Strange Skies Over East Berlin #1 (of 4): A Perfect Start

Strange Skies Over East Berlin is an unassuming comic that pulls the rug out from under the readers feet and holds you breathlessly spellbound with every panel. From its fresh story, to it’s masterful artwork and scene setting coloring this is THE must read comic of the month. The story opens by setting the scene for 1973 East Berlin and does a great job portraying quite quickly the desperation of the general populace and emotional lockdown necessary by our main character for his survival. What seems like it will become a generally satisfying intrigue driven spy narrative quickly turns into something layered with deep human truths and thrilling supernatural or sci-fi twists. We will need to read further to ascertain exactly what Jeff Loveness has in store for us. But the emotions he is able to pull from the reader in just one issue alone are strong and impressively varied. I cannot wait for the next issue!

The work and effort put forth by Lisandro Estherren and Patricio Delpeche is exceptional. Every page and panel has been filled with a level of detail that makes you flip back and read pages over and again just to fully appreciate what they have put before you.

The opening scene is an attempted escape over the wall at night and the dark and oppressive colors and style chosen set the time period and emotional charge perfectly. The abrupt shift the next morning in both color palette and art style is perfectly executed and just goes to show how much thought was put into every detail. There is a particular scene that involves two characters meeting beneath an elevated railway. It would have been easy for Estherren and Delpeche to ignore the shading and shadows cast by the overhead tracks, but instead they play with these shadows and they work wonderfully hand in hand with the story to dramatically enhance and enthrall the reader in the moment.

While this may be a specific example nearly every page is laced with the same level of craftsmanship. It can be so hard to really convey human emotion in just a frozen expression on a page. But Estherren makes it look easy to capture the essence of a scene in one frame.

It’s not until I have turned the final page and have taken a deep breath that I realize just how deeply submerged within this story I have been. If you are the type of comic lover that enjoys intricate scenery and a deeply layered storyline this is everything you have been waiting for. This has been quite honestly a perfect start to what promises to be a memorable comic.