AVAILABLE AT THOUGHT BUBBLE!
Liebestrasse is a gorgeous mini-comic debuting at Thought Bubble this year uniting the talents of Tim Fish, Héctor Barros and Greg Lockard. The story is set in Nazi Germany and explores the obvious effect that politics had on LGBT+ individuals at the time. Liebestrasse opens with an intimate moment between lovers Sam and Philip, and the reader is led away from them and onto the street from which the comic takes its title.
The book notably highlights the contrast between love and hate with the colours becoming darker and less optimistic when hate surrounds the characters; as well as this their personal panel space gets interrupted giving the image of oppression. Colour is also used to portray a sense of hopelessness with faded sepia tones used to remove the character’s power. A sense of urgency is also created through the lettering – with the characters shouting short statements and phrases to increase the reading pace at particular points in the story.
Liebestrasse is interspersed with picturesque vibrant memories – the only time when the memories appear faded is when a character reflects on them after a considerable amount of time has passed by. The detail in the background is astounding, especially when the narrative is focused on memories. You can really get a sense of where the characters are and who they’re surrounded by, even characters who appear in the background for single panels seem to portray particular personalities.
This story emphasises the idea that historically not everyone gets a happy ending- and that things were unlikely to end positively due to societal prejudices. However, there appears to be a certain optimism throughout which I believe shows that just because a memory ends negatively doesn’t mean that there aren’t good moments worth remembering.
The back of the work contains pencils, inks and character design giving the reader insight into how the comic was made. When comics have sections like this I personally get very excited, and I’m sure other fans share the same feeling. Thought Bubble appears to be bursting with LGBT+ content this year so keep an eye out for this and dozens of other gorgeous LGBT comics.
Greg Lockard (W), Tim Fish (A), Héctor Barros (C), Poison Press
You can find Liebestrasse at Greg Lockard’s table at Thought Bubble – Ask for Mercy 42
