The Desert Peach

The Desert Peach by Donna Barr tells the story of a small unit of the Afrika Korps, headed by Manfred Pfirsich Marie Rommel, the fictional younger brother of the famous Desert Fox. However, there's not much of a resemblance between The Desert Peach and his brother; for one, Pfirsich is homosexual and his unit mostly serves a haven for various misfits that don't really fit into the new Germany but nonetheless were called upon to do military service. Among the more prominent and colorful members of this unit are Pfirsisch's fiance, Rosen Kavalier (real name Melvin Gonville Ramsbottom); a scoundrel completely lacking a heart of gold, but who remains strangely likable. Kjars Winzig, the unit's self-appointed political commissioner, bristling with patriotic fervor and dedication to Das Vaterland, and finally, Pfirsich's orderly, Udo Schmidt. Udo is the only member of the unit who is a card-carrying member of the Nazi-Party (since even hardcore Hitler-fanboy Winzig was to cheap to pay the membership-fee). He's also secretly Jewish, his real name being Isador Gülphstein.

From the above description it may seem as if The Desert Peach is pure farce. However, nothing could be farther from the truth. Sure, there's plenty of comedy to be had, but also lots of drama as well. Barr never allow the reader to forget that her comic takes place during one of the darkest times in the history of mankind; the horrors of the war and the evils of the Holocaust are never far away. Barr frequently uses the comic to tackle heavy and difficult subjects, such as rape and child-murder and she does this very well.
Barr's greatest strength are her characters, all of the ones I mentioned above reveal themselves to be complex and fleshed-out people, capable of both good and bad. Pfirsich himself is one of my favorite protagonists in any comic, while at first he may seem like a complete air-head, it soon becomes clear that he's a brave, honorable and intelligent guy, who cares deeply for the men under his command.

Another thing I like about the comic is its time-span, it would have been easy for Barr to have the entire comic take place in North Africa during World War 2, but instead she chooses to move forward in time: We get to see learn the fate of characters like Udo and Winzig after the war and we see Pfirsich and Rosen as old men, still living together.

On the artistic side, Barr's artwork goes through some changes during the course of the comic (as one would perhaps expect): In the early issues, she draws in a very clean and realistic style, but as the comic goes on, her art become stylized and dense, sometimes resembling woodcuts. Which one's better is, of course, a matter of taste, personally I prefer the later style and part of that is because I get the feeling (though this is pure speculation on my part) that Donna was more comfortable with it.

With its flawed, deeply human characters, excellent blend of comedy and drama and engaging plots, The Desert Peach is a comic that I heartily recommend. Not just to those with an interest in World War 2, but to anyone with an interest in great comics.