I Fell In Love With Modesty Blaise

I’d never heard of Modesty Blaise before receiving a copy of Titan Books’ new edition of The Girl in the Iron Mask. Having read this collection, I have to admit that I’m a little ashamed of myself for not knowing about this amazing character earlier. Then I cut myself some slack because it’s a British strip and I’m not British AND I can’t read everything in the world, man. SO BACK OFF!

Really, this book couldn’t have arrived at a better time. Lately it has been difficult for me to think about comics without thinking also about the horrible state that they’re in. In particular, the systematic exclusion of women creators and writers by the bigger corporations, the use of women characters as sexualized props, and the treatment of women fans as clueless poseurs all point to an ugly anti-feminist streak in the comics world that, overall, makes me bummed out on comics even though I absolutely adore them.

Modesty Blaise: Blazing Modestly

It is interesting, then, to read Modesty Blaise in this context. As I read through this collection, which really is excellent, I found myself frustrated that comics creators cannot seem to make a comic that respects female characters and readers, despite the fact that O’Donnel and Romero have been doing it for, literally, decades.

Modesty Blaise, for those of you who, like me, don’t know her, is a kind of detective adventurer. She was an orphan who came to lead a criminal organization, and then traded it all in for a life of good-doing. So, she’s a pulp style hero, but she’s also…wait for it…a fully developed character.

To be a well developed pulp character is rare enough on its own. But to be one that is also a woman is, like, an unobtanium level rarity. Here is a character whose most striking attributes are her intelligence, loyalty, and bravery. She’s smart, but dangerous. She’s a good guy, but she’s not above doing a bad thing. But what’s most refreshing about her is this: Modesty Blaise is not a sexualized prop.

Yes, sexuality is an element of the books to be sure, but it is not the kind of juvenile pin-up sexuality on display in most comics. Sexuality in these books is presented as if the authors (gasp!) actually respect their women characters and (shock!) their women fans as well. Characters have sexual relationships that seem healthy and, more importantly, are presented as an aspect of larger relationships. Crazy, right?

The stories themselves are similarly well developed and grounded, even when the hero of one is a monkey circus performer who also happens to be in love with her trainer. Whatever, I’m sure that happens all the time. It’s crazy to me that these intense and detail-filled plots unfolded as a daily newspaper strip if only because of their careful pacing and the complexity of the story-telling.

If I have a gripe with this collection it is with the fact that they didn’t do some photoshop magic and remove the title boxes. It would be fine if not for the fact that EVERY strip begins with a giant box that says MODESTY BLAISE BY PETER O’DONNEL, DRAWN BY ROMERO. I know it is sacrilege to suggest that they should alter the original art, but when you’re reading hundreds of strips to get the whole story, the title boxes start to get in the way.

As I read this volume I came to feel jealous of all of the English folks who were able to read this series in the papers. I found this volume to be un-put-downable and I imagine that waiting to read the strips every day must have been AGONY for the fans. Maybe next time I’ll  ration them.

Probably not though.