A couple of weeks ago I felt in the mood to watch a Bond movie, no specific reason, just wanted to watch a good fun spy movie, so plucked the 2009 version of Casino Royale off the DVD shelf (OK, one of the DVD bookcases!) and sat back to enjoy Daniel Craig's debut as 007.

Then last week, without really thinking about my selection too much I pulled Live & Let Die off the shelf and threw that into the DVD player. - Another debut movie, Roger Moore this time.

But a couple of days later, as I walked past the bookcase where my collection of Bond books is housed I realized something else about my recent movie selection, they were the first two Bond novels.



Each year I go through a period when I will sit down and re-watch all the Bond movies, and I usually do it in the order they were made and released, if I'm feeling like being a purest sometimes I start with the Barry Nelson, CBS TV play of Casino Royale, other times I'll start with Doctor No, but I always go in movie order.

But after realizing the significance of the order of following Casino Royale with Live & Let Die, I'm wondering should I do something different this year, and organize my annual Bond re-watch in story order - watch the movies based on the date order that the original novels and short stories were published?

The problem is that means I have to watch Moonraker next..... Gulp!

Art for the James Bond comics story, Operation: Bluchar, an original story, first published in issue #8 of the Swedish James Bond, Agent 007 title in 1984.

Russian reprint cover



This story was also reprinted and published in Finland, Hungry and Norway.

Find out more on the history of James Bond in comics, check out JAMES BOND: A history of the illustrated 007, now on sale through a good bookstore near you!

Art for the James Bond comics story, Operation: Little, an original story, first published in issue #2 of the Swedish James Bond, Agent 007 title in 1984.

Swedish cover


Cover for Tamil language reprint.


This story was also reprinted and published in Finland.

Find out more on the history of James Bond in comics, check out JAMES BOND: A history of the illustrated 007, now on sale through a good bookstore near you!

Art for the James Bond comics story, The White Death, an original story, first published in issue #8 of the Swedish James Bond, Agent 007 title in 1983 as "Den vita doden."

Interior panel from the Swedish original story.


Cover to Danish reprint


This story was also reprinted and published in Norway

Find out more on the history of James Bond in comics, check out JAMES BOND: A history of the illustrated 007, now on sale through a good bookstore near you!

OK this a little bit of a tenuous take on a title theme for "You Only Live Twice", but it is a nice piece of "what if" speculation.

It's well documented that Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys longed to write a James Bond theme, and when he was working on what would eventually become the seminal "Pet Sounds" album, he originally titled the opening track "Run, James, Run!"

The next Bond movie released after the track was written was "You Only Live Twice," so what would it have looked like if Brian Wilson's wish had come true?



Previous Alternate Bond Themes.
"You Only Live Twice" by Lorraine Chandler
"You Only Live Twice" by Julie Rogers
"Goldfinger" by Anthony Newley
"For Your Eyes Only" by Blondie
"Quantum of Solace" by Shirley Bassey
"Thunderball" by Johnny Cash
The video I posted earlier of "The Man With The Golden Gun" by Alice Cooper has now been taken down.

Art for the James Bond comics story, Liquidate Bond, an original story, first published in issue #7 of the Swedish James Bond, Agent 007 title in 1983.

Cover from Danish reprint.


This story was also reprinted and published in Finland

Find out more on the history of James Bond in comics, check out JAMES BOND: A history of the illustrated 007, now on sale through a good bookstore near you!

Art for the James Bond comics story, Operation: Burma, an original story, first published in issue #6 of the Swedish James Bond, Agent 007 title in 1983.

Interior art from the original Swedish version (with English translation)


Cover from Danish reprint.


This story was also reprinted and published in, Holland, and Norway

Find out more on the history of James Bond in comics, check out JAMES BOND: A history of the illustrated 007, now on sale through a good bookstore near you!

Another take on the theme from "You Only Live Twice", this time by 1960s British pop-singer, Julie Rogers. According to some sources this version was initially under consideration for the theatrical release before being replaced by the Nancy Sinatra version we are now familiar with, other sources note it as just a demo version.



Previous Alternate Bond Themes.
"You Only Live Twice" by Lorraine Chandler
"Goldfinger" by Anthony Newley
"For Your Eyes Only" by Blondie
"Quantum of Solace" by Shirley Bassey
"Thunderball" by Johnny Cash
The video I posted earlier of "The Man With The Golden Gun" by Alice Cooper has now been taken down.

Cover art for the James Bond comics story, Codename: Nemesis, an original story, first published in issue #3 of the Swedish James Bond, Agent 007 title in 1983 as "Kodnamm Nemesis"

Denmark


This story was also reprinted and published in Finland, Holland, Norway and Spain

Find out more on the history of James Bond in comics, check out JAMES BOND: A history of the illustrated 007, now on sale through a good bookstore near you!

I've decided to change the title of this series of posts to "Alternative Bond Themes," rather than "Rejected," as it's not clear if some of these different versions were ever seriously considered for the movie with which they are associated.

And this entry is such a case - In the 1990s, this alternative example of a possible "You Only Live Twice" theme song, performed by Detroit soul artist, Lorraine Chandler, was discovered in the vaults of RCA Records. The track appears to originate from the 1960s, and may have been intended as a demo for consideration by the film's producers.



Previous Alternate Bond Themes.
"Goldfinger" by Anthony Newley
"For Your Eyes Only" by Blondie
"Quantum of Solace" by Shirley Bassey
"Thunderball" by Johnny Cash
The video I posted earlier of "The Man With The Golden Gun" by Alice Cooper has now been taken down.