Purgatori’’s Dynamite adventures are already at the third issue, but the character and the series are still very much looking for some kind of definite direction.  The first issue re-introduced the character, the second took a turn into a lot more gore without really advancing the plot, and in the third … she becomes Indiana Jones?  After the events of the previous issue, Purgatori convinces Jade that in fact she does know where the artefact is that Jade is looking for.  After an inexplicably short time they are in Egypt trying to find the lost item, and find their way into a temple loaded with traps, trying carefully to navigate them so as to make it back out alive.

The issue manages to succeed in a few of ways where it hasn’t succeeded thus far in this series.  Despite the continual focus on the gory aspect of Purgatori’s feeding, this feels a lot more natural in this issue as the character does so out of need, and not in a gratuitous manner.  More so, the character background is fleshed out somewhat, introducing a sub-story involving her as a slave in ancient Egypt.  As the adventure and action unfolds, the series for a few minutes seems to forget what it has been doing thus far, but then again that is probably to the benefit of the story as Jade and Purgatori have to deal with an assortment of dangers in the temple.

The end result is a not entirely coherent issue, but one which is at least a lot more fun than the two which preceded it.  It might be a bit of a cheap trick to get some kind of momentum going in the storyline, but at least it works to a degree as the characters for the first time seem to be living up to their potential.  At the same time after such a weak start to the series it is hard to recommend this issue solely based off on one better issue out of three, but this one ended up being somewhat self-contained and can be appreciated even by itself to a degree.  If the writers had jumped right into the action as it is here, instead of two previous issues, the series might have a different tone.  As it is, it is still a series looking for an identity, but at least finds itself on better footing after this issue.

Story: Aaron Gillespie Art: Javier Garcia-Miranda
Story: 7.6 Art: 8 Overall: 7.6 Recommendation: Read

Dynamite provided Graphic Policy with a free copy for review.

Purgatori represents an attempt by Dynamite Comics to revive an almost forgotten character from the bad girl days of mid-90s.  In the first issue the character was roughly introduced, offering enough of a jumping off point for either old fans or new fans to know what was going on.  In this issue Purgatori continues in her mission to free herself from the control of her bloodlust while also trying to figure out what has happened to her.

The issue kind of plays out in two distinctive parts.  The first half is more focused on mostly gratuitous blood and gore, as Purgatori is revealed to have sucked the blood dry out of numerous animals as well as the lecherous truck driver from the previous issue.  While this part of the story is maybe necessary to establish her as a character, it is equally difficult to read as it seems mostly superfluous, especially as some parts of it seem particularly unrealistic, especially as a random family looks at her writhing in pain and only comments something to degree that she is sick.  The second half of the issue finally advances the story, but it is once again with the somewhat unnecessary addition of blood and gore.  After she is rescued, her group is soon ambushed and killed, but the artist would have maybe been wiser to go with the “less is more” approach as the images of exploding heads is not really necessary from a storytelling standpoint.  It is only at the end where the story finally moves forward, but it is too late to save what the issue was after.

The end result of the issue is one that feels mostly unnecessary.  While the story is moved forward, it feels mostly as an afterthought to the gratuitous violence.  For fans eager to see the return of the character, perhaps some of this violence is what they after, but for a new reader, it feels as though this issue missed the mark.  Indeed, an issue two synopsis at the beginning of issue #3 would reveal little more than what transpired in the last three or so pages.  This promise of a story sounds intriguing enough, but the question becomes how long will it take to tell this story with all the other disturbances.

Story:  Aaron Gillespie Art: Javier Garcia-Miranda
Story: 6.5 Art: 6.0  Overall: 6.5  Recommendation: Pass

Dynamite provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review