The Coldest City

Johnston and Hart’s 2012 graphic novel follows a British agent through late Cold War Berlin after a murdered operative and a missing list place multiple services on alert. The book was later retitled Atomic Blonde for a film-linked edition.

Its suspense grows from uncertainty about who controls the information and whether any ally’s account can be trusted. The historical moment adds pressure without needing a grand battlefield.

Cold War espionage and murder mystery drive a tense city-bound pursuit.

Hart’s stark black-and-white drawing uses faces, streets and negative space to build an atmosphere of doubt.