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15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Haunting Beginning, June 18, 2006
This review is from: DMZ Vol. 1: On the Ground (Paperback)
Imagine if the United States were to enter into a second civil war in the present time. With all the technology available today, such as large bombs, sniper rifles, and biological/chemical devices, what would happen to our country? Why would it happen? In this first volume of Brian Wood's new Vertigo series, DMZ, we only get a taste of what would happen, and we're still in the dark as to why.
Photojournalist intern Matty Roth received his dream assignment when he was picked to accompany a veteran reporter into Manhattan. What is so special about Manhattan? Five years after the start of the war between the United States and the Free States (described only as "New Jersey and inwards"), Manhattan has become a demilitarized zone (DMZ), or a no-man's land. Very few people remain on the island. Some of them are sentries from either army while most of them are poor and/or stubborn people who cannot or will not leave their homes. The island is in ruins; most of the skyscrapers have been destroyed, Central Park is a barren wasteland, and the chances of being picked off by a sniper while walking on the streets are almost 100%. Despite all that, the chance to go there and report on what's happening is the dream of any reporter.
Of course, things don't go as planned, and an explosion takes out the chopper that brought Matty to the island as well as the entire crew he was with. Matty is forced to find a way to survive on his own without the ability to be picked up. His cell phone and laptop allow him to communicate with his producer, and he decides that he might as well carry on his assignment. The things that Matty encounters while in the DMZ are equal parts horrifying, saddening, and at times, enlightening. As time goes on, Matty starts to think that maybe the things he had been hearing on the news back in the United States, and the nasty things said about the Free States, may not have been completely truthful...
These first five issues are amazing. They expertly set up a series that surely will get better as time goes on. While we don't get a lot of info about why the war started, we are given hints that some astonishing answers are to come. The gritty artwork is a perfect compliment to the dark tone of the series, which is superbly written by Wood. This is a great new series to jump into, especially since it is so relatively new. As usual, the Vertigo line has given us a great series that is provocative and intelligent. This is a must-read for comic fans and non-fans alike.
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10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Fails to deliver on fantastic potential, November 15, 2008
This review is from: DMZ Vol. 1: On the Ground (Paperback)
I think I was supposed to like this more than I did. After all, what's not to like? The premise is right up my alley. America at war with itself. New York has become an island in the midst of the war. The survivors have hacked out bits and pieces of a society - though anarchy all too often still reigns supreme. A young journalist is in the middle of it all, documenting the war in the midst of New York City and what the war is doing to the civilians there.
Sounds like a great concept. Exactly the sort of thing I'd like to read. So why did the first volume leave me wondering if I wanted to keep reading?
For all the praise Wood gets for this supposed love letter to New York City, I rarely got the sense of place I should have felt. One should be immersed in the city, yet that sense of being there was inconsistent.
Maybe it's the art. Riccardo Burchielli's style does not appeal to me, but that's something I can live with (even if all the characters are as ugly as sin). What I can't live with is rough storytelling. Burchielli draws a great cityscape, but his panel-to-panel work just isn't as clear and direct as it should be.
It doesn't help that the coloring is so muddy. Everything is washed out in a murky reddish hue, so few things really pop from the page. I understand the color choices, but this book really could have used more contrast in that regard. Maybe this is why the issue set in Central Park during the winter looked best.
There SHOULD be a lot to like here. Great premise, great world to explore, and in theory great things ahead. It falls just short of the mark, however. I'm hoping this improves, because there is a lot of potential in the premise.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Gritty, smart, dark fun, June 11, 2006
This review is from: DMZ Vol. 1: On the Ground (Paperback)
You may or may not know who Brian Wood is (yet), but if you are in any way interested in quality comic/graphic novel work, then it's a name you should remember. I have been reading his "Supermarket" series which I have found to be so completely fresh that I felt like I owed it to myself to check out DMZ.
"On The Ground" quickly establishes the scenario, environment, and characters in a terse manner in order to get the story rolling. The quickness of this establishment is aided by the use of a backdrop that is familiar to us all (the events of 9/11), the glazing over of explicit details of exactly how the United States came to be in the current state that Wood has put it in (which will allow for future exposition on the subject), and is a great way to put the reader in the passenger seat and hit the gas. This initial volume is fantastic in setting us up just enough to make the ride fun, and trickling details to us to keep our interest.
"On The Ground" introduces DMZ's main character, young Matty Roth, who is sent to the now-dangerous island of Manhattan as a journalism intern for an investigative news team. He quickly finds himself alone (with equipment) and left to his own survival instincts. Facing a strange world of constantly impending peril, Matt decides that making the best of his situation includes pushing forward with his journalistic intentions. Given this setup, Mr. Wood has created a world with nearly endless possibilites, and the "what-if coolness" of it is very reminiscent of Brian K. Vaughn's "Y: The last Man". I truly cannot wait to see what happens next.
Kudos must also be given to the visual creators of this series. The co-artists are Riccardo Burchielli and Brian Wood himself, and it's not 100% apparent as to how the rendering duties were divided, but what is apparent is that the art looks wonderful. The attention to detail in the post-apocalyptic urban scenes, as well as the various military units, really help to establish the mood and realism of the series. I found myself analyzing many panels, if only to read all of the crazy graffiti or check out the great-looking war machines.
This book was colored by Jeremy Cox who also deserves immense credit for aiding in the mood establishment. This book looks the way that I wish MANY other books with such serious subject-matter looked. It is dark, brooding, & mysterious. His choice of colors are more of a reflection of the real world, moreso than many other books in this medium often portray. Fantastic job on the colors, and I hope that Messieurs Wood & Burchielli know what a gem they have on their hands with Cox, as the book would not have had nearly the impact that it did in the hands of a lesser (or even different) colorist.
Overall, if you enjoy the graphic novel or comic medium, and are looking for a fresh story that isn't afraid to get ugly (some of the subject matter is very intense, which is again a testament to the attempt to make this thing as hypothetically realistc as possible), then pick up this book. I truly believe that it will at the very least find its way into the hallowed halls of Vertigo's elite books.
And that is saying quite a bit.
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