In the days before over-hyped girl power, Britain had a liberated, independently minded action heroine as beautiful as she was deadly. Modesty Blaise is like the love child of James Bond and Emma Peel: fearless, adventurous, travelling the globe to exotic locations, performing as a spy, a smuggler, or an all-round adrenaline junkie. Despite being able to turn the head of every man, Modesty has the undivided loyalty of one man, Willie Garvin. Willie belongs to a different class, and – whilst making up a formidable team – he frequently has to yield to his mistress’s greater confidence and martial arts training. O’Donnell creates a colourful supporting cast from the hen-pecked Gilbert Bone to the sagacious Saragam. The three-stories collected in this volume highlight the diversity of the Modesty Blaise character, exploring different aspects of her personality. In the first tale, she crosses paths with Idaho George, a familiar friend and con-artist posing as mystic guru Ram Dal Singh, who’s supposed powers of materlialisation attract the ambitious attentions of big-time crime boss, the formidable Anastasia Bone. Whilst O’Donnell has shaped Modesty’s career through the decades, for these stories he’s aided by long time-collaborator Enric Badia Romero (best known for space vixen, Axa) and Brit John Burns, whose work has been seen on Judge Dredd, Nikolai Dante and James Bond. Both make dynamic use of the panel space and figures are portrayed with great clarity and poise. There’s little moody atmosphere in the shading but the emphasis is on crisp, pacey action. They have the breathless energy of movie storyboards, and – with Modesty’s dark and tight-fitting cat-suit – it’s a pretty sexy movie. 4 stars
