Babylon Berlin

This graphic novel adaptation of the first entry in Kutscher’s Weimar Berlin–set mystery novel series recalls a period noir, with a patina of cabaret decadence. Although the hero, disgraced homicide detective Gereon Rath, seems to be good at his job, he has another more important attribute: a propensity for getting into trouble. Reassigned to the Berlin vice squad from Cologne after killing a suspect, Gereon has barely gotten off the train when he’s wrapped up in a conspiracy involving a criminal ring of Russian emigrés and a pile of stolen gold that both the Nazis and the Communists want to get their hands on. Soon, Gereon is up to his neck in double-crosses and mysterious murders, not to mention fräuleins willing to tumble into bed. Save for the odd rough translation (some Berliners speak more like Bowery Boys), Jysch’s hard-boiled dialogue has the right level of sardonic bravado for this type of two-fisted tale, and his densely textured backgrounds neatly evoke the jazzy, debauched, and politically fraught environment of 1929 Berlin. This lightning-paced addition to Hard Case Crime’s genre series will garner attention from the recent Netflix premiere of the German television adaptation. (Feb.)