Berlin

JASON LUTES /DRAWN & QUARTERLY PRESS

     As a lifelong reader of comics, and a student of WWII and the Weimar/Nazi period, Berlin is an enormously satisfying reading experience for me on two levels.

     Beautiful line work and rich backgrounds capture the mood and feel of Berlin in the late ‘20s:   a city in which a vibrant artistic culture and “decadent” (by Nazi standards) nightlife struggle to coexist with seething political and economic discontent, as well as the rumblings of postwar despair and humiliation that Hitler would tap into during his rise to power.

     Jason Lutes indie masterpiece skillfully captures a vital period in world history through beautifully realized characters, whose various plot threads are slowly but surely being tugged by the encroaching storm of the Third Reich.  Indeed, the greatness of “Berlin” lies in its dedication to the everyday people who find themselves swept up in huge events that are beyond their control, whether it be the young, wide-eyed art student, the wary, anti-Nazi newspaper reporter, a worldweary, grizzled police veteran, or the desperate mother attracted to Marxism as a panacea for feeding her family.

     “Berlin” is masterful storytelling (the attention to detail and plot mark this as a clear labor of love for the author) that deftly balances intimate human drama with the sweep of history.  Any enthusiast of either well-crafted comics or historical fiction will find it has few peers in either genre.

“Berlin” is an ongoing series.  Issues 1-8 have been published in the trade paperback “Berlin: City of Stones.”