EXTRACTS: The Modesty Blaise Companion Expanded Edition © 2018 The Book Palace (425 PAGES in Full edition)

E X P A N D E D E D I T I O N 161 T H E M O D E S T Y B L A I S E C O M P A N I TARRANT, Sir Gerald (continued) STORY 11: “THE MAGNIFIED MAN”: STRIP 1239 Having a brief holiday with Modesty and Willie on the Basque coast and taken to see his first game of Pelota. When Willie inadvertently blows the cover of Denise Rouelle he advises his counterpart in France, Vaubois. When Modesty and Willie then become involved in trying to foil the theft of two tons of gold from a special train planned by Herr Bilke, he acts as radio contact and liaison. STORY 12: “THE JERICHO CAPER”: STRIP 1380 Having just been picked up from his Whitehall office by Willie to be taken down to his pub, “The Treadmill” for a weekend of fishing, Willie has only just got as far as Bayswater Road when he gets an emergency call from Modesty, who is in Central America, on the vox operated radio transceiver in his car. When she has finished telling Willie what is going on it puts paid to the fishing. STORY 14/14B: “THE GALLEY SLAVES”: STRIP 1597 He is sent Tahiti as the representative of several European powers to liaise with and support the C.I.A. in the search for a stolen secret submarine control device. Quite by chance Modesty and Willie are there and he tells them his mission. The C.I.A. agent in charge, Frank Hoyland, knows who the thief is, a criminal named Lim, as he has offered to return the device for ransom of three million dollars. He persuades Hoyland to allow Modesty to make the offer because she knows Lim from her Network days. Lim has changed. He tries to kill Modesty and Willie and then works a doublecross on the C.I.A. Upset by their failure to save the day he goads them into going after Lim. They do so and Lim is killed, his gang rounded up and the secret control device recovered. His credibility with the C I A is restored. TARRANT, Sir Gerald (continued) STORY 16: “THE HELL-MAKERS”: STRIP 1810 Dining with Modesty and the C.I.A. agent Frank Hoyland he explains to her that he is in New York on a routine trip to co-ordinate one or two matters between departments. During dinner they meet the Soviet defector Alex Kazin. When later that evening Modesty calls him at his hotel and asks him to bring Hoyland to her room as quickly as possible he does so and learns of the kidnap of Willie and sees the film of his torture with hallucinogenic and mind bending drugs. Does all he can to assist in the search and rescue of Willie and lends a calming influence to events. STORY 20: “THE GREEN EYED MONSTER”: STRIP 2283 On holiday with Willie in Mexico he keeps frustrating Willie’s efforts to get him off with a nice ‘ot blooded Mexican girl by falling asleep. When Willie radios to Modesty for fresh instructions on what to do with him they are both called to the small South American Republic of Cuarembo to deal with the kidnapping of the British Envoy’s daughter, Diana Millard, by the so called freedom fighter Gomez. Despite exerting pressure he fails to persuade the President to exchange Diana for the political prisoners that have been demanded for her release. When Modesty, Willie and Gil de Serra not only rescue the girl but also totally discredit Gomez, he treats everyone to dinner. STORY 21: “DEATH OF A JESTER”: STRIP 2407 When Willie gives him the miniature tape recorder he found hidden in the fool’s bauble he picked up in the grounds of Saint-Maur castle it contains the last message from his agent, Roger Clay just before his was murdered by the Earl Saint-Maur. It pretty well confirms his already very strong suspicions that the Earl and his men have stolen a secret torpedo from an experimental research establishment close to the castle. He helps Modesty and Willie to get an invitation to visit the castle for one of Saint-Maur’s medieval weekends. When they find the torpedo and call him on the radio he organises a commando raid on the castle and recovers it. Drawn by Jim Holdaway Strip 1302 10th July, 1967 Drawn by Jim Holdaway Strip 1387 17th October, 1967 Drawn by Jim Holdaway Strip 1826 30th April, 1969 Drawn by Romero Strip 2283 19th October, 1970 Drawn by Romero Strip 2473 1st June, 1971 Drawn by Jim Holdaway Strip 1603 28th June, 1968