Collected in English for the first time, Fantagraphics’ second Micheluzzi book compiles the complete serialized adventures of Petra De Karlowitz, an international woman of mystery active during the first World War. The daughter of a Polish businessman and French beauty, fluent in multiple languages and ultra-classy, Petra initially operates perilous wartime missions out of neutral Holland before globetrotting around Europe all the way to its southeastern borders. As imagined by former architect Micheluzzi, her dangerous escapades are masterfully rendered in detailed, expressive artwork that recalls the style of his peer and countryman, Hugo Pratt.
Buy Petra ChérieIf you’re a fan of Pratt’s Corto Maltese, Petra treads similar historical adventure grounds and was even originally envisioned as a male character before Micheluzzi changed course. The gender swap allows Micheluzzi to add some glamour to his pages, with the sophisticated heroine seemingly in a different echelon of society from the scruffy Corto. Although she appears high class, she’s scrappy and dangerous, able to skillfully pilot planes, shoot weapons, and independently plan daring raids, a prototypical Lara Croft. Among her more memorable escapades, she crosses paths with the Red Baron, even briefly stealing a signature plane from his squadron; she helps save Lawrence of Arabia; and she confuses both British and German forces by piloting an unmarked plane on deadly sorties. Micheluzzi has obvious delight in crafting the tales of the damsel in no distress who is able to seamlessly code switch from mysterious avenger to society darling.
I was blown away by Micheluzzi’s artwork, instantly drawn to his immaculately detailed line and moody, noirish shading. Calling on his lengthy career as an architect, his buildings and vehicles are rendered with stunning realism, even as he shows lively, expressive flow in his character renditions that reminded me of Pratt’s charmingly messy brushwork. Micheluzzi favors fine line to brush, with crosshatching adding texture and weight to the delicate linework. I was somewhat surprised that the adventures are almost entirely in color, as Micheluzzi’s inks are so impressive they stand strongly on their own, but daughter Agnese Micheluzzi adds suitably muted, solid hues to her father’s work, adeptly enhancing the stories.
The serialized comic was sporadically published between 1977-1982, mostly in a weekly magazine until it was transferred to a monthly magazine for the last few stories. It’s important to note that substantial publication timeframe, because the book is deceptively massive in length, totaling nearly 300 pages of densely packed panels that require a substantial reading time commitment. The pages are nearly as detailed as Prince Valiant strips and generally more text-heavy, making for an epic reading adventure roughly equivalent to the length of a Valiant box set.
The book is introduced by iconic U.S. cartoonist Paul Pope, a longtime fan of Micheluzzi who provides an informative overview of Micheluzzi’s life and career. His appreciation is reserved for the closing paragraphs, where he bemoans Micheluzzi’s inability to crack the American market in his lifetime, heaps praise on his distinctive style “floating miles apart from the American comics,” and singles him out as one of his favorite artists. Pope is entirely correct; it’s a crime that Micheluzzi’s stunning work is barely known here, a travesty that Fantagraphics is working to correct with this gorgeous release and their plans for further editions.
