Modesty Blaise

This article is about the character and the comic strip/film/novel franchise. For other uses, see Modesty Blaise (disambiguation).

Modesty Blaise
Cover of the first U.S. printing of the Modesty Blaise novel
Author(s)	Peter O'Donnell Artists: Jim Holdaway Enrique Badia Romero John M. Burns Patrick Wright Neville Colvin 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 Peter O'Donnell (writer) and Jim Holdaway (art) in 1963. The strip follows the adventures of Modesty Blaise, an exceptional young woman with many talents and a criminal past, and her trusty sidekick Willie Garvin. It was adapted into films made in 1966, 1982, and 2003 and a series of 13 novels and short story collections, beginning in 1965.

Premise

In 1945, a nameless girl escaped from a displaced person (DP) camp in Kalyros, Greece. She did not remember anything from her short past. She wandered through post-World War II Mediterranean, Middle Eastern and North African regions, where she learned to survive the hard way. She befriended another wandering refugee, a Jewish Hungarian scholar from Budapest named Lob who gave her an education and a name: Modesty (Blaise she added herself later, after Merlin's tutor from the Arthurian legends^[1]). Lob died when Modesty was 12 years old. Eventually, in 1953, she took control of a criminal gang in Tangier from Henri Louche and expanded it to international status as "The Network".^[2]

During these years she met Willie Garvin. Despite the desperate life he was leading, she saw his potential and offered him a job. Inspired by her belief in him, he pulled through as her right-hand man in The Network and became Modesty's most trusted friend. Theirs is a strictly platonic relationship and is based on mutual respect and shared interests. He has always called her "Princess", a form of address only he is allowed to use. Other members of The Network would call Modesty "Mam'selle" (as in the French term "Mademoiselle" or "Miss").

She obtained British nationality by marrying and divorcing Englishman James Turner in Beirut; Turner died a year later of alcoholism. Having made a point of not dealing in secrets belonging to H.M. Government, when she felt she had made enough money, she retired and moved to England and Willie Garvin followed suit. Bored by their new lives among the idle rich, they accepted 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 Canon debate below). Modesty's fortune is estimated at 500,000 pounds. 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.

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.

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 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 20s, Willie eight years older. The only exceptions to this rule occur in the comic strip origin story, "In the Beginning", 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 found in 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, Australia) 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] Eight years later, Romero quit to make time for his own comics projects, and after short attempts by John Burns^[6] and Patrick Wright, Neville Colvin drew the strip until 1986.^[7] 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 U.S. 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.^[8]

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, in order 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 U.S. 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 containing 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, i.e., 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.

Already in 1973 some of the stories were reprinted in the short-lived magazine Comic Media from Atlas.^{[citation needed]}

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 unintelligible.

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.

Between 1984 and 1988, Titan Books of England published eight volumes of reprints of strips featuring art by Holdaway and Romero, covering the period 1963 to 1974.

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 serialized 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 its early 2008 issues.

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 earlier editions. Each story of the first 16 volumes has a specially written introduction by O'Donnell; from the 17th volume onwards (published after O'Donnell's death) the introductions are written by Laurie Blackmore.

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.

• Book 1: The Gabriel Set-Up (2004) ISBN 1-84023-658-2
• Book 2: Mister Sun (2004) ISBN 1-84023-721-X
• Book 3: Top Traitor (2004) ISBN 1-84023-684-1
• Book 4: The Black Pearl (2004) ISBN 1-84023-842-9
• Book 5: Bad Suki (2005) ISBN 1-84023-864-X
• Book 6: The Hell Makers (2005) ISBN 1-84023-865-8
• Book 7: The Green-Eyed Monster (2005) ISBN 1-84023-866-6
• Book 8: The Puppet Master (2006) ISBN 1-84023-867-4
• Book 9: The Gallows Bird (2006) ISBN 1-84023-868-2
• Book 10: Cry Wolf (2006) ISBN 978 1 84023 869 3
• Book 11: The Inca Trail (2007) ISBN 978 1 84576 417 3
• Book 12: Death Trap (2007) ISBN 978 1 84576 418 0
• Book 13: Yellowstone Booty (2008) ISBN 978 1 84576 419 7
• Book 14: Green Cobra (2008) ISBN 978 1 84576 420 3
• Book 15: The Lady Killers (2009) ISBN 978 1 84856 106 9
• Book 16: The Scarlet Maiden (2009) ISBN 978 1 84856 107 6
• Book 17: Death in Slow Motion (2010) ISBN 978 1 84856 108 3
• Book 18: Sweet Caroline (2010) ISBN 978 1 84856 673 6
• Book 19: The Double Agent (2011) ISBN 978 1 84856 674 3
• Book 20: Million Dollar Game (2011) ISBN 978 1 84856 675 0
• Book 21: Live Bait (due 24 February 2012) ISBN 978 0 85768 668 8

As well as an introduction to each story (by Peter O'Donnell for books 1 to 16, and by Laurie Blackmore for books 17 onwards), the books include the following articles -

• Book 1 "Blaise of Glory" Pt 1 by Mike Paterson and "Girl Walking" by Peter O'Donnell
• Book 2 "Blaise of Glory" Pt 2 and "Modesty Maker" Pt 1, an interview with Peter O'Donnell
• Book 3 "Blaise of Glory" Pt 3 and "Modesty Maker" Pt 2
• Book 4 "Modesty's Sisters - The Madeleine Brent Novels" Pt 1 and "Modesty Maker" Pt 3
• Book 5 "A Few Words about a Man I Never Met" about Jim Holdaway by Walter Simonson and "Modesty's Sisters" Pt 2
• Book 6 "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
• Book 7 A profile of Enric Badia Romero
• Book 8 "Two Genuine Originals" by Jan Burke and "The Secret Weapons of a Femme Fatale" by Rob van der Nol
• Book 9 "Blue Bird - The Censoring of The Gallows Bird"
• Book 10 "The Truth behind Modesty Plays" by Russell Mael and Pt 2 of the 1973 Comic Media interview with Peter O'Donnell
• Book 11 Pt 3 of the 1973 Comic Media interview with Peter O'Donnell
• Book 12 "Preserving Modesty's Modesty" by Lawrence Blackmore
• Book 13 "The Art of John Burns" by Lawrence Blackmore, including Burns' illustrations for the first Modesty Blaise novel
• Book 14 "Naked Truth" by Lawrence Blackmore and Burns' illustrations for "Pieces of Modesty"
• Book 15 "Modesty McBlaise: The Glasgow Story" by Lawrence Blackmore (strips that only appeared in the Glasgow Evening Citizen)
• Book 16 "Modesty McBlaise" Pt 2 by Lawrence Blackmore
• Book 17 "Portrait of an Artist - Neville Colvin: An Appreciation" by Steve Epting
• Book 18 - no additional articles
• Book 19 "A Tribute to Peter O'Donnell" - short pieces by eleven writers and illustrators; "A Modest Man" by Wallace Harrington, describing Neville Colvin.
• Book 20 - no additional articles

Story list

There were 99 storylines produced for the Modesty Blaise comic strip and all its printed forms, and for over 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), 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 (1984–88))

Titan Books, new series (2004–present):  T1 = The Gabriel Set-Up, T2 = Mister Sun, T3 = Top Traitor, T4 = The Black Pearl, T5 = Bad Suki, T6 = The Hell Makers, T7 = The Green-Eyed Monster, T8 = The Puppet Master, T9 = The Gallows Bird, T10 = Cry Wolf T11 = Inca Trail. T12 = Death Trap T13 = Yellowstone Booty T14 = Green Cobra T15 = The Lady Killers T16 = The Scarlet Maiden T17 = Death In Slow Motion T18 = Sweet Caroline T19 = The Double Agent T20 = Million Dollar Game

The Modesty Blaise comic strip and comic book stories
№	Title	Artist	Strip numbers	Number of strips	Dates	Reprinted in
1	La Machine	JH	1-114	114	1963-05-13 - 1963-09-21	T1, OT1, C 189-191, 193, S2
2	The Long Lever	JH	115-211	98	1963-09-23 - 1964-01-02	T1, OT1, C 192-194, S2
3	The Gabriel Set-Up	JH	212-354	143	1964-01-03 - 1964-06-18	T1, OT1, C 195-197
4	Mister Sun	JH	355-500	146	1964-06-19 - 1964-12-05	T2, OT2, C 198-199
5	The Mind of Mrs. Drake	JH	501-612	113 (112+1A)	1964-12-07 - 1965-04-19	T2, OT2, F2, C 201-203
6	Uncle Happy	JH	613-743	131	1965-04-20 - 1965-09-18	T2, OT8, F2, C 204-207
7	Top Traitor	JH	744-873	131	1965-09-20 - 1966-02-19	T3, F1, C 208-210
8	The Vikings	JH	874-992	119	1966-02-21 - 1966-07-09	T3, F1, S1
[1]	In the Beginning	JH	1-12	12	1966-07-11 - 1966-07-23	T1, OT1, C 188, CM, S1
9	The Head Girls	JH	993-1124	132	1966-07-11 - 1966-12-10	T3, F4
10	The Black Pearl	JH	1125–1235	112 (111+1A)	1966-12-12 - 1967-04-22	T4, F4, S1
11	The Magnified Man	JH	1236–1349	114	1967-04-24 - 1967-09-02	T4, F4
12	The Jericho Caper	JH	1350–1461	113 (112+1A)	1967-09-04 - 1968-01-13	T4, F3
13	Bad Suki	JH	1462–1574	113	1968-01-15 - 1968-05-25	T5, T8, F3
14	The Galley Slaves	JH	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	JH	A1-A36	36	1968-10-07 - 1968-11-16	T4, OT2, F3, C 207
15	The Red Gryphon	JH	1689–1794	107 (106+1A)	1968-11-18 - 1969-03-22	T5, OT3, C 211-213
16	The Hell Makers	JH	1795–1919	126 (125+1A)	1969-03-24 - 1969-08-16	T6, OT3, C 214-216
17	Take-Over	JH	1920–2043	125 (124+1A)	1969-08-18 - 1970-01-10	T6, OT4, C 217-219
18	The War-Lords of Phoenix	JH ER	2044-2098 2099-2162	119	1970-01-12 - 1970-03-16 1970-03-17 - 1970-05-30	T6, OT4, C 220-222
19	Willie the Djinn	ER	2163–2282	120	1970-06-01 - 1970-10-17	T7, OT4, C 223-225
20	The Green-Eyed Monster	ER	2283–2388	107 (106+1A)	1970-10-19 - 1971-02-20	T7, OT5, C 226-228
21	Death of a Jester	ER	2389–2507	119	1971-02-22 - 1971-07-10	T7, OT5, C 229-231
22	The Stone Age Caper	ER	2508–2627	120	1971-07-12 - 1971-11-27	T8, OT5, C 232-234
23	The Puppet Master	ER	2628–2738	112 (111+1A)	1971-11-29 - 1972-04-08	T8, OT6, C 235-237
24	With Love from Rufus	ER	2739–2846	108	1972-04-10 - 1972-08-12	T8, OT6
25	The Bluebeard Affair	ER	2847–2970	125 (124+1A)	1972-08-14 - 1973-01-06	T9, OT6
26	The Gallows Bird	ER	2971-3077	107	1973-01-08 - 1973-05-12	T9, MB2
27	The Wicked Gnomes	ER	3078-3197	120	1973-05-14 - 1973-09-29	T9, OT7
28	The Iron God	ER	3198-3309	111[9]	1973-10-01 - 1974-02-09	T9, OT7
29	"Take Me to Your Leader"	ER	3310-3428	119	1974-02-11 - 1974-07-01	T10, MB3
30	Highland Witch	ER	3429-3548	120	1974-07-02 - 1974-11-16	T10, MB4
31	Cry Wolf	ER	3549-3638A	106 (90+16A)	1974-11-18 - 1975-03-25	T10, MB5
32	The Reluctant Chaperon	ER	3639-3737	120 (99+21A)[10]	1975-03-26 - 1975-08-14	T11, MB6
33	The Greenwood Maid	ER	3738-3829A	111 (92+19A)	1975-08-15 - 1976-01-02	T11, MB7
34	Those About to Die	ER	3830-3931A	123 (102+21A)	1976-01-05 - 1976-05-28	T11, MB8
35	The Inca Trail	ER	3932-4031A	120 (100+20A)	1976-06-01 - 1976-10-20	T11, MB10
36	The Vanishing Dollybirds	ER	4032-4141A	132 (110+22A)	1976-10-21 - 1977-03-28	T12, MB11
37	The Junk Men	ER	4142-4241A	120 (100+20A)	1977-03-29 - 1977-08-19	T12, MB9
38	Death Trap	ER	4242-4341A	120 (100+20A)	1977-08-22 - 1978-01-20	T12, MB12
39	Idaho George	ER	4342-4447A	126 (106+20A)	1978-01-23 - 1978-06-16	T13, MB13
40	The Golden Frog	ER	4448-4542A	114 (95+19A)	1978-06-19 - 1978-10-31	T13, MB14
41	Yellowstone Booty	JB	4543-4647A	126 (105+21A)	1978-11-01 - 1979-03-30	T13, MB16
42	Green Cobra	JB	4648-4737A	108 (90+18A)	1979-04-02 - 1979-08-10	T14, MB15
43	Eve and Adam	JB PW	4738-4767A 4768-4837A	120 (100+20A)	1979-08-13 - 1979-11-24 1979-11-25 - 1980-01-04	T14, MB17
44	Brethren of Blaise	PW	4838-4932A	114 (95+19A)	1980-01-07 - 1980-05-23	T14, MB18
45	Dossier on Pluto	NC	4933-5032A	120 (100+20A)	1980-05-27 - 1980-10-14	T15, MB19
46	The Lady Killers	NC	5033-5127A	114 (95+19A)	1980-10-15 - 1981-03-03	T15, F5, C 238-240
47	Garvin's Travels	NC	5128-5229A	120 (102+18A)	1981-03-04 - 1981-07-27	T15, F5, C 241 - 243
48	The Scarlet Maiden	NC	5230-5329A	120 (100+20A)	1981-07-28 - 1981-12-16	T16, F5, C 244 - 246
49	The Moonman	NC	5330-5424A	114 (95+19A)	1981-12-17 - 1982-05-07	T16, F6, C 247 - 249
50	A Few Flowers for the Colonel	NC	5425-5519A	114 (95+19A)	1982-05-10 - 1982-09-24	T16, F6, C 250 - 252
51	The Balloonatic	NC	5520-5619A	120 (100+20A)	1982-09-27 - 1983-02-18	T17, F6, C 253 - 255
52	Death in Slow Motion	NC	5620-5719A	120 (100+20A)	1983-02-21 - 1983-07-15	T17, F7, C 256 - 258
53	The Alternative Man	NC	5720-5814A	114 (95+19A)	1983-07-18 - 1983-11-28	T17, F7, C 259 - 261
54	Sweet Caroline	NC	5815-5914A	120 (100+20A)	1983-11-29 - 1984-04-19	T18, F7, C 262 - 264
55	The Return of the Mammoth	NC	5915-6014A	120 (100+20A)	1984-04-24 - 1984-09-14	T18, F8, C 265 - 267
56	Plato's Republic	NC	6015-6114A	120 (100+20A)	1984-09-17 - 1985-02-06	T18, F8
57	The Sword of the Bruce	NC	6115-6214A	120 (100+20A)	1985-02-07 - 1985-07-02	T18, F8
58	The Wild Boar	NC	6215-6314A	120 (100+20A)	1985-07-03 - 1985-11-20	T19, MB20
59	Kali's Disciples	NC	6315-6414A	120 (100+20A)	1985-11-21 - 1986-05-16	T19, MB21
60	The Double Agent	NC	6415-6519A	126 (105+21A)	1986-05-17 - 1986-09-15	T19, MB22
61	Butch Cassidy Rides Again	ER	6520-6624A	126 (105+21A)	1986-09-16 - 1987-02-12	T20, MB1, MB25
62	Million Dollar Game	ER	6625-6724A	120 (100+20A)	1987-02-13 - 1987-07-08	T20, C 26-29
63	The Vampire of Malvescu	ER	6725-6829A	126 (105+21A)	1987-07-09 - 1987-12-03	T20, A2, MB23
64	Samantha and the Cherub	ER	6830-6934A	126 (105+21A)	1987-12-04 - 1988-05-06	T21, C 31-36, LB
65	Milord	ER	6935-7034A	120 (100+20A)	1988-05-09 - 1988-09-27	T21, C 40-42, LB
66	Live Bait	ER	7035-7134A	120 (100+20A)	1988-09-28 - 1989-02-17	T21, C 44-46, LB
67	The Girl from the Future	ER	7135-7239A	126 (105+21A)	1989-02-20 - 1989-07-21	C 47-49, LD
68	The Big Mole	ER	7240-7339A	120 (100+20A)	1989-07-24 - 1989-12-11	C 50-52, LD
69	Lady in the Dark	ER	7340-7439A	120 (100+20A)	1989-12-12 - 1990-05-08	C 53-56, LD
70	Fiona	ER	7440-7544A	126 (105+21A)	1990-05-09 - 1990-10-09	C 57-60
71	Walkabout	ER	7545-7649A	126 (105+21A)	1990-10-10 - 1991-03-11	C 61-63
72	The Girl in the Iron Mask	ER	7650-7749A	120 (100+20A)	1991-03-12 - 1991-08-02	C 64-66
73	The Young Mistress	ER	7750-7854A	126 (105+21A)	1991-08-05 - 1992-01-06	C 67-73
74	Ivory Dancer	ER	7855-7959A	126 (105+21A)	1992-01-07 - 1992-06-05	C 73-77
75	Our Friend Maude	ER	7960-8064A	126 (105+21A)	1992-06-08 - 1992-11-02	C 78-83
76	A Present for the Princess	ER	8065-8174A	132 (110+22A)	1992-11-03 - 1993-04-08	C 84-88
77	Black Queen's Pawn	ER	8175-8279A	126 (105+21A)	1993-04-13 - 1993-09-10	C 89-93
78	The Grim Joker	ER	8280-8384A	126 (105+21A)	1993-09-13 - 1994-02-09	C 94-99
79	Guido the Jinx	ER	8385-8484A	120 (100+20A)	1994-02-10 - 1994-07-05	C 100-104
80	The Killing Distance	ER	8485-8589A	126 (105+21A)	1994-07-06 - 1994-11-30	C 105-109
81	The Aristo	ER	8590-8694A	126 (105+21A)	1994-12-01 - 1995-05-03	C 110-114
[3]	Modesty Blaise	DG	141 pages		1994-12
82	Ripper Jax	ER	8695-8799A	126 (105+21A)	1995-05-04 - 1995-10-02	C 115-119
83	The Maori Contract	ER	8800-8904A	126 (105+21A)	1995-10-03 - 1996-03-01	C 120-124
84	Honeygun	ER	8905-9009A	126 (105+21A)	1996-03-04 - 1996-08-02	C 125-130
85	Durango	ER	9010-9114A	126 (105+21A)	1996-08-05 - 1997-01-03	CS, C 131-133
86	The Murder Frame	ER	9115-9219A	126 (105+21A)	1997-01-06 - 1997-06-06	C 134-138
87	Fraser's Story	ER	9220-9324A	126 (105+21A)	1997-06-09 - 1997-11-03	C 139-143
88	Tribute of the Pharaoh	ER	9325-9429A	126 (105+21A)	1997-11-04 - 1998-05-03	C 144-148
89	The Special Orders	ER	9430-9534A	126 (105+21A)	1998-05-06 - 1998-09-04	C 149-152
90	The Hanging Judge	ER	9535-9644A	132 (110+22A)	1998-09-07 - 1999-02-10	C 153-158
91	Children of Lucifer	ER	9645-9749A	126 (105+21A)	1999-02-11 - 1999-07-13	C 159-163
92	Death Symbol	ER	9750-9859A	132 (110+22A)	1999-07-14 - 1999-12-15	C 164-169
93	The Last Aristocrat	ER	9860-9964A	126 (105+21A)	1999-12-16 - 2000-05-19	C 170-175
94	The Killing Game	ER	9965-10069A	126 (105+21A)	2000-05-22 - 2000-10-17	C 176-181
95	The Zombie	ER	10070-10183	135 (114+21A)	2000-10-18 - 2001-04-11	C 182-187
[4]	The Dark Angels	ER	46 pages		2002-06-13 - 2002-07-11	C 200, 208 (cover)
The special stories Numbered SP1 or more common 8a. An introduction to the history of Modesty Blaise. Numbered SP2 or more common 14a. Produced to Scottish newspapers after an industrial dispute in England. Numbered SP3 or more common not numbered. A graphic novel from DC Comics based on the first novel with Modesty Blaise. Numbered SP4 or more common 96. A comic book version of the short story in Cobra Trap. Originally published in the Swedish magazine Agent X9 #7-8, 2002.

Adaptations

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.^[11]

A movie 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. While Peter O'Donnell wrote the first draft of the screenplay for the movie, the script was heavily revised by others before shooting began, and the finished movie bore very little resemblance to O'Donnell's vision in tone, theme, or characterization. There is some indication that Willie and Modesty are on the verge of consummating their relationship which, as O'Donnell had always made clear, was strictly platonic even though they are devoted to each other. 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 Alexandra Staden as Modesty Blaise.

Quentin Tarantino has been interested in directing a Modesty Blaise movie for many years, and at one point Neil Gaiman even 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 ..." Curiously, in the Tarantino film Pulp Fiction, Vincent Vega is seen reading a copy of Modesty Blaise.^[12] Nicole Kidman has also gone on record as being interested in making a Modesty Blaise movie, and Jennifer Lopez was reported to be pitching for the part in 2003.^[13]

Books

Peter O'Donnell was invited to write a novel to tie in with the 1966 film. The novel, called simply Modesty Blaise and based on his original screenplay for the movie, fared considerably better than the movie itself did. (It was also released a year before the movie.) 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 as comic strips themselves, and there was frequent crossover of characters between the two genres. All the books, with the exception of "Pieces of Modesty", were originally issued in hardback and have since gone through numerous paperback editions.

Beginning in the early 2000s, 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.

In 2008, Penguin Books of India reprinted the full series.^[14]

• Modesty Blaise (1965)
• Sabre-Tooth (1966)
• I, Lucifer (1967)
• A Taste for Death (1969)
• The Impossible Virgin (1971)
• Pieces of Modesty (1972) (6 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)
• The Silver Mistress (1973)
• Last Day in Limbo (1976)
• Dragon's Claw (1978)
• The Xanadu Talisman (1981)
• The Night of Morningstar (1982)
• Dead Man's Handle (1985)
• Cobra Trap (1996) (5 short stories: Bellman - The Dark Angels - Old Alex - The Girl With the Black Balloon - Cobra Trap)

O'Donnell's final book, Cobra Trap, is his most controversial, as the title story which ended the book concluded with Modesty's and Willie's deaths (and a hint of an afterlife), although the comic strip would last for several more years before it was retired; many longtime fans of the series refuse to read Cobra Trap in response. By contrast, O'Donnell ended the comic strip on a more hopeful note.

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 ^[15] Modesty has got 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 in order 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 Dick Giordano (ISBN 1-56389-178-6).

Other adaptations

One of the Modesty Blaise novels, "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 released featuring John Thaw (the story was a first-person tale told from Willie Garvin's point of view).

Canon debate

The canonicity of the novels vs. the comic strips is a matter of some debate among fans, as Modesty and Willie occasionally act more ruthlessly in the novels than they do in the comics, and there are occasional inconsistencies. An example of this is how Modesty is initially recruited to work for Sir Gerald Tarrant - although the strip story (La Machine) and the book story (Modesty Blaise) 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 un-named and the marriage took place in 1962.

Plus, some comic strips were based upon some of O'Donnell's short stories, and vice-versa, with the inevitable differences between them. In any event, only stories (illustrated or textual) written by O'Donnell himself are considered candidates for canon^{[by whom?]}; none of the film and graphic novel adaptations qualify, including the My Name Is Modesty film which contradicts elements of the novels and comic strip.

Future of the character

As mentioned above, in 1996, Peter O'Donnell wrote the final Modesty Blaise story collection, Cobra Trap, and in 2001, retired the comic strip. The Modesty Blaise character and concept remain popular enough that there have been calls for new writers to continue her adventures. O'Donnell, who owned the rights to Modesty Blaise, had refused to pass the comic strip or novels on to another writer. He had optioned the TV and film rights to the characters at various times over the years, but nothing ever came of the attempts to make a TV series (although some of the stories in Cobra Trap were based on TV episode scripts O'Donnell wrote), and he was severely disappointed by the movie My Name Is Modesty; O'Donnell had since gone on record that he wanted no more movies to be made of his character.

It is not known if O'Donnell's statements will have any impact upon the proposed Modesty Blaise film project by Quentin Tarantino, or if his heirs - O'Donnell died in May 2010 - will allow new writers to continue Modesty Blaise in comic strip or literary form.

Cars

• 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 Mind of Mrs Drake (1965) and The Head Girls (1966).
• Modesty and Willie are also seen driving an Aston Martin DB5 (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).
• 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 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 France Modesty often uses various types of Citroen DS.

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".^[16]
• 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".

Notes

1. ^ as revealed in The Xanadu Talisman
2. ^ ^{a b c} Don Markstein's Toonopedia. "Modesty Blaise". http://www.toonopedia.com/modesty.htm. 
3. ^ Tillson, Frances (19 September 2004). "Modesty? That's one virtue she's lacking". London: The Observer. http://observer.guardian.co.uk/review/story/0,6903,1307728,00.html. Retrieved 2010-05-13. 
4. ^ Lambiek Comiclopedia. "Jim Holdaway". http://lambiek.net/artists/h/holdaway_jim.htm. 
5. ^ Lambiek Comiclopedia. "Enrique Badia Romero". http://lambiek.net/artists/r/romero_eb.htm. 
6. ^ Lambiek Comiclopedia. "John M. Burns". http://lambiek.net/artists/b/burns_jm.htm. 
7. ^ Lambiek Comiclopedia. "Neville Colvin". http://lambiek.net/artists/c/colvin_neville.htm. 
8. ^ Lawrence Blackmore, "Preserving Modesty's Modesty" in Modesty Blaise: Death Trap. Titan Books, 2007, no pagination
9. ^ According to The Modesty Blaise Companion Companion, there were no strip with number 3276
10. ^ More correct there were 20 A-strips and one X-strip, numbered 3641X
11. ^ De Rham, Edith Joseph Losey 1991 Deutsch
12. ^ Tarantino, Quentin and Roger Avary. "Pulp Fiction." SchmucksWithUnderwoods.com. <http://www.weeklyscript.com/Pulp%20Fiction.txt>.
13. ^ Evening Standard on-line report <http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/film/article-2945348-details/J-Lo+big+on+modesty/article.do>.
14. ^ [1]
15. ^ Modesty in India
16. ^ 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