The Ultimate Modesty Blaise Topic

[Texas Star]

In his post about the MAB .25, I told "english" about the use of that gun (and others) by British thriller heroine Modesty Blaise.

The Blaise books (both hardcover and paperback editions, here and in the UK, etc.) used the right guns for the characters and circumstances. And Modesty was both complex and beautiful. The accompanying comic strip was also superior, if not printed in US newspapers, save for censored versions in Detroit.

Is anyone else here interested in discussing the characters, guns, etc. in that series? We can make this the Ultimate Modesty Blaise topic...

BTW, for longer range work, she used a S&W M-57 .41 Magnum on occasion, as did one thug. But unless there was a missprint, the author thought that 20 yards was long range for a handgun. I remember another bad guy with a Bodyguard .38.

My favorite titles in the series are probably, The Impossible Virgin (not her; a geographical feature), Dragon's Claw, and, A Taste For Death. But all were terrific!


T-Star

 

[jimmyj]

The only thing I remember was the movie and her thigh tattoo.

 

[BLACKHAWKNJ]

I wonder if "Major Boothroyd" was her armorer. The noted English gunwriter wrote to Ian Fleming pointing out the mistakes he made with James Bond's firearms, in the next story "Major Boothroyd" was Bond's armorer.

 

[Texas Star]

I wonder if "Major Boothroyd" was her armorer. The noted English gunwriter wrote to Ian Fleming pointing out the mistakes he made with James Bond's firearms, in the next story "Major Boothroyd" was Bond's armorer.

No. I knew Boothroyd slightly, via letters. I have his splendid book, The Handgun, the best basic title ever on the subject. But I doubt that he ever collaborated with Peter O'Donnell.

I think that Peter O'Donnell got his gun data by reading, Guns & Ammo, which he mentioned in one book. But he had a daft preacher-murderer reading it. O'Donell was shown on one book jacket with a Colt New Police .32, but I think that Modesty's "Colt .32" was a later model, probably a Cobra.

Here's a great fan site, where you can see all of the book covers. The Modesty Blaise Book Covers Homepage

And here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modesty_Blaise is the basic Wiki page on her, with the background data. There are many other Online sites about her. Fascinating. It'd be fun to collect all of the Blaise covers, from all nations. But it'd cost a pretty penny, and be a serious search. Click the right buttons on that first link, and you'll see the variety. She was published in such lands as France, Brazil, Finland, Norway, India, and South Africa, in addition to English-speaking nations. (The SA cover is in Afrikaans, based on Dutch.)

BTW, the movies were pretty bad, and the US-set TV show was also bad. The film people didn't treat her seriously or authentically. The books were FAR better!