“Purple Heart, Volume 1: Savior” by Eric Warnauts and Raives is a graphic novel that tells the story of Joshua, a young man who leaves law school to fight the Nazis in Europe.

The story follows Joshua as he fights and earns a Purple Heart after a landmine explosion. Back in the states after the war, he works as a private eye in New York. His approach to cases is less heroic as he helps a rich client with a blackmail case that is more than meets the eye.

It’s an ok story and the art is fine, but it didn’t really move me with its slow pace.

I started and stopped this book a couple of times before I actually saw it all the way through. The first time I paused, it was because it was unexpectedly angst-ridden and seemed too heavy. Then maybe because most of the characters were a little too unlikeable. Then, after reminding myself that most graphic novels of this ilk are dark, I started it again.
Ensuring that I expected the concept made it easier to read the book. One bonus is that despite being the first in a series, it is a complete adventure in itself.
Joshua is a troubled man with dark overtones (and undertones, if I am specific). His role in his office was not exactly clear to me, but he handles the more sensitive matters. In this case, it is a man who is being blackmailed. His wife is 'exotic' and maybe not as clueless as he plays her out to be. There is another Nazi-related (this is historical fiction) plot being unravelled in the background.
It is not a quick read because of all the emotions and plots (with sub-plots) swirling around. It was an entertaining book, and I am glad I did read it completely.
I would recommend it to anyone who is familiar with graphic novels of this type.
I received an ARC thanks to NetGalley and the publishers but the review is entirely based on my reading experience(s).

Joshua is a World War II vet and law school dropout working as a private detective for a prestigious law firm in New York City. One of the firms clients is having a blackmail problem, so Joshua sets out to discover the culprit. Meanwhile, a pawnbroker friend is beat up by a couple of Nazi thugs. In the best noir fashion, Joshua manages to "save the ladies," dispose of the bad guys, and make a bit of dough on the side. Not a beginning for a series.

Labeling this Purple Heart is something of a misnomer. The main character, Joshua, did win a Purple Heart in World War II but that's not the thrust of the story. This is a hard boiled noir. It's 1950's New York and Joshua works for a influential law firm as a P.I. He's sent to help a client who is being blackmailed. Meanwhile, there's a second story involving Nazi's and some lost paintings.

I really liked this. Great art, Great story.

Received a review copy from Europe Comics and NetGalley. All thoughts are my own and in no way influenced by the aforementioned.

For me this crime book sits on the 'worth a look' shelf, but no higher. It tries to capture the 50s milieu, with jazz clubs, people colour blind for their first time, and so on. It concerns a young private eye, who on one hand is trying to sort out his lawyer boss' big client being blackmailed over sex tapes, and a pawn broker being attacked by some left-over Nazis desperate to get their hands on some artworks. It's alright, but this kind of book not being my favourite it needed to be so much more than 'alright' for me to rate it highly. Two and a half stars.

Not So Much Noir as Hard Boiled

I enjoyed this very much. The dialogue, plot, drawing style, and post-War New York City atmosphere all fit together seamlessly. This isn't noir, or at least not the ironically hopeless noir of Mitchum and Douglas in movies like "Out of the Past". This is more Spade/Marlowe with a younger protagonist and a PTSD undercurrent. And, our hero has enough depth and suggested backstory that he seems clearly to have been written with sequels and greater character development in mind.

The plot is twisty, but not too twisty. You have a femme, a "good" girl, a tough old broad, an unflappable black sidekick, a crooked businessman, and, of course, Nazis. There's gunplay and fistfights. The dialogue is just right -- sometimes writers get too cute with the snappy, gaudy banter. Here, that's more understated, and it works for our hero just as well as it worked for Spade and Marlowe. Pacing is good, and the occasional narrative bridge is economical and fills in the blanks without slowing down the tale.

The art is particularly rewarding. New York City at night feels right, and the big scenes and settings, (ritzy nightclub, rain slicked alleys), look and feel legit. The characters are expressive and always recognizable. Pencils are crisp and inking isn't overdone. Colors are a bit washed out, but that actually complements the old-time vibe. In a way it looks like the old comics/newspaper rotogravure printing, and again that's just right for the era and the story.

So, I zipped right through this and enjoyed it immensely. It's hard to get all of the pulp ingredients right, but this hit the mark quite nicely.

(Please note that I received a free advance ecopy of this book without a review requirement, or any influence regarding review content should I choose to post a review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.)

New York City in the early 1950s. U.S. involvement in the Korean conflict has escalated, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg are on trial for espionage, WWII vet Joshua Harrison suffers from PTSD while working as an investigator for a prestigious law firm.

In Purple Heart (1. Savior) Joshua tackles two separate cases. One for money the other for a friend. There are Nazis, an exotic seductress, a wholesome girl next-door type, a tyrannical businessman with political aspirations, a tough black side-kick, and a tattooed Holocaust survivor.

Purple Heart is a detective story in the vein of The Maltese Falcon, The Big Sleep, and literally dozens of other pulp classics. Drop Humphrey Bogart in the mix and he'd feel right at home. Not the most original concept but told well with a few modern touches on an old time story.

The artwork is good. It captures the feel of the era. The lettering is a bit thin and close together which makes it a little difficult to read at times as it tends to blur. Easily remedied by enlarging the page to get more precise edges but it is a minor annoyance as it takes you out of the flow of the story.

I liked it. It won't change your life or leave you with lingering thoughts on the plight of humanity but I would recommend it to fans of the genre. It's fun, it's short, it's entertaining.

There's nudity, sexual content, and violence.

***Thanks to NetGalley, Europe Comics, Warnauts and Raives for providing me with a free digital copy of this title in exchange for an honest review.

A different comic book than I had expected.
Some 6 years after his soldiering days ended; we are in New York in the 1950’s following the story of Joshua Harrison. Working for a law firm as a Personal Investigation he has found his life stalled; unable to pick up his studies to forge lasting female relationships. His exposure to death in the Battle of the Bulge won him a Purple Heart but lost his direction but fortunately not his sense of justice.
He has loyal friends and great empathy for others who have had their fair share of trials and battle scars.
He is employed to help a major client overcome a blackmailing scam involving his wife. For Joshua he tackles it face on, his undoing however seems to be that a good looking woman is involved.
I liked the subdued drawings and the story telling in wordless frames as well as catch up narrative. The dialogue seems on point for the time as does the general feel around the city.
I enjoyed the story which serves as an introduction to the main characters since this is just Episode 1. I would without hesitation find enough interest to read on and follow our troubled PI.

A pretty average noir centered around a former soldier and purple heart recipient who becomes something of a private eye to pay the bills. Still dealing with his own war experience, and deeply disturbed by the death of a friend he could not save, Joshua drowns his sorrows with cheap booze and sex, never sticking to one relationship and avoiding his demanding mother, who wants him to go back to law school and make something of his life.

I think there is an interesting story here but it was confusing for me. I still enjoyed reading it and it had a 'noir' feeling to it which made it seem edgy. A bit too much unecessary nudity but still a good story with good artwork..

Copy provided by Europe Comics in exchange for an unbiased review.

I really wasn't a fan of Purple Heart. The premise had potential but the execution felt painfully cliched. The story has plenty of sex and violence but lacked the gravitas and intrigue required to hook the reader. I hate admitting it, but I found the narrative boring and at the end of the day, couldn't bring myself to recommend Purple Heart to fellow readers.

Purple Heart: Savior by Eric Warnauts, 58 pages. GRAPHIC NOVEL
Europe Comics, 2019. $9.
Language: PG13 (24 swears, 1 “f”); Mature Content: R; Violence: PG13
BUYING ADVISORY: HS - NO
AUDIENCE APPEAL: LOW
Joshua fought in WWII, earning a purple heart that does nothing to ease his guilt or heal his invisible wounds. Now working as a private eye in New York, Joshua is still stuck in a war-fighting mode -- when he isn’t having sex to make up for the lost time spent in military service. Fighting both inner demons and bad men around the city, Joshua can’t seem to remove complications from his life.
I did not enjoy reading this graphic novel, mostly because the sexual content was too graphic with nudity and sex that is practically pornography. On top of that, there were some panels that appeared to have no purpose, even after scouring them for anything related to the plot, and Joshua’s case was solved too quickly with little engagement from the reader in figuring out what happened. The short length of this graphic novel was nice since I wasn’t enjoying what I was reading, but I also feel like it was a hindrance to the story because several details were thrown in that felt significant but were ultimately left unexplained. In the end, I’m confused, but I also don’t care.
Reviewer: Carolina Herdegen