Berlin (comics)
Berlin is a comic book series by Jason Lutes, published by Black Eye Productions and then Drawn & Quarterly. Planned as a series of 24 magazines, since reduced to 22,[1] then re-released in book form, it describes life in Berlin from 1928 to 1933, during the decline of the Weimar Republic.
| Berlin: City of Stones | |
|---|---|
 Cover of Berlin: City of Stones (Book One) | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Black Eye Productions, Drawn & Quarterly |
| Schedule | Irregular |
| Format | Limited series |
| Genre | |
| Publication date | April 1996 – March 2018 |
| No. of issues | 22 |
| Creative team | |
| Written by | Jason Lutes |
| Artist(s) | Jason Lutes |
| Collected editions | |
| Book One: City of Stones | ISBN 1-896597-29-7 |
| Book Two: City of Smoke | ISBN 978-1-897299-53-1 |
| Book Three: City of Light | ISBN 978-1-896597-29-4 |
Plot
Book One
The first eight issues were compiled into a book titled Berlin: City of Stones, published in 2000. It starts with Marthe Müller, an art student, arriving in Berlin. One story arc details the start of her life in Berlin, focusing on her relationship to journalist Kurt Severing. A second storyline describes a working-class family which breaks up due to differing political views, the mother, Gudrun, eventually joining the communists with her daughters Elga and Silvia, while the father takes his son Heinz to the Nazis. The book ends with Gudrun's death in the massacre of 1 May 1929, the International Workers Day (known in German as Blutmai).
Book Two
Issues 9–16 have been compiled in Berlin Book Two: City of Smoke, published in 2008.[2] In the second volume, the relationship between Marthe and Kurt disintegrates, partly due to the influence of Kurt's former lover Margarethe. Marthe develops a relationship with fellow art student Anna. Gudrun's daughter Silvia struggles to stay alive by herself; Elga was apparently taken in by her father, but Silvia refuses to join the Nazis and blames the Communists for Gudrun's death on Blutmai. Another major subplot involves a group of African-American jazz musicians who perform at a Berlin nightclub. The volume concludes with the electoral victory of the Nazi Party in September 1930.
Book Three
The final volume comprises issues 17–22 and is called City of Light.[3]
Collected editions
The series has been collected into trade paperback:
- Berlin: City of Stones (collects Berlin #1–8, Drawn & Quarterly, 1 June 2000, ISBN 1-896597-29-7)
- Berlin: City of Smoke (collects Berlin #9–16, Drawn & Quarterly, 19 August 2008, ISBN 978-1-897299-53-1)
- Berlin Book Three: City of Light (collects Berlin #17-22, Drawn & Quarterly, 4 September 2018, ISBN 978-1770463271)
...and into a single hardcover, ISBN 978-1770463264
Sales
The first two collected volumes had more than 100,000 copies printed, while the hardcover edition had a first run of 20,000 copies.[4]
Reviews
- Rolling Stone listed the series at #48 in their list of "50 Best Non-Superhero Graphic Novels".[5]
- Boxer, Sarah (March 7–20, 2019). "Berlin before the storm". The New York Review of Books. 66 (4): 31–32.
Notes
- INTERVIEW: Jason Lutes Talks the Final Days of “Berlin”, Comic Book Resources, July 28, 2015
- Back to the City - Jason Lutes on Berlin 2, Newsarama, October 1, 2008
- Jensen, Van (2008-08-09). "Jason Lutes talks "Berlin"". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved 2018-06-06.
- https://www.sevendaysvt.com/vermont/for-cartoonist-jason-lutes-berlin-marks-a-career-milestone/Content?oid=19519746
- Gross, Joe (2014-05-05). "Drawn Out: The 50 Best Non-Superhero Graphic Novels". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2018-06-06.
References
- Berlin at the Grand Comics Database
- Berlin at the Comic Book DB (archived from the original)