s an attempt to weld a super soldier-style story into a 007 tux. There might be some way of doing it well, but it’s at odds with Johnson’s style.
