GLI SCORPIONI DEL DESERTO/THE DESERT SCORPIONS/DIE WÜSTENSKORPIONE

German translation by Comic Forum, Vienna, 1986-88 (part of their "Comikothek" album series)

Volume 1: I. Nichts zu melden in Djaghbub; II. Der lange Weg nach Siwa; III. Richtung Cairo
(Nothing to report in Djaghbub; The long road to Siwa; On to Cairo)

The story opens in North Africa in the fall of 1940, shortly after the onset of hostilities between the British and Italian armies. We are introduced to the "hero" of this series, Koinsky, a Polish cavalry officer who fled to Britain after the Germans defeated his country and who is now a commando in the Long Range Desert Group, the famed "Desert Scorpions." Koinsky helps Kord, a British officer of Greek descent, and the Bedouin volunteer Hassan Beni Mukhtar eliminate a double agent in Hassan's home oasis of Djaghbub, just behind Italian lines in northeastern Libya. There, they learn that their mission was compromised, almost fatally, by a turncoat in their own ranks. Navigating across the desert back to friendly lines, they encounter and destroy a German armored vehicle -- evidently a forward element of an imminent German deployment to bolster the Italians in the theater. Upon returning to Egypt, Koinsky and Hassan rescue Judittah Canaan, agent in the Hebrew Section of British counterintelligence, when their train to Cairo is ambushed by Italian commandos dressed as Bedouins. Re-routed to the port of Suez, Koinsky unearths and kills the double agent -- but not before a devious attack has killed Judittah and injured Hassan.

Vol. 2: Ich habe zwei Geliebte, meine Heimat und Paris; II. Der Todesengel
(I have two loves, my homeland and Paris; the Angel of Death)

In January 1941, Koinsky has been posted to the Sudanese-Ethiopian border, leading an armored reconnaissance against a remote Italian fort. Though it has been abandoned by its garrison, Koinsky manages to be captured by its last remaining occupant, the Italian lieutenant Stella. Stella is equipped with a mercenary attitude, a tale of a hidden treasure, and a sentimental attachment to a prostitute-chanteuse, whom he aims to rescue from a nearby outpost. Though suspicious of Stella's lack of scruples, Koinsky agrees to accompany him, motivated, perhaps, by curiosity, lack of alternatives, and the Italian's infectious cheerfulness. Ambushed by bandits and staring death in the face, they are rescued by the Beni Amer warrior Cush ("the Angel of Death"), well-known to readers of CORTO MALTESE IN AFRICA. Though Cush makes no secret of his disdain for "infidels", he joins them in their quest. In the end, they find the treasure, a few surprises, and death. We even learn something about the fate of Corto Maltese. Koinsky survives the adventure to be reunited with Hassan and promoted to captain.

Vol. 3 (No title)

A brilliant short story, one of Hugo Pratt's literarily most mature works. Pratt's portrayal of the claustrophobic atmosphere in a derelict, isolated Italian fort menaced by unseen Danakil bandits, the impending attack of Allied forces, and its own restless Askari garrison is unforgettable, his multi-layered exploration of individual motives in colonial situations reminiscent of Joseph Conrad. Unforgettable also Pratt's cast of characters. The deranged commandant Palchetti, a frustrated operatic tenor, threatens to disrupt every promising turn of events with an itchy trigger finger or by breaking into an aria. (If Pratt's portrayal of Italian officers is at all accurate, Italy's poor military record can be no great mystery!) There are the aging, homosexual, clear-headed doctor Ferrini and the veteran Askari sergeant Ibrahim, who refuses to mutiny and cut a deal with the enemy, despite the obvious doom that awaits the garrison. There's the young hothead Amedh, blinded by jealousy and love for Palchetti's concubine, the beautiful, enigmatic Kismet. And of course, there's Koinsky. The Polish "Desert Scorpion" survives a desperate trek across the deadly Danakil desert and slips into the role of detached observer in the Italian fort. Artistically, Volume Three is a tour de force. Pratt makes stunning use of black and white contrasts, even by his own high standards, to evoke the dusky skin and bleached clothing of the Askaris, the arid, rock-strewn expanse of the desert, and the sun-baked ramparts and mid-day shadows of the fort. His binocular close-ups help draw the audience into the story as participants, thereby intensifying our own sense of the isolation and paranoia experienced by the characters.

Largely devoid of Pratt's trademark fascination with mysticism and the occult, THE DESERT SCORPIONS delivers no-nonsense war stories, spare literary handling reminiscent of Hemingway, and some of the finest black and white artwork seen in comics. Pratt often relies on his characters' diary entries to move his story along or outline the setting. Like Corto Maltese, Koinsky is a detached, cynical "antihero" typical of the late 1960s and 1970's -- when Pratt created the series -- with a pronounced sense of justice. Unlike Corto, Koinsky has little time for romantic daydreams: his adventurousness is motivated more by a desire for personal vengeance than by dreams of treasure. Having lost his home and family when the Germans bombed Warsaw, Koinsky never loses sight of the fact that there's a war to be won. Pratt's fictional characters and the stories in SCORPIONS evolve against an impeccably researched background; as usual, historical figures make appearances, including Emperor Haile Selassie, the British commando leader Orde Wingate, and the mercenary desert warrior Vladimir Peniakoff. The "exotic" backdrop of the African theater gives Pratt ample room to indulge his fascination with obscure military auxiliary units, the psychology of colonialism, and regional political conflicts in the context of global war.

by Christof Morrissey