Posts
Daphne Alexander, the actress who voiced Modesty Blaise in the recent BBC radio plays, poses as Modesty in these photos on her website: http://www.daphnealexander.com/tag/radio/
April 5, 2018
Atlantic article
A new personal memoir article about Modesty in The Atlantic: https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2018/03/modesty-blaise-caitlin-flanagan/550916/
November 2, 2016
Romero drawings for Anthony Nolan at Comic Con
Below is a photo of the Romero drawing that was created for the Anthony Nolan charity, and the booth where the drawing was displayed. (You can click the images to enlarge.)
October 27, 2016
Silver Mistress Radio Play
The BBC is producing another Modesty Blaise radio play! An adaptation of The Silver Mistress will air in February 2017. The play is being produced by the same team that created the previous BBC radio plays. The cast list is as follows:
October 24, 2016
Romero illustration at London Comic-Con
This news from the estate of Peter O'Donnell:
The London Comic Con takes place at the end of next week. The Anthony Nolan cancer charity has taken a stall at Comic Con, and are going to run an illustration competition for budding comic artists. The aim is to get youngsters to sign up to the stem cell register as potential donors - a worthy cause.
We commissioned Romero to create the image of a new superhero-type character and to do a picture of him with Modesty. We are donating a limited edition print of the picture as the prize.
We only found out about this a couple of weeks ago so it has been a bit of a rush to get everything in place. Romero was brilliant - we went from description to proof to final in three days.
We think Anthony Nolan are planning to display the framed print on their stall. The draft handouts and stall wording that they sent us mention Modesty.
Any Modesty fans going to the London Comic Con might be interested to see it.
Comic Con runs from Oct 28-30, 2016 at the London Royal Victoria dock
The London Comic Con takes place at the end of next week. The Anthony Nolan cancer charity has taken a stall at Comic Con, and are going to run an illustration competition for budding comic artists. The aim is to get youngsters to sign up to the stem cell register as potential donors - a worthy cause.
We commissioned Romero to create the image of a new superhero-type character and to do a picture of him with Modesty. We are donating a limited edition print of the picture as the prize.
We only found out about this a couple of weeks ago so it has been a bit of a rush to get everything in place. Romero was brilliant - we went from description to proof to final in three days.
We think Anthony Nolan are planning to display the framed print on their stall. The draft handouts and stall wording that they sent us mention Modesty.
Any Modesty fans going to the London Comic Con might be interested to see it.
Comic Con runs from Oct 28-30, 2016 at the London Royal Victoria dock
February 20, 2015
Modesty Anniversaries
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This year is the 50th anniversary of the first Modesty Blaise novel!
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Published in 1965, the first in the series of Modesty novels and short story collections was a novelisation of a screenplay that Peter O'Donnell wrote based upon the character, and the novel ended up being published a year before the film was released. The filmed version of the screenplay bore little resemblance to O'Donnell's original; the one happy outcome of the 1966 Joseph Losey-directed (travesty of a) film was that it was the seed that germinated the novels! Previously ignored by those who did not read comics, Modesty became accessible to a wider audience.
There are some additional anniversaries this year, too:
April marks 11 years since Titan Books started their latest reprint series, with no signs of stopping. And January 2015 was the 30th anniversary of the start of Titan's first set of reprint volumes.
Next year will mark the 35th anniversary of the start of the Ken Pierce First American Series reprints.
Anniversaries galore!
Thanks to AF-H for the reminder!
This year is the 50th anniversary of the first Modesty Blaise novel!
.
Published in 1965, the first in the series of Modesty novels and short story collections was a novelisation of a screenplay that Peter O'Donnell wrote based upon the character, and the novel ended up being published a year before the film was released. The filmed version of the screenplay bore little resemblance to O'Donnell's original; the one happy outcome of the 1966 Joseph Losey-directed (travesty of a) film was that it was the seed that germinated the novels! Previously ignored by those who did not read comics, Modesty became accessible to a wider audience.
There are some additional anniversaries this year, too:
April marks 11 years since Titan Books started their latest reprint series, with no signs of stopping. And January 2015 was the 30th anniversary of the start of Titan's first set of reprint volumes.
Next year will mark the 35th anniversary of the start of the Ken Pierce First American Series reprints.
Anniversaries galore!
Thanks to AF-H for the reminder!
October 27, 2014
Modesty Blaise in Tamil Comics
After a two-year hiatus, Modesty Blaise is coming back to Tamil Comics.
The publisher, Muthu Comics, has made an official announcement on their website (of course, you have to be fluent in Tamil to read it).
The title on the cover below (Maranathin Mutham) can be loosely translated as Kiss of Death.
thanks to King Viswa for the update!
July 31, 2014
The Seekers.... They sought to copy!
Hi everyone, I'm sharing this email from one of the Modesty Blaise fan group members as this is a fascinating bit of trivia: a comic strip called "The Seekers" that was clearly a Modesty Blaise rip-off. Read on...
"Another interesting hit on Google. This may be old news, but as I¹ve never seen this magazine mentioned here before, I thought I¹d bring it to the gang¹s attention. From 1971 to sometime around 1978 it seems there was something called the Menomonee Falls Gazette which was a weekly tabloid that reprinted comic strips from various sources. If you check out the cover scan gallery at Comic Vine you¹ll see some issues featured Modesty Blaise. Unfortunately there appears to be no index of the issues at Comic Vine. Now, while scanning the gallery I spotted this:
It's a reprint of a UK comic strip called The Seekers. Does the art look familiar? It definitely jumped out at me! That led me to Wikipedia. Apparently, The Seekers was a UK strip that John M Burns, one of the MB artists, drew. And according to that article, it bears a few similarities to MB. Anyone ever see this one?
There's a partial online archive of the strip on thrillmer.com.
I just looked at a few at random and if Peter O¹Donnell didn't share words with somebody about this I¹d be very surprised! I know artists have their own style and so characters often look similar, but still...!
"Another interesting hit on Google. This may be old news, but as I¹ve never seen this magazine mentioned here before, I thought I¹d bring it to the gang¹s attention. From 1971 to sometime around 1978 it seems there was something called the Menomonee Falls Gazette which was a weekly tabloid that reprinted comic strips from various sources. If you check out the cover scan gallery at Comic Vine you¹ll see some issues featured Modesty Blaise. Unfortunately there appears to be no index of the issues at Comic Vine. Now, while scanning the gallery I spotted this:
I just looked at a few at random and if Peter O¹Donnell didn't share words with somebody about this I¹d be very surprised! I know artists have their own style and so characters often look similar, but still...!
June 2, 2014
Countdown to Modesty: the cast: Willie Garvin
Neil Maskell will play the role of Willie Garvin in the upcoming BBC radio production of Modesty Blaise.
Maskell has appeared in several populist dramas such as 'Casualty' and 'Soldier Soldier'. In 2011, he was nominated as Best Actor by the British Independent Film Awards for his role in the British movie 'Kill List'
You can read more about him on IMDb.
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May 30, 2014
Another BBC Radio Play!
Fantastic news... the BBC will be producing another Modesty Blaise radio play, this time based on the first novel.
The play is again adaped by Stef Penney and produced by Kate McAll. Daphne Alexander will reprise the role of Modesty. (full cast list below). The play was recorded in the BBC's Cardiff studios last week, with Daphne in the role of Modesty. The broadcast is scheduled for the five days of the week of 16 June.
Cast List:
Modesty Blaise - Daphne Alexander
Willie Garvin - Neil Maskell
Paul - John Hollingworth
Nicole - Hannah McPake
McWhirter - Alex Ferns
Sir Gerald - Alun Armstrong
Grant - Matthew Gravelle
Gabriel - Ewan Bailey
The play is again adaped by Stef Penney and produced by Kate McAll. Daphne Alexander will reprise the role of Modesty. (full cast list below). The play was recorded in the BBC's Cardiff studios last week, with Daphne in the role of Modesty. The broadcast is scheduled for the five days of the week of 16 June.
Modesty Blaise - Daphne Alexander
Willie Garvin - Neil Maskell
Paul - John Hollingworth
Nicole - Hannah McPake
McWhirter - Alex Ferns
Sir Gerald - Alun Armstrong
Grant - Matthew Gravelle
Gabriel - Ewan Bailey
March 10, 2014
Modesty Blaise Facebook Page
Hello everyone... Modesty Blaise fans now have a Facebook page... come join us!
This blog is still active, but as the Facebook page makes discussion easier, most of the chat is happening over there.
This blog is still active, but as the Facebook page makes discussion easier, most of the chat is happening over there.
June 19, 2013
CD cover for radio play
One Modesty fan designed this great CD cover for the recent BBC radio play of A Taste for Death. Download and enjoy!
May 13, 2013
Happy 50th birthday Modesty!
Today is the 50th anniversary of the birth of Modesty Blaise.
The first strip made its appearance in the Evening Standard on May 13, 1963. Below are two sets of strips from the first story, "La Machine" (click them to enlarge).
It's too bad Peter O'Donnell isn't around to celebrate this day... although it's good to know that his creation still lives on.
You can read more about Modesty Blaise on Wikipedia or The Modesty Blaise Book Covers.
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The first strip made its appearance in the Evening Standard on May 13, 1963. Below are two sets of strips from the first story, "La Machine" (click them to enlarge).
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January 30, 2013
Modesty Blaise Swedish DVD Cover
The 1966 Modesty Blaise film has a brand new cover for the Swedish DVD edition. I'm surprised they even made a DVD of this film, given how most Modesty fans loathe this film!
More surprising is the fact that the model on the front cover is NOT the actress in the film! Monica Vitti is shown on the back cover, but not the front. This seems to go with the 'misleading' theme, where the covers do make the film look quite good... IMO this is going to lead to many disappointed viewers! I think it would make more sense to stay with the original cover, which is at least somewhat in keeping with the spirit of the film.
Interesting that the English DVD advertizes the film as a "spy spoof" (which the film was not intended to be) and plays up the "comic touches" (many of which also weren't intended). At least it doesn't mislead! - although I'm still surprised this film ever made it to DVD.
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| New Swedish DVD cover - not Monica Vitti! |
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| Back cover of Swedish DVD |
Interesting that the English DVD advertizes the film as a "spy spoof" (which the film was not intended to be) and plays up the "comic touches" (many of which also weren't intended). At least it doesn't mislead! - although I'm still surprised this film ever made it to DVD.
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| Original 1966 film poster |
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| New English DVD cover: "A spy spoof loaded with comic touches" |
December 5, 2012
A Taste for Death BBC Radio Play: All the News to Date
For those who haven’t read the previous posts, here is all the news to date on the Radio 4 production of A Taste for Death.
Note: all new information will be updated in this post; scroll to the bottom for updates.
Scroll to the bottom for the episode guide.
The brand-new dramatisation of Peter O'Donnell's fourth Modesty Blaise novel will be broadcast on the Radio 4 "15 Minute Drama" slot over the five weekdays of the week before Christmas, 17–21 December. The episodes will be available online as they are broadcast, and for up to a week afterwards.
The script has been written by bestselling crime author Stef Penney (author of ‘The Tenderness of Wolves’). The music was composed specially for the programme by Will Gregory, and has been recorded by the National Orchestra of Wales.
Stef Penney's adaptation has to fit the time available for the broadcasts, which means that some things have had to be cut and others handled in a different way. However, the production is in good hands: Stef has been a devoted fan of Peter O’Donnell's work for many years, and Kate McAll, the BBC Executive Producer who is handling the production, is one of the most respected producers in radio drama. They have worked together on other literary dramatisations.
CAST LIST
Modesty Blaise: Daphne Alexander
Willie Garvin: Carl Prekopp
Sir Gerald Tarrant: Alun Armstrong
Steve Collier: Geoffrey Streatfeild
Dinah Pilgrim: Samantha Dakin
McWhirter: Alex Ferns
Delicata: Sam Dale
Sir Harold Presteign: Nigel Anthony
Skeet: Jeff Mash
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| Daphne Alexander as Modesty Blaise | Carl Prekopp as Willie Garvin | Alun Armstrong as Sir Gerald Tarrant |
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| Geoffrey Streatfield as Steven Collier | Samantha Dakin as Dinah Pilgrim | Alex Ferns as McWhirter |
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| Sam Dale as Delicata |
Nigel Anthony as Presteign |
Jeff Mash as Skeet |
NEW: Daphne Alexander was on BBC Radio London today (December 11), on the Robert Elms show. You can listen to the program on the BBC iplayer (fast forward to 2:35.35 for the interview).
Also, the BBC website now has some promotional videos for the radio play:
Stef Penney will be doing a live interview on Woman's Hour on the first day of the broadcasts, 17 December. Woman's Hour is immediately before the 15 Minute Drama slot, 10 - 10.45am London time
EPISODES
Go to the Radio 4 iPlayer schedule, or follow the links below to access the episodes:
- Episode 1: Monday December 17
- Episode 2: Tuesday December 18
- Episode 3: Wednesday December 19
- Episode 4: Thursday December 20
- Episode 5: Friday December 21
- Omnibus Edition (all episodes): Sunday December 23
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December 1, 2012
A Taste for Death: Press release from Souvenir Press
(which sounds a bit better than 'Souvenir Press Press Release')
Souvenir Press will be reprinting A Taste for Death to tie in with the radio play. You can view their press release here, and below is the Modesty Blaise page from their catalogue (click image to enlarge).
Unfortunately, it looks like not all of the Modesty Blaise books are being reprinted; two are still out of print.
Unbelievably, the 2001 paperback reprint of The Impossible Virgin is selling for as much as US$298 on Amazon.com! (I've paid less than that for first edition vintage paperbacks!) I'm not sure why Souvenir Press isn't reprinting the entire series.
But on the plus side... 16 days until the radio play airs!
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Souvenir Press will be reprinting A Taste for Death to tie in with the radio play. You can view their press release here, and below is the Modesty Blaise page from their catalogue (click image to enlarge).
Unfortunately, it looks like not all of the Modesty Blaise books are being reprinted; two are still out of print.
Unbelievably, the 2001 paperback reprint of The Impossible Virgin is selling for as much as US$298 on Amazon.com! (I've paid less than that for first edition vintage paperbacks!) I'm not sure why Souvenir Press isn't reprinting the entire series.
But on the plus side... 16 days until the radio play airs!
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November 23, 2012
A Taste for Death: BBC Announcement
The BBC has finally announced the A Taste for Death radio play, with an almost-full cast list (noticeably absent: McWhirter).
The cast list:
Modest Blaise - Daphne Alexander
Willie Garvin - Carl Prekopp
Sir Gerald Tarrant - Alun Armstrong
Simon Delicata - Sam Dale
Steve Collier - Geoffrey Streatfeild
Dinah Pilgrim - Samantha Dakin
The cast list:
Modest Blaise - Daphne Alexander
Willie Garvin - Carl Prekopp
Sir Gerald Tarrant - Alun Armstrong
Simon Delicata - Sam Dale
Steve Collier - Geoffrey Streatfeild
Dinah Pilgrim - Samantha Dakin
November 22, 2012
More “A Taste for Death” News: Willie Garvin
This just in: the role of Willie Garvin will be played by… Carl Prekopp.
Prekopp has been in countless BBC radio plays, including
Wuthering Heights and David Copperfield.
You can hear his voice in this interview clip.
And the countdown is on... only a few weeks until the radio play airs!
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November 15, 2012
Update on A Taste for Death Radio Play
More news about the BBC radio production of A Taste for Death...
The dramatisation will be broadcast on the Radio 4 “15 Minute Drama” slot over the five weekdays of the week before Christmas, 17–21 December. The episodes will be available online as they are broadcast, and for up to a week afterwards.
The music was composed specially for the programme by Will Gregory, and has been recorded by the National Orchestra of Wales.
There was a question in from a Modesty fan who wanted to know how the play will be fit into five 15-minute slots; below is the answer.
Stef Penney's adaptation has to fit the time available for the broadcasts, which means some things have had to be cut and others handled in a different way. However, things are in good hands: Stef has been a devoted fan of Peter O’Donnell's work for many years, and Kate McAll, the BBC Executive Producer who is handling the production, is one of the most respected producers in radio drama. They have worked together on other literary dramatisations.
Daphne Alexander will play Modesty Blaise
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October 21, 2012
John Burns originals for sale
The Book Palace has three Modesty Blaise originals by John Burns for sale. The first two are unused art that was produced for Dead Man's Handle and The Xanadu Talisman (both 13x17 oil on card):
...and the third is the original art produced for the Titan Books reprint of the Modesty Blaise story 'Warlords of Phoenix'.
You can view (or buy!) these on The Book Palace website.
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