The Girl in the Iron Mask.

 

The Girl in the Iron Mask, written by Petter O'Donnell and illustrated by Enric Badia Romero, is the 23rd installment of the Modesty Blaise volumes, published by Titan Books. For those unfamiliar with the series, Modesty Blaise is a badass bombshell with a shady past and strong sense of adventure. She runs the Network, a criminal gang that bumped to international status upon her direction. Together, with her sidekick Wille Garvin, and her various cohorts from the Network, Modesty battles a variety of adversaries in exotic locations. The comic series was first published in the 1960s and continued for over 30 years, finally ending in the 2000s. Modesty once reigned supreme in the pulp crime genre--and now she still does thanks to Titan Books. With each new publication the series is continually reintroduced in to our modern culture, allowing new and old readers to catch up on the Modesty craze that has spanned the last few decades. 

In this most recent edition, Modesty is as spectacular as ever. The Girl with the Modern Mask features three comic installments: "Fiona," "Walkabout," and "Girl in the Iron Mask." In "Fiona," our hero travels to Tanarchi to aid a friend in the Network, only to discover that she is kindling an ancient prophecy. Read further, in to "Walkabout," and Modesty is traversing the Australian outback on her own when she suddenly crosses paths with the Mafia. In "Girl with the Iron Mask," The Bone twins, two multi-millionaire criminals, plot to imprison Modsty in an iron mask, hoping it will lead to her insanity and demise.

Each comic in this collection is as adventurous as the last. If you've been a fan of Modesty Blaise for years, love pulp crime, or are simply looking for an entertaining read, The Girl in the Iron Mask is the book for you. Romero's illustrations are gorgeous, and Modesty's adventures are both well-written and pleasingly audacious.

(image via Titan Books)