The idea of expectation but also a balanced existence never comes without a degree of strife. The motivations of characters both to get what they want but also stay in power is a very strong one. "Purple Heart - Volume One - Savior" [Eric Warnaughts/Europe/61pgs] is a noir that speaks to advantages taken but reserved. While the story is inherently a Gatsby one in certain regards, the lead character here approaches his life with a sense of abandon. A case seems to be another viewpoint into his darker self that he is looking to unleash as long as some money is being exchanged. The idea is perception and perspective of what one believe is really happening. Our PI simply wants to make up for lost time. The feeling of the 50s, the jazz clubs and how people really acted outside the norms of society plays between half a fantasy and the grimy perceptions of what people can (and will) do.
The wife of a wealthy magnate running for office tries to blackmail opponents through the scams of his wife (whom he saved from a whorehouse in Southeast Asia). Everybody needs a texture of comeuppance here but it all reflects in the idea that we are who we are. A secondary plot involves a coat check girl who happens upon some very valuable paintings that are on the radar of a Nazi scourge group left over from the war. Other courses of action in this type of noir reflects that everything is motivated by sex. Unlike American noir, Europe Comics allows for a more grimy and, by extension, sullied perception of why life is what it is, especially when sex is involved. The art resounds in dark grounded hues even in the lights of the clubs or in the oak lined apartments. Only when the music becomes fully rhythmic does the room go blue. It is just a matter of why or why not with our antagonist. He's up for the ride as long as he doesn't get killed doing it. He won the luck of the draw and with the Purple Heart at the expense of someone else. He is living on borrowed time. "Purple Heart - Volume One - Savior" shows a small but specific vista into that type of life. B
By Tim Wassberg
