James
Bond 007 is a fictional character created in 1953
by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve
novels and two short story collections. The character
has also been used in the longest running and
most financially successful English language film
franchise to date, starting in 1962 with Dr. No.
After Fleming's death in 1964, subsequent James
Bond novels were written by Kingsley Amis (as
Robert Markham), John Pearson, John Gardner, Raymond
Benson and Sebastian Faulks. Moreover, Christopher
Wood novelised two screenplays, Charlie Higson
wrote a series on a young James Bond while other
writers have authored unofficial versions of the
character.
There have been 22 films in the EON Productions
series to date, the most recent of which, Quantum
of Solace, was released on 31 October 2008 (UK).
In addition there has been an American television
adaptation and two independent feature productions.
Apart from movies and television, James Bond has
also been adapted for many other media, including
radio plays, comic strips and video games.
The EON Productions films are generally termed
as "official" films originating with
the purchase of the James Bond film rights by
producer Harry Saltzman in the late 1950s.
