COMIC: ROCK KENT

Comic Strip Saturday: Rock Kent. The Third Man (1949) is not the only gem that sprang from director Carol Reed and writer Graham Greene. The two talents also united in 1958, when Reed brought Greene's whimsical espionage film, Our Man in Havana, to the big screen. Alec Guinness plays a vacuum cleaner salesman, who is recruited by Noel Coward to spy for England. Guinness decides to simply invent his network of spies and to regularly send fictitious intelligence back to London to earn his paycheck. All goes smoothly until London sends people to question the make-believe pilot about a recent 'mission.' Guinness panics. What to do? A daily comic strip called Rock Kent inspires a scheme. The comic strip in the film shows hero Rock Kent going down in his plane. Although it is just a one-off comic, I like to imagine it as a cliffhanger that could have continued with new installments. The comic is credited to Art Director, Syd Cain, who famously went on to design many James Bond films. Cain passed away in 2011. You can learn more about Syd Cain in the obituaries posted by Lee Pfeiffer of Cinema Retro, Graham Rye of 007 Magazine, and by Kim Newman of The Guardian.

Did you know that Spy Vibe has a Pinterest page? You can see Spy Vibe graphics, dynamic vintage action, cliffhanger serials, Japanese designs from the 1920s, vintage mystery novels, and more! Visit our Ian Fleming Image Archive here. Also in Spy Vibe news, I have a spy novella coming out soon! Stay tuned for more info. 

Check Spy Vibe for recent posts about 60th Anniversary of Casino Royale events, Cold War Photography, Operation Kid Brother (MST3K), the discovery of one of Ian Fleming's WWII Commandos, PG Tips Brooke Bond, Ian Fleming's Playboy interview for Kindle, 1960s espionage writers, Spy Vibe's discovery of a rare Ian Fleming serialization, my review of SKYFALL, 007 at the Intnl Spy Museum, Johnny Sokko and His Flying Robot and more. Here are the links from my recent series about Ian Fleming's music: Noel Coward,Whispering Jack Smith, Hawaiian Guitar, Joe Fingers Carr. 

Want to support Spy Vibe? Please make a small donation with our secure Paypal tip-jar link at the top left of the main page. Nothing is too small to help cover the increasing bills for the domain, web-forwarding and other costs to maintain the site. Thank you!

FOLIO SPIES

The Folio Society was founded in 1947 by Charles Ede and has continued to follow their mission to enhance the reading experience by paying close attention to the book itself. As they state on their website, typography, paper, illustration, slipcase, printing and binding are all chosen carefully to create a harmonious whole. The Folio books are sold individually, as well through subscriptions. There is a marketing aspect to their company that reminds me a bit of all of those variant editions that publishers hook us with, although Folio does not produce multiple versions of titles. They are editions made for book lovers and collectors, and I admit that I really enjoyed looking at their designs and choice of titles. As you might imagine, Folio has their hands in great classics from Greene, Conrad, Bradbury, Ambler, le Carre, and anthologies featuring The Strand, Conan Doyle, Ian Fleming, H.G Wells. They also printed a number of espionage memoirs and historic studies. I recently searched their listings and back-catalog and found some attractive editions that may appeal to fellow Spy Vibers. Best designs? I'm partial to Fahrenheit 451 and Enigma. What do you think?

Many of these titles are out of print, but you can still find copies easily. Books to check out: The Human Factor by Graham Greene, Memoirs of a British Agent by Bruce Lockhart, Mission to Tashkent by F.M Bailey, Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, The Secret Agent by Joseph Conrad, Adventure Stories From The Strand (featuring Conan Doyle, Kipling, H.G Wells, Somerset Maugham, Graham Greene, Sapper, others), The Spy's Bedside Book (featuring Ian Fleming, Graham Greene, John Buchan, others, and intro by former MI5 head), The Mask of Dimitrios by Eric Ambler, Crime Stories From the Strand, The Double Cross System by J.C Masterman, Enigma by Hugh Sebag-Montefiore, Smiley's People, The Honourable Schoolboy (not pictured), Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy by John le Carre, SOE by M.R.D Foot, and No Cloak No Dagger by Benjamin Cowburn. Photos below are from The Folio Society and Juniper Books. 

I have a spy novella coming out. Stay tuned and follow Spy Vibe by clicking the Follow link at top right of this page. 

Check Spy Vibe for recent posts about our discovery of a rare Ian Fleming serialization, my review of SKYFALL, tributes to Donald Richie and Tony Sheridan, the Les Vampires serial on Blu-ray, Lucy Fleming, The Beatles first record session, Ian Fleming's desert island interview, new Ian Fleming book designs, Fantomas, Spy Smasher, Barbarella tv show, British spy comics, Piper Gates retro designs, Cinema Retro, and more. 

Want to support Spy Vibe? Please make a small donation with our secure Paypal tip-jar link at the top left of the main page. Nothing is too small to help cover the increasing bills for the domain, web-forwarding and other costs to maintain the site. Thank you!