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

T H E M O D E S T Y B L A I S E C O M P A N I O N I I TILLER, Maude (continued) STORY 27: “THE WICKED GNOMES”: STRIP 3081 Having successfully captured the spy Pauline Brown, she is given leave to spend with Willie. Their choice of lovenest is unfortunate as it turns out that her uncle is the local vicar who still sees her as a sweet young innocent and she does not want to upset him. It does not matter as that very same night the Boote Brothers kidnap her on the orders of Salamander Four. Their offer to swap her for the spy Brown is rejected by the Minister who is Sir Gerald Tarrant’s boss. She is kept a prisoner so Modesty and Willie take a hand and spring Brown from prison. The Bootes are forced to deal with them instead of Tarrant and having set up the exchange, work a double-cross leaving her with Modesty and Willie in a flooding tinmine shaft. They escape and when she appears at the exchange point the local Salamander Four man thinks the Bootes have double crossed him and has them shot. She lets off steam by attacking the S 4 man but goes too far and breaks his neck. Willie reckons it was his own fault for not falling right. Two weeks later she goes down to “The Treadmill” to pick up on the postponed holiday with Willie only to find he has measles, caught during his efforts to rescue her. As Willie is a bad tempered patient she offers to be his bad tempered nurse. STORY 39: “IDAHO GEORGE”: STRIP 4406A Together with a number of other of their friends she helps Willie follow Anastasia Bone’s men taking Sita (Maisie) to where Idaho George and Modesty are being held captive. They work in a relay chain with radio links. She takes over from Rufus Marsh at the A10 turn off from the North Circular Road and hands over to Stephen Collier at the East Dereham turn off. STORY 44: “THE BRETHREN OF BLAISE” TEXT ONLY STRIP 4843 It would seem that she could very well have been taken to Antigua by Willie as she appears to have offered him what she described as “a week of unbridled passion”. Even Willie is not sure why he hasn’t taken up such a wonderful offer. On the other hand Modesty is clear about it. She says it is because Willie said he wanted an old fashioned yuletide in the country and Modesty is determined that is what he is going to have. TILLER, Maude (continued) STORY 47: “GARVIN’S TRAVELS”: STRIP 5128 At last she is with Willie, who has borrowed millionaire friend John Dall’s fabulous house on Taupita for some uninterrupted impropriety. It is not to be.This time they are both kidnapped for a Russian inspired exercise in mind bending. She wakes up with Willie in Brobdingnag the land of giants. They have just started their break out when who should arrive but Modesty, who has been sent by Tarrant. Working together they find out what is going on and foil the plot. Part of it involves her using “The Nailer”, Modesty’s device for gaining the total attention of men and freezing them for a few vital seconds. When it is all over she and Willie return to Dall’s house to take up where they left off only for her to be totally knocked out by a hypo-pad which was stuck to her slacks. STORY 60: “THE DOUBLE AGENT” STRIP 6419 Given some leave by her boss, Sir Gerald Tarrant, she seeks out Willie, who, although he is in France, immediately agrees to join her at Modesty’s cottage in the country. When he arrives he is suffering from partial amnesia caused by the attack by Hakil’s Beta Group. She helps him regain his memory and dashes with him to the golf course just in time to stop Modesty’s double attempt to assassinate Tarrant. Chasing the escaping double they catch up with her in time to witness her fight with Modesty. Only Willie can be sure if it is Modesty or her double, Gemini, who won. STORY 75: “OUR FRIEND MAUDE”: STRIP 7960 Having delivered some secret information for Sir Gerald Tarrant to René Vaubois in Paris she goes on holiday. She is immediately kidnapped by Zebart, who has been hired by Kaut to assassinate Vaubois. His plan is to brainwash her into being the assassin. While under Zebart’s control, she is seen by Willie who reports his suspicions to Tarrant. Even brainwashed she finds it impossible to carry out the assassination in rehearsals as she is not a professional killer and it is an unnatural role for her. Found and rescued by Modesty, Willie and the French, agent Henri, she agrees to go with Willie to the Caribbean provided his intentions are not honourable. 170 Drawn by Romero Strip 3112 22nd June, 1973 Drawn by Romero Strip 4411 3rd May, 1978 Drawn by Romero Strip 8003 6th August, 1992 Drawn by Neville Colvin Strip 5217 9th July,l 1981 Drawn by Neville Colvin Strip 6516 10th September, 1986