James Bond 007 no. 61: “Shark Bait pt. 2” (1981)

COMIC

 
JB007 DK nr 61 forside
Danish title: Operation KGB
Writer: Jim D. Lawrence
Artist: Yaroslav Horak (credited as Horak)
Publisher: A/S Interpresse
Editor: Carsten Søndergaard
Lettering: Flemming Petersen (uncredited)
Cover art: Colour painting (artist uncredited)
Format: 52 pages
Publishing date: 20 November 1981
Originally published in the UK: syndication 1978-79
Danish reprint of: N/A (the original materiale forms the second half of the featured storyline in James Bond 007 no. 58 called "Operation Lokkemad")

Contents:
"Operation KGB" (24½ pages of newspaper strips reformatted to 17x26 cm magazine format)
”Meddelelse til læserne” (½ page text)
”Krimiquiz med Dick Danger” (2x1½ page non-Bond comic by Werner Wejp-Olsen)
”Bond-filmenes fantastiske kulisser” [The fantastic sets of the Bond films] (4 page pictorial with captions by Nicolas Barbano)
Storsvindlerne: ”Kaktus, kanoner og edderkoppespind” (14 page non-Bond comic: "Gli aristocratici" by Castelli and Tacconi)
Readers' letters: "BOX 007" (1 page)

Comment:

The editor Carsten Søndergaard inserted this "Message to our readers" on page 27:

"As you probably noticed, in the last issue of AGENT 007 we had to swap out the "For Your Eyes only" story with another one at the very last minute. The reason was that the estate of James Bond author Ian Fleming has changed the contract that allows us to publish AGENT 007. We are no longer allowed to print comics based on the novels of Ian Fleming! We are also not allowed to put images from the James Bond films on the front or back of the magazine - and we are also not allowed to write on the front page that there are images from the films inside the magazine! That's why we have a "neutral" image on the cover of this issue. BUT - the near future will bring exciting developments! Firstly, in each issue you will find articles about and stills from the James Bond films, and we are looking into the possibilities of having color images inside the magazine, either as posters or simply on pages with color printing. PLUS we're will be producing brand new high quality James Bond comics! They will premiere in the spring. Therefore, as we have said to ourselves lately: HAVE COURAGE, and look forward to new exciting content in AGENT 007 - even if the contents aren't written on the cover! See you again in No. 62 on February 16!"

It was a full year before the new James Bond comic stories, produced by Interpresse's sister company in Sweden, Semic, debuted in no. 65 of the Danish magazine with "Den gyldne triangel" [The Golden Triangle]. Whether Semic's 007 stories actually lived up to the promise of "high quality comics" is debatable.

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