We got our hot, grubby little hands on the new James Bond magazine, Mi6 Declassified that originates in England. Although this is not sold on news stands or stores, it also isn't subscription-based, either. Apparently, issues will be printed periodically and you simply order them as each issue is published. Over the decades there have been numerous Bond magazines of widely varying quality. Mi6 Declassified boasts top production values. It is compromised somewhat by the fact that it consists of only 24 pages. However, there isn't any padding and the articles are extensive and informative. The premiere issue also follows the tradition of the best Bond-related magazines by not confining the contents to films. There is an interesting, behind-the-scenes look at the second-unit contributions to filming Casino Royale but there are also stories pertaining to the literary 007 and even an offbeat interview with Bond screenwriters Neal Purvis and Rob Wade that touches on Bond only peripherally by having them discuss their 007 spoof of several years ago, Johnny English. (The Rowan Atkinson starrer bombed in the U.S. but was a huge hit in the U.K.)
The magazine also covers the famous 1960s daily James Bond comic strips by artist John McLusky that ran in newspapers. The mag gets personal insights from McLusky's son Graham, who recalls the painstaking amount of research his father did in order to capture the essence of Ian Fleming's stories. (The strips were based on the novels, not the films). There is also an interview with author Charlie Higson, whose liine of Young Bond novels have defied the cynics by becoming best-sellers. Other unusual articles include an interesting look at how Sideshow Collectibles design their acclaimed series of James Bond statues and figurines and a behind-the-scenes story centering on how the sexy Bond babes featured in the From Russia With Love video game were designed, along with interviews with the actresses on whom the characters were based. (For us, this is the weakest article only because we've never embraced video games and are still trying to master Space Invaders.) The most entertaining piece is a reflection on You Only Live Twice which was released 40 years ago. It covers the royal premiere in London and features a cool photo of the Queen being greeted by Sean Connery (complete with mustache for filming Shalako) and Dick Van Dyke, who was in England for Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. There are also brief reflections on the legacy of the film from Bond authors Charlie Higson and Raymond Benson, as well as Nancy Sinatra, actor Shane Rimmer and Commander Ken Wallis, who designed the Little Nellie autogyro.
Overall verdict: a very welcome addition to the world of Bond lore with informative articles, very good production values and some very nice photos. Our only complaint is that we wish the magazine was more substantial in terms of pages. However, given how risky publishing any magazine is in the age of the Internet, we can certainly understand why one would want to judge reaction to the concept before plunging into a more ambitious venture. We'd also like to see more interviews with people involved in the films in future issues, but that's just a personal prejudice. Although the magazine doesn't state it, we understand this to be a very limited edition, so if you're curious about MI6 Declassified, better order now or end up paying ten times the amount on Ebay next year!
The magazine is only available for order on-line at www.mi6magazine.com/
