Cover Art For 'Paradise Plot' James Bond Collection Revealed

Cover artwork for the forthcoming Titan Books James Bond comic strip collection, The Paradise Plot, has been revealed at amazon.co.uk.

Due for release on 27 June in the UK (and on 8 July in the US), The Paradise Plot collection will also feature Deathmask in addition to the title story.

What is especially interesting to note about both stories in this 007 collection is that it marks the first time that long-time writer Jim Lawrence and artist John McLusky have worked together on the Bond adventures.

Previously, McLusky had worked with writer Henry Gammidge on several of the original Ian Fleming adaptations in the 1950s and 60s. On the other hand, Lawrence was always associated with artist Yaroslav Horak on the Fleming adaptations and over 25 original Bond adventures, beginning in 1968 with The Harpies.

The Paradise Plot and Deathmask stories were originally serialised in the Daily Star in the early 1980s.

Moonraker Bond girl Lois Chiles will provide the introduction. As with the previous Death Wing and Shark Bait collections, Alan J. Porter will contribute a new article on the US comic book adventures of Bond in this collection.

The legend continues! Stand by for more adventures with the world’s greatest and most famous secret agent, James Bond, as some of his most thrilling missions are collected for the first time ever in a deluxe collectors’ library edition! In this latest action-packed volume, Bond teams up with fellow 00 agent Suzi Kew once again on another sun-soaked escapade, The Paradise Plot. Not seen since its original publication in a British newspaper, this ultra rare adventure finally returns to print!

This new, never-before-collected edition also features Lawrence and McLusky’s rarely seen story Deathmask, plus a new introduction by one of the Bond girls and an exclusive feature on rare and unusual James Bond comics from around the world!

Stay tuned for CommanderBond.net for all the latest news on the Titan James Bond comic strip releases.

Gold Was The Way To Go For Young Bond

Charlie Higson’s ‘Hurricane Gold’

Going gold for Charlie Higson’s fourth Young James Bond adventure, Hurricane Gold, was a wise choice by publisher Puffin Books, according to the Young Bond Dossier.

The website refers to a recent Publishers Weekly article that focused on the increasingly competitive book market, especially for new children’s novels.

Puffin managing director Francesca Dowe said: ‘It’s increasingly a paperback market–especially in picture books, but increasingly in fiction as well. You build an author in paperback, then take them to hardback when you reach a level you know you can sustain.’

As Young Bond fans are well aware, Puffin decided to switch things up a bit for the debut of Hurricane Gold last year, releasing the novel in an all-gold hardback edition.

The article states that the idea of creating an all-gold cover ’caused a sensation’, while Dowe added that ‘it definitely helped sales.’

We’ll have to wait and see what Puffin will come up with for the cover of Higson’s fifth Young Bond novel, By Royal Command, due for release in hardback on 4 September of this year.

Keep watching CommanderBond.net for all the latest Young Bond news.

Virtual Exhibition: 'For Your Eyes Only: Ian Fleming and James Bond'

CommanderBond.net reported last year that one of the many events planned as part of the Ian Fleming centenary celebrations is the ‘For Your Eyes Only: Ian Fleming and James Bond’ exhibition.

Set to run from 25 April 2008 through 1 March 2009 at the Imperial War Museum in London, this 007 exhibition will bring together both personal effects of the author and an ‘unparalleled range of Bond memorabilia’ in order to discover where the identity of the debonair spymaster and journalist ended and the fictional secret agent began.

Today, The Times started offering readers an interactive sneak peek at the Fleming exhibit.

This brand new preview also features an audio commentary by Ben Macintyre, who is the author of the accompanying book of the same title, due for release in the UK on 7 April.

In addition, The Times has reserved a limited amount of tickets to the ‘For Your Eyes Only: Ian Fleming and James Bond’ exhibition exclusively for their readers. For further details, click here.

Click here to watch the virtual exhibition.

• Order the UK hardback edition of For Your Eyes Only: Ian Fleming and James Bond from Amazon.co.uk
• Order the US hardback edition of For Your Eyes Only: Ian Fleming and James Bond from Amazon.com

Stay tuned to CBn for all the latest details and coverage on all the Ian Fleming centenary events and James Bond-related releases.

Penguin 007 Site Gets A Facelift

Just days after IanFlemingCentenary.com was revamped, Penguin 007 has been overhauled as well.

The flash new site provides a one-stop guide to everything Penguin is doing to celebrate the centenary of James Bond author, Ian Fleming’s birth.

As well as biographies of Fleming and Sebastian Faulks (author of 2008’s highly-anticipated Bond novel, Devil May Care), the site features a guide to the different editions of Ian Fleming’s 14 Bond books that will be available in 2008: the Centenary Edition hardbacks, the Modern Classics and the Penguin Paperbacks series.

The Penguin 007 imprint will be launched in May with the publication of Devil May Care.

Check out Penguin 007 for more.

Stay tuned to CommanderBond.net for all the latest details and coverage of the Ian Fleming centenary events.

Samantha Weinberg Interview In Upcoming Starlog Magazine

The Moneypenny Diaries: Guardian Angel

CommanderBond.net Forum member ‘operator 5’ alerts us that the forthcoming issue of Starlog magazine (#366) will contain an interview with Samantha Weinberg, author of The Moneypenny Diaries trilogy.

While not available yet, the new issue of Starlog is expected to go on sale in mid-May.

Weinberg, who writes under the pseudonym Kate Westbrook, is the author of the three Moneypenny Diaries novels: Guardian Angel, Secret Servant and Final Fling (the latter due for release this May).

Focusing the attention on the right-hand woman of James Bond, the three novels are set at various time points throughout the 1960s.

Guardian Angel, which was first published in October 2005 in the UK, centers around the Cuban Missile Crisis. Secret Servant saw Jane Moneypenny embroiled in a dangerous Russian mission. The official blurb follows for Final Fling:

The Moneypenny Diaries: Secret Servant

Final Fling combines the excitement of a cold war spy thriller with the mystery of a contemporary detective story. In the 1964/65 volume of her private diaries, Jane Moneypenny reports her demotion from the position of M’s secretary as the British Secret Intelligence Service is hit by a series of defection scandals. Facing considerable personal danger, she combines forces with 007 in a resolve to smoke out the mole she is convinced is buried deep in the heart of the Office. But, when Bond is sacked and M is forced into retirement, Moneypenny finds herself on her own…

Forty-two years later, Miss Moneypenny’s niece and heir, Kate Westbrook, starts to suspect that her aunt’s death was no accident. She is sure the clues to what happened lie in the search for the mole. As she pieces them together, however, she realizes that there are significant forces who are determined to prevent her finding the truth.

From the glamour of 1960s Jamaica to the treacherous beaches of the Outer Hebrides, Final Fling reveals just how far people are prepared to go to defend – or betray – their beliefs, and relates the life and death, and surprising final love, of the world’s most famous fictional secretary.

Click here for the CBn Interview with Samantha Weinberg.

Keep watching CommanderBond.net for all the latest literary James Bond news. To keep track of all the upcoming 007 releases, events, television shows, and more–just keep your eyes on the CBn Calendar, located on the right panel of our main page.

Fleming's 'Chitty Chitty Bang Bang' Release Date Moves To 28 May

New edition of Ian Fleming’s Chitty Chitty Bang Bang

The release date on the upcoming reprint of Ian Fleming’s popular children’s novel, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, has moved around once again: now due out on the centenary of the author’s birthday: 28 May.

The novel is one of Fleming’s three non-James Bond novels (the other two, The Diamond Smugglers and Thrilling Cities, are also due to be reprinted later this year).

This reprint was first announced on CommanderBond.net back in October 2007 as part of the centenary celebrations being put together by Ian Fleming Publications (IFP).

Retailing for £14.99 and featuring original illustrations by John Burningham, 007 fans can order this ‘fabulous new gift edition’ Chitty Chitty Bang Bang from amazon.co.uk.

The wings slowly tilted, and as Commander Pott, at last realizing what Chitty Chitty Bang Bang was up to, pressed down the accelerator pedal, the big green car tilted up her shining green and silver nose and took off! Ian Fleming, the creator of James Bond, invented “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang” for his young son Caspar, and it went on to become the most famous and best-loved car in fiction. This treasured story inspired a film and a musical and is celebrated in this lavish, highly collectible new edition, complete with its original timeless artwork by John Burningham, one of Britain’s most popular author/illustrators.

This reprint of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang is just one of many upcoming releases literary Bond fans can look forward to. Others include Sebastian Faulks’ debut 007 novel Devil May Care, Samantha Weinberg’s third Miss Moneypenny adventure Final Fling, new hardback reprints of all 14 original Fleming 007 novels, the UK paperback edition of Charlie Higson’s latest Young James Bond adventure Hurricane Gold and much, much more.

• Order Chitty Chitty Bang Bang from Amazon.co.uk

There are no details regarding a release in the US.

Keep watching CBn for all the latest literary James Bond news and coverage. To keep track of all the upcoming 007 releases, events, television shows, and more–just keep your eyes on the CBn Calendar, located on the right panel of our main page.

Two New Daniel Craig Biographies Now Available In US

Despite not listed to be released until 28 April and 1 May respectively, Daniel Craig: The Biography and Daniel Craig – Ultimate Professional are currently shipping at amazon.com.

Both of these biographies were previously released in the UK at the end of last year.

The first of these books centering on the newest James Bond star, Daniel Craig: The Biography, is written by Sarah Marshall. Published by John Blake and retails for $24.95. The full blurb:

He’s gorgeous, tremendously talented, charming and sexy. His breathtaking performance as the new James Bond in Casino Royale won him legions of fans and proved that, as well as being an outstanding actor; he could cut it as an action hero and could re-define a cinematic icon to huge critical acclaim. Daniel Craig, arguably the most inspiring 007, has truly made it as an A-list film star. This fascinating and affectionate book reveals everything about Britain’s favourite leading man: how he endured poverty-stricken years when he was first struggling to make it as an actor in London; how he rejected the ‘trivial’ publicity that came when he started to make a name for himself; his relationships, including his marriage to a British actress with whom he has a daughter; plus his encounters with Sienna Miller and Kate Moss and how he has handled the adulation that has come from his new role as 007. This is the intriguing story of a supremely talented actor who has established his reputation, then defied expectations and silenced those who doubted his Bond would live up to its predecessors. It is essential reading for any Daniel Craig admirer and for the masses of film fans for whom his performance as Bond was an unforgettable cinematic experience.

The second, Daniel Craig – Ultimate Professional, is by Daniel O’Brien. Retailing for $27.95, this hardback is published by Reynolds & Hearn. The blurb follows:

YOU KNOW HIS NAME – not only as the latest James Bond in Casino Royale, but also as XXXX in Layer Cake, Ben Driscoll in The Invasion and Lord Asriel in The Golden Compass. Yet Daniel Craig has long been recognised as one of the best British actors of his generation, a committed professional who is passionate about his work and has often shunned the lure of easy money in Hollywood blockbusters in favour of more challenging roles in low-budget European films.

Daniel Craig – Ultimate Professional takes an in-depth look at the career of the pub landlord’s son who made his acting debut at the age of six and rose to prominence through roles such as the tormented Geordie Peacock in Our Friends In The North, the schizophrenic Ray in Some Voices, the mercenary archeologist Alex West in Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, the amorous carpenter Darren in The Mother, and the murderous Perry Smith in Infamous.

Fully illustrated throughout, Daniel Craig – Ultimate Professional also includes 16 pages of colour photos of the actor who was voted the sexiest man in the world in a recent poll.

• Order Daniel Craig: The Biography from Amazon.com
• Order Daniel Craig – Ultimate Professional from Amazon.com

Stay tuned to CommanderBond.net for all the latest literary James Bond news.

'Thrilling Cities' And 'The Diamond Smugglers' Reprints Coming Soon

IanFlemingCentenary.com highlights that Ian Fleming’s non-James Bond books, Thrilling Cities and The Diamond Smugglers are also due to be released this year.

The former, a collection of travel essays, was first published in 1963. Hong Kong, Macao, Tokyo, Honolulu, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Chicago, New York, Hamburg, Berlin, Vienna, Geneva, Naples, and Monte Carlo are all featured.

The Diamond Smugglers was first published in 1957 and concerns the tale of a diamond smuggling racket from Africa.

Fleming’s other non-007 title, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, is also due out this year.

Details of the new editions remain forthcoming. CBn will bring you all the information as it emerges.

Stay tuned to CBn for the latest details and coverage of the Ian Fleming centenary events.

Ian Fleming Centenary Site Revamped

It is precisely two months until the centenary of James Bond author Ian Fleming’s birth, and IanFlemingCentenary.com has been given a major overhaul.

The website, which was launched last December, has seen its content significantly expanded to include details on all of Ian Fleming’s 007 (and non-007) novels, as well as information about Charlie Higson’s Young Bond series and Samantha Weinberg’s The Moneypenny Diaries trilogy.

Highlights of the revamped site include a glimpse at the upcoming radio dramatisation of Ian Fleming’s Doctor No, and news of a previously unannounced radio program: “The Bond Correspondence”, featuring letters between Ian Fleming and his readers about James Bond. The programme will air on BBC Radio 4 on 10 May and be presented by Roger Moore.

Also, on BBC Radio 4, in June, Bond fans can look forward to a reading of Ian Fleming’s “Risico”, to be broadcast in a week-long series of spy stories.

On 30 September, the “Introducing James Bond: A Tribute to Ian Fleming” Charity Gala will be held at The Royal Festival Hall in London, in aid of The British Heart Foundation.

Head over to IanFlemingCentenary.com for the official centenary celebration news source.

Stay tuned to CBn for the latest details and coverage of the Ian Fleming centenary events.

'Double or Die' US Audiobook Cover Art

The cover artwork for the US audiobook edition of Charlie Higson’s third Young James Bond novel, Double or Die, has been revealed according to a report from the Young Bond Dossier.

Due for release on 22 April (the same day as the US hardback), the audiobook edition will be read by actor Nathaniel Parker, who previously read SilverFin and Blood Fever in the US.

This US edition also has the distinction of being completely unabridged in comparison to the UK counterpart read by Higson himself.

In addition, Young Bond fans can listen to an excerpt of the forthcoming release here, thanks to Random House Audio.

• Order the US hardback edition of Double or Die from Amazon.com
• Order the US audiobook edition of Double or Die from Amazon.com

Keep watching CommanderBond.net for all the latest Young Bond and literary 007 news.