Hopefully, by the time you’re reading this, James Bond superfan Jess is tucked into her seat in the theater with a bucket of popcorn the same size as her head, ready to watch No Time to Die. The vaunted 25th (or 27th, if you’re feisty) film in the Bond franchise has seen its release rescheduled four times now due to rehires and the COVID-19 pandemic; it was originally meant to hit the big screen in November 2019, but here we are, two years later, hoping for the best. But even while the film limps toward the finish line, there’s still plenty of Bond to go around.  In this episode, Jess is taking Carmanita and Joseph on a deep dive into the world of Bond, not just in movies but also in books, graphic novels, and even video games.

As a film franchise, James Bond is among the oldest, starting in 1963 with Dr. No. But the books predate the first film by over a decade, and the first time the world is introduced to Mr. Bond is in 1953, with the release of Casino Royale. And ever since, the world has been subject to the charms of the Walther PPK-wielding, martini-sipping, tux-donning spy with a license to kill. But what is it about Bond that keeps us coming back for more? Does 2021 still have room for a character like James Bond, and how do these stories stay relevant into the future? So to celebrate what is hopefully the release of No Time to Die, we’re digging in.