ComiXology Originals Announces Liebestrasse
An LGBTQ Graphic Novel Love Story About Romance in a Time of Fascism by Greg Lockard and Tim Fish
Available November 6th
November 5, 2019 – New York, NY – ComiXology, Amazon’s premier digital comics service, announces the original graphic novel Liebestrasse, an unforgetteable LGBTQ love story set in Germany during the 1930’s. This riveting story about two men who fall in love in the face of rising fascism marks the graphic novel debut of writer and comic book editor Greg Lockard, with art by co-creator Tim Fish (Cavalcade of Boys), featuring coloring by Héctor Barros and lettering by Lucas Gattoni.
In Liebestrasse, Sam, an American banker, meets Philip, a German art critic, while living and working in Berlin. The freedom of the Weimar Republic is over as the Nazis win power and their sweet, bilingual romance is quickly hit with an unspeakable reality as Philip is arrested and disappears. Sam desperately searches for Philip with the help of Philip’s sister and their friends. Eventually, the political situation around Sam has deteriorated enough that he is forced to return to the United States. Terrorized by the things he saw, Sam eventually returns to Berlin for answers as the post-war reconstruction begins in 1952. But his survivor’s guilt and shattered heart have sent him on a fool’s errand, the city (and the country/the world) have been forever and horrifically altered.
“There have been countless comics, books, films and television shows about Germany’s descent into fascism because it’s essential that these stories continue to be told,” said writer Greg Lockard. “The parallels between the rise of fascism in Germany and the current political atmosphere around the world should not be ignored.”
“After touring the campsite at Auschwitz, I sat on a bench in the Planty krakowskie outside the walled city of Krakow, in a surreal daze,” says artist Tim Fish. “To escape the horror I struggled to comprehend, my mind kept jumping back to the week prior while I visited the camp Theresienstadt. The Nazis had made a significant effort in maintaining the camp conditions and records in an effort to convince the Red Cross they were treating its inhabitants humanely. As a result, the camp museum contains dozens of biographies of its residents. While I was there, it became obvious to me who the gay men were. Instead of facts such as “had three children,” it said things such as “was active in the Berlin theatre.” Sitting in the Planty, I kept thinking of those men…how happy they were in a progressive and tolerant society, and how abruptly it ended. I drew several sketches of a couple, broken apart by the war…one German, sent to a camp, and one American, forced to flee Berlin.”
“Tim and I have been friends and collaborators for over 15 years and we co-created this graphic novel to shine a light on a troubling period of world history, from a perspective that will hopefully allow for new discussions and thinking,” said Lockard. “This is the story of two gay men in Nazi Germany, told by two gay comic creators living in America. We hope the story of Liebestrasse will resonate with readers everywhere.”
Liebestrasse began as a 12-page historical LGBTQ romance which the creative team self-published as a mini comic and debuted in 2018 at Thought Bubble in Leeds, England. Now, the entire graphic novel will be available as part of the comiXology Originals line of exclusive digital content on November 6th, timed to this year’s festival, at no additional cost to members of comiXology Unlimited, Kindle Unlimited and Prime through Prime Reading, and for purchase on Kindle and comiXology. Greg Lockard and Tim Fish will be at Thought Bubble, the UK’s largest comic art festival, taking place at the Harrogate Convention Centre November 9-10, 2019.
For more updates on comiXology Originals, check out http://comixologyoriginals.com.
About the Creators:
Greg Lockard is a writer, editor, and story consultant of comic books and graphic novels. His career began at DC Comics as a summer intern and he eventually joined the Vertigo imprint as part of the editorial staff in 2010. At Vertigo, he worked on a number of titles including: DIAL H, The Unwritten, FBP: Federal Bureau of Physics, Sweet Tooth, The Kitchen, Fables (and the spin-off series Fairest), American Vampire, 100 Bullets: Brother Lono and many others. In 2015, Greg moved on to pursue work as a freelance editor and writer. His current client list includes: Offset Comics, Einhorn’s Epic Productions and comiXology Originals.
Tim Fish is a comic book writer/artist with a day job best known for his gay romance series Cavalcade of Boys and its spin-off graphic novels. His short stories have been published by Marvel, Vertigo, Fantagraphics, Oni Press, and more.
About comiXology
ComiXology, an Amazon.com, Inc. subsidiary (NASDAQ:AMZN), is a revolutionary, cloud-based digital comics service. With content from over 125 publishers as well as thousands of independent creators from around the world, comiXology provides an unrivaled library of comic books, graphic novels, manga and bandes dessinées. The company’s first-in-class innovations include the exclusive Guided View technology which provides an immersive and cinematic reading experience and a new monthly subscription service. ComiXology is based in New York City, with operations in Seattle and Los Angeles. For more information, visit comixology.com and follow the company on Twitter, Facebook and Tumblr.
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