Comic Book Cats, number 115: Dark Horse Comics #10 starring James Bond, drawn by John Watkiss, written by Das Petrou, lettered by Woodrow Phoenix and colored by Trevor Goring, published by Dark Horse in May 1993.Dark Horse Comics was a short-lived anthology title that ran for 25 issues. Unlike the black & white Dark Horse Presents, DHC was in color, and the features were of a more mainstream, commercial variety, with a focus on licensed properties. Among these was Ian Fleming’s iconic British secret agent James Bond.
“Light of My Death” was a four-part serial that ran in DHC #8-11. Set in the 1960s, it was something of a blend of the original gritty, hard-edged novels and the somewhat lighter, more fantastical movies. In this scene from the third chapter, Bond is eavesdropping on the villains’ headquarters on a boat moored outside Hong Kong. The main villain is unnamed, but the fluffy white cat sitting in his lap is a clear indication that this is intended to be Ernst Stavro Blofeld, the diabolical head of SPECTRE.
British artist John Watkiss worked on Conan for Marvel, Sandman, Human Target and Deadman for DC, and Mullkon Empire from Tekno Comics / Big Entertainment. He was also a well-regarded painter. Additionally, Watkiss worked on several animated features, most notably Tarzan for Disney, on which he was a visual development artist. Regrettably, he passed away from cancer in 2017 at the age of 55.
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