This is the graphic novel of the first novel. It's very interesting how it differs from the first strip story - though it does make me want to read the novel again (to see how this illustrated version differs from that!). This is the story with which I first encountered Modesty, so it looks 'righter' to me than the strip, although I know the strip was in fact first. So - Tarrant comes to Modesty to do a job; the handle here is Willie's whereabouts and thus his life, rather than the legal status that was his handle in the strip. But in both cases Tarrant freely gives up his handle and thereby draws Modesty in of her own will. Here, it's diamonds and Gabriel instead of the strip's investigating a murder group. We get to see a lot of Modesty's history - the dossier, the sheik and his story, Hagan and his, the discussion with Willie. It's fun. The traps within traps are neat, the final gunbattle simple but strong - oh, and the battle with Mrs. Fothergill finally makes visual sense to me. There are a few visual errors - the most egregious is when Willie's girl points out 'the man in the green shirt' - who is depicted in dark blue! But overall, a good visual representation of an excellent story. ( )