Linus Liu
Cat Mask Boy
Nakama Press, 2025
Unique novella that captures the mood of Cold war Berlin like no other - worth considering connecting publication in some way with 9th November anniversary of fall of the Berlin wall in '89.
Berlin before the fall of the Wall is a city divided, yet its ordinary residents find ways to live and survive on both sides. There is Robert, teller of barroom anecdotes over beer and vodka, adjusting to a new life in the west; Pommerer, trying to outwit the system in the east; the unnamed narrator, who 'escapes' back-and-forth to collect stories; his beguiling, exiled lover Lena; the three boys who defect to watch Hollywood films; and the man who leaps across the Wall again and again - simply because he cannot help himself.
All are, in their different ways, wall jumpers, trying to lose themselves but still trapped wherever they go. Ultimately, the walls inside their heads prove to be more powerful than any man-made barrier ...
About the Author
Linus Liu is an independent comic artist born in the last century. He is deeply fond of old Hong Kong, the city where he grew up. He has been drawing and creating for years, participating in projects that involve sketching, comics, animation, digital art, and more. His creative inspiration comes from daily life and his wild imagination. His publications include Cat Mask Boy, the illustration collection SHE and SHE REMEMBERS, the animated short Cat Mask Boy's Summer Holiday, and the comics "Timeless Encounter," which he co-created with Hong Kong Machines. He is also serializing a 4-panel daily comic strip called Gold Fish Cat. While researching for Cat Mask Boy, he experienced a sense of nostalgia, as if he had returned to those bygone days.