A great start; brilliant idea, but ultimately wasted later

books:

	• DMZ Vol. 1: On the Ground Brian Wood Vertigo, 2006 - 128 pages average customer review:based on 22 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

How stories should be told.

When the militia groups finally go berserk, Manhattan island is caught in the cross-fire, and quickly becomes the 'DMZ'. For the first time since the war began, a journalist is dropped onto the island to see what's become of the inhabitants.

At least in this first volume, there's no pretense at a larger narrative - each issue is an 'interview' of sorts with some of the survivors, reinforcing the documentary feel of the collection.

The stories are creative, more than a little touching, fascinating and perfectly illustrated. Burchielli's modern, dirty and chaotic style is a perfect complement to the material.

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Hard-hitting graphic master work

DMZ is brash, violent and profane -- the reflection of the raw emotions of a once-great nation sunk into the depths of civil war. Into Manhattan -- the no man's land between two warring factions -- comes Matt Roth, twenty-something photo intern for the Liberty news organization. Finding himself alone in the wild and unpredictable DMZ, he survives by wit and instinct, trading on his press credentials for access and protection. The world that Wood and Burchielli create is dangerous, repellent and seductive. One must be a survivor among survivors or sink into a troglodytic swamp. In this volume Roth meets a freelance medic making the rounds after bomb blasts, a lone Marine AWOL from his unit and a gang of ecologists using violence to preserve what little remains of New York's flora and fauna. The action is fast, the dialog sparse (with loads of F bombs) and grittily realistic. The characters are colorful and varied, and the plot requires close reading and rereading to capture fully. A great addition to the library of anyone who loves the graphic novel form.

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A great start; brilliant idea, but ultimately wasted later

Aside from the war-based messages some readers might hang on (like or dislike), this graphic novel is full of interesting characters who are realistic given their surroundings. Each person holds a story that our protagonists lets blossom.

The creator has such a gem here, and it is a shame that in the proceeding volumes he throws all that away to go into this morality vs. business vs. military storyline. What makes this volume superior is the fact that each issue contained within is a separate tale of a person (or group) and how they have survived in the DMZ between two sides that don't care about the people living in it. This ranges from guerrilla-environmentalists, a sniper in love with an opposing forces sniper, and a nurse forced to be.

There are lines in the story that would make for great new stories, like the one about how no one knows what happens in the Empire State Building, as wanna-be snipers are tossed out. I want to know about that, not about corporate manipulation of the military.

Pick this one up, and maybe volume 4, but skip 2 & 3 entirely.

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Brian Wood's Vertigo debut doesn't disappoint

Brian Wood's modern war epic DMZ is one of Vertigo's best new titles and it all starts here. DMZ tells the story of Matty Roth, an idealistic young photojournalist who finds himself stranded in Manhattan, the titular "DMZ." In Matty's world, Manhattan has become a small stretch of land between the U.S. Military and the Free States Militia, a band of disgruntled American citizens from Middle America. The citizens of the DMZ are forced to live their lives while under the constant threat of war and death. Matty documents their struggle and becomes deeply involved in their fight for recognition. DMZ is an amazing book; while the first volume has a few small rocky patches, overall it is an engrossing read and the series just gets better from there.

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Fails to deliver on fantastic potential

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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reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

In the near future, America's worst nightmare has come true. With military adventurism overseas bogging down the Army and National Guard, the U.S. government mistakenly neglects the very real threat of anti-establishment militias scattered across the 50 states. Like a sleeping giant, Middle America rises up and violently pushes its way to the shining seas, coming to a standstill at the line in the sand ? Manhattan. Or as the world now knows it, the DMZ.

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