Bleeding Cool reported this morning that Peter O’Donnell, the creator of the newspaper strip Modesty Blaise, passed away on May 3rd at the age of 90. The strip’s title character, Modesty Blaise, was the former head of an expansive, and successful, criminal network who came out of early retirement with her right -hand man, Willie Garvin, to apply their unique skills to working on the side of the angels. Mostly the pair worked hand-in-hand with the British intelligence service, but they also engaged in freelance adventures.
I cannot overstate what a tremendous influence Modesty Blaise was on WORLD OF HURT. Once I decided to create a black & white adventure strip, I engaged in a crash course on the best examples of the genre. Although, artistically I found my primary inspiration in the work of Alex Raymond and Al Williamson, from a writing standpoint Peter O’Donnell was my greatest influence. (Although I do not mean to diminish the artistic contributions of the great artists who contributed to Modesty Blaise, particularly Jim Holdaway.) If you enjoy any aspect of the character development, action, or pacing in WORLD OF HURT, then you’re probably enjoying something I learned from Peter O’Donnell’s Modesty Blaise. (Heck, even the handle of the knife that Pastor put in the neck of one of the guards a couple strips ago was patterned after the throwing knives used by Willie Garvin.)
In any interview about my work I always tried to mention that Peter O’Donnell provided readers with the pinnacle of adventure strip writing. He left a remarkable legacy and generations of writers owe him a great debt of gratitude.
- JEP
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