Fire [Paperback]

Brian Michael Bendis (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 2001

Imagine that you are a shy, quiet college student. Just an average guy trying to get through each day as best he can. Then your government contacts you. They want you to be part of an experiment in the art of human covert operations. Instead of creating an agent from someone within their own ranks, they want to create an agent from nobody, from scratch, from you! Loosely based on events in the American intelligence community during the Reagan administration, Fire tells the unique and powerful story of a young man's journey through the complex world of international intelligence. Fire was Bendis' first major work and helped him attract and develop a new audience for crime graphic novels that he would further challenge in later works such as Jinx, Goldfish, Torso, and Powers.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Brian Michael Bendis is the EISNER award-winning creator (The Comic Industry's Oscar) of several crime graphic novels published by Image Comics. His other Image works include TORSO, GOLDFISH, JINX, and FIRE. Fortune And Glory, his Hollywood tell all from Oni Press, was given an "A" by Entertainment Weekly. He is also the recipient of the Cleveland Press Excellence in Journalism Award.

Product Details

• Paperback: 120 pages
• Publisher: Image Comics (October 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1582400717
• ISBN-13: 978-1582400716
• Product Dimensions: 10.3 x 6.7 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #641,276 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #19 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Comics & Graphic Novels > Publishers > Image Comics

More About the Author

Brian Michael Bendis is an award winning comics creator and one of the most successful writers working in mainstream comics. For the last eleven years, Brian's books have consistently sat on the top of the nationwide comic and graphic novel sales charts.
Brian is currently helming a renaissance for Marvel's popular AVENGERS franchise by writing every issue of the NEW AVENGERS plus debuting the hit books MIGHTY AVENGERS and DARK AVENGERS along with the wildly successful 'event' projects HOUSE OF M, SECRET WAR, SECRET INVASION, and SIEGE.
This summer will see the blockbuster new line-ups for AVENGERS and NEW AVENGERS.
Other recent projects include the groundbreaking SPIDER-WOMAN MOTION COMIC, that debuted number one on iTunes TV sales chart and the New York Times best selling HALO graphic novel.
Brian is one of the premiere architects of Marvel comic's Ultimate line of comics. A line of comics specifically created for the new generation of comics reader. He has written every issue of ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN since it's best selling launch in 1999, and has also written ULTIMATE FANTASTIC FOUR, X-MEN, MARVEL TEAM UP, ORIGIN, SIX and the ENEMY trilogy.
He is creator of the JINX line of crime comics published by image comics. This line has spawned the graphic novels GOLDFISH, FIRE, JINX, TORSO (w/ Marc Andreyko) and TOTAL SELL OUT.
Brian's other projects include the Eisner award winning "POWERS" (w/Mike Oeming) from Marvel's creator owned imprint ICON, and the Hollywood tell all "FORTUNE AND GLORY'. Entertainment Weekly gave both projects an "A." SONY and FX networks are currently developing POWERS for series with Brian as exec producer.
Brian is currently adapting his spy graphic novel FIRE for Universal Pictures as a starring vehicle for Zac Efron.
Brian is a member of Marvel studios creative committee, which consults on their numerous ongoing film projects. He has consulted on IRON-MAN and IRON MAN 2 and is currently consulting on THE FIRST AVENGERS: CAPTAIN AMERICA, THOR and THE AVENGERS
Brian has won five prestigious EISNER awards, including 'Best Writer of the year' two years in a row. He has also won over two dozen Wizard comic awards. Brian is the recipient of the Cleveland Press 'Excellence in Journalism' Award and was named "Best Writer of the Year." by Wizard Magazine and Comic Buyer's Guide for three consecutive years.
He lives in Portland, Oregon with his wife Alisa, his gorgeous daughters Olivia and Sabrina and his dogs Lucky, Max and Buster.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Early Bendis work worth a read, June 20, 2002

By 

David Kozlowski (Alameda, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fire (Paperback)

This is the seminal work by Brian Michael Bendis. Fire is an espionage/CIA thriller reminiscent of "Three Days of the Condor". Here Bendis tells the story of a young college student recruited into a dark corridor of the CIA and onward through his first several missions. Bendis uses flashbacks to pace the story, but it would have been just as effective told linearly.

The art is, well, just ok. It appears that Bendis assembled all of the elements via photo reference and traced them onto art board using an overhead projector, then embellished with Photoshop. That is just a guess, but I doubt that I'm far off. It gets the job done, but can be distracting at times. One of the characters is actually Candice Bergen (Murphy Brown), I know this because she is credited at the end of the story. Perhaps Candice is a family friend, because the role is less than flattering and I doubt she was used without permission.

While I may sound critical I am stunned that this was the work of a first-time writer. Bendis tells a simple story with a lot of subtext (loneliness, need for acceptance, government conspiracy). The story is obvious, but not terribly predictable. Anyone wondering if they should/could write a first short story or graphic novel should measure themselves against this work.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Any work by Bendis is worth your time., April 26, 2004

By 

BadMotrFngr (Parsippany, NJ United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fire (Paperback)

OK, the title of my review basically says it all. I've never read any Bendis book or comic that didn't entertain me enormously. "FIRE" may be Bendis' 1st work but you'd never know. It's filled with all the great dialogue and "speak like people speak" style of writing that Bendis is associated with. I've read in other reviews, people not being all that crazy about his artwork in this book, but if you're a fan of ALIAS from Marvel comics, the style is very similar to that books artist, Michael Gaydos. The only negative to speak of is the usual crappy editing and lack of spell checking that seems to go along with all of Bendis' independent works. I read somewhere that his wife is his "editor". He might want to start hiring out of the family:) I wouldn't call "FIRE" Bendis' greatest work (try ALIAS or his current run on DAREDEVIL) but it is definitely worth picking up if you are a fan of his.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Ok but not 4 stars, October 28, 2010

By 

Robi Sen "robi" (falls church, va, usa) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Fire (Paperback)

I liked this graphic novel. The artwork was good, the story was decent, but based on the reviews I was expecting something more compelling with a more plausible story line. I found the story predictable, a bit dull, and completely implausible. That being said the writing was solid and the author is talented it was just not my cup of tea.