Berlin, Vol. 2: City of Smoke

Berlin #2

by Jason Lutes

The second installment of the epic historical trilogy

 

The second volume of Jason Lutes’s historical epic finds the people of Weimar Berlin searching for answers after the lethal May Day demonstration of 1929. Tension builds along with the dividing wall between communists and nationalists, Jews and Gentiles, as the dawn of the Second World War draws closer. Meanwhile, the nightlife of Berlin heats up as many attempt to distract themselves from the political upheavals within the city. The American jazz band Cocoa Kids arrives and quickly becomes a fixture. The lives of the characters within Lutes’s epic weave together to create a seamless portrait of this transitory city. Marthe Muller follows her lover Kurt Severing as he interviews participants in the May Day demonstration, but she moonlights in the city’s lesbian nightlife.Severing acts as a window through which the political shifts within the city and its participants can be seen. As with Berlin Book One: City

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics, Historical Fiction, Fiction, Germany, Graphic Novels Comics, Historical

210 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2002

About the author

Jason Lutes was born in New Jersey in 1967 and grew up reading American superhero and western comics until a trip to France at age nine introduced him to the world of "bandes dessinées." In the late 1970s he discovered Heavy Metal magazine and the tabletop role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons, both of which proved major influences on his creative development.

Lutes graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design with a BFA in Illustration in 1991. While at RISD, among the many new comics he encountered were Art Spiegelman's RAW magazine and Chester Brown's Yummy Fur, which together inspired him to start publishing minicomics under the imprint "Penny Dreadful."

Upon graduation in 1991, he moved to Seattle, where he spent several years working as a dishwasher and assistant art director at Fantagraphics Books. His "big break" came in 1993, when he began drawing a weekly comics page called "Jar of Fools" for The Stranger, Seattle's alternative paper. By 1995 he had become the paper's art director, but upon collecting and self-publishing Jar of Fools in 1996, he left The Stranger and made the leap to becoming a full-time cartoonist.

In the handful of productive years following that decision, Lutes began the comic book series Berlin, set in the twilight years of the Weimar Republic.

Lutes currently lives in Vermont with his partner and two children, where he teaches comics at the Center for Cartoon Studies.

He still tries to play Dungeons & Dragons once a week with friends.

Reviews

[Cristina Lazăr · Rating 5 out of 5]

https://carti.blog/2025/10/17/berlin-...

[Seth T. · Rating 5 out of 5]

As far as middle chapters go, City of Smoke runs pretty much better than expected. Second acts generally fend off some of the energy and presence of the first in order to properly explode into the final act. While maintaining his virtuosity over the form, Lutes does calm things down a bit after the May Day massacre that concluded the first act.

City of Smoke largely explores two themes: the robust nightlife that ruled Berlin's hidden quarters and the growing political strife between factions of the citizenry. And the two societies seem largely oblivious to each other. The night society drowns reality in celebration and excess, while the workaday masses are drowned by concerns for a faulty government, a crashing market, and the evidence of a revolution at hand.

As in the first, journalist Kurt Severing is our guide and it is largely from his perspective that we are probably meant to absorb the story (though not entirely—as his appalling disdain for sweet, sweet jazz marks him as unreliable). It is through Severing, who supports Marxist ideology but refuses to participate in anything more demonstrative than the occasional article, that we first discovered the city in the first book, City of Stones; and it is again Severing who provides teetering balance to the ruckus between the night and the day societies.

Lutes, in addition to his mastery of the comic medium, proves himself an excellent student of the human state, capturing intricately the poison that infects us all. Of course he depicts flawlessly the poor, huddled masses as they struggle to stave off starvation and fight for a political hope that will surely disappoint (as political hopes are wont to do), but further, he delivers too the poison that inflames even human joy and celebration. We are given witness to ecstasy and abandon, but realistically, we also are allowed to see the darkness that threatens from the horizon, that in some sense has already leapt into the lives of the happy.

And Lutes does this in such a way that he doesn't come off as depressing so much as he does real. There is a veracity to his work that the reader cannot help but admire. As far as story direction, I didn't like some of his choices for some of his characters. But they were always real choices. And I respect the story for it. And they set up well the story to come.

As a minor complaint, there were small moments when I felt the usual creator's care diminish. A page here with shaky art. A panel there with a name plainly omitted from the text balloon. On the whole these things did not harm the book for me. But I did notice them.

[Dave Schaafsma · Rating 5 out of 5]

Second volume of Lutes' masterpiece about Berlin/Germany as it made the transition to Hitler.. Rich, varied, a panorama of different aspects of society heading to ruin... amazing.

[Eternauta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Δύσκολο να περιγράψει κανείς το πολύπτυχο αυτό αριστούργημα.
Απαραίτητο απόκτημα για όσους αγαπούν την ένατη τέχνη, το Berlin αποτελεί και μια από τις πιο ενδιαφέρουσες λογοτεχνικές/ημι-ιστορικές αποτυπώσεις της Δημοκρατίας της Βαϊμάρης.
Ο Jason Lutes έχει μια τρομακτική ευαισθησία στο να αποτυπώνει οπτικά τον ανθρώπινο ψυχισμό και μια αυθεντική δεκτικότητα απέναντι στους ξεχασμένους, τους ηττημένους, τους παρίες της Ιστορίας. Είναι μέσα από τα βλέμματα και τις εκφράσεις τους που τα μεγάλα ιστορικά γεγονότα τελικά βιώνονται στις ανθρώπινες διαστάσεις τους.
Ίσως γι'αυτό τον λόγο να θεωρώ τα "σιωπηλά" καρέ πολύ πιο δυνατά και φορτισμένα απο τα πιο "φλύαρα" κομμάτια αυτής της μεγάλης περιπέτειας που χρειάστηκε 20 χρόνια για να ολοκληρωθεί και να ωριμάσει μαζί με τον δημιουργό της (σχεδόν όσο και η κακότυχη Δημοκρατία)!
Σε αυτόν τον δεύτερο συγκεντρωτικό τόμο οι βασικοί ήρωες του δράματος έχουν αποκτήσει "σάρκα", το υπαρξιστικό αφηγηματικό στιλ που χαρακτηρίζει τον Lutes έχει τελειοποιηθεί και χρονολογικά πλησιάζουμε στον αναπόφευκτο θρίαμβο του ναζιστικού τέρατος. Κι όμως η ξεγνοιασιά και η γοητεία του Βερολίνου φαίνεται να παρηγορεί και να δίνει ελπίδα στους ήρωες μας και μαζί με αυτούς και σε εμάς...

[Javier · Rating 5 out of 5]

El segundo volumen de Berlín es una auténtica maravilla. Introducidos los personajes, el escenario y la técnica narrativa, en Ciudad de humo Lutes tiene la libertad para centrarse en contar. La historia, que quedó en suspenso con la matanza del 1 de mayo de 1929, entra aquí en una fase en la que el partido Nazi comienza su ascenso hacia el Reichstag. Marthe Müller se sumerge en la vida nocturna y clandestina de Berlín —de nuevo documentada de manera impecable—, un submundo que contrasta con los oscuros acontecimientos que suceden en la calles de la metrópoli y en los que se ve inmerso Severing. Ver cómo van evolucionando las ideas de los personajes, cómo incluso algunos de ellos van significándose abiertamente a la par que la violencia aumenta y la tragedia asoma en el horizonte, le da una profundidad y una riqueza absorbente al conjunto. El cierre del volumen es más potente si cabe que la de su predecesor y bien podría haber quedado así (de hecho, lo hizo durante más de veinte años). De lo mejor que he leído en mucho tiempo.

[Ilana (illi69) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I want to write a few words about this volume 2 in the Berlin trilogy. Right now though, I'm expecting someone to arrive any minute. I will say I couldn't put it down. It was like watching a really good movie. A really sad movie too. A really great historical movie, basically. About the rise of Nazism during the Weimar era in Berlin, when Jazz was just making its way from America with and Josephine Baker had already become a Big Star and there were countless lesbian bars for women who liked to play all kinds of roles to hang out in because Berlin was the place to let go of rigid morality and where there were always fascinating parties with plenty of drugs and sex and moneyed people to mix with. I watched Babylon Berlin on Netflix a couple of months ago, which was before realizing it had been based on a Volker Kutscher book, which I've been meaning to read in the French translation since 2015 and has been loaded on my phone as an audiobook for maybe a month now. It goes by the name Le Poisson mouillé en français, and is available via the Montreal library system, for those interested, (as are the three following books in the Gereon Rath series). I bring the Netflix series up because this volume of Jason Lutes's graphic novel had that kind of energy, which is what I've read about in other novels and which is what the fine art of the time depicts as well, when it's not showing the legless and maimed veterans of the first war... but there are the prostitutes, plenty of them, children too... because so many jobless, and the Crash... so much going on. I started out giving it 4 stars when I'd just finished it just out of principle because I keep the 5-star rating for exceptional books which really DO something to me. And I guess this one did. And I guess I wrote a review after all. Which I'll have to edit later, so please excuse whatever nonsense and typos and whatnot I've written in the first draft.

[Hristina · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5
Ceva nu merge bine între mine și munca lui Jason Lutes. Ma lasă și al doilea volum cu un sentiment de insatisfacție, nu-mi ajunge nimic, nici ilustrația, nici informația. Planurile mari care surprind mișcările maselor sunt atât de superficiale ca pot fi înlocuite cu un articol oarecare, consumat în 10 minute. Planurile mici se concentrează pe personaje care nu au forța să nască o legătură între mine și ele, rămân total impasibila față de ceea ce fac sau li se întâmplă, pe lângă faptul ca nu au suficientă vână pentru a genera portrete relevante, convingătoare.
Volumul se incheie cu câștigarea alegerilor de către national-socialiști. Cred ca nivelul ridicat de sărăcie și disperare al oamenilor de rând și starea conflictuala intre mișcările comuniștilor și ale national-socialistilor sunt cel mai bine reliefate. Mai trag concluzia ca puritanismul afișat de politica partidului aflat în ascensiune era contrazis de o societate berlineza avută care savura excesele de orice fel. Că antisemitismul era deja bine înrădăcinat în rândul populației. Că politica Germaniei a fost catastrofala intr-un peisaj deja catastrofal. Că Germania era lansata pe o traiectorie nefastă încă din prima zi din pacea de dupa Marele Război (asta nu pot sa zic ca a fost prea limpede în cartea lui Lutes, mai degrabă vine din ce mai știu și eu de pe ici, de pe colo) Greșelile din politica statelor fac întotdeauna pârtie mișcărilor extremiste. Populația adera din disperare la ele, mai ales atunci când discursul populist ii promite dreptate, mai ales când simte ca-i reprezinta exact interesele cele mai stringente. Exact asta s-a întâmplat în Germania, o Germanie adusa la sapa de lemn cu o populație sleita de nevoi.
Este un spot de lumina pe manifestația de la 1Mai 1929, acolo unde s-a deschis focul către protestatari și unde au murit câteva zeci de persoane.
Berlinul subteran, boem, cultural, e palid, abia schițat în câteva scene. Cercurile intelectuale restrânse în care se dezbatea starea națiunii sunt evocate vag și scurtele lor dialoguri mai aduc câte o lumină timidă asupra realității politice de arunci, fapt care te ajuta ca cititor sa ții pasul cu istoria.

Rețin ca la alegerile din 1930 au adus la urne 82% din electorat, cea mai mare participare din istoria Republicii de la Weimar, iar partidul care l-a ridicat pe Hitler a câștigat în Reichstag 107 locuri, fata de 23 cât a reușit principalul partid de opoziție, adică Partidul Comunist.

[Ferda Nihat Koksoy · Rating 5 out of 5]

İkinci cildi daha çok beğendim.

***

"Polis bizi korumak için gelmedi (mitinge), biz işçileri hizaya sokmak için buradalar, bizi yorgun ve yoksul tutmak için... Ve bunu değiştirmeye çalışsak da bizi öldürmek için."

"Sendeleyen bir devlet, riyakârlığı yüzüne vurulunca hangi kanunu öne sürer?...
Evet, vatan hainliğiyle yargılanıyorum."

"(Güce dayalı sistem) Grimm masallarında bahsi geçen şeytani kömür ocaklarını andırıyor; gözleri kömürleşmiş kitleler yanan kalpleriyle ateşi beslerken, ocak hepsini küle çevirip onları kör eden kara dumanı üstlerine tükürüyor."

"Kasım Devrimi ve cumhuriyetin ilanı, bu yaşıma kadar gördüğüm en muhteşem şeydi. 1919'da ulusumuzla birlikte yeniden doğmuş gibi hissettim.
Ama yıllar geçtikçe fark ettim ki birçok Alman benimle aynı fikirde değildi ve kendi kararlarımızı kendimizin vermesinden rahatsızlık duyuyor gibiydi; sanki bu bizim için büyük bir yük, büyük bir sorumlulukmuş gibi. Bu yüzden benim gibi hisseden insanların arasında olmak, beni rahatsız eden gidişata tepkimi göstermek istedim."

"Almanların 'şair ve filozof' bir millet olması fikrine bayılıyoruz ama en büyük katkımız 'yargıç ve cellat' olmak."

"Ülkeni seviyor ve umut etmek istiyorsan, çalışanlara ve fakirlere bak, onlarda kendini gör, Alman yanını değil, seni ülkene ve köklerine bağlamayan insan tarafını gör, evrensel olanı; ayakkabılarının derisini şekillendiren zımbaları onlar çakıyor, oturduğun evi onlar yapıyor, etrafını onlar temizliyor; eğer senin naif ruhun, 'vatanseverliğin' hayali rahatlığına ihtiyaç duyuyorsa, iki yere bakman gerekiyor: Sırtına bindiğiniz işçi sınıfına ya da tabiata."

"Şiddetin en ateşli savunucusu politikacı ve düşünürlerin 20 şınav bile çekemeyecek olmaları bir tesadüf müdür?"

[Alex Sarll]

I worried that I'd been reading too much British mysticism and imperial decline lately, felt I needed something about somewhere else to stop me going entirely squirrelly ahead of next week's moment of national madness. So instead I started reading something set in Berlin in the latter half of 1929, whose blurb quite fairly promises that it "creates a sense of anxiety and imminent doom".

Sometimes I can be a complete idiot.

Divisions harden, the well-meaning turn on each other while the thugs rejoice, and there's the dreadful foreknowledge that as bad as things are, they're going to get much worse. Absurd accusations of treason are the last resort of a faltering state faced with evidence of its hypocrisy. "Must I accept that the powers that be will always be - that regardless of mass objection, or even revolution, the same forces will always profit from feeding upon and misleading the people? Like malevolent stoves in some Grimm's tale, into which the blinded masses pitch their burning hearts, only to have them consumed and belched back as black smoke that keeps them blind."

At least these poor bastards get a bit more in the way of Weimar decadence; nowadays the seedy queer salons have mostly closed for redevelopment as coffee shops, and even the obscenely rich seem distinctly pedestrian in their vulgar pleasures.

[Razvan Zamfirescu · Rating 5 out of 5]

A doua parte din trilogia Berlinului este puțin mai profundă decât precendenta. Jason Lutes decide să-și implice activ personajele în politicul care începe să fie din ce în ce mai violent și mai prezent pe străzi.
Berlin – City of Smokes este de-o complexitate remarcabilă. Lutes este foarte dedicat studiului acelei perioade și reface cu o atenție de ceasornicar societatea de atunci, acordând în mod egal atenție atât politicului cât și vieții de noapte din Berlinul anilor 20.
Din punct de vedere social avem de-a face cu scenele cluburilor de jazz care au explodat și în Germania interbelică, cluburi în care au început să cânte formații formate din jazzmeni negri de peste Ocean și care au prins la publicul neamț. Cluburile de homosexuali în care orgiile și abuzurile de droguri erau la ordinea zilei. Locațiile secrete erau foarte bine ascunse și se intra, de obicei, doar pe bază de parolă sau ca și invitat al unui membru mai vechi. Cluburile de homosexuali erau una dintre petele de pe obrazul Germaniei care era încă destul de conservatoare, pată pe care propaganda nazistă nu va ezita să o scoată în evidență și pe care o va șterge cum va ajunge la putere.
Pe de altă parte avem viața grea a șomerilor, a muncitorilor care nu câștigau suficienți bani pentru a pune ceva pe masă, a copiilor ajunși orfani datorită ciocnirilor violente dintre extemiști și organele statului. Șomerii trași la față care dormeau pe străzi erau victime sigure atât pentru naziști cât și pentru comuniști care nu ezitau să-i racoleze și să-i arunce în războiul de stradă unde, adeseori, mureau.
Personajele principale ale lui Lutes sunt în continuare Marthe Muller și Kurt Severing. Însă, de data aceasta, li se adaugă și Silvia, fata care și-a pierdut mama în timpul paradei interzise de 1 Mai organizată de comuniști, un copil dintre cei mulți care sunt strânși de aceștiai de pe stradă, îndoctrinați și educați în manevre de luptă corp la corp. Deși nu este o fire violentă, suferința și foamea o transformă pe Silvia într-o sălbăticiune însetată de sânge. Silvia este imaginea degradării umane în care Berlinul se afundă din ce în ce mai mult.
Severing începe să se îndoiască de munca sa și de ideologia pe care o susține iar Marthe se pierde în cluburile promiscue lesbiene. Fumul din titlul volumului este perdeaua groasă necesară să ascundă mizeria umană care începe să dea pe dinafară din una dintre cele mai frumoase capitale europene.
Din punct de vedere grafic, Lutes se axează de această dată pe panouri care sunt dedicate mai mult clipelor tragice prin care trec personajele alese spre a fi descrise. Panourile sunt excelente, pline de suspans și sensibilitate, panoramele berlineze fiind lăsate deoparte pentru a-și transporta cititorul direct în miezul acțiunii pentru o înțelegere profundă a trăirilor oamenilor din acea perioadă.
Complexitatea romanului lui Jason Lutes poate fi înțeleasă doar dacă cititorul cunoaște foarte bine istoria Germaniei interbelice. Inserarea uciderii lui Horst Wessel precum și a discursului lui Goebbels la moartea acestuia nu este deloc o chichiță menită a face romanul mai interesant. Moartea lui Wessel a fost un adevărat impuls pentru partidul nazist care și-a intensificat atacurile și propaganda împotriva comunismului și a forțelor de ordine al statului. De asemenea, din unele puncte de vedere, uciderea lui Wessel a însemnat și eliminarea opticii socialiste care a fost, la un moment dat, o parte integrantă a partidului nazist. Goebbels însuși susținea comparația lui Hitler cu Lenin (den bessen Lenin), comparație care a fost ștearsă din istoria partidului nazist.
Abia aștept partea a treia trilogiei lui Jason Lutes chiar dacă vor fi câțiva ani de așteptare. Romanele sale sunt cu adevărat inteligente, bine scrise, excelent desenate și sunt, până la urmă, adevărate lecții de istorie la îndemâna tuturor.
P.S. – nu am acordat foarte multă atenție formației de jazz Cocoa Kids pentru că nu mi s-a părut chiar atât de importantă apariția lor în Berlinul anilor 20, un Berlin care încă nu era total sălbăticit și închis în ideologia nazistă.

[Lars Guthrie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This serves as a review of both volumes. The first was published in 2004, but it was wonderful to read them together (more volumes are planned). Lutes uses the Berlin May Day demonstrations as the dividing line in a two year story that takes place in the waning days of the Weimar Republic period from 1928 to 1930, just before the Nazis took over. Graphic novels are a beautiful medium to convey a rich and broad picture of history, and Lutes takes full advantage, creating something that prose or film could not do. The panels allow the reader to seamlessly transition between multiple stories. Lutes even lets us in on random thoughts of passers-by. The central story is of a man and a woman, a writer for the influential journal "Die Weltbuehne," Karl Severing, and an art student coming to the big city to experience life, Marthe Mueller. But there are so many other stories. The decadent cafe society most of us know is there, including a cameo appearance by Josephine Baker, but Lutes also makes us aware of the fractious society pulled apart by radical politics in the aftermath of World War I, particularly in a family divided by Communist mother and Nazi father. And there is sophisticated analysis of Germany's quandry by the actual editors and writers of "Die Weltbuehne." So much work must have gone into creating this, but it paid off. Lutes has put together a masterpiece. Highly recommended.

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

City of Smoke, part two of Lutes's epic graphic novel set in Weimar Republic Berlin, sings. Reading it you can actually hear the panels: the music of the jazz band, the sounds of the city, the roar of the mounting political tension, the swing of Weimar excess. Any part two of three is difficult: part one has the advantage of the thrill of introduction, of origin; part three the excitement and satisfaction of conclusion. In Lutes's epic, of course the story moves forward, but Book Two has a distinct feel from Book One, which is impressive.

Impeccable. Two of three books in, Berlin may be a masterpiece. Highly, highly recommended.

[Supratik Nandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

The 2nd installment does not live up to the high standards set up by the 1st book. The artwork is inconsistent, the narrative not as dense & engrossing . But Lutes’ beautifully captures those tumultuous times ,the city obviously is a character & you feel the creepy feeling of doom looming just around the corner. God knows when the 3rd book is going to come out.

[Akke · Rating 3 out of 5]

WHERE'S VOLUME THREEEE?!?

[Senga krew_w_piach · Rating 5 out of 5]

W "Mieście dymu" obserwujemy bohaterów pierwszego tomu w czasie dwóch kolejnych lat. Faszyści rosną w siłę, oficjalnie patrolują ulice, konflikty między nimi i komunistami nasilają się, coraz częściej dochodzi do starć w przestrzeni publicznej. Krach na giełdzie powoduje pogłębianie się kryzysu gospodarczego. Ludzie stają się coraz bardziej zagubieni, nie wiedzą kto przyniesie im ratunek. Lęk przed głodem i siła propagandy sprawia, że coraz więcej osób zwraca się w stronę narodowych socjalistów, aż w końcu w wyborach w 1930 roku udaje im się zwiększyć liczbę deputowanych z 12 do 107. Poza próbami wyjaśnienia jak doszło do tego, że Hitler mógł realizować swój plan przy wsparciu obywateli, bardzo dużo dzieje się tu w sferze obyczajowej. Wątek LGBT się rozwija, wchodzimy do świata sekretnych kokainowych przyjęć berlińksiej socjety i do tajnych klubów tylko dla pań. Jazz gra z lokali, na jego fali przybywa z Ameryki zespół czarnych muzyków Cocoa Brothers, a wraz z nim wątki rasistowskie. Cały czas możemy obserwować różnice i konflikty między klasami społecznymi - od bogaczy do żebraków, jak również relacje między społeczeństwem niemieckim a rodzinami żydowskimi.
Jestem pod ogromnym wrażeniem tego w jaki sposób autor tka swoją opowieść. Ten wielogłos, mądrość, subtelność, dwuznaczności, balansowanie między światem wewnętrznym i zewnętrznym bohaterów, szerokie spojrzenie i pokazanie rzeczywistości Republiki Weimarskiej z wielu perspektyw, stawia dla mnie książki Lutesa nie tylko w gronie wybitnych komiksów, ale w gronie najwybitniejszych dzieł literackich w ogóle. Są to powieści graficzne, z bardzo mocnym naciskiem na 'powieść'. Bardzo wciągające, warstwa historyczna, polityczna, obyczajowa i osobista są równie interesujące i wyważone w doskonałych proporcjach. wszystko z siebie wynika i się zazębia.

[Santiago L. Moreno · Rating 4 out of 5]

Una segunda parte que comienza mejorando a la primera pero que pierde puntos con la conclusión del arco dedicado a los Cocoa Kids, un desenlace más propio de novela negra y que no me parece que encaje en el gran mosaico configurador de la ciudad antes del desastre que es el cómic Berlín. Mientras que todo el resto de pequeñas historias suma en la construcción de una atmósfera política y social precataclísmica, este toque noir cambia el tono general hacia otro tipo de historia. No es una mala subtrama, pero sí me parece un cuerpo extraño en una novela gráfica que hasta ese punto no podía ser más perfecta.
Si la primera parte se centraba en la presentación de los elementos humano y político en la base social, en mostrar la realidad de las calles, en estas páginas echamos un vistazo al otro Berlín, el de las clases adineradas. Salas de fiestas y reuniones de alta sociedad, jazz, drogas, y relaciones interraciales y lésbicas en una primera mitad que da sentido al subtítulo del volumen. Citas de hombres en la oscuridad, clubs exclusivos de mujeres, Josephine Baker y detalles amarrados a la versión que arrojó la película Cabaret del Berlín subsiguiente. Todo ello se compacta en el último tercio con los momentos históricos, la espesura política, el comunismo callejero, el ascenso del nacional socialismo y las pequeñas tragedias personales de quienes realmente fueron testigos, protagonistas y, en definitiva, los ingredientes del caldo en el que se cocinaría la trágica expansión alemana.

[anotherbritinthewall · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fühlt sich weniger an wie "Buch lesen" und mehr wie "Serie bingen", diesmal sogar mit einem Tucho-Cameo (und ein paar weniger erfreulichen Gesichtern)

[Liam O'Leary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good and ambitious. First I've read of this series, may seek more. Incredible sense of setting. Reminds me a lot of Eisner's Dropsie Avenue. Without colour, but not without compensatory detail in group characterisation (the blacks, jews, reds are all easily identifiable admist the chaos) and good fine linework (small panels with many lines; nice shading, reminds me of art by Charles Burns). Nice drawings of prewar nightlife and interior decor. My personal preference for graphic novels demands more detailed character personalities but given the heavier focus on the setting (the public of Berlin) and context (political war) this is difficult to achieve.

[Pablo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Magnífica obra, por fin completada 23 años después de su inicio. Ambicioso relato de la caída de la República Weimar a partir de la clásica estructura de vidas cruzadas. Su gran mérito es la delicadeza y la pausa con que retrata unos personajes perfilados con una pericia que los hace muy humanos, cuando hubiera sido fácil caer en estereotipos. La muy europea línea clara del dibujo transmite la historia con sencillez y eficacia, pero también con sutil belleza y emoción.

[g026r · Rating 3 out of 5]

Story-wise, there's nothing wrong with City of Smoke. The writing is certainly the same calibre as book one, City of Stones. Unfortunately, the art seems to have slipped a bit, feeling a bit less detailed and sloppy to the point where I occasionally had difficulty telling who a given character was upon first appearance.

[Zoë Birss · Rating 5 out of 5]

Books like this make me wish I saved five star ratings exclusively for books like this.

This historical fiction about the rise of the National Socialists in 1929 Germany is so accurate to the time and place as to nearly not be fiction at all. The story is told through a staggeringly large cast considering the medium, weaving its way through the lives of couples, families, young, and old, through stories of immigrants, ethnic and sexual minorities, privileged German nationals, and the apolitical.

I love reading stories of history, especially history surrounding revolution and political struggle. Yet, too often, in an attempt to be perfectly "true", these books will often sacrifice story and character. This book shows resistance and struggle by communists and artists, through the lives of fictional characters. The result is something still very true, but so much more gripping than most "true" stories of its type.

This book reads like a European novel, with many lives and characters twisting around and together. The illustrations are very simple and clean, in clear black and white. People are the focus here, and the culture and place are built around them.

I loved March last year, the story of John Lewis and the Civil Rights movement in the States. I like this series even better. This is masterful.

This book is so packed with story and detail that it will also be one to definitely hold up its excellence and enjoyment through several readings.

Book Two, City of Smoke, ends with the election of the Nazi party in the Reichstag on September 14. The wonder of this book is that it manages to actually make that feel like a real cliffhanger.

This book is amazing. I recommend this series to anyone who reads historical and political fiction and nonfiction. Anyone interested in a gritty and personal portrayal of life in the midst of Nazi uprising in Germany ought to read his book.

+

ps.

Yes... this book, published in 2008, absolutely does feel chillingly like American politics and culture of 2017.

[Carl Waluconis · Rating 5 out of 5]

The reputation for comics reached a high point with Maus winning a Pulitzer. However, comics are still looked down on if one uses a literature classification. In some ways this is justified if you randomly pick a graphic novel and read it. But I think of the Sturgeon rule when he was told 80% of science fiction was crap, that 80% of everything was crap (Apologies if I have that number wrong, but you get the idea). Science fiction fought a long battle to even be reviewed in the New York Times. Comics of course face the same snobbery, ironic now that so many films are directly or indirectly really comic books. Perhaps all those films will hurt comics reputation. Well, let's set that debate aside and celebrate a great graphic novel series from Drawn and Quarterly - Berlin. Book Two continues looking closely at a variety of those living in the Weimar Republic. The entangled lives offer a multi-cultural look at the build-up to a Nazi state. The straight forward graphic story-telling is perfect for the stories of lives from these days, which carry a dire warning for today. Of course the present day is not the exact same as Germany of that time. But with a president that defends Nazi demonstrators and asks for National Emergency powers, we are living in precarious times. Jason Lutes very carefully explores all the different ingredients - social, political, personal, and cultural - that created the fascist state. This worthy study has just been completed in a large volume. The books leading up to that, including this one - City of Smoke - are all available. What a valuable and memorable read.

[Alex Tongue · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lutes gets better as he goes. I'm struck by his usage of voices from margins to tell the story, especially in his engagement of queerness. While the first volume dealt with issues of distance and longing, this one felt far more claustrophobic. The pages are fraught with the incoming doom, and as a result, the characters are pushed together from the pressure; there is no longing, but instead desperate clinging. Even a fractured relationship finds itself still figuring out ways to persist as a friendship (Kurt and Marthe), seemingly because of the impending destruction of the Republic. Marthe finds herself waking up to the advancing tendrils of Nazism, perhaps because she herself has woken to her newfound marginalized sexuality. I don't know if that connection is fair to make, but I think it works.

[Josef Horký · Rating 5 out of 5]

Velká paráda. Diptych Berlín vás usadí do jednoho z nejpůsobivějších měst Evropy pozdních dvacátých let minulého století - tedy v době, kdy jím cloumala na jedné straně bohéma a "intelektuální exploze", která světu dala mnoho umělců napříč médii... A na straně druhé chudoba, úzkost a věčné konflikty mezi sílícími partajemi komoušů a nácků (obě si moc dobře uvědomující, jakých postupů, hesel a model využít k ovládnutí mas).

Což je prostředí, ze kterého měla vyrůst jedna z největších tragédií lidstva.

Lutesův Berlín se přitom nesoustředí na osudy jednoho, dvou hrdinů. Je mozaikou osudů mnoha postav napříč společenskými vrstvami - jenom tak totiž mohl ukázat město v celé jeho šíři a životě. A že se mu to fakt povedlo.

[Aaron · Rating 5 out of 5]

This volume was even better than the first one. Lutes is more consistent with his drawings and the comic is entirely sure of itself and the creative liberties he takes with the form. It's a real treat to read a comic this dense that is rooted in realism. I'm very excited to read the final volume in Fall 2018.

[Szymon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lutes ma oko do skupiania sie na losach zwykłych ludzi, i na pokazaniu szerokiego wachlarza postaw.
Republika Weimarska chyli się ku upadkowi, na ulicach komuniści walczą z NSDAP. Pięknie oddane myśli ludzi, ich dramaty ale i konflikty.
Jedyny minus za brak jasnego rozgraniczenia wątków postaci, choćby graficznie - początkowo można sie pogubić.

[Riddhish Bhalodia · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5/5

The continuation of the series is still intriguing and at times an amorphous blob of how different people are living in Berlin with a backdrop of major political changes. However the story is rooted at a personal level, lot of different perspectives and threads.
I love it, I am sure i will love it more in subsequent reads.

[Magenta · Rating 5 out of 5]

A bit denser than the first book, but I still got through this one in a single sitting! Would highly recommend for anyone interested in history. I went to Berlin in the spring of 2017 and these books have really changed how I view this monumental city.

[Tarinankertoja92 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Berliini Savuinen kaupunki syvensi päähenkilöiden tarinaa ja vei vääjäämättä kohti tulevaa. Weimarin tasavallan kohtalo on tässä trilogiassa tuotu esille ansiokkaasti tavallisten kansalaisten näkökulmasta.

[Matt · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great experience. Almost finished in 1 session, I really loved the pacing and rhythm. Now and then, I would think I recognized a character (ie the brownshirts assaulting Pavel) but flipping back, nope, different guy. Amazed how many different faces he can draw.