In Review: The Modesty Blaise Artists (Illustrators Special)

The Modesty Blaise Artists (Illustrators Special) - front cover by Enrique Badia Romero

The latest illustrators Special from Book Palace Books is dedicated entirely to the artists who brought the Modesty Blaise newspaper strip created by Peter O’Donnell to life – and if you’re a fan, I’d argue it’s an essential purchase.

Offering a guide to the creation of the character, authors Diego Cordoba and Norman Boyd provide a fascinating insight into the development of the character and strip, taking us through each era of the long-running series artist by artist.

Along with those who drew the strip – Jim Holdaway, Enrique Badia Romero, John M Burns, Patrick Wright, Neville Colvin, we’re also treated to sight of tryouts by Dan Dare creator Frank Hampson and Thunderbirds artist Frank Bellamy.

Until now, I confess I was unaware Bellamy had any involvement with Blaise, which came before his work on the Daily Mirror “Garth” strip, which alone made this Special such a terrific read.

The Modesty Blaise Artists (Illustrators Special) - Sample Spread
The Modesty Blaise Artists (Illustrators Special) - Sample Spread
The Modesty Blaise Artists (Illustrators Special) - Sample Spread
The Modesty Blaise Artists (Illustrators Special) - Sample Spread
The Modesty Blaise Artists (Illustrators Special) - Sample Spread
The Modesty Blaise Artists (Illustrators Special) - Sample Spread
The Modesty Blaise Artists (Illustrators Special) - Sample Spread

Add in coverage of the numerous Modesty Blaise paperback cover artists and the full size samples of artist’s work for the strip, the closest equivalent to seeing original art some of us will get, and never before seen visuals of Modesty… Well, I hope you’ll be suitably intrigued and give this Special a try.

(The images above don’t do justice to the quality of the print edition, but should at least offer a small sampling of what this excellent publication includes).

Admittedly not an inexpensive purchase, I’d argue it’s very much worth every penny of cover price, given the work featured, that shines, for me, from every page.

As with other illustrators releases, if you want great insights into the craft of creating comic strips, this Special is very much of the same, if not higher standard. Recommended.

John Freeman

Buy The Modesty Blaise Artists (Illustrators Special) here

Authors: Diego Cordoba, Norman Boyd
Artists: Jim Holdaway, Enric Romero, John M Burns, Patrick Wright, Neville Colvin
Publisher: Book Palace Books, October 2022
Number of pages: 160
Format: Soft Cover; Full Colour illustrations
Size: 9″ x 11″ (216mm x 280mm)
ISBN: 9781913548308

• Enrique Badia Romero – Official Web Site

• The Axa newspaper strip is syndicated by Knight Features

• AXA The Movie Official Site: www.axathemovie.com | Saturn Harvest: www.saturnharvest.com



Categories: British Comics, British Comics - Books, Comic Art, Comics, Creating Comics, downthetubes Comics News, downthetubes News, Features, Reviews

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