IN MEMORIAM: ‘Modesty Blaise’ Creator, Peter O’Donnell
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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Oh man! I hadn’t heard this. Thanks for posting this, Jay…the world of comics and adventure stories in general owe a lot to Mr. O’Donnell. His work elevated American comics to the quality of our British counterparts. He will be missed.
-Dave
Thanks so much for posting this. I wouldn’t have heard about it otherwise. Modesty Blaise was the strip that finally convinced me to start my own strip in which I imitated it as closely as I could (not nearly as well as you!). I got a collection of MB strips for Christmas and was going to start reading through them soon. Thanks again.
I just found out about this today too, Jay. Sad when your heroes pass away.
Like you, I’ve been a Modesty Blaise fan from waaaay back–as far back as that inaccurately silly, but fun movie version from the mid 60’s. But it was the strips with Holdaway and later Colvin and others that captured and fueled my imagination.
Later I found the Modesty novels that Mr O’Donnell wrote and fell deeper in love with Her and Willie. Now I’m the proud owner of several paperbacks, including a short story collection. If you never read any, I cant emphasize enough how well done they are and that Mr O’Donnell was truly an unsung Master of the Adventure Thriller novel. My personal favorite is the Silver Mistress. Gripping stuff.
On another sad note, another great artist associated with Modesty Blaise passed away not too long ago as well. Dick Giordano was the Premiere Inker in Comics, having inked over just about every top penciller in the business. Known chefly for his work on Batman with Neal Adams, Dick was also the renowned Editor in Chief at DC Comics who ushered in the Watchmen and Miller’s Dark Knight adaptations. He was my mentor and gave me my first break into comics.
What most didn’t know was that Dick was also a HUGE Modesty Blaise fan.
Dick had always planned on getting the rights to publish Modesty thru DC but coudn’t get the DC Higher Ups to fully commit. So, he did the next best thing–he drew and inked a one shot adaptation of the first MB adventure, and got them to at least publish that.
It was a labor of love and showed that on every page. Sadly, I never got him to autograph my copy of it—but the memories of he and I chatting about our adoration for Modesty lives on in my memories. I still have my copy of it standing proudly on my bookshelves. I heard Mr O’Donnell was very pleased with it too.
If you never seen it, and you’re as much a fan of Modesty as I am, then I urge you to hunt it down. Its worth every penny.
RIP Peter O’Donnell and Dick Giordano.
Mr. Patton-
That was a beautiful statement about the works of Mr. O’Donnell and Mr. Giordano. I absolutely agree that Mr. Giordano’s inks exponentially increased the beauty of already exceptional works with his clean, crisp, classically illustrative work. I actually remember seeing his Modesty Blaise adaptation first when I was younger, and it wasn’t until I was older that I appreciated Jim Holdaway’s art. However, I definitely need to pick up some of Mr. O’Donnell’s Modesty Blaise novels.
Comic fans like to use the term “strong female character,” but Peter O’Donnell set the bar for that depiction. Modesty Blaise was sexually liberated and firmly established the rules of her relationships. She wasn’t just a man written as a woman. Modesty Blaise was a well-rounded woman with her own interests and agenda. Also, Mr. O’Donnell’s depiction of the relationship between Willie Garvin and Modesty Blaise is remarkable in fiction, because it was so heartfelt, genuine, and purely plantonic. As sexual as the characters could be, there was no sexual tension, playful winks, or innuendo between the two, because their relationship was built on 100% mutual admiration and professional respect, which is how most ADULTS behave. There is a lot to learn we could all learn from Mr. O’Donnell’s work.
- JEP