Modesty Blaise

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This article is an overview of the character and the comic strip/film/novel franchise. For specific additional uses of the name, see Modesty Blaise (disambiguation).

Modesty Blaise is a fictional character in a comic strip of the same name created by Peter O'Donnell (writer) and Jim Holdaway (art) in 1962. 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 novels and short stories beginning in 1965.

Many critics see the early years of the strip as a classic of adventure comic strips. The novels are regarded by some as being among the classics of adventure fiction.

Contents 1 Premise 2 The comic strip 2.1 Reprints 3 Story list 4 The movies 5 The books 6 In comic books 7 Other adaptations 8 Future of the character 9 Trivia 10 External links

[edit] Premise

In 1945 a nameless girl escaped from a displaced person (DP) camp in Karylos, Greece. She did not remember anything from her short past. She wandered through post-WW2 Mediterranean and Arabia. During these years she learned to survive the hard way. She befriended another wandering refugee, a Hungarian scholar named Lob who gave her an education and a name: Modesty Blaise. Eventually she took control of a criminal gang in Tangier and expanded it to international status as "The Network".

During these years she met Willie Garvin. Despite the desperate life he was living, 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 Blaise's most trusted friend. Theirs is a strictly platonic relationship and is based on mutual respect and shared interests. They have never gone to bed with each other, fearing that would ruin their special bond. 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").

When she felt she'd made enough money, she retired and moved to England; 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 — and this is where the story really begins.

Many of her adventures are based on "capers" she and Willie Garvin become involved in 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 — and have, on occasion, taken on the roles of judge, jury, and executioner when dealing with particularly unsavory types — they avoid deadly force whenever possible, often relying upon their extraordinary physical and weapons skills to change a killing blow into a knock-out. Willie often confirms with Modesty beforehand whether a mission is to be, as the duo puts it, for "sleeps" or for "keeps".

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, with Willie being eight years older. The only exceptions to this rule occur in the 1996 short story "Cobra Trap"  — the final Modesty Blaise adventure — which takes place in an unspecified future year in which Modesty is in her late 40s and Willie is in his 50s, and the 2003 film My Name is Modesty which is a prequel depicting Modesty in her late teens.

[edit] The comic strip

Modesty Blaise debuted in the London Evening Standard on May 13, 1963. 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, the art of the strip was provided by the Spanish artist Romero. Eight years later, Romero quit to make time for his own comics projects, and after short attempts by John Burns and Patrick Wright, Neville Colvin drew the strip until 1986. 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 (a censored version of the strip was circulated as a result). Modesty was fond of a tactic that she called the "Nailer," in which she would appear topless and Willie would incapacitate their foes while they were distracted by her bare breasts.

The final Modesty Blaise strip ran in the Evening Standard on April 11, 2001. 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 one final comic strip that was published in Scandinavia in 2002, later being reprinted in the US in Comics Revue.

[edit] 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 1977 when Star Books, an imprint of WH Allen Limited, published a paperback-sized compilation of the Holdaway-era stories "The Black Pearl" and "The Vikings". This reprint suffered from poor reproduction that rendered many panels unintelligible.

Between 1981 and 1986, Ken Pierce 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 seven 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 2007 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. Several volumes also featured specially written introductions by O'Donnell. So far, the new series has reprinted the full run of the Holdaway years and has moved on to the Romero-illustrated stories. The first volume published in 2006, The Gallows Bird, includes one story that was not reprinted in the earlier Titan series. The tenth volume, Cry Wolf, consisted entirely of stories not previously reprinted by Titan. An 11th reprint volume, The Inca Trail has been announced for the summer of 2007 [1].

• 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 (October 2006) ISBN 1-84023-869-0
• Book 11: The Inca Trail (July 2007)

[edit] Story list

There were 96 storylines produced by the Modesty Blaise comic strip, all written by Peter O'Donnell. The strips were drawn by Jim Holdaway (JH), Enrique Badia Romero (ER), John M. Burns (JB), Pat Wright (PW), and Neville Colvin (NC).

Sources:  A  (Comics Revue Annual), C  (Comics Revue), 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), SB  (Star Books paperback reprint, 1977), S  (Comics Revue Special), T#  (Titan Books, old series (1984-88))

Titan Books, new series (2004-present):  NT1 = The Gabriel Set-Up, NT2 = Mister Sun, NT3 = Top Traitor, NT4 = The Black Pearl, NT5 = Bad Suki, NT6 = The Hell Makers, NT7 = The Green-Eyed Monster, NT8 = The Puppet Master, NT9 = The Gallows Bird, NT10 = Cry Wolf.

	Title	Artist	Numbers	Dates	Reprinted in
1.	La Machine	JH	1-114	5/13/63 - 9/21/63	NT1, T1, C 189-191, 193
2.	The Long Lever	JH	115-211	9/23/63 - 1/2/64	NT1, T1, C 192-194
3.	The Gabriel Set-Up	JH	212-354	1/3/64 - 6/18/64	NT1, T1, C 195-197
4.	Mister Sun	JH	355-500	6/19/64 - 12/5/64	NT2, T2, C 198-199
5.	The Mind of Mrs. Drake	JH	501-612	12/7/64 - 4/19/65	NT2, T2, F2, C 201-203
6.	Uncle Happy	JH	613-743	4/20/65 - 9/18/65	NT2, T8, F2, C 204-207
7.	Top Traitor	JH	744-873	9/20/65 - 2/19/66	NT3, F1, C 208-210
8.	The Vikings	JH	874-992	2/21/66 - 7/9/66	NT3, F1, SB
8a.	In the Beginning	JH	(1-12)	(1966)	NT1, T1, C 188
9.	The Head Girls	JH	993-1124	7/11/66 - 12/10/66	NT3, F4
10.	The Black Pearl	JH	1125-1235	12/12/66 - 4/22/67	NT4, F4, SB
11.	The Magnified Man	JH	1236-1349	4/24/67 - 9/2/67	NT4, F4
12.	The Jericho Caper	JH	1350-1461	9/4/67 - 1/13/68	NT4, F3
13.	Bad Suki	JH	1462-1574	1/15/68 - 5/25/68	NT5, T8, F3
14.	The Galley Slaves	JH	1575-1629, 1630A-1688	5/27/68 - 8/6/68, 9/10/68 - 11/16/68	NT5, T3
14A.	The Killing Ground	JH	(A1-A36)	1968 (Scotland only)	NT4, T2, F3, C 207
15.	The Red Gryphon	JH	1689-1794	11/18/68 - 3/22/69	NT5, T3, C 211-213
16.	The Hell Makers	JH	1795-1919	3/24/69 - 8/16/69	NT6, T3, C 214-216
17.	Take-Over	JH	1920-2043	8/18/69 - 1/10/70	NT6, T4, C 217-219
18.	The War-Lords of Phoenix	JH/ER	2044-2162	1/12/70 - 5/30/70	NT6, T4, C 220-222
19.	Willie the Djinn	ER	2163-2282	6/1/70 - 10/17/70	NT7, T4, C 223-225
20.	The Green-Eyed Monster	ER	2283-2388	10/19/70 - 2/20/71	NT7, T5, C 226-228
21.	Death of a Jester	ER	2389-2507	2/22/71 - 7/10/71	NT7, T5, C 229-231
22.	The Stone Age Caper	ER	2508-2627	7/12/71 - 11/27/71	NT8, T5, C 232-234
23.	The Puppet Master	ER	2628-2738	11/29/71 - 4/8/72	NT8, T6, C 235-237
24.	With Love from Rufus	ER	2739-2846	4/10/72 - 8/12/72	NT8, T6
25.	The Bluebeard Affair	ER	2847-2970	8/14/72 - 1/6/73	NT9, T6
26.	The Gallows Bird	ER	2971-3077	1/8/73 - 5/12/73	NT9, MB 2
27.	The Wicked Gnomes	ER	3078-3197	5/14/73 - 9/29/73	NT9, T7
28.	The Iron God	ER	3198-3309	10/1/73 - 2/9/74	NT9, T7
29.	"Take Me to Your Leader"	ER	3310-3428	2/11/74 - 7/1/74	NT10, MB 3
30.	Highland Witch	ER	3429-3548	7/2/74 - 11/16/74	NT10, MB 4
31.	Cry Wolf	ER	3549-3638A	11/18/74 - 3/25/75	NT 10, MB 5
32.	The Reluctant Chaperon	ER	3639-3737	3/26/75 - 8/14/75	NT 11, MB 6
33.	The Greenwood Maid	ER	3738-3829A	8/15/75 - 1/2/76	NT 11, MB 7
34.	Those About to Die	ER	3830-3931A	1/5/76 - 5/28/76	NT 11, MB 8
35.	The Inca Trail	ER	3932-4031A	6/1/76 - 10/20/76	NT 11, MB 10
36.	The Vanishing Dollybirds	ER	4032-4141A	10/21/76 - 3/28/77	MB 11
37.	The Junk Men	ER	4142-4241A	3/29/77 - 8/19/77	MB 9
38.	Death Trap	ER	4242-4341A	8/22/77 - 1/20/78	MB 12
39.	Idaho George	ER	4342-4447A	1/23/78 - 6/16/78	MB 13
40.	The Golden Frog	ER	4448-4542A	6/19/78 - 10/31/78	MB 14
41.	Yellowstone Booty	ER	4543-4647A	11/1/78 - 3/30/79	MB 16
42.	Green Cobra	JB	4648-4737A	4/2/79 - 8/10/79	MB 15
43.	Eve and Adam	JB/PW	4738-4837A	8/13/79 - 1/4/80	MB 17
44.	Brethren of Blaise	PW	4838-4932A	1/7/80 - 5/23/80	MB 18
45.	Dossier on Pluto	PW	4933-5032A	5/27/80 - 10/14/80	MB 19
46.	The Lady Killers	NC	5033-5127A	10/15/80 - 3/3/81	F5, C 238-240
47.	Garvin's Travels	NC	5128-5229A	3/4/81 - 7/27/81	F5, C 241–
48.	The Scarlet Maiden	NC	5230-5329A	7/28/81 - 12/16/81	F5
49.	The Moonman	NC	5330-5424A	12/17/81 - 5/7/82	F6
50.	A Few Flowers for the Colonel	NC	5425-5519A	5/10/82 - 9/24/82	F6
51.	The Balloonatic	NC	5520-5619A	9/27/82 - 2/18/83	F6
52.	Death in Slow Motion	NC	5620-5719A	2/21/83 - 7/15/83	F7
53.	The Alternative Man	NC	5720-5814A	7/18/83 - 11/28/83	F7
54.	Sweet Caroline	NC	5815-5914A	11/29/83 - 4/19/84	F7
55.	The Return of the Mammoth	NC	5915-6014A	4/24/84 - 9/14/84	F8
56.	Plato's Republic	NC	6015-6114A	9/17/84 - 2/6/85	F8
57.	The Sword of the Bruce	NC	6115-6214A	2/7/85 - 7/2/85	F8
58.	The Wild Boar	NC	6215-6314A	7/3/85 - 11/20/85	MB 20
59.	Kali's Disciples	NC	6315-6414A	11/21/85 - 5/16/86?	MB 21
60.	The Double Agent	NC	6515-6519A	5/17/86? - 9/15/86	MB 22
61.	Butch Cassidy Rides Again	ER	6520-6624A	9/16/86 - 2/12/87	MB 1
62.	Million Dollar Game	ER	6625-6724A	2/13/87 - 7/8/87	C 26-29
63.	The Vampire of Malvescu	ER	6725-6829A	7/9/87 - 12/3/87	A2
64.	Samantha and the Cherub	ER	6830-6934A	12/4/87 - 5/6/88	C 31-36, LB
65.	Milord	ER	6935-7034A	5/9/88 - 9/27/88	C 40-42, LB
66.	Live Bait	ER	7035-7134A	9/28/88 - 2/17/89	C 44-46, LB
67.	The Girl from the Future	ER	7135-7239A	2/20/89 - 7/21/89	C 47-49, LD
68.	The Big Mole	ER	7240-7339A	7/24/89 - 12/11/89	C 50-52, LD
69.	Lady in the Dark	ER	7340-7439A	12/12/89 - 5/8/90	C 53-56, LD
70.	Fiona	ER	7440-7544A	5/9/90 - 10/9/90	C 57-60
71.	Walkabout	ER	7545-7649A	10/10/90 - 3/11/91	C 61-63
72.	The Girl in the Iron Mask	ER	7650-7749A	3/12/91 - 8/2/91	C 64-66
73.	The Young Mistress	ER	7750-7854A	8/5/91 - 1/6/92	C 67-73
74.	Ivory Dancer	ER	7855-7959A	1/7/92 - 6/5/92	C 73-77
75.	Our Friend Maude	ER	7960-8064A	6/8/92 - 11/2/92	C 78-83
76.	A Present for the Princess	ER	8065-8174A	11/3/92 - 4/8/93	C 84-88
77.	Black Queen's Pawn	ER	8175-8279A	4/13/93 - 9/10/93	C 89-93 [1]
78.	The Grim Joker	ER	8280-8384A	9/13/93 - 2/9/94	C 94-99
79.	Guido the Jinx	ER	8385-8484A	2/10/94 - 7/5/94	C 100-104
80.	The Killing Distance	ER	8485-8589A	7/6/94 - 11/30/94	C 105-109
81.	The Aristo	ER	8590-8694A	12/1/94 - 5/3/95	C 110-114
82.	Ripper Jax	ER	8695-8799A	5/4/95 - 10/2/95	C 115-119
83.	The Maori Contract	ER	8800-8904A	10/3/95 - 3/1/96	C 120-124
84.	Honeygun	ER	8905-9009A	3/4/96 - 8/2/96	C 125-130
85.	Durango	ER	9010-9114A	8/5/96 - 1/3/97	S1, C 131-133
86.	The Murder Frame	ER	9115-9219A	1/6/97 - 6/6/97	C 134-138
87.	Fraser's Story	ER	9220-9324A	6/9/97 - 11/3/97	C 139-143
88.	Tribute of the Pharaoh	ER	9325-9429A	11/4/97 - 5/3/98	C 144-148
89.	The Special Orders	ER	9430-9534A	5/6/98 - 9/4/98	C 149-152
90.	The Hanging Judge	ER	9535-9644A	9/7/98 - 2/10/99	C 153-158
91.	Children of Lucifer	ER	9645-9749A	2/11/99 - 7/13/99	C 159-163
92.	Death Symbol	ER	9750-9859A	7/14/99 - 12/15/99	C 164-169
93.	The Last Aristocrat	ER	9860-9964A	12/16/99 - 5/19/00	C 170-175
94.	The Killing Game	ER	9965-10069a	5/22/00 - 10/17/00	C 176-181
95.	The Zombie	ER	10070-10183	10/18/00 - 4/2/01	C 182-187
96.	The Dark Angels	ER	N/A	12/2002	C 200, 208 (cover)

[edit] The movies

After initial popularity, a movie loosely based on the comic strip was filmed in 1966 as a comedy thriller, directed by Joseph Losey and starring 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. Two pluses of the 1966 film were a very catchy theme song by John Dankworth, and Dirk Bogarde's campy performance as archvillain Gabriel. On the minus side, the plot is rather convoluted and the funny moments sparse. The audience either loved or hated the film. The movie was not very successful.

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 much 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 Modesty and Willie are portrayed as Americans.

In 2002, Miramax, the current holders of the Modesty Blaise film rights, made a film called My Name is Modesty, with British actress Alexandra Staden as Modesty Blaise, based on the story of the character's life before the beginning of the comic strip.

The film, made primarily to retain the film rights, did not receive theatrical release, being released straight to DVD in Europe in October 2003; it didn't receive DVD release in North America until September 2004, more than two years after it was produced. Critical reception appears to depend upon the critic's familiarity with the comic strip. Those aware of Modesty's history seem to be far more receptive to the film than those expecting an action film or another comedy, though fans were disappointed that the character of Willie Garvin was not featured.

Staden's performance was generally praised, although she was seen by some as too frail-looking to convincingly play Modesty. The consensus, however, is that this version is at least better than the 1966 spoof.

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 ..." Nicole Kidman has also gone on record as being interested in making a Modesty Blaise movie.

[edit] The books

Peter O'Donnell was invited to write a novel to tie in with the 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 venues. Beginning in the early 2000s, Souvenir Press began a series of reprints of the Modesty Blaise book series, concluding with a reprint of Cobra Trap in 2006 (Souvenir reportedly does not own the rights to the short story collection Pieces of Modesty so will not be reprinting that volume.)

• Modesty Blaise (1965)
• Sabre-Tooth (1966)
• I, Lucifer (1967)
• A Taste for Death (1969) (not to be confused with the novel of the same name by P. D. James)
• The Impossible Virgin (1971)
• Pieces of Modesty (1972) (short stories)
• 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) (short stories)

O'Donnell's final book, Cobra Trap, is his most controversial as he chose to end the book by giving Modesty Blaise and Willie Garvin a definitive end (although the comic strip would last for several more years before it, too, was retired). Many longtime fans of Modesty Blaise refuse to read the titular short story that closes Cobra Trap. Perhaps reflecting this, O'Donnell chose to end the comic strip on a more hopeful note.

[edit] In comic books

In 1994, DC Comics released a graphic novel adaptation of Modesty Blaise (the novel), with art by Dick Giordano.

In Sweden and Norway, 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" was merged with the "X9" magazine). Many of O'Donnell's stories actually premiered here (translated into Swedish), and the magazine continues to run a Modesty Blaise story every month, from the archives. Sweden is also an ongoing source for in-print graphic-novel-style collections of Modesty Blaise "capers" (including hardcovers), though they're also in Swedish. When the daily strip was discontinued, artist Romero was given permission by O'Donnell to do a final Modesty Blaise story directly for the Swedish "Agent X9" magazine. The two-parter was published in 2002 and based on an unused script by O'Donnell entitled "The Dark Angels". Romero has for the past years also contributed with original painted covers for the "Agent X9" magazine.

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".

[edit] Other adaptations

One of the Modesty Blaise novels, "Last Day in Limbo", was adapted as a BBC radio drama in the 1980s. In the early 1980s, an audio tape reading of the short story, "I Had a Date with Lady Janet", was released featuring John Thaw as the voice of Willie Garvin.

Modesty Blaise has been the inspiration for a number of similar (but usually inferior) book series, most notably the ultraviolent mid-1970s series The Baroness by Paul Kenyon. The 1993 American television series, South Beach was also inspired by Modesty Blaise, and fans of the character also see more than a few similarities between Modesty Blaise and video game heroine Lara Croft.

[edit] 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 original 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 owns the rights to Modesty Blaise, has refused to pass the comic strip or novels on to another writer. He has 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 has since gone on record that he wanted no more movies to be made of his character.

O'Donnell's attitude has sparked debate over ownership of literary works, and whether an author can completely control a creation that has become a popular success (beyond issues of copyright and intellectual property and licensing). 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 eventual heirs will allow new writers to continue Modesty Blaise in comic strip or literary form.

[edit] Trivia

• Modesty Blaise is notable in that in all its printed forms over more than 40 years — comic strip and literary — it has been written by just one person: Peter O'Donnell. Even the 1966 and 1982 film versions, though only loosely based upon O'Donnell's writings, still made use of characters and situations created by the author, while the DC Comics graphic novel was based upon the first novel. The 2003 film, My Name is Modesty, was the first production to use a wholly original story not written by O'Donnell, although he did act as a consultant on the film, and the events of the film clearly reflect some of the back story of the character created by O'Donnell. Though there had been some reports that O'Donnell was displeased with "My Name is Modesty" and vowed to never allow another movie to be made of his characters, he appeared on the DVD in a lengthy interview with nothing but positive things to say about the movie.

• 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. 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; 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.
• In Quentin Tarantino's film "Pulp Fiction", the character of Vincent Vega (John Travolta) is seen in several scenes reading the first Modesty Blaise novel while sitting on the toilet. The edition Vincent reads has a mock-up cover that Tarantino had his prop department make, based upon the cover of an early edition of the novel (as illustrated at the top of this article).
• Philip Jose Farmer's Wold Newton Universe posits that Modesty is the daughter of Tarzan and La of Opar.

[edit] External links

• Kent Hedlundh's Modesty Blaise site (includes interviews with Peter O'Donnell, lists of all the comic strip stories, etc.)
• The Complete Modesty Blaise Dossier (includes a concordance listing characters, places and terms used in the novels)
• Sayyide - the Once and Future Princess (Huge German Modesty Blaise site with a substantial but yet incomplete English section)
• The Modesty Blaise mailing list (E-mail based forum for Modesty Blaise fans)
• Bibliography of the different editions of the Modesty Blaise novels, with cover gallery