Octopussy

Publisher: Daily Express
Released: 14th November 1966 to
27th May 1967
Serial: #264 to #428
Artist: Yaroslav Horak
Writers: Ian Fleming, Jim Lawrence

Data Stream
Villains: Major Dexter Smythe, Yat Foo, Kim Foo
Bond Girls: Trudi Oberhauser, Mary Goodnight
Allies: M, Bill Tanner,
Locations: Austrian Alps, London, Jamaica.
 


Above: Bond assists Trudi Oberhauser in her investigation of her father's murder.

Capsule Synopsis
When an old friend's body is found in the Alps 20 years after he disappeared, James Bond quickly finds himself caught between Nazi gold, the Chinese Tongs and the savage, eight-armed embrace of Octopussy! Mountain guide Hannes Oberhauser was the man who taught James Bond how to ski, and two decades later 007 must team up with his daughter Trudi to hunt for his killer.


Above: The opening panel of "Octopussy"


Above: Like a true Bond villain, Smythe had an impressive base of operations - with a waterfront entrace straight from the sea into his living room.
 

Source To Strip
By this point in the comic strip series, original material was thin on the ground, so Lawrence took to adapting Fleming's short stories.

The central plot of Major Dexter Smythe and his cache of Nazi gold remains as Fleming had written, but Lawrence created back story with the Chinese Tong gang and Trudi Oberhauser added to put flesh on the bones. For the (perhaps overlong) main body of the story, Bond is essentially a murder investigator in this expanded version.

For the conclusion, Lawrence adds another twist to Fleming's short story. Dexter Smythe gives his dying confession to Bond, but only after a new underwater face-off action sequence added by Lawrence.

Best Line
Bond: "Forgive Barbarian tactics, but humble servant object most strongly to being tailed."

Trivia
"Octopussy" was the first Fleming-based comic strip that was significantly changed by Jim Lawrence.

MI6 Rating
Story
Artwork
Overall

 

Available Now!

Publisher: Titan Books
Released: 20th February 2004
Titles Included: "Octopussy", "The Hildebrand Rarity"

"Octopussy" by Titan Books

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