Random fandom: notes ii (aka PEACH!)

the first page of the first Peach

How did I not know until today that The Desert Peach is available online now? (I've been dreaming of the books at Lulu.com, but as I'm only intermittently employed, could never justify the expense.)

If you don't know about the Peach, the link above barely scrapes the surface. The Desert Peach is Rommel's (fictional) gay brother, also a WWII German army officer. Terrible idea, right? Must be distasteful, right?

Ahhhh, no. No, my darlings. Pfirisch, our Peach, is the dearest, sweetest thing, a man of grace and taste, kindness and principle, struggling to keep everyone safe -- his men, the men Germany's fighting against, his adored brother, his danger-loving fiance -- in some of the loopiest adventures imaginable (surfboarding in search of submarines, anyone?).

Sounds broad and flippant, right?

But no, no, my darlings. Well, okay, just a bit of both. But it's -- it's -- it's darling, like Pfirisch himself. And it's about fluff, and life, and food, and bravery, and death, and drink, and fluff, and humanity, and fear, and homophobia, and drugs, and politics, and fluff, and love, and children, and fluff, and hope, and sex, and -- well, everything, I suppose.

And Barr's art is as individual and idiosyncratic as her concept and plot -- embellished and broken panels, curious framings, and a continual - nay, insistent - emphasis on the Peach's physical charms in every drawing.

The Desert Peach, the character, is the gayest thing on any front, and the finest person as well. The Desert Peach, the comic, is still available, after all these years, which speaks volumes. I grant you, a black-and-white indie comic from decades ago which still has devoted fans is hardly rare in the OCD wonderland of comics fandom, but The Desert Peach is special. Especially special.