Dancer. Seductress. Spy.
Mata Hari. The sex symbol of her time. As a German double agent, she was blamed for the deaths of 50,000 French soldiers and executed. Her sensational trial shocked Europe. But was she really the ultimate black widow, betraying lovers on both sides of the war? Or was she a fiercely independent woman, scapegoated for the horrors of World War I?
Gallery: Mata Hari
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Review by Troy Mayes
In anticipation of Rich Wilkes Mata Hari graphic novel Radical Publishing have released a preview comic for the paltry price of US$1. The preview comic gives you an insight into the story of Mata Hari in Wilkes novel and the artwork of Roy A Martinez.
The issue is much shorter than the standard Radical book but it’s the typical length of any other publishers comic and its only US$1, bargain. The issue introduces us to the story and the legend of Mata Hari, possibly the most famous spy of the 20th Century. Her ‘exploits’ and subsequent trial and execution during World War I are the stuff of mystery and intrigue as its not actually clear what Mata Hari did (her files are locked until 2017). Wilkes blends this fascinating fact with fiction in this story involving a Russian family and their relation to Mata Hari. A young girl is found mutilating a corpse. Arrested she recounts her story to a female clerk, in classic style, establishing why she did what she did and the relationship her family has to Mata Hari.
The blend of fact and fiction was really good and this sort of thing is right up my alley. Wilkes starts off by informing you of the assumed facts in regards to the Mata Hari affair during WWI. As the story goes on though the fiction is skillfully weaved into the tale through the inclusion of Lieutenant Maslov, a Russian photographer with the Storks. It creates, so far, a wholly believable narrative where you aren’t sure where Wilkes has taken liberties and where he speaks truth. I do have a few questions about the narrator (the clerk) and how much they know and why they have chosen to tell this story years after it’s happened.
The issue was too short and too grand to begin to feel attached to any of the characters but I already think General Nivelle is a colossal pompous idiot who couldn’t command his way out of a paper bag, which I feel is an adequate way to view such a figure from history. Also Wilkes does manage to nail the dialogue for the Stork pilots (Lieutenant Maslov’s squad) and you have to laugh at the comment from the driver when the driver zings Maslov for not knowing the true stench of war due to his flying up in the sky. It sets Maslov up as a bit of a half-hearted and naïve revolutionary, especially when you compare this scene to his diary entries.
Martinez’s artwork invokes a real pulp feel in design and composition except the focus is on more natural colors instead of extreme pinks, yellows and greens. This palette change, painted by Drazenka Kimpel, is a wise choice for such a serious story as it feels like the images have more weight and meaning due to the combination of the pulp style and the natural, more muted colors. The pulp style also fitted the mystery theme that seemed to be coming through the comic that is what actually happened with Mata Hari. Close ups offer some incredibly detailed faces, especially in the older characters, and there’s generally a high level of detail throughout the piece ranging from threads in clothing to dents and cracks in background walls. The comic also contains a few thought provoking pages that invoke symbolism or metaphor with one particularly powerful page involving a meat grinder. The technique is good but careful and restrained use will enable it to have a greater effect over the course of the full graphic novel. It was also refreshing to see Radical tackle an art style that looked decidedly different from their usual digital artwork and show that their people can do ‘traditional’ just as well as they can digital art.
Overall Mata Hari is an easy comic to recommend, due to its price and so far impressive artwork, but it’s hard to score because it’s not a finished article. This is just a sample of the coming graphic novel and it’s hard to tell how well it will please history and mystery fans as a complete package. Still I’m interested to see where Wilkes is headed.
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Review by "Troynos"
This is a very interesting concept. Thinking back after reading the afterward, I knew who Mata Hari was, but I really couldn't recall much being written or done about her. The story seems like it would be perfect for a movie or even a fictionalized comic series (the Further Adventurs of Mata Hari or something). But really? I can't recall anything being done.
Interesting.
The afterward speaks of some huge conspiracy around Mata Hari that shaped the course of the world ever since World War I. If true it's remarkable how one single person could have shaped the events, especially one that is really little more then an 'aside' in the history books.
Wilkes definately has a passion for the subject.
The story itself is well written. The narrator has a nice sing-song quality to the writing that just flows nice and is easy to read. I don't normally get voices of characters when I read a comic, but this one definately had a young female voice as I read the text and could easily associate it with the image of the narrator.
The odd part is that it takes place in 1953 and yet mentions Elvis and other events that took place after. That is kind of jarring. I understand the effect that Wilkes (writer of xXx and just announced Iron Fist) is going for, trying to draw comparasions between what happened for WWI and the events we're more familiar with, but it's kind of jarring that the 18 year old narrator in 1953 mentions Elvis.
Other then that the story moves along nicely and is well laid out. The journal entries of Vadim Moslov are a bit heavy handed with the political message, but it's still easy to read and conveys the ideas.
This is an introductory issue and really doesn't advance the plot much, beyond introducing some of the major players. I'd be really interested in learning where Wilkes took his liberties and made the story more fictionalized then it was. He mentions taking the General and playing around with him a bit more then reality. I wonder where else he took liberties.
I've always been a fan of Martinez work and his linework is even better then I remember it in this issue. Can see the family resemblance between Antonia's father and the younger Vadim. We haven't seen Mata Hari yet, so can't wait to see how she appears under Martinez pencil. There's a background artist credited and to be honest, thats the weakest part of the art. The backgrounds aren't that detailed except in a couple of spots. I don't know if those parts, where the backgrounds are more detailed is where Vallete did his work and the rest was Martinez. I'd think it was that, with Vallete concentrating on the more detailed backdrops, but I don't know for sure.
I'm not sure how the colors were achieved. It seems they were painted so I'm assumed that Kimpel painted over Martinez pencils instead of the typical digital coloring that we see in most books nowadays. It gives the book a nice look. It's not a typical painted book look, but more muted and tighter. But its not as tight as a normal book, if that makes any sense. It falls somewhere in the middle and gives the work a nice and unique feel.
Radical Premiere Mata Hari receives
4 out of 5
I'm interested in seeing what Wilkes has in store.
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Click the image below to see a preview of Radical Premiere: Mata Hari!
Review by Brett Schenker
I didn’t know what to expect with this pseudo biography of the famous Mata Hari. I know the name, but I’d imagine like many, know nothing of the famous femme fatale.
From Rich Wilkes (xXx), a look into the most notorious woman of her time, Mata Hari, debuting in a special $1.00 Radical Premiere, previewing the upcoming graphic novel.
What is the secret story behind femme fatale Mata Hari, the most famous female spy in the world? Through the account of a humble eighteen-year-old girl, discover the secrets of the famous heroine, her covert missions and the love that made her lose everything.
The short premiere of the graphic novel coming out next year we learn about this character who turns out was a spy and executed for espionage. I called the comic a pseudo biography as much of the details of her espionage is sealed and some of the events are fabricated for the stories sake. Rich Wilkes admits that in the comic, and I applaud him for it.
The comic is $1 and it definitely has me interested. The story is fascinating, even more so because it’s (semi)true. The writing is pretty good and the art also pleasing on the eyes. Overall, for $1 how can you go wrong.
Plot: While this isn’t the entire graphic novel, there’s enough here to get me interested for when it does come out. It seems like Wilkes is going to do a good job of mixing fact and fiction. I like the format and overall this historical yarn seems like it’s a story I’m shocked hasn’t been told before. Rating: 8.5
Art: Radical Publishing’s comics when it comes to art are hit or miss for me. Here’s an example where it’s a hit. Roy Allan Martinez does a great job here and the tone, colors, everything fits the story. It’s top notch work. Rating: 8.5
Overall: This is just a teaser and until I got the whole graphic novel in my hand it’s hard to judge it overall. But from what I read, this is going to be great if the entire work is this quality. For $1, it’s well worth the buy. Overall rating: 8.5
Recommendation: Buy
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Review by Tom
I don’t even know where to begin about this preview edition for the Graphic Novel of the same name Radical Comics is putting out in spring of 2011. Instead of reading other books I had available I finished the Radical Premiere: Mata Hari preview and was drawn in completely and felt compelled to write. I don’t know if you’ve noticed lately but I’ve been slacking and not writing as much in the last few weeks, so that is no small feat.
What elements do we have here? We have a mysterious exotic dancer with ties to high ranking military members (some confirmed, some created or at least not confirmed). We have a character that sits, as Rich Wilkes the creator and writer would have us believe, at the center of allied success in World War I. We have a historical setting that always intrigues me. If you read the backstory, a six page “Proposition” by Wilkes at the end, we may have one of the central figures in shaping our modern world.
Oh, you hadn’t heard of Mata Hari? Neither had I. What blows my mind is that while it cannot be confirmed as the files surrounding her real life trial as a spy in France are sealed, it could be ENTIRELY true as presented in this comic.
So what do we see in this preview edition? The story is being told from the perspective of a little girl that found her Uncle Vadim Maslov’s journal. She is a creepy girl that committed a pretty heinous crime of beheading a corpse and carrying it around with her. This is the first of many places where the illustration of Roy Allan Martinez and paints of Drazenka Kimpel were really stunning. The girl is creepy but also seems to have some information worth finding.
In the end this comic sets up a love triangle between Maslov, a renowned photographer during WWI, General Robert Nivelle and Mata Hari. This would eventually lead to Mata Hari being accused of treason and directly being responsible for the death of 50,000 soldiers during the Spring Offensive of 1917 by the French. I can already tell from the writing that the novel will skillfully weave together fact and presumed fiction to weave an intriguing story where Mata Hari may be the scapegoat that saved France from becoming a part of the German Empire in WWI.
Mata being that close to General Nivelle and his personal photographer Maslov would have given her access to important information. Who knows if anyone was led astray? Her exotic dancing made her one of the most famous entertainers in Europe; did it also play a role in shaping the world from the early 20th century to now?
I know I’m dying to know. If the writing can somehow make me believe that six page proposition then this will be a really fun take on history as we know it. If only this novel was coming out sooner. See you in spring 2011 Mata Hari, I know I’m intrigued. Cue interiors.
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