Posted By Dan Greenfield on Jun 11, 2024 | 5 comments

Peter Bosch’s SNEAK PEEK at RetroFan #33…

By PETER BOSCH

Below is a preview of my article in RetroFan #33 (being shipped by TwoMorrows June 12) about the history of the comic strip Modesty Blaise, her writer/creator Peter O’Donnell, the artists who illustrated her over a 39-year run (1963-2002), the novels, the movies, and more… including a DC Comics graphic novel written by O’Donnell and drawn by Dick Giordano and Dan Spiegle.

Book cover illustration of Modesty by Jim Holdaway

Modesty Blaise was an adventurer; there is really no other way to describe her. In her past, she had been an orphan without a memory of her real name or age. She had wandered the deserts and cities of Europe as a child, with only a former professor as her friend and companion. (He was a very old man and she, though she was about 12, gave him protection from the dregs and bullies of the remnants of World War II, and he gave her an education… and a name, Modesty.)

When he died, she continued on alone and wound up as a teenager running a roulette wheel for a small European group. When the group’s head was murdered, she held them together and increased its potential as a crime syndicate, “the Network” (but never dealing in drugs or prostitution or any other form of human degradation).

And she added a right-hand man, Willie Garvin, who became an extension of her.

A sample worked up by Al Williamson who was hoping to get Peter O’Donnell interested in producing a Sunday, in addition to the daily strip.

The stories of Modesty Blaise, however, did not start there. They began when she was 26, retired from the Network and living in England, as was her former lieutenant, Willie. The adventures began with the arrival at her penthouse by Sir Gerald Tarrant, the head of a British government intelligence department, who came to ask her to help him with a problem.

Art by Jim Holdaway

To me, Modesty Blaise was the best-written comics character of all time. I hope the article in RetroFan #33 will introduce her to those who do not know of her yet, and let you see what made fans of Neil Gaiman, Walt Simonson, Dick Giordano, and Quentin Tarantino, to name just a few.

DC Comics graphic novel written by Peter O’Donnell, with art by Dick Giordano (and an inside story assist by Dan Spiegle)

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RetroFan #33 will be available at comics shops and online retailers in the coming weeks. But you can order now directly from TwoMorrows. Click here.

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MORE

— Frank Robbins’ JOHNNY HAZARD: An 80th Anniversary Salute in 13 STRIPS. Click here.

— DOUG WILDEY: So Much More Than JONNY QUEST. Click here.

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13th Dimension contributor-at-large PETER BOSCH’s first book, American TV Comic Books: 1940s-1980s – From the Small Screen to the Printed Page, was published by TwoMorrows. He is currently at work on a sequel, about movie comics. Peter has written articles and conducted celebrity interviews for various magazines and newspapers. He lives in Hollywood.