NATACHA - she went HB in the 70's...

Natacha is a stewardess who easily attracts adventure.

This feminine character, a sexy young woman with modern looks, independent, defending a certain feminist view of the world around her, was only possible due to the then relaxing codes controlling the publications for the youth in Belgium and France.
Natacha, the Belgian-French comic series, became an instant hit amongst teen-agers and adults.

One of her comic books, published in the early 70's, was in fact a real hard-boiled story: The Metal Memory (original title,in French:"La Mémoire de Métal"), with a script by E.Borgers.

Third adventure of Natacha, 'The metal Memory' went a little bit further towards the realism necessary for a real hard-boiled story. It is a good illustration of what European comics, still intended for young teen-agers, could then afford to show.
The semi-realistic drawing style of Walthéry- the artist creator of Natacha- some humor, and the absence of unjustified violence or bloody sequences, made it acceptable for the time.
The plot (a suspense where all is happening in one night only) puts Natacha in rather violent setups and forces her to face the music without the help of her current accomplice and friend: Walter the air steward.

'The Metal Memory' was really hard-boiled, but Natacha is not a HB character by herself. She participated to all kind of stories- totaling more than 20 books up to now, all of them constantly reprinted- with themes as different as: action, gag-like humor, mysteries, speculative science fiction, adventures...

For more information about Natacha, the comics series and its creator, go to our Belgian Comics file - NATACHA













_{"La Mémoire de Métal" - The Metal Memory
Drawings: François Walthéry
Script: E.Borgers
©Walthéry}

_{Copyright © 1997, E.Borgers for texts and setup. Illustrations belong to the copyright holders
See front page of WEBORGERS - Hard-Boiled Mysteries - for complete disclaimer.
Most recent revision: 10 August, 1997}