monkeelino 's review for:

Berlin by Jason Lutes

3.0

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The artwork in this is five-star wonderful--crisp black and white line drawings, striking whether depicting cityscapes, architecture, or characters. The book's sheer size is mind-blowing in terms of the amount of time and energy that must have gone into it (this volume collects the entire 20+ years of the series into a single tome). Centered on Berlin from 1928-1933, Lutes bounces among several storylines whose characters slightly overlap as they navigate the rise to power of the Nazis amidst a city serving as a crossroads for art, culture, and sexuality. The narrative dragged a good bit for me and I found it difficult to connect with any of the characters. They felt more like tokens placed throughout a well-researched, historical fabrication of a city. Overall, truly impressive for its ambition and artwork; lackluster in its storytelling and character development; and somewhat successful in breathing life into a city and its past.