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1[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/81u6zmhrspl.jpg]]
2%%[[caption-width-right:350:some caption text]]
3
4-> ''[[TagLine "Enter a world at war."]]''
5
6''Block 109'' is a French AlternateHistory GraphicNovel series written by Vincent Brugeas and (initially) drawn by Ronan Toulhoat.
7
8UsefulNotes/WorldWarII kicked off in 1939. Then...
9
10UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler [[BoomHeadshot was assassinated]] in 1941, UsefulNotes/HeinrichHimmler took over the chancellery, UsefulNotes/ReinhardHeydrich became Reichsführer of the SS, and UsefulNotes/{{Berlin}} was rebuilt to Albert Speer's designs and renamed Germania. [[UsefulNotes/NaziGermany The Third Reich]] conquered [[AlternateHistoryWank Western Europe and most of Africa]], launched its "Ragnarok program" in 1942 and [[NukeEm massively nuked]] the [[UsefulNotes/TheUnitedStates USA]] and the UsefulNotes/UnitedKingdom [[DramaticIrony on May 8th 1945]]. Operation Barbarossa was launched in 1944 but the [[UsefulNotes/RedsWithRockets forces]] of the UsefulNotes/SovietUnion proved to be stronger than expected and ultimately repelled the German armies all the way to East Prussia. A new [[UsefulNotes/TheTeutonicKnights Teutonic Order]] was created (the symbol of which is a square pierced by an arrow). Himmler died in an "accident" in 1947 and was replaced by his right-hand, an ambitious officer named Zytek.
11
12Zytek rejected the title of "Führer" and now calls himself the "Hochmeister" (Grand Master, which is also his rank in the Teutonic Order), and he has an agenda of his own, which reaches its final phase in 1953 just as Germans are fighting a desperate battle against Soviet elite forces in the ruins of Marienburg, East Prussia.
13----
14!!Albums
15
16* ''Block 109'' - The first album. It was published in 2010 in a 200 pages small format, and it is basically the keystone of TheVerse. A "trailer" of sorts can be seen [[http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xbs84b_block-109-bande-annonce_creation#.UaSznkDDt0o here]]. A small {{prequel}} motion comic can be seen [[http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xdic17_geant-d-acier_creation?search_algo=1#.UZ4LDJyQn-8 here]], explaining the story behind the empty Panzermann featured in the album.
17* Several large format albums followed. They're all one-shot stories set in the same universe between 1944 and 1953 (some major characters of the first album appear in them at some points):
18** ''Etoile Rouge'' (2010) -- Follows two French pilots who fight in the Soviet air force onboard [=MIG=] jets fighters.
19** ''Opération Soleil de Plomb'' (2011) -- A German attempt to conquer DarkestAfrica goes South.
20** ''New York 1947'' (2011) -- A special German commando is sent into the ruins of UsefulNotes/NewYorkCity for a very secret mission.
21** ''Ritter Germania'' (2012) -- An actor playing Germany's [[PropagandaMachine propaganda superhero]] goes crazy.
22** ''S.H.A.R.K'' (2014) -- Something's afoot in a prisoner camp for Axis soldiers in Allied-controlled UsefulNotes/{{Australia}}.
23** ''Maruta'' (2016) -- An isolated Allied squad turns {{pirate}} against UsefulNotes/ImperialJapan's fleet and runs into a Japanese MadScientist.
24
25An {{omnibus}} titled ''Block 109: Univers'' was published in 2018, regrouping all of the stories in one single book and adding some new World War II-style poster artworks. It has a preface in which Vincent Brugeas explains he was done with the series, lacking inspiration and editorial possibilities and dedicating time to other projects (such as ''Chaos Team'', an adaptation of the Franchise/{{Conan|The Barbarian}} story ''Literature/BlackColossus'' and ''ComicBook/{{Cossacks|2022}}'').
26
27!!Tropes present across the series:
28
29* AllohistoricalAllusion: Too many to count. Some particular ones:
30** Hitler's death mirrors that of UsefulNotes/JohnFKennedy, of all things.
31** The Ragnarok Program is the Manhattan Project - research to get the [[NukeEm atomic bomb]]... only it's Nazi Germany's own.
32** The fierce [[UrbanWarfare urban battle]] of Marienburg is called "The Cauldron", like Stalingrad was.
33* AlternateHistoryNaziVictory: The comic is set in a [[CrapsackWorld particularly grim case]] "Nazi Victory" world where, ironically, Adolf Hitler's assassination early in the war made the whole thing ''worse''. After ThePurge, a new leadership takes charge, manages the early fronts much better, expands the war onto other continents, develops nuclear weapons, and wipes out most of civilization (although the war against USSR turns out just as hopeless for them as it was in real life actually, thus mitigating the "total Nazi victory" a great deal). By the end, after more than a decade of non-stop total war, [[StupidJetpackHitler Nazi science]] unleashes a ZombieApocalypse that drives the new German leader [[spoiler:(who is actually a MoleInCharge attempting to subvert the Nazi regime from within)]] to press the ResetButton for humanity as a whole.
34* ArtShift: The change from Ronan Toulhoat to Ryan Lovelock is noticeable in ''S.H.A.R.K'' and ''Maruta'' compared to the previous albums of the series.
35* BadassArmy: [[UsefulNotes/TheTeutonicKnights The New Teutonic Order]], armored soldiers who are enhanced by a SuperSerum.
36* CrapsackWorld: This might be one of the most worst case "[[AlternateHistory Alternate World War II]]" scenarios. Hitler is assassinated in 1941, leading to ThePurge and a more efficient leadership taking control of the Third Reich and focusing more on the west. The war expands to Africa, Asia, and South America. Then the Nazis develop atomic bombs and destroy most of North America. They finally declare war on the USSR in 1944 but get bogged down in a quagmire that still isn't resolved by 1953, by which time only 30% of pre-war humanity remains. Weapons used by [[StupidJetpackHitler both]] [[SovietSuperscience sides]] get increasingly high-tech and exotic, culminating in the Nazis unleashing a viral plague that creates a ZombieApocalypse. [[spoiler:Grand Master Zytek ultimately decides the best thing for humanity is to destroy every warring faction and restart civilization with a few selected people he gathered in the Block 109 bunker.]]
37* DayOfTheJackBoot: The Occupation of Europe by Nazi Germany lasts longer than in real life.
38* DifferentWorldDifferentMovies: Actress Zarah Leander became successful in Nazi Germany just like in RealLife, but she's in [[PropagandaMachine action propaganda movies]] like ''"Ritter Germania Against the Red Beast"'' instead of the dramatic and FemmeFatale roles she had in real life.
39* DirtyCommunists: USSR is portrayed as "the Red Beast" by Nazi propaganda.
40* TheEmpire: The Third Reich. And Japan, of course.
41* GenreShift: From war genre to horror and even FilmNoir.
42* GlowingMechanicalEyes:
43** When a Panzermann is activated, its eyes glow red.
44** Elite commandos of the Teutonic Order have [[Anime/JinRohTheWolfBrigade Kerberos Panzer Corps]]-like armors with red eyes.
45* GoodRunningEvil: [[spoiler: Zytek, Hitler's assassin, has climbed all the way to the top of the Nazi hierarchy.]]
46* {{Historical Domain Character}}s: Many historical Nazis and some Allied leaders show up.
47* HitlersTimeTravelExemptionAct: No time travel is involved, but the cardinal rule - don't kill Adolf Hitler - is broken. It caused ThePurge (see below) and a more efficient and devastating German take on the war against the Western countries, even though the war against the USSR turned almost just as hopeless as it happened for Germany in real life.
48* IwoJimaPose: The page's picture, with Teutonic Order soldiers instead of [=GIs=].
49* LoweredRecruitingStandards: Foreigners and women were conscripted in the German armies in 1951.
50* MakeItLookLikeAnAccident: After Himmler becomes Fuhrer, he is killed in an automobile accident several years later, obviously orchestrated by either of his CoDragons Zytek or Heydrich.
51* MegaCity: Berlin has become Germania, Hitler's dreamed metropolis.
52* {{Nazi Protagonist}}s: The whole series focuses on Nazi Germany's side of the war, except for ''Etoile Rouge''.
53* NoSwastikas: Himmler chose a new symbol for the New Teutonic Order, a [[http://www.bedetheque.com/Versos/Verso_116296.jpg square pierced by an arrow]].
54** Averted by Reinhard Heydrich. The SS kept the Swastika.
55* {{Proud Warrior Race Guy}}s: The Germans, symbolized by the New Teutonic Order.
56* ShownTheirWork: For instance, the movie ''Ritter Germania vs The Red Beast'' stars Zarah Leander, who was one of the biggest stars in Nazi Germany in real life.
57* SovietSuperscience: The Soviets got mechas and jet fighters too.
58* StateSec: There are actually two opposing ones within AlternateHistory Nazi Germany. The SS became Heydrich's personal organization after Himmler became Führer (Hitler was assassinated and everyone else in the line of succession was killed in the purge that followed), but Himmler also created the Teutonic Order as a rival organization led by an unknown officer named Zytek so that neither Heydrich or Zytek could become too powerful and depose him. This backfired when Himmler died in an "[[MakeItLookLikeAnAccident accident]]", and the Reich council promoted Zytek.
59* StupidJetPackHitler: [[CoolPlane Advanced jet fighters]], [[FutureCopter VTOL gunships]], [[HumongousMecha Panzermensch]], V6 cruise missiles... You name it.
60* SuperSoldier:
61** German propaganda portrays Ritter Germania like this.
62** The New Teutonic Order's SuperSerum makes the order's soldiers stronger, [[spoiler:but kills them within a few days. It was tested on Ritter in ''New York 1947'']].
63* WarIsGlorious: What the Nazi leaders continue to preach, much to Zytek's disdain.
64* WarIsHell: And how. The battles featured are basically meat grinders, just as World War II was in real life. Just add nuclear holocausts, StupidJetPackHitler, SovietSuperscience and a ZombieApocalypse.
65* WeWillWearArmorInTheFuture: New Teutonic Order soldiers wear armor, and Ritter Germania does as well.

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