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By Peter O’Donnell & Enric Badia Romero (Titan Books)
ISBN 1-84023-869-0
This volume kicks off with what seems a most unconventional tale for the reformed super-criminals – investigating an alien invasion. ‘Take Me To Your Leader’ finds Modesty and Willie Garvin asked to verify whether mysterious beings on a tropical Island are what they seem. As past masters of the criminal con-game our Derring Duo should have it all over mere scientists and diplomats. They’re also much better in a fight which is quite fortunate…
When these tales first saw print in the mid 1970s the strange and the supernatural was common parlance in everyday life so naturally a more fantastic playing field was going to intrude into the hard, tough world of entertainment fiction. Hard on the heels of their extra-terrestrial foes our heroes find themselves tackling ‘The Highland Witch’. Although nominally another go-round with the Great Unknown, this is a solid adventure tale involving a beautiful girl nearly murdered by bloodthirsty gangsters, a spectacularly unique villain in the un-comely form of Sister Binks and a classic combat incursion scenario from Modesty and her extended band of helpers.
‘Cry Wolf’ concludes this volume on a high note as a retired cryptographer and friend of the family is kidnapped from his new home in the Arctic Circle. In a unique twist, Willie and Modesty find themselves at odds with their old friend Tarrant as the abductors might be British Intelligence rather than those pesky old KGB types. This is a superb spy caper full of twists and turns, exotic locales, spectacular villains and heart-stopping action. If there ever is another movie, this should top the list for scripts to adapt.
Modesty Blaise is one of the greatest characters in comic strips, and indeed adventure fiction. Why she is not a household name is probably the only mystery she can’t solve. Read this book, or any/all of the others this current series and you’ll see I’m right whilst at the same time helping to correct that situation.
© 2006 Associated Newspapers/Solo Syndication.