Sam Mendes critical and commercial success, becoming the 14th film to gross over $1 billion worldwide. Following the success of "Skyfall", Mendes was asked if he was returning to direct the next Bond film. He responded, "I felt I put everything I possibly could into this film and it was the Bond film I wanted to make. And if I felt I could do the same again, then absolutely I would consider doing another one. But it is a big task and I wouldn't do it unless I knew I could." It was reported that one reason Mendes was reluctant to commit
James Bond (comics) began to appear on a semi-regular basis for a few years, starting with an adaptation of "Licence to Kill" published in 1989 by Eclipse Comics and illustrated by Mike Grell, which was published in both trade paperback and hardcover edition. Grell would go on to write the miniseries "Permission to Die", the first James Bond comic book storyline not adapted from a previous work, which was published over a two-year period by Eclipse. In 1995, Topps Comics obtained the rights to publish an adaptation of the new Bond film, "GoldenEye", which was announced as a three-issue miniseries. The second issue