Review: Strange Skies Over East Berlin #2
Cold War Germany, check. Communist Aparatchiks, Stasi and morally bankrupt scientists, check. Paranormal occurrences, an air of menace and a general “X-Files” feeling. Check, check, check. Strange Skies Over East Berlin #2 has all this and if it peeks your interest then by all means read on.
Prior to this issue I was not familiar with this series written by Jeff Loveness (Judas, World Reader) but it was an easy issue to read and understand; drawing you into this world of Cold War intrigue. Set in what appears to be East Berlin in the former country of East Germany, Strange Skies is telling the story of a strange set of paranormal occurrences in a secret underground laboratory. Loveness crafts a story marked with a palbable terror permeating the pages of the book as these people, people you should despise but pity because of their situation, being preyed upon by some mysterious force. The effects are varied but they seem to spread like a plague, increasing in spread and severity with each turn of the page. By the time this issue ends the story has reached a turning point and crescendo, dovetailing nicely into issue 3. The quality of writing in this issue is top tier. The dialogue, while not basic, is simplistic but effective. That said, there is more to writing than dialogue and Loveness crafts a wonderful issue that builds steadily and is very successful.
My critique of the artwork and color are more a matter of personal opinion than technical execution. Technically, the art and color are professionally done and polished with no glaring errors or faux pas. Lisandro Estherren draws this book in a sparse no-nonsense style. The linework is bold and uncompromising with minimal inking and the occasional exaggerated feature to bring out strong emotions. The art is effective but I found it unsettling and unsatisfying, especially when combined with the color palette for the book. Patricio Delpeche colors the book with colors that are wan and drained of their vitality. It is very effective in conveying the emotions that resonate with me when it comes to the communist bloc; depressing, hollow and wanting. On self reflection, I must admit that the combination of the art and color is so effective at creating those emotions in me that it was visibly disturbing. So, while it was difficult to look it, it was incredibly effective at what, I think, the artist was trying to do. For that reason, I can’t mark down the artwork though it may have been more visually entertaining had they chosen a different style. As I said about the movie “Joker”, sometimes art is supposed to disturb you and that is not a bad thing.
This is a very good book that was intriguing, disturbing and thought provoking in turns. I recommend it if you are a fan of the paranormal or the Cold War era.
Writing – 4.5 of 5 Stars
Art – 4.5 of 5 Stars
Inking – 3 of 5 Stars
Color – 4 of 5 Stars
Overall Score – 4 of 5 Stars
Writing – Jeff Loveness
Art – Lisandro Estherren
Color – Patricio Delpeche
Letters – Steve Wands
Author Profile
- Nemesis is a poet, writer and author of the upcoming novel The Long Game. He is a writer of science fiction and supernatural thrillers. Besides novels and short stories he writes for UK based ASAP Comics developing new stories for Level 8 and OPSEC. Nem is a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point and tries to bring those experiences into his writing.
He lives and works out of his home in Riverside, California with his wife and three children. When not writing he enjoys reviewing comic books and graphic novels for ComicCrusaders.com and living the Southern California life with his family.
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