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 ZEHRA STORY 37: “THE JUNK MEN” TEXT ONLY: STRIP 4147 Belly dancer friend of Willie who he was going to spend some time with in Istanbul. Unfortunately for him, by the time he arrived she had got a cabaret job in London and they had crossed in mid-air leaving Willie at a loose end. When he meets his film director friend Eddie Grant, he agrees to fill in for a sick stuntmen on the sci-fi film Eddie is shooting near the village of Kuborli. ZELDA, Gypsy STORY 5: “THE MIND OF MRS. DRAKE” TEXT ONLY STRIP 580 Side show act performed by the psychometric Mrs. Drake, while she is hiding in Chard’s Mammoth Circus. ZELLER STORY 58: “THE WILD BOAR”: STRIP 6217 Member of Le Sanglier’s gang and part of the team for the kidnap of René Vaubois. He blocks the entrance to the car park while the rest of the team grab Vaubois and bundle him in to the van. Reports their success back to his watching boss. ZIMM STORY 55: “THE RETURN OF THE MAMMOTH”: STRIP 5920 A freelance killer and a top man in the murder-by-contract profession, very expensive, not political, always works with a team, and never yet failed. He has been hired by Captain Novikov, senior G.R.U. officer at Soviet Security H.Q. close to the border with Finland, to assassinate Colonel Greb, the military commander. When he recognises Modesty on his flight to Helsinki he sends two of his men to kill her as a precaution. They fail but report that she looked unprepared for the attack and it makes them think her presence in Helsinki is a coincidence and nothing to do with the contract. Novikov has laid on an ambush for him, and he and his team shoot up Greb’s car and kill the driver. Greb is saved by Modesty and Willie who happen to be nearby having just rescued Chloe, Willie’s favourite elephant, from detention by Russian scientists. Novikov has seen the rescue and urges him to pursue them. Modesty buys time, conning him into believing that, having saved Greb, he has double crossed her and Willie and is holding out in the ruins of a nearby fort. He splits up his team for the attack and when he is alone with her she kills him. Willie has captured the back up part of his team and Chloe pushes a wall over on to the last two members and Novikov, killing them all. ZUHIR STORY 19: “WILLIE THE DJINN”: STRIP 2175 The younger brother of Sheik Kadhim al-Masfah. He has suborned the head of the army, Colonel George, to aid and support him in a bid to usurp the Sheikdom and assassinate his brother. Puts a bomb in his brother’s plane but it does not kill him. He is, however, able to make his brother and his niece, the nine year old Kerima, his prisoners. The sheik had been returning home with Modesty and Willie and the Dollyrocker Dancers as his guests and all but Willie and the Sheik’s vizier, Jassim are now captive. He is forced to use the army to fight a pitched battle against Modesty from within the palace and Willie from outside and with the aid of Kerima, who believes Willie is her Djinn. When the tide turns against him Colonel George deserts him. Left alone he makes a final attempt to escape by holding a knife to Kerima’s throat but her Djinn saves her and kills him. ZYGMUNT STORY 60: “THE DOUBLE AGENT”: STRIP 6428 Member of Hakil’s Alpha Team in the byzantine plot to assassinate Sir Gerald Tarrant. He rides the motorcycle that is to give Gemini, Modesty’s double, her getaway after she has killed Tarrant. When Willie recognises that she is not Modesty and the attempt fails, he gets Gemini away but is accidentally hit by Modesty in her car on one of the tracks through the woods. His leg is broken in the crash but his passenger survives unscathed to engage with Modesty in a hand to hand fight to the death. When he recovers consciousness he reports to Hakil “Operation Replica total failure, Gemini dead, whole Alpha Group betrayed”. The radio is taken from his hand by Maude Tiller who corrects the message “no, they weren’t betrayed, they just weren’t good enough.” 196 Drawn by Neville Colvin Strip 6217 5th July, 1985 Drawn by Neville Colvin Strip 5955 21st June, 1984 Drawn by Romero: Strip 2207 22nd July, 1970 Drawn by Neville Colvin Strip 6494A Not published in the Evening Standard