Spy Vibe reports that my favorite fictional Sixties spy who never was is returning this summer, and I couldn't be more excited! Yuki 7 is the creation of artist Kevin Dart first revealed to the world in the truly spectacular book Seductive Espionage: The World of Yuki 7, written by Ada Cole. In Seductive Espionage, Dart and Cole created a whole history of a very Eurospy-like Japanese Sixties secret agent series that never was. It reads like a reference book along the lines of James Bond: The Legacy, revealing the behind-the-scenes history of the fake franchise (along with oodles of production artwork and "stills" and even pictures of collectibles and merchandise), but in doing so captures the essence of the spy genre (the Sixties brand, anyway) better than most narrative stories. It's hard to encapsulate how good this book is in a few sentences, so if you're not familiar with what I'm talking about, go on and read my original review here, accompanied by many of Dart's wonderful illustrations. That will give you a better taste of it. Anyway, the news here is that Dart is hard at work on a new Yuki 7 project, Looks That Kill, the first "Official Yuki 7 Adventure book." Written by Elizabeth Ito, Dart describes this one as "a full-blown spy story with loads of intrigue and gadgets and awesome fashions." So whereas the last book looked at Yuki as a (fictional) fictional creation, this one will treat her as a real spy. In other words, it could exist inside the universe of the first book, if that makes any sense. Once again, of course, it will be lavishly illustrated by Dart, along with a host of talented collaborators. Read more on Kevin Dart's blog!
