ROBERT VALLEY'S WONDER WOMAN

The DC Nation block on Cartoon Network this Saturday includes a Wonder Woman short that comic sites are saying is the coolest take on the character in many years. The film was animated by Robert Valley, a Canadian artist who put his creative stamp on modern classics like Tron: Uprising, Aeon Flux, and the Beatles Rock Band promo film. Valley creates stylish cartoon worlds populated by tall and lanky characters who exude youthful attitude and energy. His Wonder Woman is a young baddass with a tricked-out Hot Rod that really puts a new spin on the classic (see clip below). This Saturday will also see the debut of the new cgi series, Beware the Batman, with designs by Shane Glines. DC Nation starts at 10 a.m. (eastern). Enjoy your Saturday morning cartoons! Interview with Shane Glines here.

Spy Vibe is having a giant Summer Sale with new items listed every few days! Items include First Editions of Fleming, Gardner, Deighton, Rare Large-Print 007 editions, Raymond Benson, Gulyashki, Man From UNCLE, Beatles, Corgi, music items and CDs, and More! Save with combined shipping. Head over to eBay for details here. Happy collecting, fellow Spy Vibers!

Get ready to meet MIKI ZERO, a Japanese fashion model and spy from 1965! That's right, I've written a novel inspired by Spy Vibe. More info at my website here.

Check Spy Vibe for recent posts about Batman '66 and Warhol, our fiendish villains archive, Cold War Comics, Sam Mendes back for Bond, Spy Vibe heroes and Wild Things, book design dopplegangers, Christopher Lee, Bettie Page, Dashiell Hammett, Miles Davis, WWII spy Krystyna Skarbek, recycled James Bond covers, interview with Fu Manchu author William Maynard,  Man From UNCLE manga, Orson Welles the Shadow, rare Piero Umiliani Kriminal soundtrack, new Beatles Yellow Submarine game, James Bond audio book re-issues, Mid-Century Modern in Peanuts, my review of SKYFALL and more. Spy Vibe is now on Pinterest! Check out our image archives and follow us here. For Your Shelf Only collecting series links: Jon Gilbert, Raymond Benson, Jeremy Duns, Peter Lorenz, David Foster, Rob Mallows, Roger Langley, Craig Arthur, Fleming Short, Matt Sherman. 

Can you help 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! 

AGENT BATMAN

With all of the current Batman movies and multiple comic titles published each month by DC Comics, the character has become an ubiquitous feature of the pop landscape. Batman stories have always intrigued me. Even in pre-school, I recall my childhood pal and I pretending to be the Caped Crusaders in his parents' black car, which sported cool Batmobile fins. Despite a life-long healthy interest, I didn't expect to come down with a serious case of Batmania this summer. Next Wednesday DC Comics will roll out the print edition of its new Batman 66 comic book. Based on the TV show with Adam West, the comic series is set to celebrate the Pop Art style and whimsical tone of the original series. The boy in me has been absolutely thrilled to look at the preview comic panels (see my collage below), and the many '66-style toys coming out this summer. Spy Vibers attending Comic-Con can even pick up an exclusive Batusi toy with box art by Shag. Did you know that Adam West was picked to audition for Batman based on his dry comedic timing in a James Bond-inspired commercial for Nestle Quick? See video below.

I have also been anticipating the launch of a new animated series called Beware the Batman. Starting this Saturday morning on Cartoon Network, the show is the next incarnation of Batman cartoons. I will post an interview soon on Spy Vibe with one of the designers, Shane Glines, who has worked on Batman since the golden days of The Animated Series with Bruce Timm. Some fans are weary that the new show will be CGI, but I have hopes that the designs and storytelling will be successful. Here is a preview of the title sequence with the catchy theme song by the Dum Dum Girls. Stay tuned for my interview with Glines as Batmania continues on Spy Vibe.

Spy Vibe's ultimate Batman image archive on Pinterest here. Batman and Andy Warhol post here. Teen Titans and Secret Agent here. My visit to the original Batcave location here. Trivia: The new cartoon theme is by the Dum Dum Girls. When I was playing Batman with my pal in pre-school, his dog was named Dum Dum.

Spy Vibe is having a giant Summer Sale with new items listed every few days! Items include First Editions of Fleming, Gardner, Deighton, Rare Large-Print 007 editions, Raymond Benson, Gulyashki, Man From UNCLE, Beatles, Corgi, music items and CDs, and More! Save with combined shipping. Head over to eBay for details here. Happy collecting, fellow Spy Vibers!

Get ready to meet MIKI ZERO, a Japanese fashion model and spy from 1965! That's right, I've written a novel inspired by Spy Vibe. More info at my website here.

Check Spy Vibe for recent posts about Batman '66 and Warhol, our fiendish villains archive, Cold War Comics, Sam Mendes back for Bond, Spy Vibe heroes and Wild Things, book design dopplegangers, Christopher Lee, Bettie Page, Dashiell Hammett, Miles Davis, WWII spy Krystyna Skarbek, recycled James Bond covers, interview with Fu Manchu author William Maynard,  Man From UNCLE manga, Orson Welles the Shadow, rare Piero Umiliani Kriminal soundtrack, new Beatles Yellow Submarine game, James Bond audio book re-issues, Mid-Century Modern in Peanuts, my review of SKYFALL and more. Spy Vibe is now on Pinterest! Check out our image archives and follow us here. For Your Shelf Only collecting series links: Jon Gilbert, Raymond Benson, Jeremy Duns, Peter Lorenz, David Foster, Rob Mallows, Roger Langley, Craig Arthur, Fleming Short, Matt Sherman. 

Can you help 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! 

NEW BOND NOVEL EVENT

The new James Bond continuation novel, Solo by William Boyd (Any Human Heart), will debut this autumn in a gala reception in London. The details of the event have been released and include an introduction by Lucy Fleming and an author talk about writing in Ian Fleming's 007 universe. Thanks to The Book Bond for putting this on our radar. Details below:

Boyd on Bond

William Boyd marks publication of new James Bond novel

with major event at

Southbank Centre, London

Thursday 26 September 2013

7.30pm 

International bestselling author William Boyd will discuss his thrilling new James Bond novel, Solo, for the first time in public at a major event at the Queen Elizabeth Hall at London’s Southbank Centre, on Thursday 26 September, the day of publication.

Boyd, in conversation with GQ literary editor, Olivia Cole, will discuss Ian Fleming and his experience of writing about the world’s most iconic spy. Introducing the event will be special guest, Lucy Fleming, Ian Fleming’s niece.

Combining all the glamour and excitement of Ian Fleming’s original novels with masterful storytelling, Solo is a stylish, period novel set in 1969, featuring 007 as a veteran agent at 45. Spanning three continents, Bond’s new mission takes an unexpected turn whilst in Africa, forcing him to go ‘solo’. 

William Boyd is the author of 14 novels including Any Human Heart and Restless and has won several awards, including the Costa Book Award and the James Tait Black Memorial Prize.

He will be signing copies of Solo after the event.

Solo will be released by Jonathan Cape in the UK on September 26, 2013 (Amazon.co.uk) and by HarperCollins in the U.S. on October 8, 2013 (Amazon.com). You can learn more about William Boyd and Fleming in Boyd's interview on the Ian Fleming website here. Getty image below.

Spy Vibe is having a giant Summer Sale with new items listed every few days! Items include First Editions of Fleming, Gardner, Deighton, Rare Large-Print 007 editions, Raymond Benson, Gulyashki, Man From UNCLE, Beatles, Corgi, music items and CDs, and More! Save with combined shipping. Head over to eBay for details here. Happy collecting, fellow Spy Vibers!

Get ready to meet MIKI ZERO, a Japanese fashion model and spy from 1965! That's right, I've written a novel inspired by Spy Vibe. More info at my website here.

Check Spy Vibe for recent posts about Batman '66 and Warhol, our fiendish villains archive, Cold War Comics, Sam Mendes back for Bond, Spy Vibe heroes and Wild Things, book design dopplegangers, Christopher Lee, Bettie Page, Dashiell Hammett, Miles Davis, WWII spy Krystyna Skarbek, recycled James Bond covers, interview with Fu Manchu author William Maynard,  Man From UNCLE manga, Orson Welles the Shadow, rare Piero Umiliani Kriminal soundtrack, new Beatles Yellow Submarine game, James Bond audio book re-issues, Mid-Century Modern in Peanuts, my review of SKYFALL and more. Spy Vibe is now on Pinterest! Check out our image archives and follow us here. For Your Shelf Only collecting series links: Jon Gilbert, Raymond Benson, Jeremy Duns, Peter Lorenz, David Foster, Rob Mallows, Roger Langley, Craig Arthur, Fleming Short, Matt Sherman. 

Can you help 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! 

ATOMIC LAUGHS: BORIS & NATASHA

Heroes from the Cold War had to contend with a gruesome rogue's gallery of villains, from Blofeld and Spectre to the agents of Thrush and Chaos. If your tastes run toward quick-witted humor and puns, two of the most hilarious baddies from the 1960s are the dastardly dark duo from Pottsylvania, Boris Badenov and Natasha Fatale. Voiced by Paul Fries and June Foray, Boris and Natasha concocted their diabolical schemes on Rocky & His Friends (Bullwinkle 1959-1964). These enemy agents took their orders from Fearless Leader, and set about their schemes of sabotage and espionage with the aid of secret disguises and deadly gadgets. 

Spy Vibers may want to take advantage of a current discount on Amazon. The Best of Boris and Natasha Vol. 1 DVD is currently $4.99. From Amazon. "Wittily written and voiced, these timeless classics are a fond salute to old-time melodrama and remain some of the funniest cartoons ever made." Contents: 6 episode Pottsylvania Creeper, Bullwinkle's Corner, The Queen of Hearts Blink, Master of Disguise  Mr. Know It All "How to Do Stunts in the Movies", 4 episode Moosylvania, Rocky & Bullwinkle Fan Club, Boris's Fan Club, 4 episode Moosylvania Saved, Bullwinkle's Corner, How to be Happy. Run time: 60 minutes" 

The 4-disc Complete Second Season is currently discounted on Amazon for $6.97. A truly funny cartoon, Bullwinkle remains a valuable window into Cold War culture. Among the send-ups to classic cliffhanger conventions, Spy Vibers can also get a glimpse of serious themes looming large for kids in the early 1960s. In this clip below Boris and Natasha plot to obtain an A Bomb!

Spy Vibe is having a giant Summer Sale with new items listed every few days! Items include First Editions of Fleming, Gardner, Deighton, Rare Large-Print 007 editions, Raymond Benson, Gulyashki, Man From UNCLE, Beatles, Corgi, music items and CDs, and More! Save with combined shipping. Head over to eBay for details here. Happy collecting, fellow Spy Vibers!

Get ready to meet MIKI ZERO, a Japanese fashion model and spy from 1965! That's right, I've written a novel inspired by Spy Vibe. More info at my website here.

Check Spy Vibe for recent posts about Batman '66 and Warhol, our fiendish villains archive, Cold War Comics, Sam Mendes back for Bond, Spy Vibe heroes and Wild Things, book design dopplegangers, Christopher Lee, Bettie Page, Dashiell Hammett, Miles Davis, WWII spy Krystyna Skarbek, recycled James Bond covers, interview with Fu Manchu author William Maynard,  Man From UNCLE manga, Orson Welles the Shadow, rare Piero Umiliani Kriminal soundtrack, new Beatles Yellow Submarine game, James Bond audio book re-issues, Mid-Century Modern in Peanuts, my review of SKYFALL and more. Spy Vibe is now on Pinterest! Check out our image archives and follow us here. For Your Shelf Only collecting series links: Jon Gilbert, Raymond Benson, Jeremy Duns, Peter Lorenz, David Foster, Rob Mallows, Roger Langley, Craig Arthur, Fleming Short, Matt Sherman. 

Can you help 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! 

RARE PHANTOM STOCK DISCOVERED

A small number of The Phantom Chronicles has been discovered in the Moonstone back stock. This rare volume of Phantom stories received great reviews, but quickly went out of print and became an expensive book on the back market. Fans who were facing price tags well above $100 can now pick up a copy directly from Moonstone for $15.95 -while supplies last!

From Moonstone: "17 new prose short stories of the PHANTOM! High adventure and intrigue in the African jungle, on the high seas, and in the city! Interior illustrations by Disney sculptor extraordinaire Ruben Procopio! And an introduction by The Phantom’s creator’s (Lee Falk) daughter Valerie! -line up of authors: Craig Shaw Gardner, Jim Alexander, David Bishop, Mike Bullock, Ron Fortier, Richard Dean Starr, Clay & Susan Griffith, CJ Henderson, Nancy Kilpatrick, David Michelinie, Will Murray, Mike Oliveri, Martin Powell, Ed Rhoades, Trina Robbins, and Dan Wickline." 240 pages. Published by Moonstone in 2007.

Spy Vibe is having a giant Summer Sale with new items listed every few days! Items include First Editions of Fleming, Gardner, Deighton, Rare Large-Print 007 editions, Raymond Benson, Gulyashki, Man From UNCLE, Beatles, Corgi, music items and CDs, and More! Save with combined shipping. Head over to eBay for details here. Happy collecting, fellow Spy Vibers!

Get ready to meet MIKI ZERO, a Japanese fashion model and spy from 1965! That's right, I've written a novel inspired by Spy Vibe. More info at my website here.

Check Spy Vibe for recent posts about Batman '66 and Warhol, our fiendish villains archive, Cold War Comics, Sam Mendes back for Bond, Spy Vibe heroes and Wild Things, book design dopplegangers, Christopher Lee, Bettie Page, Dashiell Hammett, Miles Davis, WWII spy Krystyna Skarbek, recycled James Bond covers, interview with Fu Manchu author William Maynard,  Man From UNCLE manga, Orson Welles the Shadow, rare Piero Umiliani Kriminal soundtrack, new Beatles Yellow Submarine game, James Bond audio book re-issues, Mid-Century Modern in Peanuts, my review of SKYFALL and more. Spy Vibe is now on Pinterest! Check out our image archives and follow us here. For Your Shelf Only collecting series links: Jon Gilbert, Raymond Benson, Jeremy Duns, Peter Lorenz, David Foster, Rob Mallows, Roger Langley, Craig Arthur, Fleming Short, Matt Sherman. 

Can you help 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! 

JONNY QUEST RECREATION

Like many Spy Vibers, animator Roger D Evans was captivated as a kid by the ultra-cool title sequence from Jonny Quest (1964-1965). Inspired by the jazzy score by Hoyt Curtin (Flintstones, Whacky Races, Josie and the Pussycats, Super Friends) and visuals by Doug Wildey (Marvel Super Heroes, Return to the Planet of the Apes, Incredible Hulk), he set out to recreate the Jonny Quest opening in stop-motion using his own home-made toys. The results were such a success that Evans was able to raise over $15,000 on Kickstarter in hopes of producing a stop-motion version of a 20 minute episode from the 1960s. The project did not reach its needed goal of $65,000, but the title sequence below lives on to be loved and admired by fans. I hope Evans can follow through with his idea in the future. Nothing beats the original, of course, but it's a thrill to see such a reverential effort in this style. Direct Vimeo link here.

Jonny Quest Opening Titles from Roger D. Evans on Vimeo.

Spy Vibe is having a giant Summer Sale with new items listed every few days! Items include First Editions of Fleming, Gardner, Deighton, Rare Large-Print 007 editions, Raymond Benson, Gulyashki, Man From UNCLE, Beatles, Corgi, music items and CDs, and More! Save with combined shipping. Head over to eBay for details here. Happy collecting, fellow Spy Vibers!

Get ready to meet MIKI ZERO, a Japanese fashion model and spy from 1965! That's right, I've written a novel inspired by Spy Vibe. More info at my website here.

Check Spy Vibe for recent posts about Batman '66 and Warhol, our fiendish villains archive, Cold War Comics, Sam Mendes back for Bond, Spy Vibe heroes and Wild Things, book design dopplegangers, Christopher Lee, Bettie Page, Dashiell Hammett, Miles Davis, WWII spy Krystyna Skarbek, recycled James Bond covers, interview with Fu Manchu author William Maynard,  Man From UNCLE manga, Orson Welles the Shadow, rare Piero Umiliani Kriminal soundtrack, new Beatles Yellow Submarine game, James Bond audio book re-issues, Mid-Century Modern in Peanuts, my review of SKYFALL and more. Spy Vibe is now on Pinterest! Check out our image archives and follow us here. For Your Shelf Only collecting series links: Jon Gilbert, Raymond Benson, Jeremy Duns, Peter Lorenz, David Foster, Rob Mallows, Roger Langley, Craig Arthur, Fleming Short, Matt Sherman. 

Can you help 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!