Writer: Jeff Loveness / Penciller: Lisandro Estherren / Colour Artist: Patricio Delpeche / Letterer: Steve Wands / Designer: Marie Krupina / Logo Designer: Michelle Ankley / Editors: Eric Harburn & Gavin Gronenthal / Collects Strange Skies Over Berlin #1-#4 / TP / Boom! Studios.
12th August 2020
The Pitch: 1973. When a mysterious alien probe lands outside East Berlin and into Soviet control, the Americans send their top spy in to investigate. Herring has spent the entire Cold War infiltrating the inner circles of East German intelligence for a cause he barely believes in anymore. But as he gets ever closer to the truth, he may find that the power he seeks is too dangerous for anyone to control or contain.
It's always a trip reading stories set in the Cold War paranoia era, especially in these heightened times of world tension. It makes me think that at least people living in those eras knew who the enemy was. Knew what they wanted. The Berlin Wall was a clear demarcation line, a point of no return for your idealism. And also a point of infiltration. As the Stasi turned everyone in the populace into its spies, informing on their neighbours, that level of infiltration was absolute. But what happens when the infiltrators are themselves encroached on by something otherworldly? And then become victims of the ultimate infiltration – that of their minds and bodies – and succumb to control by other forces that they cannot fight?
THE CHARACTERS ARE FACED WITH SEEING WHO THEY REALLY ARE
'Strange Skies...' is a book that manages to be both a tale of alien invasion and a ghost story (two of the pillars of our geek culture, surely?). As the military officers and scientists at an underground bunker are quickly possessed, their memories, past sins and indeed, old ghosts are brought to light. The purpose of the invading force is never quite clear, almost in keeping with the way police states create confusion amongst their citizens to better control them, purpose gives way to action and after-effect. The 'why' doesn't matter. Just the damage done to get there. The book takes in the collective guilt of the GDR and exposes it. It's during this infiltration that you see the characters are faced with the worst possibility of all: seeing who they really are.
THE DIALOGUE IS CONCISE WHILST CONVEYING THE FULL EMOTIONAL WEIGHT OF THE INTENTIONS
Loveness’ writing is introspective and tight, especially considering he has only 88 pages in total to tell his story. He makes his dialogue concise whilst conveying the full emotional weight of the speakers’ intentions. Estherren's art and Delpeche's colours give the whole thing a 'Templesmith' aesthetic, whilst controlling the reader’s eye and acting of the characters well. Wands lettering is magic (yes, I went there), giving you a precise sense of tone and personality. I hope we'll see strange lights in the sky again soon, leading us to more of this team's work.
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