Modesty Blaise: The Black Pearl, by Peter O'Donnell & Jim Holdaway

(pb - graphic novel; compiled and republished in 2004. Fourth book in the Modesty Blaise graphic novel series)

From the back cover:

"She's beautiful with a bullet! Modesty Blaise - cult creation of best-selling author Peter O'Donnell - returns for another searing slice of '60s chic thrills set in the shadowy underworld of espionage and mystery.

"In the wilds of Tibet, Modesty must repay the debt she owes an ancient mystic who once saved her life, by finding the mysterious Black Pearl. Before her stand marauding bandits, the might of the Himalayas and the power of Red China! This. . . volume also includes The Magnified Man, The Jericho Caper and The Killing Ground."

Review:

The continuous-story comic strips (with the exception of "The Killing Ground") ran in the London Evening Standard newspaper, from December 1966 to April 1967. ("The Killing Ground" ran in a Scottish paper, from April 1967 to May 1967.)


"The Black Pearl" - Modesty and her knife-wielding, lady-killer sidekick Willie Garvin are pursued by the Red Chinese army in the Himalayas, when they locate and take a mysterious item, the Black Pearl, to its new, rightful owners.


"The Magnified Man" - When Willie accidentally blows the cover of a Deuxieme Bureau agent and old flame (Denise Rouelle), he and Modesty tangle with a shady criminal (Herr Bilke) and a returned enemy, Jules, who are setting up a huge train heist, via a bizarre contraption.


"The Jericho Caper" - A village, threatened by woman-stealing bandits, is protected by Modesty, Willie, and a group of men led by an old friend, Flynn.


"The Killing Ground" - Modesty and Willie, kidnapped by an old foe (Bellman), are placed on an island, where they're hunted by three professional killers. Despite echoing Richard Connell's distinctive, famous storyline (from "The Most Dangerous Game"), it's still fun, with our heroes quickly turning the tables on the hired assassins.

This story - "The Killing Ground" - was later adapted into a novella by author O'Donnell, in the final Modesty Blaise book, Cobra Trap.


The stand-out story strips in this collection are "The Black Pearl" and "The Magnified Man," with their cleverness, twists and wild-card elements; "The Jericho Caper" and "The Killing Ground" are enjoyable, too.

Followed by Modesty Blaise: Bad Suki.

Modesty Blaise: Top Traitor, by Peter O'Donnell & Jim Holdaway

(pb - graphic novel; compiled and republished in 2004. Third book in the Modesty Blaise graphic novel series)


From the back cover:

"With a mind as sharp as her fashion sense and fighting skills worthy of any she-samurai, Modesty Blaise - cult creation of best-selling author Peter O'Donnell - is back in another classic collector's edition from Titan!

"In three thrilling, nerve-shattering stories - Top Traitor, The Vikings and The Head Girls - Modesty must rip deeply through her own organisation to uncover a spy, do battle with homicidal Norsemen and cross claws with a pride of she-kittens led by an old adversary!"

Review:

The three-frame, continuous-story comic strips in this collection ran in the London Evening Standard newspaper, from February 1966 to November 1966.

Modesty Blaise and her sidekick, Willie Garvin, retired Syndicate operatives, thrice again help - not as employees, but free agents - the British government foil nefarious and bizarre foes.

In "Top Traitor," Sir Gerald Tarrant - Blaise and Garvin's close friend and main government contact - is kidnapped, and made to look like a Kim Philby-esque spy. Of course, those who have worked with Tarrant (namely Blaise and Garvin) know better, and set out to not only rescue him, but prove his innocence.


The second story cycle, "The Vikings," reunites Blaise and Garvin with a former, blundering Syndicate employee, Olaf, now working under a retro-minded robber (Magnus), who favors ancient Norse attitudes and violent, money-minded raids.


"The Head Girls" finds Blaise and Garvin figuring out, and thwarting an old enemy's blackmail scheme to steal a new formula that could irrevocably alter the government's military strategy - fans of the "The Gabriel Set-Up" will likely, particularly, enjoy this one.


These strip story-cycles are just as exciting, charming, clever and cliff-hanger-ish as the ones that preceded them in Modesty Blaise: The Gabriel Set-Up. (I haven't read the second Modesty graphic novel, Modesty Blaise: Mister Sun, because I don't own it - yet.)

Fans of Sixties spy films, television series and books (Ian Fleming's fourteen-book 007/James Bond series, the Flint films, etc.) will likely appreciate the thoughtful, stylish stories contained in these Modesty volumes.

Followed by Modesty Blaise: The Black Pearl.

Modesty Blaise: The Gabriel Set-Up, by Peter O'Donnell & Jim Holdaway

(pb - graphic novel; compiled and republished in 2004. First book in the Modesty Blaise graphic novel series)

From the back cover:

"Adventurer, spy, smuggler, racketeer and all-around bad girl -- that's Modesty Blaise! The cult creation of best-selling author Peter O'Donnell returns in this fantastic collection of rare and classic newspaper strips from the Evening Standard, the first volume in a new Modesty Blaise library!

"With her trusted right-hand man Willie Garvin and the underworld resources of the 'The Network' on tap, Modesty takes on the skilled killers of La Machine and battles to destroy a coven of blackmailers, proving once and for all that the female of the species is deadlier than the male."

Review:

The comic strip, which ran from 1963 to 1986 in various global newspapers, and spawned fourteen novels and two movies gets republished for the first time in many years: each chapter was written, illustrated and published as a three-frame newspaper comic strip, making this at once an enjoyably archaic and fresh read, separating it from most other graphic novels out there.

Fans of Sixties spy films, television series and books (Ian Fleming's fourteen-book 007/James Bond series, the Flint films, etc.) will likely appreciate the plot-twisty, action-packed stories contained in these Modesty volumes.

This well-drawn, well-written volume contains two thoughtful, well-researched introductions ("Blaise of Glory" by Mike Paterson and "Girl Walking", where Modesty creator/author Peter O'Donnell explains where the real-life impetus for Modesty originated); it also contains the stories: "La Machine", "The Long Lever" and The Gabriel Set-Up". Each story also gets a brief, half-page introduction from O'Donnell, where he reveals tidbits about the creation of each story.

Worth owning, this.

Followed by Modesty Blaise: Mister Sun.