A (Very Slow) Thinker, Not An Actioner

Despite some of the blurbs, this is not a spy thriller in the conventional sense. Our hero, Herring, is a "disillusioned", (aren't they always), spy and he has been sent into Soviet East Berlin to investigate the nature of an alien craft that has landed there. But there is no spycraft or cat and mouse or any of that. Once our hero has been established and set in motion we find ourselves with him in a claustrophobic underground bunker. It's just him, his conscience, the alien, some Soviet soldier dragon fodder, and hidden and suppressed truths and traumas that come back to haunt and terrorize.

As you might expect, the book is a mix of coherent thoughts and insights on one hand, and meta-garble and mumbo-jumbo on the other. Because that's how books like this work. The book follows a theme and variation style. The theme is lies versus truth and how we lose our grip on both. That theme is revisited over and over, in our hero's memories, the memories of those trapped with him, flashbacks, and moments of calm reflection. It seems that the alien can draw true memories out of those it encounters, so our hero must repeatedly confront truth, and the truth of his various lies. And that's about it.

It can get monologuish and angsty, but there's just enough clarity or point, from time to time, to keep the reader going. The art is dark and muddy, and since Herring's actual look changes from panel to panel it's often hard to tell who is who. That is not especially helpful, and just makes the often confusing narrative and dialogue that much more confusing.

(Please note that I received a free ecopy of this book without a review requirement, or any influence regarding review content should I choose to post a review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.)

Berlin, 1973 - a city divided by a wall thanks to the Cold War. An alien probe crash lands in Soviet territory so an American spy heads over to check it out. He find alien. Alien bad. Zzz...

I’d hoped this one would be as good as Jeff Loveness’ Groot book but I think that one was a one-off and Loveness ain’t the great writer I thought he was - Strange Skies Over East Berlin is really, really boring.

The alien thingy crashes somewhere and drives the humans crazee is an overplayed trope at this point and Loveness doesn’t do anything fresh with it here. I get the feeling he chose Cold War Berlin because he wanted to draw parallels between the Stasi, the East German secret police who famously spied on everyone, and the aliens’ powers, which reveals your mind’s secrets, but why is lost on me.

Besides that it’s just spy vs spy at a desk while a generic bad alien does generic bad alien stuff. The main character regrets losing his true love, the lady regrets her brother’s death, or some such trite wannabe-emotional pap - whatever. I also still don’t like Lisandro Estherren’s art since I last saw it in Donny Cates’ godawful Redneck series at Image.

A dull read through and through, Strange Skies Over East Berlin is instantly forgettable, hackeyned sci-fi guff.

Kind of an underdeveloped story about aliens and spies during the Cold War. I didn't even realize until I'd finished reading and saw the blurb on the back that the main character was supposed to be an American spy. I just thought he was another Communist who was dealing with a crisis of conscience or something. The artwork ranges from decent to messy, which seems to be characteristic for Estherren.

Beautifully drawn but a bit of a let down in story-telling - look, it's basically an X-Files episode mixed with The Lives of Others which is okaaaay but ultimately I think the brevity of the volume gives the wealth of ideas at work here short-shrift. I don't necessarily need an exposition dump plopped into the middle volume but it's just that this is a very intriguing world and I'd like to spend a little more time in it. I guess saying I'd like more and therefore am a bit unsatisfied is a backhand great compliment? Anyway, a recommend with the caveats above.

This graphic novel was nothing like I have ever read before. The story was incredibly engaging with strong, believable characters. The artwork and coloring did throw me off initially, however by the end I found it to really suit the story. I think the concept of this novel is really unique and I look forward to the future issues.

Thank you to the publisher for an advance copy via netgalley!

What happens when the weight of his lies catches up to the spy!

Wow! First, the graphics are amazing! So well illustrated....well done! Storyline was not what I expected. Even thought there are sci-fi elements in this story, it is intertwined with such a strong storyline that it doesn’t empower it like most sci-fi graphic novels tend to. As someone who usually wouldn’t enjoy a sci-fi, this changes my mind.
Can’t wait to read the next volumes.

Thank you Boom! Studios and Netgalley for the digital ARC.

This is an interesting book on the questions of trust and the actions of our past. I think it could do with being just having one additional chapter for its storytelling because it feels rushed and leaves a lot of questions unanswered.

Narration in comics is one of the hardest things to pull off successfully, especially when it's basically a character's introspective train of thought. It's hard because, in my experience, narration has a hard time actually adding something to a story, instead it tends to overexplain themes, or worse - it's just empty fluff.

So which category does the narration in Strange Skies Over East Berlin fall into? I'm sad to say, most of it feels superfluous. Good narration can work at creating atmosphere, and I get the feeling that's what we are supposed to be going for here, and it doesn't really work. It's a bit budget Le Carré.

One of my favourite genres is cold war fiction (and non-fiction), a genre that seems like it'll all be thinlipped spies going after eachother, all surface mumbling and a bit of action, but which actually has deep troughs of emotion and has a lot to say about the human condition. Which does make me wonder if adding sci-fi in the mix would work.. and here I think it can, if the story was less rushed. Cold war paranoia needs lots of room to breathe, people staring at eachother, trying to divine the other's thoughts.

It all rushes towards a not that interesting finale, where things get blown up, which is a disappointment. I understand the point that is being made, these cold war nutcases can only end up blowing themselves and everyone up - except in real life they didn't, so why not have a different kind of ending here too?

The art is gorgeous, with colouring that looks almost painterly. I would've liked to have seen more of Berlin, if anything.

Overall, the book has a lot of promise, I'm just not sure it entirely lives up to it.

Well... I'm seeing a common theme in my recent reads - anti-war, spies, explosions, death...
East Berlin, 1973, the wall and the Space Race. We thought we were alone, there was only silence. But now the silence is here and you can't kill it...
Strange Skies Over East Berlin was a pleasant surprise. Both the story and the art gave me the chills. Wonderfully done and I wish there was more!

Review of an advanced copy thanks to Netgalley.

A fast paced story of an American spy trying to understand a strange event that has occurred in enemy territory. Do the other side have control of a powerful weapon or are they hiding something more sinister.

The story is good, and i like the back stories of the main character although on occasion it does get a little poetic in places. Like the flow of the story and it works really well.

The artwork is great, and focuses on what the artist want you to see whilst blurring the surrounding environment very well through things like lack of facial detail, blurred drawings etc.

Very much well worth a read.

"The Wall kills hope. It's true. Sometimes you lie to save others. But more than anything we lie to ourselves. About who we really are. What we've allowed our lives to become. Anything to spare ourselves the truth. Anything to say that it isn't hopeless. That you have time left. That you can be saved. It's so easy to lie to yourself. But none of that matters, because eventually you run out of lies."

It's tough at the moment to find a scenario which still feels appreciably worse than reality, but here's one: what if our first contact with alien life had been made by the Stasi? It plays out halfway between le Carré and what to some of us will always be 'a classic base-under-siege story', though there's no Doctor here, just a doctor, who recommends quarantine only to be told that we're well past that now. Which sounds all too familiar. In there with him; the double agent, the ratcatcher, the no-nonsense boss, lots of grunts who – spoiler? – we needn't go into much detail regarding, and something unearthly which was either a monster to begin with, or has become one from being able to read our thoughts far better than even the world's most pervasive surveillance state could ever hope to match, and thus realised exactly what sort of world it's found and reacted accordingly. The story is by Jeff Loveness, who wrote most of the current Rick & Morty half-season; it has the nihilistic bleakness at Rick's heart, but none of the things that cushion him, let alone the laughs (maybe Loveness wrote it to keep that dark vein out of his system while he was working on his Ant-Man sequel script, which I can only presume will be lighter?). The artist, Lisandro Estherren (a name one can hardly say without a flourish) depicts it in a style which is a long way from pretty, but which suits this shabby, claustrophobic environment, the strange, destructive intruder, and the poignant visions of better possibilities, now irretrievable, which follow in its wake.

(Netgalley ARC)

4.3 ⭐ out of 5⭐.

Keyword: spy, horror, monster, science fiction, graphic novel

Thank you Netgalley for providing me arc of this book.

Strange Skies Over East Berlin tells a story about a spy inviltrating Germany to find out strange phenomenon hidden inside their wall. The plot is quite fast-paced and action-packed. The dialogues are meaningful, although some monologues a bit too poetic. The focus is more on the internal conflict inside the characters' mind instead of the problem going out in the story. I wish the writer would give more explanation about the problems because some times it feels confusing.

The artwork of Strange Skies Over East Berlin is magnificent, the brush strokes, the background, and everything else are beautiful. It's a blessing to the reader' eyes.

Recommended to those who like horror sci-fi graphic novel..

This graphic novel was an innovative and interesting blend of science fiction and philosophy. The central questions of the novel revolve around the nature of truth & lies. If our lives are built around lies, then who are we? The story also delves into love, loyalty, and duty. This thought-provoking story is enhanced by the gorgeous artwork. By the end of the novel, I felt that there was a sense of closure, but there are enough loose ends that I would like to read the next volume.

Despite all these positives, I was a little confused by the plot at first. I actually read it twice to try to figure out the allegiance of the main character, and even then I still wasn't sure. Then I read the back cover, where it divulged that he was an American. I wonder if I missed a clue within the story that would have told me that.

"It's so easy to lie to yourself. But none of that matters. Because eventually, you run out of lies. You always run out. And at the end of whatever lie you have told the most... the truth finds you."

An American spy in East Berlin. An extraterrestrial threat.
Herring is on an assignment to find out about the strange light that streaked past the sky and landed on East Berlin. The Stasi agents are everywhere and no secret is safe from them. So Herring pretends to be one of them, and finds out something terrifying. Far beyond his imagination. With his own guilt and disillusionment making him doubt his every step, will he escape? Or will his guilt consume him?
Strange Skies over East Berlin is a science fiction that ends up asking deeper questions - how far do our lies take us before we forget who we are. How far down the dark road we go before we become unworthy of redemption?
The story was good but its flow wasn't very smooth. At times it became repetitive. But I loved the artwork. It was fantastic! I don't get much access to graphic novels but this is one I will remember because it gives serious The Colour Out of Space (by H. P. Lovecraft) vibes! I recommend it for all those who love the classic scifi and especially those who, like me, also love art.
3.8 stars!
Thank you Netgalley for the e-ARC.

LINKS:
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/p/CBCyjNRAKbL/?igshid=1esq5h973zf1y
Wordpress
https://beasandbooks.wordpress.com/2020/06/05/strange-skies-over-east-berlin-3-8-5/

This was an interesting story. It starts out as a intriguing spy thriller and ends somewhere else entirely, but it's hard not to feel that the transition between the two is a little rushed. It almost seems like 4 issues is not enough time to fully explore the concepts presented here.

The art is really good, fitting the cold-war era setting beautifully before transitioning into something Other later on.

At parts, the story felt almost like The Thing approached from a more psychologically introspective position, viewed through a lens reflecting the panopticon of 70's era Berlin rendered psychedelically bright. (Did I mention I really liked the art style?)

Overall though, I reiterate that while I enjoyed the story and ideas on display here, spreading those ideas over a few more issues would have made for better pacing. As it is, it almost feels like the different issues are snapshots along a more complete timeline of the stories, rather than having them blend into each other.