Bond’s boss M caught up in the Troubles in comic book

Three Irish artists have combined to reveal the dark secret harboured by James Bond’s boss in a new comic book set in Belfast.

Since 2015, Dynamite Entertainment have brought the adventures of 007 off the silver screen and into the pages of comic books written and illustrated by some of the industry’s biggest names.

Limerick man Declan Shalvey is the latest writer to leave his mark on the famous spy’s legacy, and has penned a one-off comic book on the back story of Bond’s boss M — focusing on his time in Belfast during the Troubles.

“Part of the brief of the project was to see a Bond story in a location we’d never seen before,” Mr Shalvey told the Irish Examiner.

“I thought of how The North is in this weird position of being part of the UK but also part of a separate island. Also, Northern Ireland and Belfast have such a dense history of spies, double agents and state espionage, it seemed like a natural fit.”

Mr Shalvey’s story is brought to life by the book’s artist PJ Holden, who is from Belfast, and colourist Dearbhla Kelly from Monaghan.

James Bond: M is out next Wednesday, and the trio will be signing in Big Bang Comics in Dublin on release day, and Comic Book Guys, Belfast, on Thursday, February 22.

Amendment: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that "An all-Irish team of artists" were behind the book, when in fact the book's letterer Simon Bowland, who was not credited in the article, is from the UK. ,