Page 45 Review by Jonathan
"James, if you'll take some advice from me... don't ever be a spy."
Hmm, I approached SILVERFIN with some trepidation I have to say. By and large, creating a 'young' version of a fictional character hasn't exactly set the world of entertainment ablaze in any format: Young Sherlock Holmes, Young Indiana Jones, YOUNG AVENGERS... etc. etc. and when you have something as truly iconic as James Bond, is there really any need to mess about with him? Still Charlie Higson is a man whose writing talents I greatly admire, and surely anyone who created the very epitome of bequiffed suavity himself, Swiss Toni, would be ideally suited to detail the formative years of the world's most famous spy. And my understanding is that the 'young Bond' prose works that have come out so far have indeed garnered a fair amount of critical praise, so what about the first graphic novel then?
Well, happily it's rather good. Higson's writing is certainly on the mark, and what I think is key is he doesn't try to do too much with the young Bond character at this stage. Instead Higson's happy to give us a few choice but important facts about Bond's background, and then concentrate on the story and the strong supporting cast of characters. There is some proto-espionage though don't worry spy fans, along with some mad science fiction (with a nod to a certain Marvel superhero, surely) and a definite out and out dastardly Bond villain worthy of more than a few boos and hisses, complete with the epic evil lair in which to hatch his plans.
Visiting his Aunt and Uncle in Scotland during the school holidays, the mystery starts with a missing boy, and young Bond finds himself compelled to help the boy's cousin, who he's recently befriended, look for him. From there the two boys quickly realise there's something sinister afoot, but just how is the father of Bond's Etonian nemesis, the arms dealer Lord Hellebore, involved? Higson's writing is very well complimented by Kev Walker's dynamic and action-packed art, which in this instance as Stephen and I both commented put us in mind of P. Craig Russell and Chris Bachalo. Beautiful controlled use of colour, shading and depth does indeed generate an almost cinematic feel to the work.
