As I rule, I usually don’t review any entertainment products (books, comics, films, TV shows, music) that can’t be purchased or viewed (legally) by the general audience. I figure that if you read one of my reviews and it makes you want to see it for yourself, you should have the option to do so, which is why I always include a link of where to buy it at the bottom of my reviews. If you’re not able to buy it or view it yourself, what’s the point of even giving my opinion on it.

But I’m making an exception today because, well, I want to. And it’s my blog, so I can do whatever I want to. Fuck it.

This comic came up as a recommendation on Kickstarter. I guess based on my previous backing history, the algorithm assumed that I’m into erotic comic books, which I am.

Written by Jared and Jessica Chinigo (I assume they’re either husband and wife or brother and sister) and drawn by Bugra Batuhan Berah, The Naked Spy is a comic book based on the life of the legendary Mata Hari. She’s a historical figure that I’ve heard of before, but she wasn’t someone that I read or watched much about, so I didn’t know much about her. I just knew that she was some kind of French spy, and she’s thought of as the original “femme fatale.” Well, this comic fills in some of those blanks.

It begins in Paris in 1916, where she’s working as a stripper and an expensive prostitute. One night, after performing on stage and then having sex with a client, she’s approached by a mysterious man who takes her to a bar, buys her a drink, and asks her to tell him the story of her life thus far.

The comic then flashes back to 1888 in The Netherlands, where she was born. Her name is Margaretha (I always assumed that Mata Hari was her real name), she was born into a wealthy family, but various tragedies left her poor as a young girl essentially becoming an orphan. At 19 she married a much older man, a Dutch captain, who took her to Indonesia, where she studied dance, eventually becoming so good and known for her seductive moves that she was dubbed the Mata Hari (it doesn’t say what that means). While her marriage was cold, she learned the ways of love and sex thanks to an affair with a younger man, but circumstances tore them apart. She had two children with her husband, but her son died and her husband took custody of their daughter when they divorced. That’s when she moved to France, where she became a nude model, then a stripper and a prostitute, and found and lost love again.

And that brings the story back to the comic began. The man reveals himself as an agent for the French government and wants to recruit her to be a spy for France during World War I. In return, they offer to reunite her with one of her former lovers, whom she considers her great love, and take care of him as was a soldier and has been greatly injured in the war. Thus she prepares for her first assignment, and the legend of Mata Hari begins.

The story is 24 pages, and concise, although meant to be the opening of a new series, this issue feels like a complete story, which makes it very satisfying, something you don’t get from many mainstream comics today. And I enjoy Berah’s artwork, there are several panels of sex and nudity, which is sexy but not cheesecake.

The issue includes a black-and-white photo of the real Mata Hari. And, frankly, she’s not all that to me. The illustrated version in the comic is much sexier. But, you know, beauty standards change over time.

It’s a great book, if they follow through on a second issue, I’ll definitely be backing that, as well. Chacebook rating: FOUR STARS