Almost two years ago, Greg Pak took the reins of rebooting the James Bond 007 comic book series but this time, having a revisionist take on a familiar and iconic villain, first introduced in the 1959 novel Goldfinger: Oddjob. Not only was the reimagined take refreshing and very much needed, the series itself was incredibly well done with the plot moving at a brisk pace, the action fun and invigorating to read, and the rivalry/bickering between James Bond and Oddjob (now known as South Korean secret agent John Lee) extremely entertaining and amusing to read.
For a few decades now, I’ve been obsessed with Oddjob. Maxine Hong Kingston wrote about him in her book Tripmaster Monkey years ago, and I’ve never forgotten it. She had her Asian American hero say, ‘A face as big as Oddjob’s should star on the Cinerama screen for the audience to fall in love with, for girls to kiss, for the nation to cherish, for me to learn how to hold my face. Take seven pictures of a face, take twelve, twenty of any face, hold it up there, you will fall in love with it.’
Greg Pak
Greg Pak and Maxine Hong Kingston, it is therefore tremendously exciting for me to tell you two and all our readers that time is now here as there is now a live action rendition of the reimagined Oddjob character and it is an utter delight.
Thanks to Rogue Origin and actor & producer Josh Han who plays the titular character in the action short film Oddjob: A Kill From The Other Side, this short film is a treat to not only James Bond fans but to all who enjoy some adrenaline-pumping action all neatly packed in less than four minutes. A Kill From The Other Side is technically a sizzle reel of sorts but if so, it is done with high talent all around and polished with smooth professionalism. Seriously, sign me up for more of this as I would so very much love to see the new Oddjob go on to bigger things. You can check out this rather excellent short film in the YouTube link below:
Rogue Origin, a new YouTube channel co-founded by one of the original members of Re:Anime, Josh Mabie, and one of the co-founders of Street Fighter: Assassin’s Fist, Christian Howard is launching its first in a series of new content catered to the high-octane martial arts genre. The short film is an adaptation based on Greg Pak’s infamous 2019 James Bond comic book run in honor of the passing of the original James Bond — Sean Connery.
The series focuses on a new counter-operative in John Lee, a South Korean agent that is Bond’s biggest nemesis and potential ally. Fans of the series will recognize the name Oddjob, the mountain of muscle from the 1964 James Bond film Goldfinger. The short film stars Josh Han (Marco Polo, CW’s Death Squad) and Christian Howard (Street Fighter : Assassins Fist, The World’s End) and is directed by Josh Mabie (The Hunger Games: A Message from District 13, Avatar the Last Airbender: Agni Kai).
“I’ve always wanted to play in the James Bond sandbox, as it’s such a fantastic world full of vivid characters and this opportunity allowed us to explore it in a new light — through the eyes of another operative,” said Mabie.
When asked why it was important to tell this story now: “Pak has paved the way for diverse voices“ said Han. Howard is enthusiastic, exclaiming “We’re extremely excited with the projects we have in development and can’t wait to share them with the world.” This soft launch is the first of the many more comic book, anime, and video game adaptations in the queue, including Street Fighter, Naruto, Cowboy Bebop, and many more.
Didn’t know Pak was doing Bond, but I see it’s available through my library. Cool.