Overview & Rating
Christopher Mills' and Joe Staton's Femme Noir is another of those comics that straddles the line between hard-boiled detective and superhero (e.g., Spirit, Midnight, the Question, etc.). What is a little unique, however, is that none of the other fedora-ed and trench-coated heroes--at least, not in their original iterations--were female.
The stories are set in the appropriately grim-sounding Port Nocturne. The mystery of the heroine’s identity functions as a macguffin to keep the reader’s interest--at least that’s what it did for me. This is no mere oversight, but rather a crucial part of Mills’ and Staton’s story-telling strategy:
When this story first appeared...a number of reviewers, accustomed to comic book characters having colorful monikers, mistakenly began referring to the mysterious heroine of Femme Noir as “Blonde Justice.” To set the record straight, the character is never called “Blonde Justice” or even “Femme Noir.” She has no name at all. Various characters may call her “The Blonde,” or other descriptive appellation, but our mystery woman has no super-hero codename, “Blonde Justice” or otherwise. (Mills, C. (2013, August 21). Blonde justice: page two.
While playing their cards so close to the vest is initially enticing for the reader, I certainly hope Mills and Staton either reveal more in print, or have plans to do so in the future. Otherwise, at some point the effect of their tactics shift from being intriguing to irritating.
The webcomic is currently divided into seven stand-alone stories, characterized by a diversity of storylines/threats. The heroine faces off against gangsters, genetic monsters, robots, jungle warrior women, and more!
Sustainability - 2
Femme Noir started as one feature of the website Supernatural Crime in 2001, and made its print debut in The Dark City Diaries. In August 2013, the webcomic version (of at least some) of the stories was introduced. Unfortunately, it came to a rather abrupt halt in June 2016 when Mills reported:
The computer where these files were stored isn’t working right now, and I haven’t had the resources to get it repaired. Hopefully, we’ll be able to finish it soon. Sorry. (Mills, C. (2016, October 6). An eye for a spy: page seven.
Given that that was over a year ago--and there's still no resolution--I'm skeptical that we'll see any more free Femme Noir.
Language - 3
Some of the themes dealt with in Femme Noir are psychologically dark. Not surprisingly, this leads to dialogue that includes cursing, as well as referring to God in a rather flippant manner.
Violence - 4
The violence of FN matches its dark genre. Port Nocturne is no sunshiney world...nor are the people who inhabit it.
Sexuality - 4
There is a certain amount of sensual imagery (e.g., lounge singer Dahlia Blue, or the heroine's fishnet stockings) but I don't see much reason to be concerned about kids being exposed to inappropriate images/innuendo.
Political Leanings - 4
FN participates in the familiar noir theme of ineffective police forces and corrupt local government. (see here) Though the heroine stands outside the system--in the attempt to ensure justice for those who fall through the cracks--she stops short of issuing a blanket condemnation of the entire municipal order.
A secondary theme one could call “political” is the feminist theme. Through the seven chapters, I cannot recall any instance where the villain is a female. Though there are some good men depicted in the work (e.g., Lt. Riley) they typically come across with some sort of regrettable flaw (e.g., well-intentioned...but impotent). Overall, I’d feel pretty comfortable describing this as a feminist work.
Morality - 4
There is a certain eye-for-eye-and-tooth-for-tooth perspective on justice; yet I wouldn't say the heroine acts exclusively as judge, jury, and executioner. One has the sense--at least sometimes--that the fate of Port Nocturne's citizens (the good, the bad, and the ugly) is being determined by a Higher Power.
Artwork - 5
Staton spent years honing his craft at Charlton, Marvel, and DC...and it shows. While I personally prefer comics with more vibrant colors, for the type of story FN is, Staton hit the nail right on the head.
Storytelling - 4
The storytelling is good, if a bit quirky. The tales frequently seem to focus on everyone except the heroine. As often as not, she is more of a deus ex machina for resolving the problems of the other characters.
Overall Rating: 3.75
Individual Chapter Synopses
Blonde Justice
In the first story, the reader eavesdrops on a reporter mulling the true identity of the heroine. He has three suspects: orphaned mob daughter Vanessa DeMilo ; lounge singer Dahlia Blue ; and ace reporter Laurel Lye. Three short vignettes follow illustrating the reasons for thinking each might be the heroine. Unsurprisingly, the chapter closes with no definitive answer regarding the heroine’s identity. The only thing we do know, is that the Port needs her.The Dingus
Chapter two follows the drama of an ancient and valuable mask (constantly referred to as a “dingus” by the narrating character) and the three-way race between private investigator Red “Rusty” Nales, millionaire K. Burton Smythe, and the heroine to acquire it.
Dead Man’s Hand
The third story highlights the terrible burden of regret as gambling addict Roman Sidaris struggles to escape the debts owed to one, King Diamond; while hiding the shame of his addiction from his wife, Eden. After Eden is murdered, it’s up to the heroine to seek justice for her, while simultaneously trying to free her husband from Diamond’s grip. 
This short story strikes one as an homage to the monster movies of the 1950s. Playing the role of the mad scientist is Dr. Paul Carstairs, disgruntled chief chemist of Kieth Cosmetics. Perceiving himself sleighted by his employer, Carstairs has orchestrated a number of assassinations-via-monster, until the intervention of the heroine.
Common street thug Vic Tobor, survives a drive-by and stumbles into the laboratory of Dr. Otto Capek. The next evening, Miss Molly Gunn is called to identify the body of Tobor. One week later, she’s reading reports of a crime spree when a robotic figure steps from the shadows and reveals himself as the supposedly-deceased Vic.
While investigating the robberies, the heroine discovers Dr. Capek being held captive at Vic’s salvage shop hideout. The conflicted Molly refuses to leave Tobor, but pledges she will do what she can to help the heroine free Capek.
Unfortunately, Vic prevents the escape. When Molly tries to intercede, Tobor ends up killing her simply because she shrinks away from his metallic touch. The heroine taunts him, “You may have a big body now, Vic--but you’re still a very small man.”
Concrete Jungle
500 years ago, a meteor rocketed toward the South Pacific. So begins the story of the "Concrete Jungle," which sees a number of distinguished members of the Port Nocturne Adventurer's Society executed by a huge primitive-looking warrior woman.
Meanwhile, our heroine is busy cleaning up the Port’s bottom-feeders when she spots the Stone Age assassin leaping from rooftop to rooftop. When she overhears two policemen commenting on the triple homicide, she decides to investigate. Ultimately, her investigation leads the heroine to the home of Professor Mycroft Powell.
Powell relates that 18 months prior, he was part of a South Seas exploratory trip to a previously uncharted island believed to house the ruins of an advanced civilization...and lost treasure. Mycroft claims that upon reaching the island, the party was set upon by monsters. At the last moment, deliverance came in the form of a “magnificent [human] woman” and a tribe of reptillic anthropoids.
In the yarn Mycroft spins, he and the others encountered islanders lived in a “ramshackle village,” on a previously unknown island, from whom he “purchased” their prized possession--the Orb--in “a very amicable transaction.” Skeptical, the heroine nevertheless asks to be directed to the Orb’s current location.
The two avenging women finally meet at the warehouse where Mycroft had stashed the Orb. Okona announces her intention to kill the thief and retrieve the Orb. Initially, the heroine steps in to “prevent anymore bloodshed tonight,” but her battle banter with Okona causes the heroine to seriously question Powell’s version. An Eye for a Spy
The final tale introduces the short-lived Rex Devlin, Agent 09 of America’s Top Secret Division (TSD). He is pursued by foreign agents, who corner Devlin in an alley when the heroine interrupts. Gunplay ensues. Devlin and the heroine succeed in killing most of their attackers and forcing the final one, Luger, to flee. Unfortunately, Agent 09 is mortally wounded in the fight.
As Devlin lay dying he pleads with the heroine to, “complete my mission.” The TSD had information on the spy ring's plans for a political assassination, but Devlin was intercepted before he could meet the informant and determine the target's identity.
We then cut away to a nondescript townhouse where the aforementioned Luger is reporting to his superior. Luger assures his boss that Devlin is, indeed, dead...but explains that the intervention of the heroine accounts for rest of the strike team's absence. The incredulous superior asks how this could possibly have happened, and Luger insists that, “She was no ordinary woman.”
As of today (10/30/2017), the story ends abruptly with the final panel depicting the heroine standing outside a building entitled, the Casa Isabella (one presumes this may be the building in which Luger is meeting his superior.)
Sadly, the files for the rest of "An Eye For A Spy" are lost. Sorry to leave you hanging.
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