Ian Fleming’s James Bond by Gabriel Hardman
Ian Fleming's James Bond by Gabriel Hardman
Gabriel Hardman is an incredibly talented illustrator and artist of comic books (currently working on one of our favorites here, Agents of Atlas, one of the few “mainstream” superhero books we still buy at Mister 8). He recently did this drawing of James Bond for the amazing site Hey, Oscar Wilde, It’s Clobberin’ Time, where comic artists draw their favorite authors or literary characters (with surprisingly few disappointing efforts).
Note that Hardman has taken his Bond back to the Fleming basics, from Casino Royale:
As he tied his thin, double-ended black satin tie, he paused for a moment and examined himself levelly in the mirror. His grey-blue eyes looked calmly back with a hint of ironical inquiry and the short lock of black hair which would never stay in place slowly subsided to form a thick comma above his right eyebrow. With the thin vertical scar down his right cheek the general effect was faintly piratical.
That’s a very cool piece of art! Love the shadows. While overall he captures Fleming’s description of Bond very well, I do think the artist falls into a trap that ensnares many who try to draw from Fleming: making the scar too prominant–and extending it above his eye. (See also Mike Grell, whose Bond I generally love except for this detail.) That’s more than a thin line down the cheek! If 007 had a scar like THAT one (no matter how piratical), he would make a terrible secret agent. It’s a worse brand than the one SMERSH brands on his hand, and he needs to have plastic surgery to remove! Great piece of art though.