Atomic Blonde

Author : Anthony Johnston
Title : The Coldest City
Published : 29/05/2012
Pages : 176
Genre : Graphic novel, Spy thriller
Publisher : Oni Press

     November 1989. Communism is collapsing, and soon the Berlin Wall will come down with it. But before that happens there is one last bit of cloak & dagger to attend to. Two weeks ago, an undercover MI6 officer was killed in Berlin. He was carrying information from a source in the East - a list that allegedly contains the name of every espionage agent working in Berlin, on all sides. No list was found on his body. Now Lorraine Broughton, an experienced spy with no pre-existing ties to Berlin, has been sent into this powderkeg of social unrest, counter-espionage, defections gone bad and secret assassinations to bring back the list and save the lives of the British agents whose identities reside on it.

 

     This was a book I had been meaning to get my hands on for a while. Having watched the film I was curious to see how the source material would stack up. It's not often these days I pick up a graphic novel. I suppose it was something I grew out of. But every once in a while a story will cause me to go back. In this case, one filled with espionage and deceit. For the most part, I much prefer to read the book first. It usually takes some time to do it the other way around as knowing how it's going to end somewhat ruins my enjoyment of the book. 

                                                                        
     Broughton is sent to Berlin at the tail end of the GDR. She is bright and calculating. She feels very much like what you would expect of a real agent of the time. Focused solely on her mission she doesn't have much time for others. And tends to rub people the wrong way. but she very good at her job and does all she can to do what she came to Berlin for. I suppose you would call her cold, but I felt this was the part she needs to play to get things done. While there she works with station chief Perceval. He is generally angry for most of the story especially with Broughton who he feels shouldn't be there. He is everything you could imagine an eighty's British spy to be misogynistic and arrogant. James Bond, he is not.

                                                                            
     I found the story a great spy thriller. While the film is bright lights, gunfights and loud music. This plays out much more like a John le Carre novel. It pits our heroine against her counterparts in the KGB in a game of cat and mouse. This feels very old school in its way of dealing with spies of the cold war. The twists that come through in the book flow well as I moved my suspensions from one player to the next. I was questioning who was playing who. There are moments of action here but they a few and I felt it worked in the story's favor. This is much more about a battle of minds and who can outwit the opponent. I suppose in some way it felt like a game of chess between the battling superpowers of the day. Her time in Berlin is cut between her interrogation of events back home in England. Where in some case this would probably slow down the plot there is plenty of tension between Broughton and her superiors who are still trying to make up their minds as to whether they trust her version of events.

     As this is a graphic novel it would be amiss not to talk about the illustrations that accompany the story. These are provided by artist Sam Hart. They remind me very much of book from the eighty's. In that they are not overly complicated and fussy. his choice to do the whole book in black and white fits the story and in some ways reminded me of those from the Sin City books. Dark and gritty in some place they looked more like sketches than finished boards. But I enjoyed the style and felt it fit the story and setting well.

     I'm happy that I gave this book a go. It was a good way to spend a couple of hours one afternoon. It was good to go back to a more simple story of spy's without it getting too grand and up itself. There where certainly enough differences from the film to keep my interest. If you are looking for a quick read and a self-contained spy thriller this could be the one for you.