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Titan Books continue their largesse in making available invaluable material from classic newspaper strips, collecting them for the first time between the covers of a book. Jim Lawrence's imaginatively written, highly sophisticated James Bond strips, strikingly realised in the highly individual visual style of Illustrator Yaroslav Horak make up the bulk of the 007 collection, with the artwork supplement by the equally talented Neville Colvin, illustrator of the companion volume devoted to the classic Modesty Blaise strips by Peter O'Donnell (who died recently). In James Bond 007: Nightbird, as in earlier issues, the Ian Fleming adaptations have been superseded by Lawrence's solo scripts, which pulled off the difficult task of matching the work of the secret agent's creator.

Peter O'Donnell, who had to struggle for inclusion of several of the mature elements of his Modesty Blaise strip, found another worthy successor to the great illustrator Jim Holdaway in the talented Neville Colvin; the writing and art in Death in Slow Motion are both exemplary. These essential collections showcase strips that took the form to another level.

James Bond 007: Nightbird by Jim Lawrence & Yaroslav Horak & Modesty Blaise: Death in Slow Motion by Peter O'Donnell & Neville Colvin are published by Titan Books