{"id":32897,"date":"2025-05-18T12:37:50","date_gmt":"2025-05-18T12:37:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/?p=32897"},"modified":"2025-05-18T12:36:21","modified_gmt":"2025-05-18T12:36:21","slug":"low-bowies-berlin-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/2025\/05\/18\/low-bowies-berlin-years\/","title":{"rendered":"Low: Bowie\u2019s Berlin Years"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"
\nBy Reinhard Kleist<\/strong>, coloured by Thomas Gilke & Reinhard Kleist<\/strong>, translated by Michael Waaler<\/strong> (SelfMadeHero)
\nISBN: 978-1-914224-28-7 (TPB)<\/p>\n

This book includes Discriminatory Content<\/strong> reproduced for literary and historical veracity.<\/em><\/p>\n

In recent years, graphic biographies have become a major component of many publishers fare – comics and otherwise – even as high end biopics, podcasts and \u201ctell-all\u201d TV series have similarly gripped consumers keen to get a little closer to the New Gods: celebrities of every shape and shade and ranking.<\/p>\n

This one – originally released in Germany by a pioneer and true master of the form – pushes the envelope on what exactly constitutes and defines documentary reportage with a sequel saga proudly, defiantly and fully uninvited, ruminating upon and deducing what might have been…<\/p>\n

A forcefully Un<\/u>authorised tale utterly unsanctioned by the Bowie Estate, Low: Bowie\u2019s Berlin Years<\/strong> is actually a sequel to, and continuance of Reinhard (Knock Out!<\/strong>, Johnny Cash: I See a Darkness<\/strong>, Nick Cave: Mercy on Me<\/strong>) Kleist\u2019s 2023 release Starman: Bowie\u2019s Stardust Years<\/strong>. That visual odyssey explored the origins of and subsequent early race for fame that gripped music-obsessed sax-playing Bromley boy Davy Jones<\/em> and how he perfected the art of reinvention. We\u2019ll get to that first book in due time…<\/p>\n

Here, however, a second speculative and allegorical deep dive reveals how – and possibly why – after almost self-destructing on the spoils of success and coming close to being destroyed by manipulators and exploiters, globally notorious Ziggy Stardust<\/em>\/David Bowie<\/em> briefly eluded the pressures of fame to enjoy temporary anonymity and explore creative freedom.<\/p>\n

Here the struggling auteur\/performance artist recreates himself in a blighted, beleaguered but broadly unbowed metropolis that was a thriving symbol of unfinished wars, the byword for the end of days and paragon of life lived on the edge and in the now…<\/p>\n

If you come to this book without prior knowledge of the history and players you might struggle with detail, but the gleefully potent, loose-limbed, energetically fantasmagoric yet understated art, careful juxtaposition of verifiable events and intense character interplay will carry most readers through the unfolding drama.<\/p>\n

Plotwise, this broadly true tale is one that has been told many times, with only the names and locations varying. We open in Berlin at the apex of the Cold War. It\u2019s 1976 and a burned out, dispirited Bowie is seeking somewhere he can shelter, refocus creative energies and map out a new direction in the grand show that is his life.
\n\"\"
\nThe relocation is aided and abetted by many long term house guests including former wife turned current goad & confidante Angie<\/em>, producer Tony Visconti<\/em>, PA\/fixer Coco Schwab<\/em>, collaborators Brian Eno<\/em>, Robert Fripp<\/em> and Marc Bolan<\/em>, and inseparable prot\u00e9g\u00e9\/soulmate Iggy Pop<\/em>, as well as increasing untrustworthy manager Tony DeFries<\/em> and others. The locale itself offers perfect inspirational distractions, including a wild club scene, non-judgemental neighbours, truly progressive new music (such as Tangerine Dream<\/strong>, Can <\/strong>and Kraftwerk<\/strong>), intoxicating cabaret star turned intimate associate Romy Haag<\/em>, the allure of anonymity and the frisson of living on the point of the spear and at ground zero for a seemingly inevitable nuclear armageddon…<\/p>\n

Oh, and when not cycling around a city whose thousand years of history call out to him, there\u2019s also sex and drugs and rock & roll…<\/p>\n

Amidst the tensions, distractions and constant philosophical musings – laced with gritty flashbacks and peppered with metaphorical fantasies and eerie appearances by space-suited conceptual b?te noir<\/em> Major Tom<\/em> – Bowie ponders and plays and evolves, eventually formulating a bold statement, culminating in a change of life path and musical goals as well as the artistic breakthroughs and triumphs of Low<\/strong>, Heroes<\/strong> (both 1977) and Lodger<\/strong> (1979)… the \u201cBerlin Trilogy\u201d…
\n\"\"
\nWith telling and informative appearances by contemporary influences\/pals like John Lennon<\/em>, Luther Vandross<\/em>, William Burroughs<\/em> (sort of), the lifechanging, alienating trauma of making and being The Man Who Fell to Earth<\/strong> and wry glimpses at the birth of Punk lensed against the popular tensions surrounding growing incidences of androgyny and transgender hostility, Low: Bowie\u2019s Berlin Years<\/strong> is as much a potent tribute to the city and its people at a key point in history as only a Cologne-born Berliner-by-choice could tell it. It\u2019s also a powerful reminder of those precarious times and how fashion, art and music helped us through the grimness of it all…<\/p>\n

The tale is augmented by a Gallery<\/em> of images encapsulating the man, the moments and his ever-present space-suited internal avatar…<\/p>\n

\u00a9 Text & illustration 2024 by Carlsen-Verlag GmbH, Hamburg, Germany. All rights reserved. English translation \u00a9 SelfMadeHero 2025. NBM for the English translation.<\/p>\n

LOW: Bowie\u2019s Berlin Years <\/strong>is scheduled for UK release May 22nd<\/sup> 2025 and July 8th<\/sup> in the USA. Both editions are available for pre-order now.
\n reserved. English translation \u00a9 SelfMadeHero 2023.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Reinhard Kleist, coloured by Thomas Gilke & Reinhard Kleist, translated by Michael Waaler (SelfMadeHero) ISBN: 978-1-914224-28-7 (TPB) This book includes Discriminatory Content reproduced for literary and historical veracity. In recent years, graphic biographies have become a major component of many publishers fare – comics and otherwise – even as high end biopics, podcasts and … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “Low: Bowie\u2019s Berlin Years”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[115,239,214,122,215,216,328],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-32897","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-biography","category-drama","category-european","category-historical","category-lgbtqia","category-lifestyle","category-music"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4AFj-8yB","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32897","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32897"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32897\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":32901,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32897\/revisions\/32901"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32897"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32897"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32897"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}