14 Review 08: James Bond Comics No 5 - Parakkum Gundu பறக்கும் குண்டு

Dear ComiRades,

Here comes the fifth instalment of the James Bond Comics in Tamil Language Edited By Mr RamaJayam titled as - “Parakkum Gundu - பறக்கும் குண்டு – The flying Bomb”. Incidentally this happens to be the first issue in the new size B 5, After the first four issues were printed in the A 4 Size. The Editor & the publishing house has to bow down to the pressures of the Distributors and the Basic Law of Comics (The Godzilla Law) which was discussed in the previous post, relating to the Size of the Comics Book and the Sales related to that book in Tamil. Here are the Cover scans of the Tamil James Bond Comics and the corresponding Cover Scan of the Semic Press Publication issue.

Title: Parakkum Gundu (பறக்கும் குண்டு – The Flying Bomb)

Semic Title: Code Name -Romeo

Cover Design: Art By V.Chinnaiah

Cover: Soft Cover, Non-Laminated.

Serial Number: No. 5.

On Sale From: 1st September1988 Onwards.

Total No. of Pages: 64 Pages (Story 48 Pages), Black & White in Tamil.

Price: Priceless for Comic Fans; For others, INR 2/- for Tamil Version.

Story: Sverre Arness

Original Artwork: Joseph Gual.

This particular issue was the 13^th James Bond Adventure to be printed by the Semic Press in 1985. The Story credits goes to Sverre Arness and the artwork is done by Joseph Gual (Yes, the same Gual who was the artist for many of the Commando Comics and Creepy Comics over the years). Many a ComiRade will straightaway put down Gual by saying his artwork was un-inspiring, to say the least. Apart from this story, Tamil Comics fans have come across Gual in Rani Comics stories such as “Paadhi iravil oru Parakkum thattu - பாதி இரவில் ஒரு பறக்கும் தட்டு – Operation UFO”.

Now, moving on to the storyline: Across the world, two major terrorist attacks are carried out by flying bombs, which the assassins have code named, after Shakespeare’s much acclaimed Drama Character, 'Romeo'. 'Juliet' is a small transmitter planted on the target and when the assassins release the bombs from a small plane 'Romeo' will seek out 'Juliet' with deadly results, causing mortal destruction. Regular ComiRades may recall a similar storyline featuring James Bond Himself: Eri Natchathiram – எரி நட்சத்திரம் - Rani Comics Story in which the villain himself plants a transmitter on the Targets in the form of a Pen, or a Locket or a Chain and then sends his helium based Balloons to finish them off.

The head of the CIA will be visiting London in three days time and James Bond is assigned by his agency to track down the assassins and stop them before they can strike at this tempting target. James Bond does this in his and gets injured a tad in the end. This is an okay, but rather generic action story. There is nothing really 'James Bond'-ish about the actions of the hero in this particular story & even if you replace James Bond with another Action Hero, Say, Remington Steel, You will not find much difference, and the weak artwork by Joseph Gual does nothing to lift the storyline.

The Norwegian author Sverre Arness has a penchant for writing such action packed stories. His other story, Operation – blucher was never meant to have starred James Bond. And as a matter of fact, the story was later turned into a Norwegian movie, without Bond. Imagine such a situation whereby you make a Phantom Movie even without the Character of Phantom. Goodness, Gracious me. The story on its own is pretty thin, but with the added complication of having to have a British agent as the main protagonist, it falls completely apart.

 The editor defends the decision to change the size of the book by saying that he actually has obliged to the requests of the readers. If it is true, then Hats off to the editor who gives the Due respect to his readers opinion. At a Time when the Tamil ComiRades also facing the same issue with reference to the Change announcement of Lion Comics, this page is relevant in many ways.

The next issue in the Tamil James Bond Comics is Paalaivana Por - பாலைவன போர் – Dodande Sand – The Desert war”. By the way, have a look at the name of the person who has won the prize for the best review: it is our own Long Time ComiRade Mr S Suresh John of ulundhurpettai (உளுந்துர்பேட்டை  சுரேஷ் ஜான்).  Suresh, if you happen to Read this, Kindly mail to yours truly. And in the letters to the editor section, the first letter that got featured was that of R.Amudha of Vadugavirutchiyur (வடுகவிருட்சியூர் ஆர்.அமுதா) who has a penchant for writing to the comics publications in those days & fellow ComiRades may recollect his (Yes, His) letter about Lion Diwali Super Special 1987 in the next issue.

The Back cover features the Art work of the “Greatest ever Tamil Artist” Mr Chellam.Well, that's all for the time being. As usual, post your comments in the comments section. For those who want to Pen their thoughts in Tamil, Kindly Use the Option Provided in the Widget in the sidebar. The next Old Review Post will be on the 6th issue of James Bond Comics.

Thanks & Regards,

King Viswa.