(Eclipse Comics 1989 Writer and Artist: Mike Grell) Even in comic book form, some things remain the same…In Permission To Die, Bond still has an eye for the ladies, Martini`s , gambling and dangerous missions. Permission To Die is a three part series first printed back in 1989 and concerns the idea that in the future, war will be fought, not on the ground, but in space. Looking to protect Britian`s network of space based satellites and intelligence gathering networks from future attacks, “M” enlists the aid of Dr. Erik Widzialdo. It seems the Dr. Widzialdo has developed a program that can help Britian from just such a scenario. What will it cost Britian? Possibly Bond`s life. His mission is to infiltrate Communist Hungary and bring back Dr. Widzialdo`s niece, Miss. Edain Gayla, alive and safe.
Additional reporting by Jon Raker
The artwork for this series looks more like sketches than final drafts, but if you like the old-fashioned type of Bond story, you`ll love this one! Full of flashbacks; you`ll see Bond`s thoughts as he is remembering his adventures from Goldfinger, Thunderball, Dr. No, On Her Majesty`s Secret Service, etc.
Felix Leiter is back, as is a new ally – Luludi “Botanee” Bey, daughter of Kerim Bey (From Russia With Love). Bond has another shootout in the gypsy camp from that same movie. In addition, other aspects of this series are reminiscent of past Bond stories: the use of a minichopper (like the movie You Only Live Twice), a Dr. No-type fortress built by Widzialdo, and an assasin similar to Scaramanga (The Man With the Golden Gun) named the Wolf. He only uses silver-jacketed bullets. There`s even a scene very similar to the Golden Gun movie in which the assassin shoots another target right next to where Bond is standing.
As it turns out, Dr. Widzialdo is determined to cause a catastrophe to remind the world of the horrors of nuclear devices; this is actually in the hopes that it will finally bring world peace. His organization, as we find out, has already caused the disasters at Three Mile Island and Chernobyl. The plot is excellent and, for the most part, very believable. All in all, one of my favorite Bond comic book series.