| |
|
So, like, seven years later Book Two came out. Book Two of Jason Lutes's fantastic historical fiction, Berlin, taking place during the Weimar Republic of Germany-- first one was called City of Stone, which went up to the May Day demonstration during 1929, while City of Smoke starts up days after. I'm not finished even the first read of the thing but I feel compelled to talk about it, to talk about Lutes and his other work again.
Relevant wiki link.
First of all, there's the quality of the artwork. Lutes manages a very clean, simple line that reminds me quite strongly of Hergé -- Scott McCloud, maybe a little bit, though I find Lutes's artwork is much more delicate and polished. Quite the contrast to his work with Nick Bertozzi, who did the art for Houdini: The Handcuff King -- Bertozzi's lines are much messier, all over the place, shakier. Lutes's lines are almost oppressive with the sheer control evident in them.
Story itself is well-constructed, in the case of Berlin, around the ensemble motif that shows us a wide range of characters in different social settings, of different classes -- particularly important given the wide gaps between classes in Berlin at the time. He manages to capture the wild, bohemian community of artists and philosophers without overindulging or romanticizing it (and virtually every character is in a situation that is criticized implicitly or explicitly by someone else). He manages to be direct and not terribly sentimental while making the reader care about his characters; the ending of Book One is among the few times when a comic book has made me cry.
I'm only a couple chapters into Book Two, but I'm finding it a bit more detached than the first book. It's focused around two of his characters, Kurt Severing and Marthe Müller as they interview people involved with the demonstration on May Day; Kurt is the journalist and Marthe the artist. They're lovers, maybe only barely at this point, and he manages to tie their relationship's awkward decline into the dilapidation of Berlin quickly. I'm curious to see where it's going and I'm hoping that some of the warmth and energy from the first book crops up again in this one.
Is anyone else a fan of this guy's work? |
|
|
