Purgatori: The Hunted

By: Arnold T. Blumberg
Date: Tuesday, June 26, 2001

Now that Chaos! Comics has decided to broaden its appeal by watering down its sex and violence soaked comics into something resembling entertainment, all of their principal characters have found themselves transforming overnight. First, Lady Death traded her white skin and raunchy attitude for flesh tones and a touch of amnesia. Now she's a moralistic crusader relearning her powers and forging alliances with dead cops on the streets of the city.

Next is Purgatori, a demoness who was never much more than a red-skinned carbon copy of the worst aspects of Vampirella, a classic character with far more depth than any Chaos offering. Pure evil through and through, Purgatori spent most of her time engaging in thinly veiled lesbian escapades while lusting after the throne of Lucifer. Her craving for power and control of Hell is all that defined her. She too is about to swap bodies for something a bit warmer and more human, however, and in the process, Chaos is hoping readers will take to the new incarnation of Purgatori and become enthralled by her saga. So does this first issue whet the appetite for more?

If this is an attempt to draw in new readers with something less objectionable, the opening scene doesn't work too well. Featuring a human sacrifice and cannibalism, it's sure to turn the stomach of even a hardy reader. Purgatori sits on her throne and receives counsel from a fearless solider named Thoth who dares to address the Vampire Goddess in bold tones. For his trouble, he is given command of an army rather than the usual sentence of death. The hordes prepare for battle, but other forces are conspiring to interrupt Purgatori's victory over those foolish enough to invade her lands. For somewhere in another time and place, a sorcerer on Earth (the same fellow with the questionable diet) is planning to draw Purgatori through a gateway (the universe is lousy with them) and deliver her, reborn in human form, to this reality. Nice work if you can get it, and there's a certain rich guy named Christian Danton who will evidently be most interested in this new arrival on the planet.

Now calling herself by her former human name, Sakkara, Purgatori is human and ready to rumble with vampire scum who happen upon her resurrection. But what is the purpose of this intrusion into her reality and can she get back? Will she even want to return to what she was, or will she perhaps relish the chance to restore her human self?

It's a fun set-up to a new chapter in this sordid character's life, but if you had no emotional investment in Purgatori before, it's doubtful you'll be too worried about her status now. For all its cries of "new readers," Chaos will most likely be playing to the same closed house of former fans with this title and any subsequent Purgatorior Sakkaraadventures. The artwork is on par with some of the better Harris VAMPIRELLA series, but the subject matter still seems a bit dodgy. This isn't one for the kiddies, that's for sure. Apart from the opening scene, Purgatori's rebirth itself is rather sickening, if drawn a little conservatively given the context. But don't let little Johnny read this issue.

PURGATORI: THE HUNTED

Grade: C+

Issue: No. 1

Author(s): Joshua Dysart, Fabiano Neves, Roland Paris

Publisher: Chaos! Comics

Price: $2.99