Cobra Trap
Encyclopedia
Cobra Trap is the title of a short story
collection by Peter O'Donnell
featuring his action/adventure heroine Modesty Blaise
. The book was published in 1996
, and is the thirteenth, and final book in the Modesty Blaise series which began in 1965. Cobra Trap was released 11 years after the previous book in the series, Dead Man's Handle
. It was the final book to be written by O'Donnell before his death in 2010.
All five stories take place at different times in the life of Modesty Blaise. The first, Bellman, begins with a flashback to when Modesty is 20 years old. In The Dark Angels Modesty is in her late 20s, in Old Alex she is in her early 30s, in The Girl With the Black Balloon she is in her late 30s, and finally in Cobra Trap, she is about 52. Ages are approximate because they are not specified and Modesty does not know her exact age.
In Old Alex, O'Donnell makes it clear that fictional Modesty has a different rate of aging than real people. The Old Alex story is set in 1997, so assuming that stories in the first books took place around 1965–1970, then Blaise aged something like eight years during an actual 30 year period.
"Cobra Trap", the title piece of the collection, is (among fans) the most controversial Modesty Blaise story, in that it profiles the final mission of Modesty and her partner, Willie Garvin
. The story takes place 10–15 years after the time frame of the comic strip/novels. Modesty, who has been recently diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor
and given only a short time to live, chooses to give her life in order to save a train full of innocents, including many children, from a group of rebels. Soon after revealing her illness to Willie, Modesty is killed in an attack, and shortly after that Willie too is shot dead. The story ends with the two friends reuniting in some form of afterlife
.
When Peter O'Donnell brought his comic strip to a close five years later he chose to do so with a more upbeat story promising future adventures.
In 2002, a comic book
adaptation of "The Dark Angels" was published in Scandinavia
as a postscript to the British Modesty Blaise daily strip; Enrique Badia Romero
, the final artist on the Evening Standard
comic strip, adapted the story for the publication. To date its only English-language publication has been in the American magazine Comics Revue
.
Elements of several other stories (in particular "Old Alex" and "Bellman") also appeared in the comic strip prior to being featured in Cobra Trap.
The original first edition cover art for Cobra Trap was a painting of Modesty Blaise by Jim Holdaway
, who had drawn the original comic strip for O'Donnell from 1963 until his death in 1970.
Cobra Trap was at one point considered one of the rarest of the Modesty Blaise book series as it is the only one that was not initially made available in paperback and the hardcover editions went out of print and are considered collectables. However, Souvenir Press released a paperback edition of the collection in 2006, 10 years after the hardcover release, putting the book into wide circulation again.
Short story
A short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels. Short story definitions based on length differ somewhat, even among professional writers, in part because...
collection by Peter O'Donnell
Peter O'Donnell
Peter O'Donnell was a British writer of mysteries and of comic strips, best known as the creator of Modesty Blaise, a female action hero/undercover trouble-shooter/enforcer...
featuring his action/adventure heroine Modesty Blaise
Modesty Blaise
Modesty Blaise is a British comic strip featuring a fictional character of the same name, created by Peter O'Donnell and Jim Holdaway in 1963. The strip follows the adventures of Modesty Blaise, an exceptional young woman with many talents and a criminal past, and her trusty sidekick Willie Garvin...
. The book was published in 1996
1996 in literature
The year 1996 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*Harper Lee's novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, is removed from an advanced placement English reading list in Lindale, Texas because it "conflicted with the values of the community."* In the United Kingdom, the first...
, and is the thirteenth, and final book in the Modesty Blaise series which began in 1965. Cobra Trap was released 11 years after the previous book in the series, Dead Man's Handle
Dead Man's Handle
Dead Man's Handle is the title of a 1985 action-adventure/spy novel written by Peter O'Donnell. It was the eleventh and final full-length novel chronicling the adventures of O'Donnell's comic strip creation, Modesty Blaise...
. It was the final book to be written by O'Donnell before his death in 2010.
Contents
The stories featured in the collection are Bellman, The Dark Angels, Old Alex, The Girl With the Black Balloon and Cobra Trap.All five stories take place at different times in the life of Modesty Blaise. The first, Bellman, begins with a flashback to when Modesty is 20 years old. In The Dark Angels Modesty is in her late 20s, in Old Alex she is in her early 30s, in The Girl With the Black Balloon she is in her late 30s, and finally in Cobra Trap, she is about 52. Ages are approximate because they are not specified and Modesty does not know her exact age.
In Old Alex, O'Donnell makes it clear that fictional Modesty has a different rate of aging than real people. The Old Alex story is set in 1997, so assuming that stories in the first books took place around 1965–1970, then Blaise aged something like eight years during an actual 30 year period.
"Cobra Trap", the title piece of the collection, is (among fans) the most controversial Modesty Blaise story, in that it profiles the final mission of Modesty and her partner, Willie Garvin
Willie Garvin
Willie Garvin is a character in the long-running British comic strip series Modesty Blaise, as well as a series of novels based upon the strip. The character was created by Peter O'Donnell in 1963 and, alongside Modesty Blaise, made his first appearance in the story La Machine, appearing for the...
. The story takes place 10–15 years after the time frame of the comic strip/novels. Modesty, who has been recently diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor
Brain tumor
A brain tumor is an intracranial solid neoplasm, a tumor within the brain or the central spinal canal.Brain tumors include all tumors inside the cranium or in the central spinal canal...
and given only a short time to live, chooses to give her life in order to save a train full of innocents, including many children, from a group of rebels. Soon after revealing her illness to Willie, Modesty is killed in an attack, and shortly after that Willie too is shot dead. The story ends with the two friends reuniting in some form of afterlife
Afterlife
The afterlife is the belief that a part of, or essence of, or soul of an individual, which carries with it and confers personal identity, survives the death of the body of this world and this lifetime, by natural or supernatural means, in contrast to the belief in eternal...
.
When Peter O'Donnell brought his comic strip to a close five years later he chose to do so with a more upbeat story promising future adventures.
In 2002, a comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
adaptation of "The Dark Angels" was published in Scandinavia
Scandinavia
Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...
as a postscript to the British Modesty Blaise daily strip; Enrique Badia Romero
Enrique Badia Romero
Enrique Badía Romero is a Spanish comics artist, best known to English-speaking audiences for his work on Modesty Blaise...
, the final artist on the Evening Standard
Evening Standard
The Evening Standard, now styled the London Evening Standard, is a free local daily newspaper, published Monday–Friday in tabloid format in London. It is the dominant regional evening paper for London and the surrounding area, with coverage of national and international news and City of London...
comic strip, adapted the story for the publication. To date its only English-language publication has been in the American magazine Comics Revue
Comics Revue
Comics Revue is a bi-monthly small press comic book published by Manuscript Press and edited by Rick Norwood. Don Markstein edited the publication from 1984 to 1987 and 1992 to 1996....
.
Elements of several other stories (in particular "Old Alex" and "Bellman") also appeared in the comic strip prior to being featured in Cobra Trap.
The original first edition cover art for Cobra Trap was a painting of Modesty Blaise by Jim Holdaway
Jim Holdaway
Jim Holdaway was a British illustrator, who was famous for his illustrations of numerous comic strips. His most famous contributions was to the Modesty Blaise comics written by Peter O'Donnell.-Art career:...
, who had drawn the original comic strip for O'Donnell from 1963 until his death in 1970.
Cobra Trap was at one point considered one of the rarest of the Modesty Blaise book series as it is the only one that was not initially made available in paperback and the hardcover editions went out of print and are considered collectables. However, Souvenir Press released a paperback edition of the collection in 2006, 10 years after the hardcover release, putting the book into wide circulation again.