DMZ, Vol. 1: On the Ground

DMZ #1

by Brian Wood, Riccardo Burchielli (Illustrator), Brian Azzarello (Introduction)

Set in a near future where a second American civil war rages, a lone journalist is stranded in the middle of New York City, now a brutal no-man's-land. Mirroring current events, DMZ is an unforgiving look at what a 'war on terror' can do to a civilian population.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Fiction, War, Graphic Novels Comics, Comic Book, Dystopia

126 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

Brian Wood's history of published work includes over fifty volumes of genre-spanning original material.

From the 1500-page future war epic DMZ, the ecological disaster series The Massive, the American crime drama Briggs Land, and the groundbreaking lo-fi dystopia Channel Zero he has a 20-year track record of marrying thoughtful world-building and political commentary with compelling and diverse characters.

His YA novels - Demo, Local, The New York Four, and Mara - have made YALSA and New York Public Library best-of lists. His historical fiction - the viking series Northlanders, the American Revolution-centered Rebels, and the norse-samurai mashup Sword Daughter - are benchmarks in the comic book industry.

He's written some of the biggest franchises in pop culture, including Star Wars, Terminator, RoboCop, Conan The Barbarian, Robotech, and Planet Of The Apes. He’s written number-one-selling series for Marvel Comics. And he’s created and written multiple canonical stories for the Aliens universe, including the Zula Hendricks character.

Reviews

[Jan Philipzig · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's Civil War, Dude... Cool!

The premise sounds interesting enough: "With overseas wars bogging down the Army and National Guard, the U.S. government mistakenly neglects the very real threat of anti-establishment militias scattered across the United States. Like a sleeping giant, Middle America rises up, sparking a second American civil war."

The problem is this would not be a Brian Wood story if it wasn't seriously lacking in substance and trying way too hard to make up for it with hipster characters. We are not even told, for example, why those so-called anti-establishment militias are so angry with the establishment in the first place. In other words, what is this civil war all about? Doesn't matter, I guess, as long as the ruins of Manhattan look cool. Protagonist Matty Roth sums it up nicely: "When it's not fucking terrifying around here, it's kinda cool." Matty's love interest, Zee (there's a typical Brian Wood name for you), expresses similar sentiments a few pages later: "Pretty cool," which causes Matty to think: "Yeah, what a fucking understatement."

In short, we have no idea what this war is all about, but we do know that it looks very cool indeed. No surprise then that Zee, who has been living in war-torn Manhattan for years, sports a fashionable and well taken care off punk-meets-rasta haircut, a clean and very hip jacket, etc. Forget politics, dude: subcultural style is what it's all about! Yawn...

[Jeff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Under the backdrop of an American Civil War between the U.S Government and the Free States, Manhattan is now a no-man’s land. Enter Matty Roth, photo journalist-intern who gets stranded in NYC. The island is an armed camp divided and subdivided by neighborhoods, streets and buildings. Colorful characters roam freely.

This has an Escape From New York meets Mister Rogers Neighborhood vibe as Matty explores NYC and meets up with a variety of armed and dangerous characters.

Mr. Rogers: Hi neighbor. I like that gun. It’s big.

Armed thug: It’s a howitzer. How did you get passed the Dobermans and machine gun nest?

Mr. Rogers: Does it make a loud noise when you fire it?

Armed thug: Of course it makes a loud noise… What the hell’s wrong with you?

Mr. Rogers: I like those. They look like small pineapples.

Armed thug: They’re called grenades and they make a loud noise too.

Mr. Rogers: That’s special.

Armed thug: Ya know, it’s kind of lonely on guard duty. I like you, pal. I have something to show you.

Mr. Rogers: Is it special?

Armed thug: Yeah, it’s very special…

*sigh*

This is a well-written and capably illustrated series, whether I jump into it with Volume 2, remains to be seen.

[Felicia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ok, I dunno if this was the tipping point in my education, but this was the FIRST graphic novel that actually sucked me in similar to how I immerse myself in novels. I really think it was the art that instantly hooked me. I am relieved, because I thought I would never "GET" graphic novels, but this one I HAD to know what was gonna happen next, I really was interested in the characters (and cared about them for once) and the world really drew me in. I love loved it, and I will be instantly purchasing Vol 2.

[Oscar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Escape from New York vibes!

[Adam · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was OK, but based on all the rave reviews I was expecting something more. I like the basic concept of DMZ, and will probably continue to read more of it, even though I wasn't crazy about the first volume (which comprises the first five issues of the DC/Vertigo series).

DMZ takes place in Manhattan in a near future in which Middle America (a.k.a. "The Free States") has declared war on the rest of the country (a.k.a. "The United States of America") and pushed east all the way through to New Jersey. Brooklyn, Queens, and Long Island remain part of the U.S., while Manhattan (a.k.a. "the DMZ") is filled with American troops, "insurgents," and civilians. This is potentially really interesting, but the writer, Brian Wood, gives the reader absolutely no background on this "second civil war," or what led up to it. All we know is that it's been going on for about five years. While the idea may have been to leave the reader as much in the dark as the book's main character--callow photo intern Matty Roth--ultimately I found this really frustrating, and it only served to keep me at arm's length from the story. Also, since Wood's depiction of war is fairly grade-school (soldiers in the book actually use the term "Sarge") I wasn't convinced that this obfuscation was deliberate. Rather, I felt that Wood really didn't have any good conception of what his second civil war was about, but just used it as a convenient excuse to turn Manhattan into a war zone. (There are vague hints that the "Free States" are a collection of militias rebelling against the current doctrine of pre-emptive war, but the idea that homegrown militias would be able to take over the majority of the United States seems like pure hokum.)

There are plenty of allusions in DMZ--to the current war in Iraq, to post-Hurricane Katrina New Orleans, to any number of ongoing bloody civil wars--but to what end? Wood doesn't seem to have much to say beyond the obvious: bombings kill and maim indiscriminately; war can strip people of their humanity; even during war humanity and goodness can sometimes prevail. This is all pretty basic stuff, and it would go down easier if the characters and situations were more interesting. The world he and artist Riccardo Burchielli have created looks great, but it's peopled with two-dimensional characters who spout sophomoric dialogue. And I never really found any of it convincing.

[James DeSantis · Rating 3 out of 5]

So years ago I tried this series and didn't like it at all. Now that I read a lot more Brian Wood stuff and enjoyed a lot of it I decided to try this series again. Is it good? Well...

Matty Roth, our main hero, is stuck in a battleground. On his first mission as a intern he enters the city only for most of his crew, well all of it, to be killed. No spoilers, this happens in the first 15 pages, and the rest of the story is him remaining in the city trying to be a journalist. Through the various next few issues they are mostly standalone type stories that he covers and range between political intrigue or more personal issues for our main character.

Good: I appreciate the art here, everything is easy to follow, and it works real well to give a different atmosphere. Despite dialogue or wordy script it's still really intriguing and interesting throughout for the most part. Matty is a normal dude stuck in a shitty situation and so it makes for a solid story if nothing else.

Bad: The dialogue could be a bit over the top and every single person really loves the word "fucking" which, so do I, but damn...every character? No way. Also, the way the story progresses I don't feel the sense of urgency throughout despite them being in a warzone. Like, something is missing, I can't quite put my finger on it.

Overall, it's good, better than what I previous thought, but didn't get attached to any characters yet. I'll see how it progresses as I read more. A 3 out of 5.

[Brandon · Rating 3 out of 5]

In the not-too-distant-future, a new civil war has erupted between the United States of America and the secessionist Free States Army. Both factions have declared the island of Manhattan a Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), leaving those inside to fend for themselves. An intern with Liberty News Network, Matty Roth, has elected to live in the zone and document life inside the war-torn Big Apple.

As the opening trade in a lengthy series, On The Ground does a great job establishing the conflict, as well as key figures on both sides of the battle. It presents life in Manhattan as a day-to-day struggle for citizens who reside within the martial law style society. Although it takes Matty time to establish meaningful relationships and to develop true trust in those offering a helping hand, once he does, he begins to show backbone and discovers the immense power he holds in swaying the public’s perception of the war; a perception that has been skewed by the men and woman behind Liberty News.


The only real issue I have after putting down volume one is with Matty Roth. I get that Wood wants to present Roth as a sort of “fish out of water” but as a character, he’s hard to get a handle on. His behavior is erratic and his view is constantly changing – almost too much – to the point where it’s difficult to believe Roth truly believes in anything, which of course raises the question as to why he’s even sticking around to begin with.

I believe the series truly has something special here and I’ll be sticking around for the next two trades at the very least. We’ll see where it goes from here.

[J.G. Keely · Rating 3 out of 5]

It seems odd to me that the latest batch of 'sophisticated', 'mature' titles so often leave little to the imagination, as if the reader cannot be trusted to arrive at their own conclusions. It's a shame to see such a lack of subtlety in a medium which responds so well to a light, suggestive touch. I don't want to be one of those guys who talks about how 'the old days were better', but I just find most newer titles to be lacking in depth and complexity.

In the book's opening, there is a shot of the main character in front of a wall, on which are scrawled dozens of little conflicting bits of graffiti, and one of the prominent phrases is 'every day is 9/11!', a clear reference to the state of the long war the comic depicts. It's not a bad touch, and it's expressive--it suggests a larger, troubled world. I was pleased to see it, imagining that Wood had learned a lesson from Moore: control every piece of the frame, make the little details tell your story.

But then, as the scene continues, we find the character sitting and staring as we zoom in until the tagged phrase fills the entire panel. Overall, that was my problem with DMZ: nothing is ever left for the reader to discover for themselves, everything is stated outright, often in the main character's narration, which is such a bland and unsubtle way of getting the point across. It's bad enough in your average novel, but doing it in a comic means completely ignoring the potential of images to communicate.

Again, later, we are ensconced in a beautiful winter scene with very little color, with a group of men dressed all in white who think of themselves as the saviors of Central Park. I was enjoying the symbology until the main character, in another random extended soliloquy, reveals 'It's not that black and white. But try telling these guys that'. It rather ruins the effect of subtle visual metaphors if you just come out and explain them--in simple black and white.

Again and again, I felt that I, as a reader, was not trusted to make sense of the world on my own, but had to be lead through by the hand--which is how the main character goes through the plot. In the beginning of each story, he will be knocked out or injured or incapacitated, then wake up in the care of someone inexplicably nice and helpful for the middle of a warzone, who will then wander around and carefully explain what's going on. After this, he will go through his internal monologue and explain to us the implications of everything we were just told.

At one point, the character tells us that people have begun to recognize him, and know him by reputation. Why Wood didn't just show us a few characters actually doing these things is beyond me. It wouldn't have taken any more space to add that into the panels, after all. Once again, I am made to recall one of the paramount rules of writing: telling the story is not the main character's job, it's the author's.

The art is respectable, though I find the main character strangely more cartoonish than anyone else in the book, and some characters have goofy, 'cool' looks right out of a Final Fantasy game. I found some of the use of photoshop color effects muddied things, like the way that flame tended to be blurred out with low-opacity orange--a common technique in modern comics, but one which is hard to do effectively, without losing the cleanness of the lines.

The setup for the story is right out of the Snake Plisskin movie Escape From New York, where NYC has become a warzone and our protagonist is flown in under fire, where he must try to survive while doing his job. The actual structure bears a closer resemblance to Ellis' Transmetropolitan , with a rebellious, truth-seeking reporter who is out to 'expose the truth', no matter the consequences. But, while the internal narrative of Transmet's Spider Jerusalem is complex, funny, wry, and raging, the reporter in this story just repeats what we have already been shown.

But, for all its flaws, at least it isn't simply stupid, like Fables , or too wacky to maintain its plot, like Exterminators or Fear Agent , or full of nonsensical characterization, like Y: The Last Man, or politically overwrought, like The Nightly News , or obsessively 'badass' like Scalped . The plot and characters are present, it's just the presentation that is lackluster.

If Wood is able to pick up the pace, streamline his stories, and let the depth bring up the rear instead of pasting it on the front, this could be a good book. Otherwise, it'll just dwindle, like The Walking Dead, into a rehash of the same character types and themes until it becomes an aimless soap opera with vague aspirations to a social message.

My Suggested Reading In Comics

[Sam Quixote · Rating 2 out of 5]

America goes through another civil war and the line is drawn on the Eastern seaboard, the de-militarised zone is the island of Manhattan. Matty Roth, an intern for a popular news outlet, is sent to the DMZ to assist the seasoned reporters collect stories but his group are ambushed and he finds himself the sole survivor. He decides to stay and do what he can in documenting the lives of the surviving peoples on Manhattan. Welcome to DMZ.

I think Vertigo put out the best comics series out there and have a long line of successful books to point to but I'm afraid DMZ isn't one of them. The "war is hell" theme is done to death and Brian Wood and Riccardo Burchielli's sanctimonious way of telling this story with a "this sh*t needs to be told!" tone is way off the mark. There are comics out there by the likes of Joe Sacco which covers actual real life conflicts and are far more worthy of your time than this poorly conceived series.

The framing device of the everyman stuck in a dystopian Manhattan in an unlikely conflict is a weak one as Wood tries to fit his dull storylines of warring factions into this setup and, frankly, the storylines aren't great. A group of survivors maintaining a zoo, a scumbag who steals Roth's press pass, soldiers killing innocent civilians - I'm sorry but the dystopian future angle is really overworked these days.

The whole series feels like a 2000AD/Warhammer (remember "Necromunda"?) throwback that doesn't provide an interesting enough storyline nor original characters or situations that haven't been done better elsewhere. Overall I found it a book trying far too hard to be cool and hipster-ish, and way too preachy on the subject of anti-war. Ok I get it, I'm not pro-war either, but this comic is going to have zero effect on peoples' attitudes.

A dull book with some good artwork, this is one series I'm stopping at after the first book. Brian Wood's done better work elsewhere with his other Vertigo series "Northlanders" which I highly recommend.

[Joseph · Rating 1 out of 5]

Given away (to Craig?)

I picked up this book (and the second volume) based on reading a couple very positive reviews, but when push comes to shove, I'm not too terribly impressed with it.

It's a neat idea, certainly. America is in the midst of its second civil war, and New York is right on the dividing line between the federal government and the Free States movement, with Manhattan serving as the titular demilitarized zone. But despite the many glowing reviews from a variety of major news sources on the back cover, the concept never seems to gain any traction or relevance.

I can see why they wouldn't want to get bogged down in the background of how the civil war came about or what the two sides are fighting for: it's a distraction, it makes the allegory too specific, etc., but there's also nothing in the comic that makes it really a story about New York or America. There needs to be some sort of reason behind everything that's going on. There are snipers in the buildings and suicide bombers aplenty, but there's nothing to make this American, no matter how many NYC landmarks get thrown into the mix. All you end up with is a story about Baghdad, instead of a story showing how easily New York could become Baghdad.

So all we get is a series of short stories about an intern-turned-photo-journalist running from one set of explosions to another, while every atrocity he witnesses is just explained away as "life in the DMZ."

If I sound bitter, it's because this seems like such a wasted opportunity. As is to be expected, this book makes me think of 9/11, and specifically, the subtle and strange ways in which people and society changed as a result. The process of those changes make for an interesting story, but all DMZ gives us is the result.

[Seth T. · Rating 4 out of 5]

A hundred million years ago, when I was in high school, I thought war was cool. And maybe even rad. I read stories of warriors from prior eras and about the glory and honour found in a battlefield death for a good cause. I licked my chops in adulant glee while devouring films like Red Dawn and Edge of Darkness. The thought of dying and killing for the good of the homeland was a relishment. I was, in fact, a moron.

Sure, I had been sold a bill of goods, the lie that war is glorious and that dying for nation is an honour. But I was a kid with above average intelligence. I should have known better. I should have seen myself being led by the nose, reacting irrationally to the chummed waters of nationalist propaganda. But I didn't. I believed in military power. I believed in America. I believed in the honour of combat. I believed that it was entirely within our national rights to bomb those who would make American living inconvenient.



I actually said at some point that we should just nuke the Middle East and solve all our problems. I believed in Hiroshima and Nagasaki—and I loathed those revisionists who would suggest the Enola Gay to be anything other than necessary. I was xenophobic and intolerant and blind to the fact that people are people. I hate that there was a time when I was ever this person. And I hate that I lived in a society that would encourage me to have been this person that I hate having been.

Which brings us to DMZ.

At some point in the near future, due an increasing number of unpopular presidential decisions, a movement arises in Middle America demanding the right to secede. Various militia groups join up and soon, within the very borders of the American society, a new American nation begins to take shape. Soon, America plays host to a second civil war—one between the establishment United States (and its Foxish media mouth, Liberty News) and the hillybilly-chic Free States. The Free States make rapid progress toward the East Coast and soon are on the edge of Manhattan, where they come to a sort of stalemate with US forces. Manhattan, whose population has been cut by two thirds, is the new battleground—a demilitarized zone where combat occurs despite (and often to spite) a variety of truces and ceasefires in effect. Manhattan is the DMZ. An easy place to die.



Where DMZ is so successful is in its ability to bring readers a sense of what it might be like to inhabit such a terrible place and circumstance. Wood certainly concerns himself with the military operations that terrorize the city and the political monsters (a.k.a. ideologies) that command those operations and the media machines that justify such monstrosities—but that's not what he's all about. Instead, the first and foremost object of Wood's attention is the citizenry, the people who never have voice enough in these blasphemies of humanistic endeavor.

Part of the power of DMZ for Western readers (or at the least for Americans) is that the victims are people we know. They are ours and they are innocents. They are doctors, nurses, teachers, mothers, first-responders, artists, architects, and small business owners. They were minding their own business. And, most importantly, they are Americans.

One of the great obstacles between the average American and empathy is our inability to imagine ourselves in the shoes of anyone who doesn't share our privilege and power and history and social evolution. Maybe it's our geographical isolation. Maybe its that we miraculously came out of WWII as the super power (fn1) and hadn't the understanding of world affairs not to abuse that. Maybe it's that Manifest Destiny has been grilled into our psyches since grade school—even though most of us don't actually believe in any such thing as divinely orchestrated fate. Maybe it's that we're still too white, Protestant, and privileged as a whole people. Whatever the reason, when we hear of the plight of those in other DMZs, we struggle to care. Or maybe we don't even struggle. Maybe our apathy is so great that we can't ever even get to the point of realizing there's something to care about. It's a good thing then that Matty Roth exists in the DMZ.



Matty, the series' protagonist, is a wish-to-be photojournalist who gets an assignment to shadow a popular newsman on a forray into the DMZ. Their helicopter gets shot down and Matty is the only survivor. Suddenly, by no design of his own, he is an embedded journalist in the middle of a warzone—and the new voice of the people of New York, whether they want him to be or not. While he tries to understand both the Manhattan that was and the Manhattan that is, we see that he hopes to be a part of the Manhattan that will come to be. Matty's struggle for survival is the story of the people's own daily challenge. There are the combatants of the greater war that always threatens to spill out onto the streets. There are the Blackwater-esque contractors in place to rebuild the damaged city who cause more trouble than they solve. There are the tribal kingdoms that arise from neighbourhood to neighbourhood, each fiercely protective of their claimed territories. There are the individuals who begin to crack under the strain of anarchy and the constant threat of death or torture. And none of these are in place for the good of the citizen.

It's horrible, really.

After I graduated from high school, I read a little more. I travelled a bit. I became friends with people whose families did not hail from Orange County or California or even anywhere in the US-held territories. I encountered the internet when the World Wide Web became a thing. And gradually, piece by precious piece, the paradigm of power and violence I previously cherished fell apart. It crumbled under its own weight and inability to express anything that coordinated with the world as I came to know it. I became repulsed by my prior naivete and arrogance. I grew, I think, and matured. Because my mind was cleared of certain barriers, my heart was given a chance to understand, to empathize. It was a too-long process of maybe a decade.

But if DMZ had been around back then, I might have saved myself several years.



Note
I haven't really spoken to the actual quality of the craft that goes into the telling of Wood's tale. By and large, the production is pretty top-notch. The writing and plotting are strong. Wood presents largely believable situations that reflect the kinds of stories we already may be aware of from the Iraq disaster of the last decade. The art too is almost always suitable and well-fitting with the cacophony of the DMZ. I'm not any kind of native New Yorker (fn2) so I can't speak to the accuracy of its depictions of streets and neighbourhoods, but it looks enough like the New York in my imagination to sell the story.

If I have one complaint about the series, it's that when Matty takes on a change in character around the halfway point of the series (during the Parco campaign), I didn't feel the writing justified the abruptness of the shift. I never felt comfortable that the Matty of the first half of the series would so immediately become this new Matty. I'm not complaining too much though, because the shift whether earned or not does take the story in an engaging and worthwhile direction. So there's that.

Footnotes
1) This is probably largely due to our geographic isolation from the actual two battlefronts of the war.

2) I'd been there once, at 2am, and my experience was decidedly negative.
________________________

[Review courtesy of Good Ok Bad.]

[Tanabrus · Rating 4 out of 5]

Attualissimo, a distanza di quindici anni.
Forse mai attuale come ora, visto quanto successo tra fine 2020 e inizio 2021...

Gli USA sono in piena guerra civile, divisi in due parti in costante conflitto tra di loro.
E in mezzo è rimasta l'isola di Manhattan, la DMZ dove il protagonista, uno stagista fotografo, si ritrova catapultato. Unico superstite della troupe inviata sul campo per fare riprese esclusive (ed eliminata in tipo venti secondi).

Così scopriamo insieme a Matty la realtà che è la vita nella DMZ, dove le uniche regole vigenti sono quelle che ogni isolato si è dato e riesce a far rispettare.
Vita sui tetti dei palazzi, lontani da cecchini e rischi di violenze.
Cecchini disertori che fanno da sentinelle per la popolazione.
Medici che cercano di fare miracoli, famiglie distrutte e mutilate dai bombardamenti (altre scene che sono ormai quasi più attuali ora che nel 2006, dopo dieci anni di guerra in Siria).
Guerriglieri pronti a tutto, patriottismo e sopravvivenza che vanno a braccetto.

L'arroganza e la violenza dei militari, la guerriglia dei ribelli.
E in mezzo le vite dei civili, costretti a convivere con la minaccia costante della morte, con le bombe e i proiettili, con cecchini e attacchi mirati.


Probabilmente non avrebbe fatto male un capitolo introduttivo che creasse nel lettore le stesse aspettative che ha Matty al momento di partire per questa missione (come vive lì la popolazione? Mangiano topi e piccioni per sopravvivere? Ci sono terroristi appostati su ogni tetto?), ma è un'opera d'impatto, sono curioso di vedere le situazioni che Matty ci mostrerà nei prossimi volumi.

[Joni · Rating 3 out of 5]

Relectura para terminar los 12 tomos que compilan esta serie, había llegado a leer unos cinco o seis hace cosa de dos años así que arranco de cero.

Dmz tiene una premisa tan ficticia que me desencaja, pero cediendo en este elemento el resultado es genial. Se plantea una guerra entre la isla de Manhattan y el resto de Usa, una locura bastante irreal, ahora superado esto se crea un ambiente tremendo de supervivencia de esta gente tan particular que son los neoyorquinos.
Para este primer numero prefiero no spoilear por donde va la trama así que mas adelante entraré en detalle.
En tanto al arte está bien, el estado de guerra y desidia permiten un dibujo mas sucio, crudo, colores opacos.
Adelante con esta gran obra.

[Ill D · Rating 4 out of 5]

Surprisingly prescient with all the CHOP (the autonomous zone formerly known as CHAZ) stuff going on, Brian Wood’s ‘07 leftist revolutionary fantasy enjoys a well earned fresh read for our chaotic times. What happens to a pasty faced and naive journalist who finds himself dumped into a war zone that is the recently civil war enflamed New York? Read to find out but, Mr. Woods (at least for this volume) has a penned a solidly enjoyable read of a modern Dante, with a Beatrice to boot, sandwiched in the mix of the times that seem not all different from the here and now.

So just like the protagonist himself we’re tossed into the existential dread of our own lives of narrative as well. Yet while we know what’s preceded our current happenstance (amnesiacs need no apply), we’re caught in a real flux here with little to no background for the current conflict at all. All we know is that guns are rattling, bodies are dropping, and the entirety of New York is severed from the Nation at large and under siege by the Feds. While this misty approach serves itself purpose for this volume its efficacy wanes as the series goes on.

Anyways, for all of Wood’s obvious political proclivities, there’s a relatively even-handed approach here. Just as we saw recently in CHOP, getting rid of the police doesn’t magically improve society. Nor does separating one’s community from the government at large hardly produces a utopia in the here and now. And perhaps most damnable, the very innante flaws of human nature still real their ugly heads no matter the structure of the mechanisms and organizations esconing it. In Wood’s dystopic New York, no matter the emanations of the voluntary and self-sacrificing, the set and setting is uncompromisingly bleak and teeth-gnashingly gritty for those willing to survive.

Read. Relate. And enjoy.

[Estevam (Impish Reviews) · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's decent, the art is pretty good and the story is quite nice. I like the Civil War environment and it gives the vibe of a journalist stranded in a war-zone, the characters are decent our main boy Matthew is okay, I guess, he is nothing amazing in terms of a character not noteworthy. I would say the one that steals the show is Zee, she would be an awesome main character, much more interested in her than Matthew she has the brave yet irreverent energy that I quite like in a character.

[Arturo Del Rosal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good but no great.
Promising story, we will see how it develops.
I liked the art.

[Matko · Rating 3 out of 5]

There's something quite American in fantasizing about total destruction of known social environment. The amount of dystopian YA fiction these days is staggering. That's not to say that DMZ is somehow a YA book, but it still follows the same logic. Within the context of present-day US culture, concept of full scale war on domestic soil is a terrifying one. Popular culture knows this and milks it well. It stands to reason, seeing as the last time that happened was during the Civil War. For rest of the world...for parts of the rest of the world, this concept is not so dreadful. Urban warfare, paramilitary troops, regular troops and dogs of war are just another Tuesday. You can't even write good prose about it anymore. It's all been done to hell. You can read DMZ in that precise key. With our journalist hero Matty Roth representing young-blood, “naive” US and people living in Demilitarized Zone representing, well – people living in the demilitarized zones across the globe. Depending on where you're from, and how old are you, you can identify with both sides. It's a boy meets world narrative once again but this time, this time it's something completely different. Or it isn't?

There's an apparent lack of novelty in DMZ. In a sense I get it. Get the difficulty of writing yet another dystopian war tale and being somehow different about it. But that's not the kind of novelty I find missing from DMZ. Whatever real-life influences Brian Wood is drawing from, he's still writing a fictional work. Sadly, there's not much fiction, or better – imagination in this particular piece. DMZ reads as a “real” war tale, incidentally placed within the framework of fictional Civil War 2, and as a “real” war tale it's sort of bland. Predictable. With expected motifs, expected characters, familiar ethical gray areas and so on. While reading this, Sacco and Ortiz came to mind and never left. If I wanted to read “real life” presentation of life during the times of War I could've read any of the Sacco's work. If I wanted to read a hard-boiled survival tale placed in the context of total destruction of social environment, I could've read Ortiz's “Hombre”. DMZ doesn't stand up to any of this and these are just a few examples from top of my head.

There are hints of creation still. As the one in almost obligatory love story between soldiers from two warring sides. The bit about female and male solider exchanging love letters on piece of cardboard, having hissy fits punctuated with gunfire, all the while being miles apart, looking at each other through the scope of high-tech sniper rifle, was just one such bit of imagination I'm sad not to have seen more of. While quite bland, first TPB of DMZ offers a hint of promise. War theater has been set, lines have been drawn, back-story is still unexplored and now it all depends on how well these will be utilized in following volumes.

Artwork is quite nice (and for people from NYC maybe even more dark and thrilling than for the rest of us) maybe a bit, as my wife would say, too brown, graphical storytelling is clear and easy to follow, characters are human and the emotion is finely handled. If you boil it down to bits, it's a dark tale about dark and familiar world. A tale which sometimes tries too hard, a tale which sometimes strikes a pose, a tale which sometimes plunges neck deep into drama with capital D, but a tale which can yet be salvaged. I'll be reading the second volume just to see where it will go from here.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a great concept - something right out of a movie John Carpenter should have made. DMZ is ongoing series about life on Manhattan island during the second Civil War - this one a battle between the Free States (everything from New Jersey inland) and the United States (now just Brooklyn, Queens, and the rest of Long Island).

This is story of Matty Roth, a kid with connections in the still strong US media, getting a job as a cameraman for a Pulitzer prize winning journalist. Matty is left behind, after the whole crew is killed, and he deals with life in a war zone, life during wartime.

The surprising thing - or maybe it isn't surprising - is despite all the bombed-out buildings, the snipers on every roof, and the lack of a comprehensive infrastructure, there is still a thriving community on the island. Now, whether any of this is realistic, I do not know, but Brian Wood writes with such precision and Burchielli shows the city in such detail - the sweat, the grime, the frames of enormous granite hulks, the refuse, the whores, the vigilantes, and of course, the military - that the question of realism becomes pointless. Certainly the claustrophobia and fear - and even more so the complete outrage - that Matty feels are real.

The first five issues of the series, here collected as On the Ground show Matty's orientation with the city. He meets Zee an independent medic, someone who convinces him that anything he thinks about war and war zones is wrong. He stays because she shows him that both sides are bombing innocent people. Zee loses faith in him, though and Matty is loosed on the city on his own. He is afraid. But at every turn there is someone willing to help him, still a member of the press, for their own ulterior motives. There's a group of environmentalists who've created a forest underground in Central Park, who kill forages(or de-foresters) whenever they get a chance. And the only bad guys are the military command. It's the same old story of generals in clean, safe rooms commanding their men to kill or be killed. But this time it's presented in such an enthralling, battered urban environment, through such interesting storytelling devices that it all seems new.

[Vigneswara Prabhu · Rating 4 out of 5]

America is going through its second civil war, the country split between the US Government and the FSA, the Free States. And lying smack in middle, is the demilitarized zone previous known as New York. This is the setting of Brian Wood & Riccardo Burchielli's DMZ, Vol. 1: On the Ground.

This is where rookie reporter Matty Roth finds himself in, following a FUBAR insertion where his whole team, including the Pulitzer prize winning team leader were killed. Overtime he grows into the role of a seasoned war correspondent, having seen first hand the lives of those left behind in the DMZ, and learning the lies that propaganda tried to keep away from the public eye.

Despite what the government and mainstream media would have everyone believe, the denizens of New York are not some crazed marauders who make their sustenance from eating sewer rats and human meat. Those among the society who haven't devolved to mindless violent warbands, have come together to put their expertise to good use. Working as engineers, farmers, medics and law keepers, they help their communities stay alive, against hunger, disease, the elements and the incessant and heavy handed air strikes and incursions from either side. A thriving community which is contrasted by a population brought down to its most basic needs, as well as civilians, non-combatants and children who serve as collateral damage to the conflict.



In equal parts, the story seems to take elements from comics such as Batman: No Man's Land, as well as the real life war on terror, combined with the atrocities put on front during the perpetual Israel-Palestine conflict; especially the visual of children who've lost their limbs to missile strikes.



Following which, it seems to take a laid back approach, and to explore the stories of the various people and factions that have carved a niche for themselves in this not so blighted land. In some ways, it reminded me of Judge Dredd: The Cursed Earth.

There is much to be said about the world building. From the onset, we are thrown right into the meat of things, with just enough exposition to give us the stakes and keep you hooked. The writers don't bore us with excessive information, such as the advent of the civil war, the socio-political reasons and other nitty gritties. That, I believe is reserved for future storylines. This minimalism and focus to what is happening to the now and here, really has me excited to read the subsequent volumes, and delve deeper into this world.

I suggest you to read it, for the Solid world building and for a narrative which has real-life implications, and for not shying away from the less savory parts of war and conflict.

[Elfo-oscuro · Rating 3 out of 5]

La idea no esta nada mal. El tipo de dibujo y los escenarios que utilizan pueden pegar incluso, pero da la sensacionde querer abarcar demasiado en poco espacio, se dejan muchisimo sin contar pero se explayan en la ruta que va haciendo el periodista. No sabemos siquiera que papel juegan los que le han enviado alli. Imagino que lo iran alargando y aprendiendo mas sobre ese mundo pero ya lo dejo para otra persona. Por mi parte tuve suficiente de la Segunda guerra civil americana

[Charles · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was pretty hard to maintain my acceptance of the premise. Basically, it appears Manhattan is a demilitarized zone between the so called "Free States" and the rest of the United States after a second Civil War has broken out. A famous journalist is going into Manhattan to see what life is like there and gets killed, leaving only his first time intern alive to carry on as a journalist. There's no explanation really of who is who, the Free States and the US. I couldn't really picture an American Civil War as having disintegrated into a slug fest. There's no explanation of what led to the war. It's just this young kid on the ground trying to observe life and somehow getting a kind of free pass, even though it was stressed early in the book how dangerous Manhattan was. He's more of an observer than a participant. That may make sense from the point of view of the story premise but it wasn't a very exciting read.

On top of that, most of the panels are incredibly dark, rendering the art muddy and hard for my older eyes to discern anything. I'm sure many would enjoy the book but it wasn't my cup of tea and I won't be reading further in the series.

[Dan's · Rating 3 out of 5]

I returned graphic Novel last month ( tht ended up on my shelves by mistake) and well I found myself hurrying for a choice in a vast Public store, with th aid of friends.. Various choices presented there, but I was in the constant pressure of 2 friends.

Finally I found myself holding 2 choices, and recalling how I was " " in dystopian/war mongers scenarios I tuoght I might as well give it a try. But several factors left me unsutisfied.

For once, I lik'd the premise that War was moved in the U.S soil, nameld N.Y. and it's natives found themshelves confronted with choices of survival, relying on their gut-insticts to get by ( this idea is not really presented in full on the 1st Vol.. perhaps later on) Our Main hero a drafted student fresh from Journalism crash course, finds himshlef embedded in amilitary Unit, under the wing of an old famous reporter who is hurrying downtown in a chopper to get a cover-story that is giong to show under what conditions the "natives" are leaving away their lives * At this point let me say that the basic premise of separationists & the 3-part of N.Y. city left me with large Q's as to what or under what conditions this would be possible) After a touch down ( and a few harsh eschamges btn our hero & the die-hard journalist star) we see our newly formed group under heavy fire , from practically every roof and corner... In the end our gy ( Tommy ) is left behind as they try to "get out" of this mess without looking back for him.
That being said our boy looks after his equipment & hurries down the hole to fetch for himshelf & try to find some shelter. From there starts a head-on collision with reality bites of a harsh & left to "crumble to dust" district as we come face to face, with wounded in houses, [they are the product of bombings on civilians after a call our hero makes (from his boss's phone) to give his status], and alter a gun full of children with missing limbs, in bandages and freshly used equipment on a plate, (all cov'd in blood) Later a surprise (?! ) we listen to our narrative ( a medic student) that those were the escaped victims of last nights bombing raid ( an f-117 was deployed for the attack * rather unconventional if U ask me, for small vinsinity air-raids) -- but it serves for a huge impression impact on the Y.A. followers.

Still if I may summice the whole scenario is wrapped in such a way to give U a first hand impression of what is is to be like in an active war-zone. Misconceptions from "strangeers", gov propaganda (even our hero is conceived to be in a hostage situation on his 1st phone call, & has to angrily defend himshelf, perhaps in awe & fear of a new air-strike ) But at this point I have to say that Dysart in "unkown Hero" is far better on this field and sets a relatively high mark for what will succeed next. Still N.Yorkers are versatiile in adapting to these new conditions, we see families sheltered behind a strong father figure ( actually a male behemoth with a leg stoole) who leaves in his own private universe.. Our Tommy can't help but comment that this situation closely resemble Medieval times, where seperaet feuds were spawning in diff places on far apart "kingdoms" shielded from each other, together & apart.. As our hero progresses to unravelling this new world we see his adventure finish in the old left Lincoln tunnels. There he confronts " the Quebecois" (*) or " the "BLUEST m*** f***ing american you'll ever meet"
I supposed that Blue agaist Red, , is a hint for those "turncoats" that are indepndent "genuine turn' coats, Flag-burning americans" .. I really look forward to see where he is getting with this story-line. but I hold my reservations regarding the..

..to be continued... An old friend interrupted..

(*) Quibecois : A sperationist movement, leaving behind a sealed gate, we get no hint, what follows behind taht vast expance. But as far as I know of those movements wereon full swing, tilltheearly 80s, I really can't see any reason for bringing them forward in here. ..

[Ryan · Rating 3 out of 5]

DMZ - Volume 1: On the Ground by Brian Wood with Art by Riccardo Burchielli is a graphic novel that asked what if there was a second civil war and the island of Manhattan was the demilitarized zone on which the war was fought. The Art and story are unique as they take a photo journalistic style to telling the story. The story is a stranger in a strangeland approach where the war has been going on for 5 years and an intern with a news agency gets thrown into to be a photojournalist when the star anchor is killed on set down. The story reminded a lot of the Kurt Russell movie Escape from New York as you see landmarks like central park totally changed to fit this new urban environment. The plot is all about raising awareness for the people still living in the demilitarized zone that are casualties of the war. The overall story is good but it feels like a string of vignettes than the story having an overall arc. This was a reread for me I read volume 1-3 in college, the series has now ended at volume 12. I wanted to read this again because I never reviewed it when I read it in the past and I'm really intrigued by the new HBOMAX show DMZ with Rosario Dawson. In this adaptation they flipped genres of the person going in and instead as an intern in over her head she volunteers to go in to rescue her family. DMZ - Volume 1: On the Ground collects issues 1-5 of DMZ of DC / Vertigo comics.

The Plot Summary: The Second Civil War between the United States and the Free States take place in the demilitarized zone that is Manhattan Island. The War has been going on for 5 years and no journalist has covered it so we have been relying on the military for news. Liberty News wants to send a veteran reporter with Matty Roth a new intern that didn't really know what he was signing up for. When the Helicopter sets down and the military help to secure the area everyone dies except Matty who has most of the equipment and starts providing news. Matty is shocked of how many civilians still live in the area and start telling their story has he tries to survive.

What I Liked: the art is really good, and all the graffiti on top of everything really makes it look like a war zone. The images are sometimes hard to look at I bet they used a real war photos, especially on the injuries and sketched what they saw. The overall idea is really solid I love the premise and it's location, to see New York get used for urban war fare is really creative. I like the idea of an intern following through with the mission, and them trying to fire him once he's inside.

What I Disliked: I was never told which states are the free states and which states are The United States. There was not an ending to the the 5 issues just a carry on doing your job, so it really killed any momentum for the book, and it could have easily had an ending with the guy that stole his press jacket and press path, and show Matty where he stands on violence as he catches up to the guy, but that was wasted.

Recommendations: I will recommend this series I have read a couple more books and does no the series has more of a structured plots coming up. This first volume is a good introduction with a weak ending. I wanted to like this book more but glad it get improved down the line. I rated DMZ- Volume 1: On the Ground by Brian Wood and Art by Riccardo Burchielli 3 out of 5 stars. I will continue to keep reading this series.

[Gavin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this Volume 1 of DMZ, collecting issues 1-5. Civil War has been raging in NYC for 5+yrs now, and a kid gets the chance of a lifetime to accompany the Pulitzer-Prize winning photo-journalist into the DMZ in Manhattan and document life there. Well shit goes sour fast...our boy (Matty) finds himself flung headfirst into what's really going on there, and sees that it is nothing like what they tell the rest of the world. The story is interesting, and I always enjoy Dystopian/Post-Apocalyptic stories so this is right up my alley. There's no superheroes or anything, just people trying to get by with the horrors of war in their home.
A great analogy to what life must be like in Iraq and Afghanistan for those people who had the misfortune to just live there...very gripping stuff, I recommend it highly and will be checking out more soon!

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent. So good, in fact, that I almost didn't go back to work from my lunch hour. Been a long time since i've considered faking a flat tire for a book. ;) An excellent story, set in Manhattan of the future, when there is a civil war going on, and a young journalism intern is left behind in the dmz. I can't wait to read the next volume! Great art, fantastic story.

[Luiz Fernando · Rating 3 out of 5]

Love the core concept, and seen as a complete series it's probably great (i'm reading it). But, as a stand alone book, the author could have ended it better (it's a chapter, doesn't have the feeling of a partial ending). The artwork is great and suits the storyline perfectly.

[Derrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Still making up my mind on this one. It's an interesting world Wood creates, though we don't see much of it this early on.

[Cale · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is increasingly timely, although it focuses not on either side of the civil war that has turned NYC into a DMZ, but on the innocents stuck in the middle. Matty Roth is an intern who ends up stranded on the ground in the DMZ and reporting what life is like for those in the region. The first few issues set up the situation and a few main characters, and then we get a couple side stories that help flesh out the world. Brian Wood does a good job of finding the humanity on all sides, while not flinching from calling out their actions as well. This is a strong start and I look forward to get further into the series.

[TheBookHunter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Escape from New York?

DMZ is the story of a journalist named Matty Roth, who gets stranded in the ruins of Manhattan, New York, during the second American Civil War and must learn the lay of the land quickly or be killed in the crossfire.

This comic, a Vertigo title, is as gritty as they come and is not for the faint of heart, as it does display the horrors of war.

I liked it, this was my first Vertigo title and despite the violence, the story was well written and used lots of themes that surround war, journalism, political opinion and news media. And the primary protagonist Matty is a complete fish out of water who's tossed into the madness.

If you're looking for Indie comics, I'd say DMZ is a good place to start!

[RG · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great take on a journalist amongst a war zone. Its not really about the world building, because we dont know why the civil war has begun. Cool hipster like characters. Im intrigued as to where it will go from here.