Pherone: Cutting-edge femme fatale

I applaud Kevin Eastman, the editor of Heavy Metal magazine, for his continuous efforts to find and publish outstanding adult comics. I discovered Pherone, the graphic novel by Patrick Baggatta (script) and Viktor Kalvachev (art), while browsing through the mag, in search of the occasional gem. Kalvachev's explosive pictures sparkled like diamonds. Pherone is the story of Eve, an extremely lethal femme fatale on a quest to find her identity. It weaves espionage, mystery, sex, violence and a touch of sci-fi into a hardcore, captivating tale. Imagine a very sexy female Jason Bourne lost in Frank Miller's Sin City and you start to get the picture. Although influenced by Miller's style (which is not a negative at all), Kalvachev's art has a definite strength and flair of its own. It grabs you by the eyes and punches you in the gut. In a much appreciated effort, Kalvachev and Baggatta "choreographed" the action scenes of their rugged Eve by researching efficient and deadly fighting techniques. They chose some pretty good ones, which I tried on unsuspecting subway travelers. They worked wonderfully. Thanks, guys. The series was published in the January, March, May and November 2007 issues of Heavy Metal.