Steranko Returns to Spies With TNT's New Series Agent X

© Jim Steranko

Legendary artist Jim Steranko, who innovated comic book storytelling in the 1960s with his iconic run on Marvel's entry in that decade's superspy sweepstakes, Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., is once again contributing his talent to spy pop culture. On Sunday night the artist Tweeted a series of design drawings he made for TNT's upcoming spy series Agent X, starring Jeff Hephner and Sharon Stone. It's unclear if this sequence is intended for the show's main titles or for promotional spots, but it sure is cool! 

© Jim Steranko

© Jim Steranko

According to Steranko, he "developed about 20 sequences for possible promo use," so this batch is just a teaser. TNT's creative director had noticed his influence on a number of recent film title sequences and asked if he had "the time and inclination" to contribute to Agent X. Steranko said he read the show bible and liked what he saw—which certainly bodes well for the series! (Steranko provided spot-on critiques of each episode of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. during the show's problematic first season, proving he's still got his finger on the pulse when it comes to determining what makes good spy entertainment.) 

© Jim Steranko

These are just a few extracts from the lengthy storyboard sequence he Tweeted (and sadly excerpting them takes a bit away from the full concept), so be sure to check out his Twitter feed and see the whole thing, along with his stage directions. On top of henchmen who could be right out of one of his Nick Fury comics, Steranko's sequence also offers nods to Saul Bass, Maurice Binder, and the terrific animated main titles from the Sixties TV classic The Wild Wild West. I really hope they use this on the show!

© Jim Steranko

As previously reported, Agent X debuts on TNT on Sunday, November 8 at 9/8c. Steranko is currently busy at work on the follow-up to IDW's spectacular Artist's Edition of his classic Nick Fury comics from Strange Tales. The first oversize hardcover volume, which reprints the artist's original, uncolored drawings at full size, meticulously reproduced from the original artwork itself, just earned Steranko a Harvey Award for his design work on it. In last night's barrage of Tweets (an unmissable weekly event), he revealed that the eagerly anticipated Volume 2 (collecting his art from the Nick Fury monthly as well as his brief but spectacular run on Captain America from the same era) would be 265 pages, with "extras in full color." I'm afraid there's still no word on a release date.

Unused Painted Poster For Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation

I thought the main 1-sheet poster for Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation was quite good. But it turns out it could have been better. It could have been painted! I know, I know, we poster nerds are always complaining that the modern Photoshop montage posters aren't as good as the painted posters of our youth, and always commenting on new photo posters by saying, "I wish it were painted!" But that's usually completely in vain and we know it. (One marketing executive once told me that when a DVD has a painted cover image, all-important WalMart customers think that means the movie is animated, meaning that live action films have to be advertised with photographs.) However, in this one case, it turns out there really was a painted version created by a superstar artist. Steve Chorney, whose iconic movie artwork of the Home Video era included posters for Labyrinth, Coming to America, The Ice Pirates, Lassiter, and Quigley Down Under, painted this spectacular image for the latest entry in the Tom Cruise film series. For whatever reason (see above), the studio rejected it and went with a slick and, admittedly, good looking photo collage. But not as good looking as this! Happily, Chorney's painted version was made available on the Mendola Artists website. If only there were a paper version! I would love to have that hanging on my wall.

© 2015 Mendola Artists Representatives

Another New SPECTRE Poster!

Hot on the heels of last week's exciting new SPECTRE poster showcasing Daniel Craig in a white dinner jacket comes another one! This poster and two new banners (below) were unveiled today on 007.com. The skeleton costume from the Mexico City-set Day of the Dead sequence continues to be a focal point in the campaign, though I find it's somewhat weirdly integrated with the foreground images on the posters. This time, Craig is joined by Léa Seydoux (Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol), looking stunning in her silver dress, which is rapidly becoming iconic. Craig wears a suit this time. (He in his white jacket was previously paired with Seydoux on a theatrical standee, bottom) I hope we're building to a final 1-sheet with Craig in his white dinner jacket flanked by Seydoux and Monica Bellucci!

First Look at Interior Art for New James Bond Comic Book VARGR

Dynamite Entertainment unleashed its advertising campaign for its upcoming James Bond 007 comic book today. All Dynamite comics out this week include a double page spread in the middle promoting the upcoming 007 series, and it includes our first glimpse of Jason Masters' interior artwork for the Warren Ellis-penned book, stylishly reformatted into the shape of a pistol.

But that was only the tip of the iceberg. On their website, Dynamite has revealed three whole textless pages of sequential interior art in black and white. It's unclear whether these pages will also be in black and white in the comic itself, and whether or not they'll have text. If they are black and white, the technique would recall the opening sequence of Casino Royale (2006), which depicted a similar scene in monochrome. And if they are textless, they would recall the most famous sequence in spy comics, Steranko's three page "silent" opening to Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. #1. These Bond pages appear to come from what Ellis recently described as the book's "cold open," a duel in a Helsinki building site. Head over to the Dynamite site to see them all. Read more about the first storyline, VARGR, and see the various covers here.

New SPECTRE Poster Unveiled

A brand new SPECTRE poster was unveiled today on 007.com. The site does not indicate that it's a final 1-sheet, so I think we can assume it's another Advance. I'm definitely a fan. As I said when the last trailer was released, I love seeing Daniel Craig in a white dinner jacket, evoking the likes of Goldfinger and Octopussy. Since Craig took over (and as signaled by the Casino Royale 1-sheet featuring the superspy with his tie undone, gun at his side), the marketing of the films has seemed determined to avoid the classic Bondian poses of the past such as Brosnan, Moore and Connery used to strike, with Walther across their chest or held pointing upwards, next to their face. SPECTRE has been toying with classic imagery (the previous teaser poster evoked Moore's Live and Let Die publicity shot, with black turtleneck and brown leather holster), and this is the closest we've gotten yet from a Craig poster. Part of me wishes they'd go all the way, and let him hold his gun pointing up, in the more, ah, virile pose of the past... and ideally flank him with beautiful Bond women. (At least one!) But perhaps that's exactly what they're building towards for the final 1-sheet! It's also interesting to note that this campaign continues to recall Live and Let Die specifically, which Craig and director Sam Mendes have both cited at times as their favorite Bond movie. (I believe Craig has also said it was his first.) The skeleton figure in the background, though donning a Mexican Day of the Dead mask rather than a Caribbean voodoo one, certainly stirs memories of the late, great Geoffrey Holder as iconic henchman Baron Samedi. Will SPECTRE itself have any Live and Let Die connections? The campaign has also so far summoned the spirits of On Her Majesty's Secret Service (with its initial bullet-shattered glass imagery) and, of course, Goldfinger, with this white dinner jacket and red carnation. (It's a big year for Goldfinger and classic Bond homages on posters. Spy also relied on one for a character poster showcasing Melissa McCarthy, while referencing Skyfall and the last SPECTRE advance in others, while American Ultra paid tribute to Octopussy.)

UPDATE: I hadn't even looked at the credits block at first, but Facebook users have pointed out one particularly notable credit: Daniel Craig now has what Sean Connery always wanted and Cubby and Harry refused to give him, a co-producer credit. Also interesting is that unlike the writers who performed polishes on the last couple of movies, Jez Butterworth ends up with a script credit in addition to John Logan and Bond perennials Neal Purvis and Robert Wade. Interesting!

SPECTRE opens November 6 in the U.S. Just two more months to go!

DK Previews Bond by Design: The Art of the James Bond Films

We're coming up on Autumn of a James Bond movie release year... which means collectors can look forward to plenty of new books about 007 timed to tie in with the film's release! DK Publishing has posted a preview of one of the most anticipated ones, their eagerly anticipated follow-up to 2012's beautiful, slipcased art book James Bond: 50 Years of Movie Posters (which will be getting a new paperback edition). The new book, Bond by Design: The Art of the James Bond Films, showcases concept art and storyboards from EON Productions' 24 James Bond films, right up through SPECTRE. Here's the official blurb from the publisher: "Featuring the work of legendary Bond film designers such as Ken Adam, Peter Lamont, and Syd Cain, Bond by Design brings the James Bond art department's story right up to date with behind-the-scenes artwork from the latest film, SPECTRE. With two exclusive prints and authoritative text by EON's own archivist, Meg Simmonds, Bond by Design provides unique, spectacular, and fascinating insights into this hugely successful film franchise." Retailing for $50.00, the 320-page, large-format hardcover will be published on October 6, and is available for pre-order now at a substantial discount on Amazon. Here are some gorgeous sample pages:

Paramount Unveils Series of Mission: Impossible Posters Celebrating Cruise's Greatest Dangling

Paramount has released a series of what The Imp Awards describes as "minimalist posters highlighting cliffhangers from each of the films in the series." But with the exception of the image for J.J. Abrams' M:I:iii, they might as well be called "dangling posters!" Because these retro-style images (in the tradition of the Sixties-inspired title sequences for Casino Royale, Mad Men or the new Man From U.N.C.L.E.) showcase the best moments of Tom Cruise's character Ethan Hunt dangling from a succession of things ever higher off the ground, culminating in the breathtaking airplane stunt seen in the trailers for Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation, for which the actor actually strapped himself to the exterior of a flying plane. They're pretty cool! I wonder if there are paper versions of these?

American Ultra Gets Octopussy-Inspired Character Posters

Here are two trippy, Octopussy-inspired character posters for the stoner spy action-comedy American Ultra, starring Jesse Eisenberg and Kristen Stewart. Eisenberg (The Social Network) plays a stoner sleeper agent whose Treadstone-like training is suddenly activated, setting into motion a chain of events that bring government spy agencies down on a small town. Walton Goggins lends some bona fide Bourne experience, and Bill Pullman (The Equalizer), Topher Grace (The Double), Sharon Stone (Agent X), John Leguizamo (Executive Decision) and Tony Hale (Veep) co-star. Watch the red band trailer here.

Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation 1-Sheet Poster Revealed

Paramount unveiled the final 1-sheet for Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation on the movie's Facebook page today. And, while I'm not normally a fan of photo montage posters, I have to say, I really like this one! I like the design, I like that it reminds me of the DVD covers for the TV seasons, and most of all I like that it reinforces that the Mission: Impossible film franchise has finally become a team series, like its TV predecessor. While we've seen a set of character posters for this film already (and Ghost Protocol had one as well), all of the previous Mission: Impossible 1-sheets (even the decidedly team-oriented Ghost Protocol), to the best of my recollection, featured only Tom Cruise (usually in his distinctive profile). This poster would seem to represent a full evolution of the film series becoming more like the TV show, which is a great thing! (Rogue Nation also features the return of The Syndicate, the primary antagonist in the final seasons of the show.) Here, Cruise is flanked by Rebecca Ferguson, Simon Pegg, Jeremy Renner, Ving Rhames and Alec Baldwin. Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation opens July 31. View the latest trailer here.

Man From U.N.C.L.E. Character Poster: Alicia Vikander's Gaby Teller

Following yesterday's reveal of the Napoleon Solo character poster for The Man From U.N.C.L.E., today Warner Bros. released a second characters poster. But rather than following Napoleon with Illya, they chose to showcase one of the movie's leading ladies, Alicia Vikander as Gaby Teller. (Teller was not a character on the original TV series, but seems to fill the show's formula role of "the innocent" somehow caught up in U.N.C.L.E.'s spy action.) This decision is hardly surprising, as the red-hot Vikander, coming off of a scene-stealing, Oscar-worthy performance in the critical and commercial success Ex Machina, may well be the movie's biggest star at the moment. The Swedish actress will keep on spying after her U.N.C.L.E. tour of duty ends, appearing opposite Matt Damon in the next Bourne movie, it was announced this week. But before that, she's still got a number of other movies set for release this year. Perhaps tomorrow we'll see an Illya Kuryakin poster.

First Man From U.N.C.L.E. Character Poster

While the final 1-sheet for The Man From U.N.C.L.E. was decidedly lackluster (especially compared to the striking teaser poster), at least there are much better character posters to look forward to. Here's the first one, showcasing Henry Cavill as Napoleon Solo (played on the Sixties TV series by Robert Vaughn). Presumably we can expect an Illya Kuryakin poster featuring Armie Hammer soon, and perhaps even an Alexander Waverly poster with Hugh Grant. The Man From U.N.C.L.E. opens August 14. Watch the latest trailer here.

First Trailer, New Poster and Images for Sicario With Emily Blunt, Victor Garber and Jeffrey Donovan

Lionsgate has released a stylish new poster and a thrilling, fantastic and dread-inspiring first trailer for Sicario, Denis Villeneuve's pitch-black look at U.S. inter-agency cooperation (or lack thereof) in the war on drugs. Emily Blunt (Edge of Tomorrow) stars as an idealistic FBI agent assigned by her boss (Alias's Victor Garber) to a task force including CIA agent Josh Brolin (Inherent Vice), DEA agent Jeffrey Donovan (Burn Notice), and a mysterious State Department-placed consultant (Licence to Kill's Benecio del Toro). The trailer affords us our first look at a mustachioed, bespectacled Donovan in this role, and new images below show Garber. As excited as I am for the terrific-looking popcorn spy thrillers on the horizon (Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol, The Man From U.N.C.L.E., SPECTRE), Sicario looks like the movie to beat in the dead-serious, le Carré stakes this fall, and a definite Oscar contender.

New Man From U.N.C.L.E. Poster

Warner Bros. has released a new poster for The Man From U.N.C.L.E. in advance of the new trailer expected this evening or tomorrow (after premiering on Entertainment Tonight). Hm. It's not as striking as the teaser poster, which was pretty good. Even allowing that all movie posters nowadays are pretty boring (especially compared to the vibrant Sixties and Seventies spy artwork of Frank McCarthy and Robert McGinnis), this one is kind of a letdown. I like the colors, and I like the individual elements (exotic location, girls, guns, cool car... yep, this is a spy movie in the Sixties vein!), but the boring Photoshopped layout is underwhelming. Hopefully there will be some more variations before release, or ideally a Mondo design (like the recent one for Spy) that gives us some new U.N.C.L.E. artwork... Also, I'm kind of surprised that Alicia Vikander isn't more prominent after her starmaking turn in the sleeper hit Ex Machina. Stay tuned for that new trailer imminently! In the meantime, why not enjoy the unbelievably excellent first one again?

Art Poster For Spy

20th Century Fox has released a new Mondo poster design for its Melissa McCarthy/Jason Statham comedy Spy, opening tonight. I like the retro artwork that evokes Seventies and Eighties comedies like The Trouble With Spies and 1941 (though the faces aren't quite cartoony enough for that style), but I would have personally preferred to see this cast rendered in a classic Bondian McCarthy or McGinnis style. Still, it's a good poster for a very funny movie. The campaign for this film has been pretty great all around, from strong parody posters to album artwork.

Different U.S. Cover Artwork for James Bond Continuation Novel Trigger Mortis

The Book Bond points out that Amazon has posted the cover artwork for the American edition of Anthony Horowitz's upcoming James Bond continuation novel, Trigger Mortis. As usual, it is different from its UK counterpart. While the British edition from Orion departed from traditional Bond covers with an interesting blueprint design, Harper's U.S. version trades on traditional Bondian imagery including a martini and the silhouette of a naked woman. The U.S. publisher's description of the 320-page novel also includes some details omitted from the UK press release:

Incorporating original, never-before-published material from 007 creator Ian Fleming, New York Times bestselling author Anthony Horowitz returns literary legend James Bond to his 1950s heyday in this exhilarating and dashing thriller.

The world's most famous spy, James Bond, has just returned victorious from his showdown with Auric Goldfinger in Fort Knox. By his side is the glamorous and streetwise Pussy Galore, who played no small part in his success. As they settle down in London, the odds of Galore taming the debonair bachelor seem slim—but she herself is a creature not so easily caught.

Meanwhile, the struggle for superiority between the Soviet Union and the West is escalating. In an attempt to demonstrate Soviet strength, SMERSH plans to sabotage an international Grand Prix in the hot zone of West Germany. At the Nürburgring Racing Circuit, Bond must play a high-speed game of cat and mouse to stop them, but when he observes a secretive meeting between SMERSH's driver and a notorious Korean millionaire, it becomes clear that this is just the infamous organization's opening move.

An orphan of the Korean War, he has a personal reason for wanting to bring America to its knees. He's helping SMERSH decisively end the white-hot space race—but how? With the help of an American female agent, Bond uncovers a plan that leads first to Florida and then to New York City, where a heart-stopping face-off will determine the fate of the West.

This thriller has all the hallmarks of an original Ian Fleming adventure and features welcome familiar faces, including M and Miss Moneypenny. Horowitz delivers a smooth and seductive narrative of fast cars and beautiful women, ruthless villains and breathtaking plot that will leave readers hanging until the very end.

Trigger Mortis comes out in America and the UK on September 8.

Jim Steranko's Nick Fury Birthday Card

©Steranko

Comic Art Fans has a Steranko Nick Fury illustration for sale that I've never seen before that's truly incredible. This piece was created as a birthday gift to Marvel editor and Fury co-creator Stan Lee in the early 1970s. I'm surprised this piece isn't better known. Though rough, I think it ranks up there with the iconic cover for Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. #4 in terms of definitive Fury images. Rarely have I seen the essence of superspydom boiled down so succinctly in a single image. I love it! A well-heeled spy fan can own the original for just $7,000.

New Trailer and Poster for Spy Starring McCarthy and Statham

Fox has released a new trailer and new poster for Paul Feig's summer spy comedy Spy, starring Melissa McCarthy, Jason Statham, Jude Law, Rose Byrne, Bobby Cannavale and Peter Serafinowicz. Personally, I can't wait to see Statham do a spy comedy. And the new poster is interesting, too. All of Spy's posters so far have been James Bond parodies. The first one saw McCarthy imitating Daniel Craig's firing-from-his-back pose from the Skyfall 1-sheet, and more recently we saw Statham sporting a turtleneck in a send-up of the just-unveiled SPECTRE teaser poster. We have yet to see Craig strike the classic Bond pose of Dalton and Brosnan (gripping a Walther with two hands next to his head), but now we can see McCarthy give it a try in this gold-hued Spy poster. And on top of that there's the pretty clear nod to Shirley Eaton in Goldfinger. I think it's a pretty clever—and amusing—campaign. Spy doesn't open until June 6, but bolstered by positive reviews in the trades, Fox have already begun having sneak previews to build word of mouth. And all the word I've heard so far has been pretty positive!

New SPECTRE Poster Unveiled

Today the official James Bond website unveiled four versions of a new advance poster for the 24th official 007 movie, SPECTRE. The stark image shows Daniel Craig (sporting a much more Bondian haircut than he did in Skyfall) dressed for action in a dark mock turtleneck and shoulder holster. It instantly conveys a plethora of screen spy history--not only a classic shot of Roger Moore in a similar pose for Live and Let Die, but also other agents with similar styles, from Illya Kuryakin to Number 6 to Sterling Archer. The four versions released online include a black and white US advance (above), a color US advance, a black and white UK quad, and a color UK quad (below). Personally, I rather like it... though my girlfriend scoffed that it made Bond look like Putin. It's unclear if both the color and monochrome (save for Craig's blue eyes) versions will make it into cinemas, or if one is online only. SPECTRE opens November 6 worldwide.

First Man From U.N.C.L.E. Poster Revealed

The amazing trailer wasn't the only piece of Man From U.N.C.L.E. promotional material unveiled yesterday. Warner Bros. also released the first teaser poster for the Guy Ritchie film version of the Sixties TV classic starring Henry Cavill and Armie Hammer, and, happily, it looks classy and fantastic! There's also a half-sheet version. On top of that, the studio opened up an official website and Facebook page. Check them out! Is it August yet?

Equalizer Teaser Poster Unveiled

Yahoo! has unveiled the teaser poster for the feature film version of the 80s TV series The Equalizer. After being in development for years and years and going through multiple star attachments, the movie opens in September. Denzel Washington stars as McCall, the former secret agent who atones for past sins by using his spy skills to help those with the odds against them. (I wish the poster said, "Odds against you? Need help? Call the Equalizer." But this is actually a pretty cool image.) As reported last week, the second season the TV show will finally materialize on Region 1 DVD the month before in conjunction with the movie.