BAMComix Presents - Hidden In The Shadows - Chapter Twenty Nine- Auld Agents, Auld Problems

Oh, this is good stuff! Starts out funny, becomes hilarious, then turns toward the serious, while tying in nearly all the separate storylines from the larger story arc. In addition to introducing Bond-Fleming, the episode offers further character development on existing characters, including Tibias, and even touches upon the mysterious and reclusive General Nishizumi! Very clever, very entertaining, and there's a lot happening here underneath the laughs!

Moments that caught my eye as I read through include:

That shot of Tibias coming down the stairs, wondering who Jenna is talking to, totally took me by surprise! I laughed out loud! It was all that absurd lead-up with the Bond plot references, with a perfect "punch line," so to speak!

Nice cigarette smoke effect!

Uh oh, indeed! Jenna senses fireworks incoming!

Now I'm being distracted by background details! The map with the fold crease in it. The very 1960s ashtray. And... that ship model! A destroyer, is it? With a "dazzle" paint scheme?

Clever insertion of the image on the laptop screen.

That bloke who starred in 'Zardoz.' - Another LOL!

This is funny! Jenna is totally shocked to see the reclusive and mysterious Mister Tibias lured in to a tit-for-tat game of one-upsmanship by his old friend-foe-associate, Bond-Fleming!

This keeps getting better! Is Tibias asking Jenna to step out because of Top Secret Stuff that might be discussed? Or because this conversation is about to become even more juvenile?

And, oh yes, a tarantula!

Oh... clever the way this circles back to the Jake/Redbox flashback story!

Look at that shrewd Mr Bond, sewing seeds of distrust in Tibias for his own supervisors!

Pulling nearly all the story threads together on page 620! That was smoothly accomplished!

And we are learning a bit about the mysterious General Nishizumi, who is basically Tibias' counterpart, overseeing the operations of Kimono Troop Command the way Tibias is responsible for BAM-HQ. Interesting.

The one who looks like Simon Templar! Nice one! (Uncanny resemblance to Beau Maverick, as well!)

The discussion turns serious, raising the spectre of Redbox, and the near-universal distrust with which he is regarded!

Seems like Bond-Fleming touched a nerve, there, at the end!

Will Redbox end up a permanent resident of Dinosaur Valley... in the form of dinosaur scat? Stay Tuned!

(And... is that an invitation for Cousin Monday to make an appearance in Hidden in the Shadows?)

SCU_HQ wrote:

Oh, this is good stuff! Starts out funny, becomes hilarious, then turns toward the serious, while tying in nearly all the separate storylines from the larger story arc. In addition to introducing Bond-Fleming, the episode offers further character development on existing characters, including Tibias, and even touches upon the mysterious and reclusive General Nishizumi! Very clever, very entertaining, and there's a lot happening here underneath the laughs!



Thank-you

Moments that caught my eye as I read through include:

That shot of Tibias coming down the stairs, wondering who Jenna is talking to, totally took me by surprise! I laughed out loud! It was all that absurd lead-up with the Bond plot references, with a perfect "punch line," so to speak!

I thought that line about the back streets of Edinburgh ruffian was cute.

Nice cigarette smoke effect!

Photoshop brush I downloaded from Deviant Art.

Uh oh, indeed! Jenna senses fireworks incoming!

Now I'm being distracted by background details! The map with the fold crease in it. The very 1960s ashtray. And... that ship model! A destroyer, is it? With a "dazzle" paint scheme?

Correct. 1/700 scale WWII British destroyer.  Just right for a large scale ship model at 1/6 scale.  

Clever insertion of the image on the laptop screen.

A lot of perspective correction and image distortion necessary, but Photoshop makes this easy.

That bloke who starred in 'Zardoz.' - Another LOL!

The chap who starred in Zardoz did eventually win an academy award, though not for that silly film.

This is funny! Jenna is totally shocked to see the reclusive and mysterious Mister Tibias lured in to a tit-for-tat game of one-upsmanship by his old friend-foe-associate, Bond-Fleming!

I think she wants to stay and watch

This keeps getting better! Is Tibias asking Jenna to step out because of Top Secret Stuff that might be discussed? Or because this conversation is about to become even more juvenile?

Maybe he's afraid of being talked to this way in front of an underling?

And, oh yes, a tarantula!

Don't forget the bloody tarantula.


Oh... clever the way this circles back to the Jake/Redbox flashback story!

That was sort of the central theme of the story, so we had to get there eventually. Also, I think the big revelation here is that Jake was on track to being promoted to Double-O rank and would have become 007 when Sir James retired.

Look at that shrewd Mr Bond, sewing seeds of distrust in Tibias for his own supervisors!

My theory is that M never told Tibias about wanting to promote Jake, because Tibias would object to losing his best man from his team and having him become an over-glorified playboy agent.

Pulling nearly all the story threads together on page 620! That was smoothly accomplished!

From 622 to the top of 625 was mainly Dal writing. The bottom of 625 is me.

And we are learning a bit about the mysterious General Nishizumi, who is basically Tibias' counterpart, overseeing the operations of Kimono Troop Command the way Tibias is responsible for BAM-HQ. Interesting.

She seems to have a similar function as Tibias, but does not have his disdain for Double-O caliber agents.

The one who looks like Simon Templar! Nice one! (Uncanny resemblance to Beau Maverick, as well!)

   


Seems like Bond-Fleming touched a nerve, there, at the end!

I see Tibias as the sort of fellow who is not used to having his judgement questioned by anyone, perhaps not even M, so Sir James would naturally get on his nerves, as he does with most supervillains he encounters.  Notice this in the movies, especially the Connery films.  Bond never minces words with bad guys. He tells them to their faces what he thinks of them.



Will Redbox end up a permanent resident of Dinosaur Valley... in the form of dinosaur scat? Stay Tuned!

That's sort of up to Dal.

(And... is that an invitation for Cousin Monday to make an appearance in Hidden in the Shadows?)

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You can take it however you want to, but YES! [/size]

Fantastic Gary! I know I only contributed very little to the script of this chapter, but I think you tied it in beautifully! It had everything fun, humour, the odd movie reference, and f course, Bringing together the links of the story, just brilliant!
I think that these two defiantly bring out the worst in each other! like two school boys, competing for who is the best

Blondeactionman wrote:

Fantastic Gary! I know I only contributed very little to the script of this chapter, but I think you tied it in beautifully! It had everything fun, humour, the odd movie reference, and f course, Bringing together the links of the story, just brilliant!
I think that these two defiantly bring out the worst in each other! like two school boys, competing for who is the best

Thanks Dal,

I think it also opens a couple of doors.

1. What happens if Jake learns he would have become a Double-O had he not retired?

2. How will Tibias react to Sir James being involved in investigating Dinosaur Valley?

3. Given that Tibias clearly does not have a high opinion of K-Troop, how will he react upon learning that Jake and Kamiko are working closely together?

Great stuff! Loved all the Bond references and little tit-for-tat sparring, lol. Tiberius definitely has his hot buttons.

and my favorite Bond girl (Domino Derval) and favorite Bond girl villain (Fiona Volpe)

Interestingly, Claudine Auger (Domino) was rated as the all time #1 Bond Girl sometime in the 80's.  She's my favorite too.  As for Fiona Volpe, she als has to rate as pretty much at the top of Villain Bond girls.  I always find it amusing, how anticlimactic her sudden death is, shot by one of her own henchmen trying to hit Bond and of course, I love the flippant way he disposes of the body.

"Do you mind if my friend sits this one out?  She's just dead!"

Funny...but for reasons of my own, I watched one of the Roger Moore Bonds and suave has he was, there is simply no comparison between Sean Connery and Roger Moore in the role. Connery was and will ever be the definitive Bond.

Kimono Troop Command wrote:

Connery was and will ever be the definitive Bond.  

Of course!
He portrayed Bond as he was written. Sexist, chauvinist, hugely promiscuous, strongly physical.....and above all, extremely "masculine".
(He even had hair on his chest!) In the course of his missions, he often treated women appallingly.
All those attributes made for the perfect fantasy ultimate spy escapism.
Those are the exact same things that apparently now offend modern "sensibilities" and just cannot be qualities of the hero in films.

Roger Moore's performance is effete by comparison and you just can't really ever believe he could really beat up anyone if necessary.
And his often silly double-entendre attempts at sexual innuendo never quite manage to be amusing when he delivers them.

One of the immediately noticeable differences is how each delivered his trademark introduction. Connery could actually sound menacing just by saying "My name is Bond; James Bond." More never could.

as I've previously said, they should have stopped making the films when Connery quit