IDW Publishing closed its New York Comic Con panel on Friday with two license announcements. It now holds the comics license for James Bond, with Grant Morrison writing the first story, and its horror imprint IDW Dark is adapting Blumhouse franchises The Purge, M3GAN, and Happy Death Day. The Hollywood Reporter announced the Bond deal Friday morning, and The Beat reported both reveals from the panel room.
Grant Morrison’s 007: Sunbreaker
IDW is partnering with Ian Fleming Publications on all-new James Bond comics. Morrison, the writer behind All-Star Superman, a long Batman run, Animal Man, and Doom Patrol, will open the line with Sunbreaker, a six-part adventure. The Hollywood Reporter notes that Sunbreaker is the title of that opening story, not of the comic itself, which has not been named. No artist or release date has been announced.
Morrison was not at the Javits Center but introduced the book in a video played at the panel. “We’re bringing Bond into the contemporary world of desert war, rogue AI, fake news, billionaire bad guys, and the assault on democracy,” they said in the video, as transcribed by Bleeding Cool. They promised new vehicles, new gadgets, and “a terrifying new ultimate villain.”
In the announcement, Morrison called Bond “a British character as iconic as King Arthur, Robin Hood or Sherlock Holmes” and said Sunbreaker “attempts to create a definitive Bond story featuring everything fans love about the character and his world, while adding a whole lot more.” They described a Bond who “glides like a killer shark among minnows. Charismatic, ruthless, unstoppable.”
“Our goal isn’t to simply provide supplemental and optional stories,” IDW CEO Davidi Jonas said. “We strive to take radical swings which celebrate and stay true to the very qualities that make the franchise special while also reinventing it for the modern comic book landscape.” Simon Ward, publishing director at Ian Fleming Publications, said “there are some adventures that can only be told through comics.” AIPT reports that more Bond comics are planned beyond Sunbreaker. Before IDW, Dynamite Entertainment held the Bond comics license, according to AIPT.
Blumhouse comes to IDW Dark
The Purge comic leads off the Blumhouse slate in 2027, with M3GAN and Happy Death Day to follow, Entertainment Weekly reports. Dan Watters writes The Purge with art by Juan José Ryp, and Tim Seeley writes Happy Death Day. A writer for M3GAN has not been named. Heather Antos, who leads IDW Dark, told EW the imprint had been talking with Blumhouse for more than a year, and The Beat calls the deal the first time Blumhouse has brought its horror franchises to comics.
The deal adds to an already busy week for IDW’s horror push, which started Monday with IDW Goes Dark, its 2027 horror takeover of Sonic, TMNT, Godzilla, and Star Trek. The panel also confirmed that Summer and Fall, the final volume of Patrick Horvath’s Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees, arrives in 2027.
