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Modesty Blaise – Death In Slow Motion
Publisher: Titan Books
Writer: Peter O’Donnell
Artist: Neville Colvin
Forward: Steve Epting
Let’s get this out of the way here at the start of the review: Modesty Blaise rocks!
I never heard of Modesty Blaise before receiving this little gem of the British Empire, but Titan Books has recruited a new lifer here. Many of our European readers will be familiar with the charm of this strip, which was published in England from 1963 to 2001 (it was published sporadically here in the states; due to the frequent nudity in the strip, it came here on and off in bits and pieces). Modesty Blaise tells the many adventures of Modesty Blaise, secret agent to the British Secret Service, highly trained and highly deadly.
Modesty Blaise – Death In Slow Motion is the latest in the series of reprints of the strip from Titan Books. It collects three story lines. The first is “The Balloonatic,” which was my personal favorite of the three stories in this collection. Modesty and friends accidentally stumble across a terrorist group hiding out, who dress up like they’re from the early 1800s, and preserve ancient customs when not bombing government buildings, hospitals, etc. This tale right here captures both the humor and the action of the series all at once. The next tale is “Death In Slow Motion.” Modesty’s old friend inspector Brook and his daughter have been kidnapped and are alone dying in the desert, being videotaped as they are slowly starved and overheated to death. It’s up to Modesty to unravel this mystery and save her friend. In the final tale, “The Alternative Man,” while Modesty and friends are having an island vacation, she discovers the island they are staying at is the center for drug traffic between Cuba and Miami .
Each tale is penned by Peter O’Donnell, who wrote the strip until he retired in 2001 (but continued to write introductions for Titan’s reprints until 2010, when Steve Epting took over), and fleshes out each character to their max, one strip at a time. The art is also brilliant, done by Neville Colvin, who drew the strip until 1986. His art really captures your eye as he brings a wonderful detailed style to both characters and settings.
Final thought: if you’ve never heard of Modesty Blaise before, then you should jump into it now; and if you’re already a fan, then you know what I’m talking about.
Drew McCabe
drew@comicattack.net
A copy of this book was provided by the publisher for review.