Modesty Blaise

Modesty Blaise
Cover of the first US printing of the Modesty Blaise novel
Author(s)	Peter O'Donnell Artists: Jim Holdaway Enrique Badia Romero John M. Burns Patrick Wright Neville Colvin Dan Spiegle Dick Giordano
Current status / schedule	Finished
Launch date	13 May 1963
End date	7 July 2002

Modesty Blaise is a British comic strip featuring a fictional character of the same name, created by author Peter O'Donnell and illustrator Jim Holdaway in 1963. The strip follows Modesty Blaise, an exceptional young woman with many talents and a criminal past, and her trusty sidekick Willie Garvin. It was adapted into films in 1966, 1982, and 2003, and from 1965 onwards eleven novels and two short story collections were written.

The characters

In 1945, a nameless girl escapes from a displaced person (DP) camp in Kalyros, Greece. She remembers nothing from her short past and wanders through post-World War II Mediterranean, the Middle East, and regions of North Africa, where she learns to survive the hard way. She befriends Lob, another wandering refugee who is a Jewish Hungarian scholar from Budapest. He gives her an education and a first name: Modesty. Sometime later Modesty creates her last name, Blaise, after Merlin's tutor from the Arthurian legends.^[1] When Lob dies is unclear, other than it being prior to her going to Tangier. In 'The Xanadu Tailisman' it is mentioned that Modesty has left Lob at a village to recover from a wound; she goes alone to sell a car tyre. In 1953 she takes control of a criminal gang in Tangier from Henri Louche and expands it into an international organization called the Network.^[2]

During the years that she runs the Network she meets Willie Garvin. Despite his desperate lifestyle, she sees his potential and offers him a job. Inspired by her belief in him, he pulls through as her right-hand man in the Network and becomes Modesty's most trusted friend. Theirs is a strictly platonic relationship, based on mutual respect and shared interests. He always calls her "Princess", a form of address only he is allowed to use. Other members of the Network call Modesty "Mam'selle" (as in the French term "Mademoiselle" or "Miss"). Though their relationship has no sexual element, it is Modesty's various lovers who feel jealous of Garvin, rather than the other way around – as he is the only man who remains part of her life, while lovers come and go. By the same token, some of Willie's girlfriends are initially jealous of Modesty, before in some cases – such as Lady Janet – coming to understand how the dynamic between them works.

She obtains British nationality by marrying and divorcing an Englishman in Beirut; the husband (James Turner) dies a year later of alcoholism. Having made a point of not dealing in secrets belonging to H.M. Government, when she feels she has made enough money, she retires and moves to England and Willie Garvin follows suit. Bored by their new lives among the idle rich, they accept a request for assistance from Sir Gerald Tarrant, a high-ranking official of the British Secret Service. This is where the story really begins, although it is treated differently in the first comic strip and the first book. (See note in Differences between Comic Strip and Books, below.) Modesty's fortune is estimated at 500,000 pounds as of 1963. She lives in a penthouse in London overlooking Hyde Park, and also owns a villa in Tangier and a cottage two miles from Benildon, Wiltshire. She is 5 feet 6 inches (168 cm) tall and weighs 120 lbs (54 kg) as revealed in La Machine.

Many of her adventures are based on capers in which she and Willie Garvin become involved as a result of their association with Tarrant. However, they may also help perfect strangers or fight various eccentric villains in exotic locations of their own volition if the cause fits their values; "ghosts" from their Network past also emerge to haunt them from time to time. Although Modesty and Willie will not hesitate to kill if necessary, they avoid deadly force whenever possible, often relying upon their extraordinary physical and weapons skills. There are many occasions in the comic strip and novels where the two decide ahead of time whether to use deadly force ("for keeps") or less-lethal methods ("for sleeps") depending on the level of the perceived threat.

A dumbbell-shaped yawara stick, or "kongo" as it is called in the Modesty Blaise books and comic strips

The kinds of fights and battles that Modesty and Willie have are often very special. There is a great emphasis on unarmed combat and unusual weapons. Modesty's weapon of choice is a "kongo" or yawara stick and as for firearms she begins by preferring the Colt .32 revolver and Mab Brevete .32 ACP auto pistol though in later books she switches to carrying a Star PD .45 auto pistol, while Willie's preferred weapon is the throwing knife, of which he usually carries two. Many other strange weapons (such as the use of quarterstaff, épée, blowgun, and sling) and unexpected fighting techniques are also featured.

In keeping with the "floating timeline" spirit of other long-running comic strip and literary characters, Modesty and Willie generally do not age over the decades, with Modesty always being depicted as being in her late twenties and Willie eight years older. The only exceptions to this rule occur in the comic strip origin story, "In the Beginning" and in the 1996 short story collection Cobra Trap, the final Modesty Blaise book, which contains five stories that take place where Modesty's age moves from 20 to 52 (approximately), and the 2003 film My Name Is Modesty, which is a prequel depicting Modesty in her late teens. In an essay written for Myths for the Modern Age: Philip José Farmer's Wold Newton Universe (Win Scott Eckert, ed., MonkeyBrain Books, 2005), author Chuck Loridans contributes an article entitled "The Daughters of Greystoke" wherein he posits that Modesty is the daughter of Tarzan and La of Opar.

Comic strip

Having conceived the idea after a chance meeting with a girl during his wartime service in the Middle East,^[3] O'Donnell elected to work with Jim Holdaway, with whom he had worked on the strip Romeo Brown, after a trial period of collaboration with Frank Hampson, creator of Dan Dare, left O'Donnell dissatisfied. Modesty Blaise debuted in the London Evening Standard on 13 May 1963.^[2] The strip was syndicated among a large number of newspapers ranging from the Johannesburg Star to the Detroit Free Press, the Bombay Samachar, The Telegraph (Calcutta, India), The Star (Malaysia), The West Australian (Perth) and The Evening Citizen (Glasgow, Scotland).

After Jim Holdaway's death in 1970,^[4] the art of the strip was provided by the Spanish artist Enrique Badía Romero.^[5][6] Eight years later, Romero quit to make time for his own comics projects, and after short attempts by John Burns^[7] and Patrick Wright, Neville Colvin drew the strip until 1986.^[8] Then Romero returned to the job and continued until the end of the strip.

The strip's circulation in the United States was erratic, in part because of the occasional nude scenes, which were much less acceptable in the US than elsewhere, resulting in a censored version of the strip being circulated. (Modesty occasionally used a tactic that she called the "Nailer," in which she would appear topless, distracting the bad guys long enough to give Willie or herself a chance to incapacitate them.) An example of this censorship appears in the introduction to the 2007 Titan Books reprint volume Death Trap, which illustrated two segments of the story arc, "The Junk Men" that were censored by the Detroit Free Press when it published the strip in 1977; in both cases a screen was drawn over scantily-clad images of Willie and Modesty. Reportedly, O'Donnell did not approve of the changes, although they were made by the artist, Romero.^[9]

The final Modesty Blaise daily comic strip, #10183. Unlike the printed version, the original art appears without the word balloons. The gist of the dialogue is that Modesty and Willie plan to unearth a treasure (the one left buried at the end of the book A Taste for Death) and anonymously donate it to the Salvation Army, and to take a break from adventuring. The final exchange at sunset: Modesty says, "NO VILLAINS, NO VICTIMS, NO BLOOD SWEAT AND TEARS ... WE'LL TAKE A LITTLE BREAK, WILLIE LOVE, JUST YOU AND ME." Willie replies, "BEST BIT OF ALL, PRINCESS."

The final Modesty Blaise strip ran in the Evening Standard on 11 April 2001.^[2] Some of the newspapers that carried the series, feeling that it had become a tradition for their readers, began running it again from the beginning. O'Donnell, to give Romero some additional work, gave the artist permission to adapt one of his short stories ("The Dark Angels") as a graphic novel that was published in Scandinavia in 2002, later being reprinted in the US in a special issue of Comics Revue.

From 1 December 2008, the Evening Standard, which had stopped including comic strips for some time, republished La Machine, using the original artwork. Following a change of ownership of the paper, they did not continue with subsequent stories.

Strip numbering

The ordinary strips are consecutive numbered from 1 to 10183. Outside this numbering are the two newspaper stories "In the Beginning" and "The Killing Ground" and the two comic book stories "Modesty Blaise" and "The Dark Angels".

Outside the ordinary numbering is also an amount of A-strips. An A-strip has the same number as the previous strip but followed by an A. They were used on days when not all the newspapers running Modesty Blaise were published. An A-strip is not vital for the continuity of the story and is often just supplementing the previous strip.
The first A-strip was 194A and was published during Christmas 1963 in Scottish newspapers.

Since December 1974 The Evening Standard has not been published on Saturdays. So, since then, and the story "Cry Wolf", a sixth of the strips have been A-strips and have not had their premiere in The Evening Standard.

A single strip is numbered with an X suffix, e.g., strip number 3641X, and is similar to the A-strips.

Reprints

Many reprint editions of the comic strip have appeared over the years, of varying quality. Most focus upon the earliest strips, with strips from the 1980s and 1990s being the least-often reprinted.

One of the earliest reprints in book form occurred in 1978 when Star Books—an imprint of WH Allen Limited—published two paperback-sized compilations of the Holdaway-era stories: 1) "In the Beginning", "The Black Pearl", and "The Vikings", and 2) "La Machine" and "The Long Lever". These reprints suffered from poor reproduction that rendered many panels illegible.

Between 1981 and 1986, Ken Pierce Books Inc. of the United States, in conjunction with Eclipse Comics, published eight volumes of comic book-sized reprints dubbed the First American Edition series. The first four books featured Holdaway-illustrated stories from the 1960s, while the last four featured strips from the early 1980s as illustrated by Neville Colvin. These books also suffered from reproduction problems that resulted in many panels being reprinted too light, making them difficult to read.

Manuscript Press published two volumes of late-1980s Romero strips in 2003 (Live Bait and Lady in the Dark); it also published all of the stories not reprinted elsewhere in serialised form in its magazine publications Comics Revue and Modesty Blaise Quarterly, the former of which, as noted above, also published The Dark Angels for the first (and, to date, only) time in English. Comics Revue is continuing to reprint Modesty Blaise strips as of 2015, although a planned reprint of The Dark Angels in autumn 2014 was cancelled just before publication when the copyright holders withdrew permission.

Titan Books Old Series 1985 to 1990

Between 1984 and 1990, Titan Books of England published eight volumes of reprints of strips featuring art by Holdaway and Romero, covering the period 1963 to 1974. All of the covers were drawn by John M. Burns.

№	Title	Published Date	ISBN	Articles
OT1	The Gabriel Set-Up	January 1985	978-0-907610-37-3	Introduction by Peter O'Donnell
OT2	Mister Sun	October 1985	978-0-907610-48-9	"Modesty Blaise Bloopers" by Peter O'Donnell
OT3	The Hell Makers	August 1986	978-0-907610-58-8	"Modesty Blaise The Film" by Peter O'Donnell
OT4	The Warlords of Phoenix	March 1987	978-0-907610-74-8	Introduction by Peter O'Donnell; photo of Jim Holdaway at work
OT5	Death of a Jester	July 1987	978-0-907610-91-5	Introduction by Peter O'Donnell; photo of Romero and "Dark Angels" script
OT6	The Pupper Master	October 1987	978-1-85286-009-7	Introduction by Peter O'Donnell and reminiscences about his early work
OT7	The Iron God	November 1989	978-1-85286-026-4	Introduction by Peter O'Donnell
OT8	Uncle Happy	October 1990	978-1-85286-328-9	Introduction by Peter O'Donnell

Titan Books New Series 2004 to date

Beginning in March 2004, Titan launched a new series of reprint volumes. These new versions use larger images and reportedly come from better source material than the editions published between 1984 and 1990, and the series has gone far beyond the mandate of the original run. The reprints continue to be published at a rate of one or two per year, more than 10 years after their launch.

As well as an introduction to each story by Peter O'Donnell for books 1 to 16, by Lawrence Blackmore for books 17 to 24, by Simon Ward for book 25, and by Rick Norwood for book 26, most books include articles about the series. The individual story introductions are absent from book 27.

So far, the new Titan series has reprinted the full run of the Holdaway years, the full run of Romero's first tenure, the short spells of John Burns and Pat Wright, and the full run of Neville Colvin.

№	Title	Year	ISBN	Articles
T1	The Gabriel Set-Up	2004	978-1-84023-658-3	"Blaise of Glory" Pt 1 by Mike Paterson and "Girl Walking" by Peter O'Donnell
T2	Mister Sun		978-1-84023-721-4	"Blaise of Glory" Pt 2 and "Modesty Maker" Pt 1, an interview with Peter O'Donnell
T3	Top Traitor		978-1-84023-684-2	"Blaise of Glory" Pt 3 and "Modesty Maker" Pt 2
T4	The Black Pearl		978-1-84023-842-6	"Modesty's Sisters – The Madeleine Brent Novels" Pt 1 and "Modesty Maker" Pt 3; includes examples of Frank Hampson's rejected artwork.
T5	Bad Suki	2005	978-1-84023-864-8	"A Few Words about a Man I Never Met" about Jim Holdaway by Walter Simonson and "Modesty's Sisters" Pt 2
T6	The Hell Makers		978-1-84023-865-5	"Modesty Blaise Doesn't Go To America" by Max Allan Collins, "Jim and Enric" by Peter O'Donnell, Holdaway's illustrations for the "Pieces of Modesty" book, and Pt 1 of a 1973 Comic Media interview with Peter O'Donnell by Nick Landau and Richard Burton
T7	The Green-Eyed Monster		978-1-84023-866-2	A profile of Enric Badia Romero
T8	The Puppet Master	2006	978-1-84023-867-9	"Two Genuine Originals" by Jan Burke and "The Secret Weapons of a Femme Fatale" by Rob van der Nol
T9	The Gallows Bird		978-1-84023-868-6	"Blue Bird – The Censoring of The Gallows Bird"
T10	Cry Wolf		978-1-84023-869-3	"The Truth behind Modesty Plays" by Russell Mael and Pt 2 of the 1973 Comic Media interview with Peter O'Donnell
T11	The Inca Trail	2007	978-1-84576-417-3	Pt 3 of the 1973 Comic Media interview with Peter O'Donnell; includes examples of Frank Hampson's rejected artwork.
T12	Death Trap		978-1-84576-418-0	"Preserving Modesty's Modesty" by Lawrence Blackmore
T13	Yellowstone Booty	2008	978-1-84576-419-7	"The Art of John Burns" by Lawrence Blackmore, including Burns' illustrations for the first Modesty Blaise novel
T14	Green Cobra		978-1-84576-420-3	"Naked Truth" by Lawrence Blackmore and Burns' illustrations for "Pieces of Modesty"
T15	The Lady Killers	2009	978-1-84856-106-9	"Modesty McBlaise: The Glasgow Story" by Lawrence Blackmore (strips that only appeared in the Glasgow Evening Citizen)
T16	The Scarlet Maiden		978-1-84856-107-6	"Modesty McBlaise" Pt 2 by Lawrence Blackmore. Final volume to feature introductions by O'Donnell.
T17	Death in Slow Motion	2010	978-1-84856-108-3	"Portrait of an Artist – Neville Colvin: An Appreciation" by Steve Epting
T18	Sweet Caroline		978-1-84856-673-6	– no additional articles
T19	The Double Agent	2011	978-1-84856-674-3	"A Tribute to Peter O'Donnell" – short pieces by eleven writers and illustrators (first volume compiled since the death of O'Donnell in 2010); "A Modest Man" by Wallace Harrington, describing Neville Colvin
T20	Million Dollar Game		978-1-84856-675-0	– no additional articles
T21	Live Bait	2012	978-0-85768-668-8	"O'Donnell's Circus" by Lawrence Blackmore
T22	Lady in the Dark		978-0-85768-693-0	– no additional articles
T23	The Girl in the Iron Mask	2013	978-0-85768-694-7	– no additional articles
T24	The Young Mistress	2014	978-1-78116-709-0	– no additional articles
T25	The Grim Joker		978-1-78116-711-3	– no additional articles
T26	The Killing Distance	2015	978-1-78116-712-0	– no additional articles
T27	Ripper Jax	2016	978-1-78329-858-7	"Modest Morality" by Simon Barnes
T28	The Murder Frame	Due Nov 2016	978-1-78329-859-4

Story list

There were 99 storylines produced for the Modesty Blaise comic strip and all its printed forms, and for almost 40 years it was written by just one person: Peter O'Donnell. The strips and comic books were drawn by Jim Holdaway (JH), Enrique Badia Romero (ER), John M. Burns (JB), Patrick Wright (PW), Neville Colvin (NC), Dan Spiegle (DS) and Dick Giordano (DG).

Sources:  A  (Comics Revue Annual), C  (Comics Revue), CM  (Comic Media Vol 2, No. 2), CS  (Comics Revue Special), F#  (First American Edition Series, Ken Pierce), LB  (Live Bait, Manuscript Press), LD  (Lady in the Dark, Manuscript Press), MB  (Comics Revue Presents Modesty Blaise), S#  (Star Books paperback reprints, 1978), OT#  (Titan Books, old series (1984–90)), T#  (Titan Books, new series (2004–present)).

The Modesty Blaise comic strip and comic book stories № Title Artist Strip № № of strips Dates Reprinted in   1 La Machine Jim Holdaway 1–114 114 1963-05-13 – 1963-09-21 T1, OT1, C 189–191, 193, S2   2 The Long Lever 115–211 98 1963-09-23 – 1964-01-02 T1, OT1, C 192–194, S2   3 The Gabriel Set-Up 212–354 143 1964-01-03 – 1964-06-18 T1, OT1, C 195–197   4 Mister Sun 355–500 146 1964-06-19 – 1964-12-05 T2, OT2, C 198–199   5 The Mind of Mrs. Drake 501–612 113 (112+1A) 1964-12-07 – 1965-04-19 T2, OT2, F2, C 201–203   6 Uncle Happy 613–743 131 1965-04-20 – 1965-09-18 T2, OT8, F2, C 204–207   7 Top Traitor 744–873 131 1965-09-20 – 1966-02-19 T3, F1, C 208–210   8 The Vikings 874–992 119 1966-02-21 – 1966-07-09 T3, F1, S1 (1) In the Beginning 1–12 12 1966-07-11 – 1966-07-23 T1, OT1, C 188, CM, S1   9 The Head Girls 993–1124 132 1966-07-11 – 1966-12-10 T3, F4  10 The Black Pearl 1125–1235 112 (111+1A) 1966-12-12 – 1967-04-22 T4, F4, S1  11 The Magnified Man 1236–1349 114 1967-04-24 – 1967-09-02 T4, F4  12 The Jericho Caper 1350–1461 113 (112+1A) 1967-09-04 – 1968-01-13 T4, F3  13 Bad Suki 1462–1574 113 1968-01-15 – 1968-05-25 T5, OT8, F3  14 The Galley Slaves 1575–1629 1630A-1688 115 (114+1A) 1968-05-27 – 1968-08-06 1968-09-11 – 1968-11-16 T5, OT3, MB24 (2) The Killing Ground A1-A36 36 1968-10-07 – 1968-11-16 T4, OT2, F3, C 207  15 The Red Gryphon 1689–1794 107 (106+1A) 1968-11-18 – 1969-03-22 T5, OT3, C 211–213  16 The Hell Makers 1795–1919 126 (125+1A) 1969-03-24 – 1969-08-16 T6, OT3, C 214–216  17 Take-Over 1920–2043 125 (124+1A) 1969-08-18 – 1970-01-10 T6, OT4, C 217–219  18 The War-Lords of Phoenix[10] 2044–2099 2099–2162 119 1970-01-12 – 1970-03-17 1970-03-17 – 1970-05-30 T6, OT4, C 220–222 Enric Badía Romero  19 Willie the Djinn 2163–2282 120 1970-06-01 – 1970-10-17 T7, OT4, C 223–225  20 The Green-Eyed Monster 2283–2388 107 (106+1A) 1970-10-19 – 1971-02-20 T7, OT5, C 226–228  21 Death of a Jester 2389–2507 119 1971-02-22 – 1971-07-10 T7, OT5, C 229–231  22 The Stone Age Caper 2508–2627 120 1971-07-12 – 1971-11-27 T8, OT5, C 232–234  23 The Puppet Master 2628–2738 112 (111+1A) 1971-11-29 – 1972-04-08 T8, OT6, C 235–237  24 With Love from Rufus 2739–2846 108 1972-04-10 – 1972-08-12 T8, OT6  25 The Bluebeard Affair 2847–2970 125 (124+1A) 1972-08-14 – 1973-01-06 T9, OT6  26 The Gallows Bird 2971–3077 107 1973-01-08 – 1973-05-12 T9, MB2  27 The Wicked Gnomes 3078–3197 120 1973-05-14 – 1973-09-29 T9, OT7  28 The Iron God 3198–3309 111[11] 1973-10-01 – 1974-02-09 T9, OT7  29 "Take Me to Your Leader" 3310–3428 120 (119+1A) 1974-02-11 – 1974-07-01 T10, MB3  30 Highland Witch 3429–3548 120 1974-07-02 – 1974-11-16 T10, MB4  31 Cry Wolf 3549–3638A 106 (90+16A) 1974-11-18 – 1975-03-25 T10, MB5  32 The Reluctant Chaperon 3639–3737 120 (99+21A)[12] 1975-03-26 – 1975-08-14 T11, MB6  33 The Greenwood Maid 3738–3829A 111 (92+19A) 1975-08-15 – 1976-01-02 T11, MB7  34 Those About to Die 3830–3931A 123 (102+21A) 1976-01-05 – 1976-05-28 T11, MB8  35 The Inca Trail 3932–4031A 120 (100+20A) 1976-06-01 – 1976-10-20 T11, MB10  36 The Vanishing Dollybirds 4032–4141A 132 (110+22A) 1976-10-21 – 1977-03-28 T12, MB11  37 The Junk Men 4142–4241A 120 (100+20A) 1977-03-29 – 1977-08-19 T12, MB9  38 Death Trap 4242–4341A 120 (100+20A) 1977-08-22 – 1978-01-20 T12, MB12  39 Idaho George 4342–4447A 126 (106+20A) 1978-01-23 – 1978-06-16 T13, MB13  40 The Golden Frog 4448–4542A 114 (95+19A) 1978-06-19 – 1978-10-31 T13, MB14  41 Yellowstone Booty John Burns 4543–4647A 126 (105+21A) 1978-11-01 – 1979-03-30 T13, MB16  42 Green Cobra 4648–4737A 108 (90+18A) 1979-04-02 – 1979-08-10 T14, MB15  43 Eve and Adam 4738-4767A 4768-4837A 120 (100+20A) 1979-08-13 – 1979-11-24 1979-11-25 – 1980-01-04 T14, MB17 Patrick Wright  44 Brethren of Blaise 4838–4932A 114 (95+19A) 1980-01-07 – 1980-05-23 T14, MB18  45 Dossier on Pluto Neville Colvin 4933–5032A 120 (100+20A) 1980-05-27 – 1980-10-14 T15, MB19  46 The Lady Killers 5033–5127A 114 (95+19A) 1980-10-15 – 1981-03-03 T15, F5, C 238–240  47 Garvin's Travels 5128–5229A 120 (102+18A) 1981-03-04 – 1981-07-27 T15, F5, C 241–243  48 The Scarlet Maiden 5230–5329A 120 (100+20A) 1981-07-28 – 1981-12-16 T16, F5, C 244–246  49 The Moonman 5330–5424A 114 (95+19A) 1981-12-17 – 1982-05-07 T16, F6, C 247–249  50 A Few Flowers for the Colonel 5425–5519A 114 (95+19A) 1982-05-10 – 1982-09-24 T16, F6, C 250–252  51 The Balloonatic 5520–5619A 120 (100+20A) 1982-09-27 – 1983-02-18 T17, F6, C 253–255  52 Death in Slow Motion 5620–5719A 120 (100+20A) 1983-02-21 – 1983-07-15 T17, F7, C 256–258  53 The Alternative Man 5720–5814A 114 (95+19A) 1983-07-18 – 1983-11-28 T17, F7, C 259–261  54 Sweet Caroline 5815–5914A 120 (100+20A) 1983-11-29 – 1984-04-19 T18, F7, C 262–264  55 The Return of the Mammoth 5915–6014A 120 (100+20A) 1984-04-24 – 1984-09-14 T18, F8, C 265–267  56 Plato's Republic 6015–6114A 120 (100+20A) 1984-09-17 – 1985-02-06 T18, F8  57 The Sword of the Bruce 6115–6214A 120 (100+20A) 1985-02-07 – 1985-07-02 T18, F8  58 The Wild Boar 6215–6314A 120 (100+20A) 1985-07-03 – 1985-11-20 T19, MB20  59 Kali's Disciples 6315–6414A 120 (100+20A) 1985-11-21 – 1986-05-16 T19, MB21  60 The Double Agent 6415–6519A 126 (105+21A) 1986-05-17 – 1986-09-15 T19, MB22  61 Butch Cassidy Rides Again Enric Badía Romero 6520–6624A 126 (105+21A) 1986-09-16 – 1987-02-12 T20, MB1, MB25  62 Million Dollar Game 6625–6724A 120 (100+20A) 1987-02-13 – 1987-07-08 T20, C 26–29  63 The Vampire of Malvescu 6725–6829A 126 (105+21A) 1987-07-09 – 1987-12-03 T20, A2, MB23  64 Samantha and the Cherub 6830–6934A 126 (105+21A) 1987-12-04 – 1988-05-06 T21, C 31–36, LB  65 Milord 6935–7034A 120 (100+20A) 1988-05-09 – 1988-09-27 T21, C 40–42, LB  66 Live Bait 7035–7134A 120 (100+20A) 1988-09-28 – 1989-02-17 T21, C 44–46, LB  67 The Girl from the Future 7135–7239A 126 (105+21A) 1989-02-20 – 1989-07-21 T22, C 47–49, LD  68 The Big Mole 7240–7339A 120 (100+20A) 1989-07-24 – 1989-12-11 T22, C 50–52, LD  69 Lady in the Dark 7340–7439A 120 (100+20A) 1989-12-12 – 1990-05-08 T22, C 53–56, LD  70 Fiona 7440–7544A 126 (105+21A) 1990-05-09 – 1990-10-09 T23, C 57–60  71 Walkabout 7545–7649A 126 (105+21A) 1990-10-10 – 1991-03-11 T23, C 61–63  72 The Girl in the Iron Mask 7650–7749A 120 (100+20A) 1991-03-12 – 1991-08-02 T23, C 64–66  73 The Young Mistress 7750–7854A 126 (105+21A) 1991-08-05 – 1992-01-06 T24, C 67–73  74 Ivory Dancer 7855–7959A 126 (105+21A) 1992-01-07 – 1992-06-05 T24, C 73–77  75 Our Friend Maude 7960–8064A 126 (105+21A) 1992-06-08 – 1992-11-02 T24, C 78–83  76 A Present for the Princess 8065–8174A 132 (110+22A) 1992-11-03 – 1993-04-08 T25, C 84–88  77 Black Queen's Pawn 8175–8279A 126 (105+21A) 1993-04-13 – 1993-09-10 T25, C 89–93  78 The Grim Joker 8280–8384A 126 (105+21A) 1993-09-13 – 1994-02-09 T25, C 94–99  79 Guido the Jinx 8385–8484A 120 (100+20A) 1994-02-10 – 1994-07-05 T26, C 100–104  80 The Killing Distance 8485–8589A 126 (105+21A) 1994-07-06 – 1994-11-30 T26, C 105–109  81 The Aristo 8590–8694A 126 (105+21A) 1994-12-01 – 1995-05-03 T26, C 110–114 (3) Modesty Blaise Dan Spiegle & Dick Giordano (141 pages) 1994–12  82 Ripper Jax Enric Badía Romero 8695–8799A 126 (105+21A) 1995-05-04 – 1995-10-02 T27, C 115–119  83 The Maori Contract 8800–8904A 126 (105+21A) 1995-10-03 – 1996-03-01 T27, C 120–124  84 Honeygun 8905–9009A 126 (105+21A) 1996-03-04 – 1996-08-02 T27, C 125–130  85 Durango 9010–9114A 126 (105+21A) 1996-08-05 – 1997-01-03 T27, CS, C 131–133  86 The Murder Frame 9115–9219A 126 (105+21A) 1997-01-06 – 1997-06-06 T28, C 134–138  87 Fraser's Story 9220–9324A 126 (105+21A) 1997-06-09 – 1997-11-03 T28, C 139–143  88 Tribute of the Pharaoh 9325–9429A 126 (105+21A) 1997-11-04 – 1998-05-03 T28, C 144–148  89 The Special Orders 9430–9534A 126 (105+21A) 1998-05-06 – 1998-09-04 T28, C 149–152  90 The Hanging Judge 9535–9644A 132 (110+22A) 1998-09-07 – 1999-02-10 C 153–158  91 Children of Lucifer 9645–9749A 126 (105+21A) 1999-02-11 – 1999-07-13 C 159–163  92 Death Symbol 9750–9859A 132 (110+22A) 1999-07-14 – 1999-12-15 C 164–169  93 The Last Aristocrat 9860–9964A 126 (105+21A) 1999-12-16 – 2000-05-19 C 170–175  94 The Killing Game 9965–10069A 126 (105+21A) 2000-05-22 – 2000-10-17 C 176–181  95 The Zombie 10070–10183 135 (114+21A) 2000-10-18 – 2001-04-11 C 182–187 (4) The Dark Angels (46 pages) 2002-06-13 – 2002-07-11 C 200, 208 (cover), 217 (cover)

The special stories Numbered SP1 or more commonly 8a. An introduction to the history of Modesty Blaise. Numbered SP2 or more commonly 14a. Produced to Scottish newspapers after an industrial dispute in England. Numbered SP3 or more commonly not numbered. A graphic novel from DC Comics based on the first novel with Modesty Blaise. Numbered SP4 or more commonly 96. A comic book version of the short story in Cobra Trap. Originally published in the Swedish magazine Agent X9 #7–8, 2002.

Films

After the initial popularity of the comic strip British Lion Films announced a Modesty Blaise film to be written by Sidney Gilliat that was never made.^[13]

A film entitled Modesty Blaise, loosely based on the comic strip, was filmed in 1966 as a comedy thriller. It was directed by Joseph Losey and starred Monica Vitti as Modesty, Terence Stamp as Willie Garvin, and Dirk Bogarde as Gabriel. Peter O'Donnell wrote the first draft of the screenplay for the film, but the script was heavily revised by others before shooting began, and the finished film bore very little resemblance to O'Donnell's vision in tone, theme, or characterisation. For example, a romance is established between Willie and Modesty, even though the comic strip firmly established only a platonic relationship between them. The film also incorporated several musical numbers. The film was unsuccessful.

In 1982, a one-hour pilot was made for a proposed Modesty Blaise television series, starring Ann Turkel as Modesty Blaise and Lewis Van Bergen as Willie Garvin. The film aired on the ABC Network to positive reviews, but no series resulted. This was a slightly more serious version of the stories than the campy 1966 comedy version. In this pilot the setting is moved from London to Hollywood, and both Willie and Tarrant are portrayed as Americans.

In 2003, a direct-to-video film titled My Name Is Modesty was released. The film was directed by Scott Spiegel and starred English actress Alexandra Staden as Modesty Blaise. Although promoted as the first of a series, no others were made. One immediately noticeable difference between the film and the source material is that it is a prequel to Modesty's established backstory as a crime boss; as such, the character of Willie Garvin is omitted.

Quentin Tarantino has been interested in directing a Modesty Blaise film for many years, and at one point Neil Gaiman wrote a script treatment based upon O'Donnell's novel, I, Lucifer. So far, nothing has come of these plans. Tarantino "sponsored" the release of My Name Is Modesty by allowing it to be released under the label "Quentin Tarantino presents ..." In the Tarantino film Pulp Fiction, Vincent Vega is seen reading a copy of Modesty Blaise.^[14] Nicole Kidman has also gone on record as being interested in making a Modesty Blaise film, and Jennifer Lopez was reported to be pitching for the part in 2003.^[15]

Novels and short story collections

O'Donnell was invited to write a novelization of the 1966 film. The novel, released a year before the film itself, and based on his original screenplay for the movie, fared considerably better than the film. During the following decades he would write a total of eleven Modesty Blaise novels and two collections of short stories. Several of the short stories either adapt comic strip stories, or would later be adapted into comic strip stories themselves. Characters cross over between the two media. Except for "Pieces of Modesty", the books were originally issued in hardback and have subsequently gone through numerous paperback editions.

Modesty Blaise novels and short stories Year Book title 1965   Modesty Blaise 1966  Sabre-Tooth 1967  I, Lucifer 1969  A Taste for Death 1971  The Impossible Virgin 1972  Pieces of Modesty Short stories        A Better Day to Die        The Giggle-wrecker        I Had a Date with Lady Janet        A Perfect Night to Break Your Neck        Salamander Four        The Soo Girl Charity 1973  The Silver Mistress 1976  Last Day in Limbo 1978  Dragon's Claw 1981  The Xanadu Talisman 1982  The Night of Morningstar 1985  Dead Man's Handle 1996  Cobra Trap Short stories        Bellman        The Dark Angels        Old Alex        The Girl With the Black Balloon        Cobra Trap

O'Donnell's final book, Cobra Trap, is a short story collection. Intended by O'Donnell to be his literary finale, the final story depicts the deaths of Modesty and Willie (with an implied afterlife). O'Donnell, however, would continue to write the comic strip for several more years, and chose to end it on a more optimistic note, though the comic strip's finale does not contradict the prose version.

Beginning in the early 2000s (decade), Souvenir Press began a series of paperback reprints of the Modesty Blaise book series, using the first edition hardback covers, and originally concluding with a reprint of Cobra Trap in 2006. Souvenir subsequently gained the rights to the short story collection Pieces of Modesty and issued their reprint of that book in March 2010, with a new cover design based on the original hardback cover from the first Modesty novel, at which point all the Blaise books fell under the same UK publisher for the first time.

In 2008, Penguin Books of India reprinted the full series.^[16]

The 2012 Charles Stross book The Apocalypse Codex is, according to the author, a tribute to Modesty Blaise.

Differences between comic strip and books

Although the books generally reflect the characters previously established in the comic strip, there are a number of detail differences. One example of this is how Modesty is initially recruited to work for Sir Gerald Tarrant – although the strip story La Machine (1963) and the book story Modesty Blaise (1965) have similarities, and in both Tarrant achieves his aim by putting her under an obligation, in the strip story this relates to the validity of her marriage (and therefore her right to British nationality and residence) while in the book he provides her with information that enables her to rescue Willie Garvin and save his life. The name of her husband is given in the strip, with the marriage taking place in 1960 and him dying in 1961; in the novel he is unnamed and the marriage took place in 1962.

There are also cases where characters first appear in the books and then subsequently appear in the comic strip – Steve Collier first appears in I Lucifer (1967) and his future wife Dinah in A Taste for Death (1969) but they do not appear in the strip until Lady in the Dark (1989).

Comics

In Sweden the strip has been in continuous distribution since 1969 in a monthly comic adventure magazine called Agent X9 (after the existing Modesty comic magazine Agent Modesty Blaise, started in 1967, was merged with the X9 magazine). Many of O'Donnell's stories premiered here (translated into Swedish), and the magazine continues to run a Modesty Blaise story every month, from the archives. When the daily strip was discontinued, artist Romero was given permission by O'Donnell to do a final Modesty Blaise story directly for Agent X9 magazine. The two-parter was published in 2002 and based on an unused script by O'Donnell entitled The Dark Angels, which O'Donnell had previously adapted for the short story collection Cobra Trap. Romero has for the past years also contributed with original painted covers for the Agent X9 magazine.

In India^[17] Modesty has acquired a huge fan base and the stories have been published in various magazines starting in 1971. Modesty was featured in Kalki Magazine (1971), Kumudam Magazine (1972), Muthu Comics (1975), Lion Comics (1984 to date), Rani Comics (1990–2002) & Comic World (1998) in the Tamil language. They were also published in English in Spectrum Comics (1985–1986). Though other magazines stopped/ceased publishing Modesty Blaise, Lion Comics continues to publish her stories regularly. Considering the medium, certain images from the stories were edited to make them suitable for child readers.

The American magazine Comics Revue also continues to reprint the strip, and remains to date the only publisher to have released an English-language version of The Dark Angels.

In 1994, DC Comics released a graphic novel adaptation of Modesty Blaise (the novel), with art by Dan Spiegle and Dick Giordano (ISBN 1-56389-178-6).^[18]

Audio

Last Day in Limbo was adapted as a BBC World Service six-part radio drama in 1978 with Barbara Kellerman as Modesty, James Bolam as Willie and Richard Vernon as Tarrant.

In the early 1980s, an audio tape reading of the short story, "I Had a Date with Lady Janet" (from Pieces of Modesty), was published by Pickwick Talking Books featuring John Thaw (the story was a first-person tale told from Willie Garvin's point of view).

A Taste for Death was adapted for radio in 2012 (originally broadcast 17 – 21 December) in five episodes on BBC Radio 4 adapted by Stef Penney and produced/directed by Kate McAll, starring Daphne Alexander as Modesty, Carl Prekopp as Willie, Alun Armstrong as Sir Gerald Tarrant, Sam Dale as Simon Delicata, Geoffrey Streatfeild as Steve Collier and Samantha Dakin as Dinah Pilgrim.

Daphne Alexander and Alun Armstrong returned as Modesty and Sir Gerald Tarrant in a five-episode adaptation of the original novel Modesty Blaise on BBC Radio 4 (originally broadcast 16–20 June 2014), again adapted by Stef Penney and produced/directed by Kate McAll.^[19] Also in the cast were Neil Maskell replacing Carl Prekopp as Willie, Ewan Bailey as Gabriel and Alex Fearns as McWhirter.

Cars

During the years the comic strip ran, the vehicles used by Modesty and Willie reflected current trends in the motor industry, usually featuring the more glamorous or exotic models then available. As with some of the supporting characters, the books sometimes – but not always – reflected the comic strips. Just as in the contemporary James Bond films, the cars featured were an integral part of the character image conveyed by the stories.

• Modesty drove an ivory-coloured Daimler Dart in the first two books, and it also featured in the comic strip stories La Machine (1963), The Long Lever (1963), The Mind of Mrs Drake (1965) and The Head Girls (1966).
• Modesty and Willie are also seen driving an Aston Martin DB5 in La Machine (1963), a car which did not become associated with James Bond until the release of the film Goldfinger the following year. (In the Goldfinger novel Bond drives the older Aston Martin DB Mark III). This car also featured in The Mind of Mrs Drake (1965).
• In the third book, I Lucifer, Modesty drives a Reliant Sabre Six.
• In the comic strip story The Jericho Caper (1967) Willie owns a Jensen FF, the four-wheel drive version of the Jensen Interceptor, a car with an American V8 engine and handmade British coachwork. This car, driven by both Modesty and Willie, appeared in the strips on numerous occasions in the next few years and in the books A Taste for Death and The Impossible Virgin.
• In A Taste for Death Willie also drives a Lotus Elan.
• The comic strip story Willie the Djinn (1970) includes a cameo appearance by a 1911 Rolls Royce Silver Ghost.
• Modesty has a Rolls-Royce as her luxury car, and is chauffeured by Weng, but the model varies. In the comic strip The Head Girls she has a Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud III Mulliner Park Ward Drop Head Coupe, while in the same year written The Black Pearl (1966) she has a Silver Shadow
• During the days of The Network Garvin was driving a Mercedes 450 SL (as revealed in flashback in the 1982 book The Night of Morningstar). He also uses this car in a comic strip story Highland Witch (1974)
• In a comic strip story Samantha and the Cherub (1987) Modesty and Willie are seen driving the famous odd experimental Mercedes-Benz C111
• In a comic strip story The Wicked Gnomes (1973) Modesty and Willie are seen driving an Opel GT
• In a comic strip story Top Traitor (1965) Modesty and Willie are seen driving a Series 1 Jaguar E-Type, while in the story The Greenwood Maid (1975) they drive the Series 3
• In Top Traitor (1965), while in Austria, they are also seen driving Mercedes W111. This car also has cameos in La Machine (1963), The Mind of Mrs Drake (1965), The Magnified Man (1967) and Willie the Djinn (1970), owned by various supporting characters
• In a comic strip story The Girl From the Future (1989) Modesty and Willie are seen driving Triumph Spitfire MK4
• In a comic strip story The Green-Eyed Monster (1970) Willie drives a Ford Mustang
• In a comic strip story The Vanishing Dollybirds (1976) Willie drives a Lamborghini Miura
• In a comic strip story Death in Slow Motion (1983) Willie drives Pontiac Firebird Trans Am
• In a comic strip story The Girl in the Iron Mask (1991) Willie drives an Alpine A110

Music

• The theme song "Modesty (Modesty Blaise Theme)" from the Losey movie was sung by David and Jonathan, with music composed by John Dankworth and lyrics by Benny Green. This appeared on the soundtrack album issued by 20th Century Fox (S 4182) and also as a single on the Fontana label. The album was released on CD by Harkit (HRKCD 8003) in 2001.
• Rock group Sparks wrote and recorded a song intended as the theme tune for the aborted TV series. Using an amended title "Modesty Plays" to avoid trademark infringement, it was released originally in 1982 as a France-only single and subsequently in a new version on their 1986 album Music That You Can Dance To. Singer Russell Mael admits that he is actually singing "Blaise" not "Plays".^[20]
• Closterkeller, a Polish Gothic band, recorded the song "Modesty Blaise" on their 1992 album Blue, based on the Modesty Blaise character.
• The concept of the 1992 album Modesty by the former Yugoslav pop rock band Bel Tempo was inspired by the Modesty Blaise character.
• Montt Mardié from Sweden opens his 2005 debut album Drama with a song entitled "Modesty Blaise".
• British group the Direct Hits released their 4-track EP The Modesty Blaise Sessions on The Forbidden Label in 1986. The first track, "Modesty Blaise", alludes to the character, especially in her comic-strip form.

Notes

1. as revealed in The Xanadu Talisman
2. Don Markstein's Toonopedia. "Modesty Blaise". Archived from the original on March 8, 2016.
3. Tillson, Frances (19 September 2004). "Modesty? That's one virtue she's lacking". London: The Observer. Retrieved 13 May 2010.
4. Lambiek Comiclopedia. "Jim Holdaway".
5. Lambiek Comiclopedia. "Enrique Badia Romero".
6. Holdaway died midway through illustrating the story The Warlords of Phoenix; Romero completed the illustrations.
7. Lambiek Comiclopedia. "John M. Burns".
8. Lambiek Comiclopedia. "Neville Colvin".
9. Lawrence Blackmore, "Preserving Modesty's Modesty" in Modesty Blaise: Death Trap. Titan Books, 2007, no pagination
10. According to Lawrence Blackmore: "Modesty McBlaise: The Glasgow Story" in The Lady Killers 2009, Glasgow's Evening Citizen printed stripe 2099 by Holdaway, while London's Evening Standard printed stripe 2099 by Romero. Both versions of stripe 2099 can be seen at ComicWiki.dk
11. According to The Modesty Blaise Companion Companion, there were no strip with number 3276
12. More correct there were 20 A-strips and one X-strip, numbered 3641X
13. De Rham, Edith Joseph Losey 1991 Deutsch
14. Tarantino, Quentin and Roger Avary. "Pulp Fiction." SchmucksWithUnderwoods.com. <http://www.weeklyscript.com/Pulp%20Fiction.txt>.
15. Evening Standard on-line report <http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/film/article-2945348-details/J-Lo+big+on+modesty/article.do>.
17. Modesty in India
18. Grand Comics Database: Modesty Blaise
19. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b047gr8r
20. Interview in Titan reprint of "Cry Wolf" 2006

References

• The Complete Modesty Blaise Dossier
• Modesty Blaise book bibliography
• Modesty Blaise at the Comic Book DB
• Modesty Blaise at Don Markstein's Toonopedia

External links

• Kristy Valenti's three-part article on Peter O'Donnell – Part one, Part Two and Part Three at comiXology
• The real Modesty http://www.crimetime.co.uk/features/modestyblaise.php
• The Once and Future Princess (German) (English section incomplete)
• Kent Hedlundh's Modesty Blaise site (interviews with Peter O'Donnell, lists of all the comic strip stories, etc.)
• The Modesty Blaise Book Covers Site (information on the books, with graphics of the many different printings)
• Modesty Blaise at the Internet Movie Database
• Titan Books' Modesty reprints
• Tamil Comics Ulagam Modesty Blaise in India in Tamil Language