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DMZ #3-5
DMZ Book Two
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.
In this volume, Matty goes undercover to infiltrate a terrorist cell, lands an interview for Liberty News with an enlisted U.S. soldier who's found guilty of a massacre within the DMZ, and turns his attention to several locals: a guerilla artist, a former ally who's now worse off than a homeless person, and the powerful head of an organization within the DMZ. Collects DMZ #13-28.
In this volume, Matty goes undercover to infiltrate a terrorist cell, lands an interview for Liberty News with an enlisted U.S. soldier who's found guilty of a massacre within the DMZ, and turns his attention to several locals: a guerilla artist, a former ally who's now worse off than a homeless person, and the powerful head of an organization within the DMZ. Collects DMZ #13-28.
416 pages, Paperback
First published June 17, 2014
14 people are currently reading
148 people want to read
About the author
Brian Wood
1,173 books961 followersBrian 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.
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.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 47 reviews
May 22, 2023
Brian Wood's most excellent look at the people of post American Civil War reality's New York City de-militarised zone (DMZ NYC) continues unabated with suicide bombings, kidnapping, deceit and lies; with all so this going on, series protagonist renegade photo journalist Matt, thinks it's a good idea to spend a day embedded with the terrorists! I read the comic books #13 to #28, that are collected in this Deluxe Edition. This volume somehow manages to improve on the previous one, with its highly innovative look at modern urban warfare and the media, brought to American soil. 9 out of 12, Four Star read.
2017 and 2013 read
2017 and 2013 read
November 27, 2024
The art style shock has worn off and the story really takes off here. Poignant the story itself, particularly a certain arc, played out the age old damned if you do/damned if you don't rather well. Real; visceral human writing.
April 19, 2018
Wood crafts a solid storyline but the shift into the backstory was lacking, I just didn't enjoy this volume like the first. The initial 10 issues are interesting and mark a shift compared to the world building first volume. The real problem with arcs in comics, is the fact they tend to run 5 issues so when they compile a volume in this size you find it is hit and miss. I hope the third volume will reclaim the strength of the first volume and not focus on the backstories as much, they weren't terribly interesting.
I binge read this yesterday and found that the final third was the weakest of the storylines. I fell asleep with the third arc and struggled through it. DMZ is one of those interesting concepts that initially deliver but struggle in the sophomore seasons, think like Tv shows e.g. Lost and Dexter. Those shows hit creative roadblocks attempting to have filler episodes for the overall arc, comic books are exactly the same. Every year you come back with a commitment to make so many issues and you don't hit all the right beats to maintain your audience.
This is still a good series but I hope that the volumes improve instead of slipping away.
I binge read this yesterday and found that the final third was the weakest of the storylines. I fell asleep with the third arc and struggled through it. DMZ is one of those interesting concepts that initially deliver but struggle in the sophomore seasons, think like Tv shows e.g. Lost and Dexter. Those shows hit creative roadblocks attempting to have filler episodes for the overall arc, comic books are exactly the same. Every year you come back with a commitment to make so many issues and you don't hit all the right beats to maintain your audience.
This is still a good series but I hope that the volumes improve instead of slipping away.
November 28, 2017
Este segundo tomo de DMZ se inicia con dos arcos de cinco números: "obras públicas" y "fuego amigo" termina con 6 números que cuentan historias independientes de distintos personajes de la zona desmilitarizada de New york.
En "obras públicas" tenemos una turbia historia en la que Matty Roth se intenta infiltrar en la empresa Trustwell, una especie de trasunto de empresas de seguridad como Blackwater. El caso es que esta empresa se dedica a labores de reconstrucción en la ciudad de nueva york y tiene un conflicto de funciones con las naciones unidas, que puede hacer que pierdan algunos contratos.
En fuego amigo Matty investiga a los supervivientes y a los autores de una matanza de 198 manifestantes pacíficos al tiempo que se desarrolla el juicio. Los militares alegan que se inició el tiroteo al desenfundar un arma uno de los manifestantes.
Como digo antes los restantes 6 números nos cuentan historias independientes de distintos personajes de la DMZ: Kelly, la novia de Matty y su contacto con la agencia de noticias; Amina, cuya muerte evitó Matty cuando pensaba cometer un atentado suicida; Década, un graffitero que planea su gran obra; Wilson, un jefe mafioso que es personaje recurrente en la serie; fuego aleatorio, un Dj de la DMZ y Soames, un antiguo miembro del ejército de los estados libres que intenta huir de la ciudad... estos episodios nos ofrecen una visión más global de la DMZ y ayudan a establecer el tono general de la serie, oscuro y pesimista y con un buen toque de rebeldía.
En "obras públicas" tenemos una turbia historia en la que Matty Roth se intenta infiltrar en la empresa Trustwell, una especie de trasunto de empresas de seguridad como Blackwater. El caso es que esta empresa se dedica a labores de reconstrucción en la ciudad de nueva york y tiene un conflicto de funciones con las naciones unidas, que puede hacer que pierdan algunos contratos.
En fuego amigo Matty investiga a los supervivientes y a los autores de una matanza de 198 manifestantes pacíficos al tiempo que se desarrolla el juicio. Los militares alegan que se inició el tiroteo al desenfundar un arma uno de los manifestantes.
Como digo antes los restantes 6 números nos cuentan historias independientes de distintos personajes de la DMZ: Kelly, la novia de Matty y su contacto con la agencia de noticias; Amina, cuya muerte evitó Matty cuando pensaba cometer un atentado suicida; Década, un graffitero que planea su gran obra; Wilson, un jefe mafioso que es personaje recurrente en la serie; fuego aleatorio, un Dj de la DMZ y Soames, un antiguo miembro del ejército de los estados libres que intenta huir de la ciudad... estos episodios nos ofrecen una visión más global de la DMZ y ayudan a establecer el tono general de la serie, oscuro y pesimista y con un buen toque de rebeldía.
May 5, 2021
Awesome. Building on the world with lots of character studies that all tie back to the previous stories seamlessly.
December 20, 2024
(Zero spoiler review) 2.5/5
Man, Brian Wood just keeps snatching defeat from the jaws of victory every time. A great concept. A great artist. And yet, Brian Wood...
Barely an issue can go by without him doing something so immersion breaking as to make me put down the book and shake my head at the sheer audacity of it all. I mean, where were the editor's? Surely some of them must have had a quiet word in his ear about some of this. I mean, this was back when comic's editors actually edited comics, and not gatekept the industry for their own ideological ends. Then there is the pseudo hallmark motivational quotes which induced nails on chalkboard levels of cringe at times. And then there was the narrative inconsistencies where Wood seemed to be working towards something, realised the massive plot hole, then thought screw it, I'm going for it anyway... If Wood ever gets his act together, this will be pretty good. If he doesn't and Riccardo stops drawing this book, may god have mercy on us all. 2.5/5
OmniBen.
Man, Brian Wood just keeps snatching defeat from the jaws of victory every time. A great concept. A great artist. And yet, Brian Wood...
Barely an issue can go by without him doing something so immersion breaking as to make me put down the book and shake my head at the sheer audacity of it all. I mean, where were the editor's? Surely some of them must have had a quiet word in his ear about some of this. I mean, this was back when comic's editors actually edited comics, and not gatekept the industry for their own ideological ends. Then there is the pseudo hallmark motivational quotes which induced nails on chalkboard levels of cringe at times. And then there was the narrative inconsistencies where Wood seemed to be working towards something, realised the massive plot hole, then thought screw it, I'm going for it anyway... If Wood ever gets his act together, this will be pretty good. If he doesn't and Riccardo stops drawing this book, may god have mercy on us all. 2.5/5
OmniBen.
May 29, 2017
"Black Hawk Down meets Black Flag."
— Sgt John G Ford; US Army
It's really hard to top that one line as a review, especially for the "Frendly Fire" story arc. I accidentally picked up this second collection of DMZ instead of the first one. Luckily Wood's writing is strong enough that, initial confusion aside, you can piece things together pretty quickly. There are a lot of characters to dislike, but that's to be expected when you follow journalist through near-future Manhattan ravaged by a militia/US government civil war.
Wood uses this, sometimes frighteningly possible feeling scenario, to look at the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the use of of the UN peacekeepers, and Blackwater-esque mercenaries. This large scale view of war and corruption is contrasted in several issues that are dedicated to individual characters and how they got to where they are.
DMZ can be brutal in places, but as an unvarnished look at war it should be.
— Sgt John G Ford; US Army
It's really hard to top that one line as a review, especially for the "Frendly Fire" story arc. I accidentally picked up this second collection of DMZ instead of the first one. Luckily Wood's writing is strong enough that, initial confusion aside, you can piece things together pretty quickly. There are a lot of characters to dislike, but that's to be expected when you follow journalist through near-future Manhattan ravaged by a militia/US government civil war.
Wood uses this, sometimes frighteningly possible feeling scenario, to look at the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the use of of the UN peacekeepers, and Blackwater-esque mercenaries. This large scale view of war and corruption is contrasted in several issues that are dedicated to individual characters and how they got to where they are.
DMZ can be brutal in places, but as an unvarnished look at war it should be.
February 21, 2019
Nathan Fox as guest artist was incredible. Although Burchielli does more than a competent job with the art throughout the volume it was Fox that brought it up a notch. Wood’s writing was great. the Friendly Fire story arc was chilling in its commentary on modern warfare. I’m fully committed to the series and I’m excited to see where this heads.
June 20, 2025
I think I liked the stuff collected in the first book better, maybe because the earlier stuff was less directly ripped from the headlines allegory. Trying to allegorize the Iraq War with a fictional U.S. Civil War won't always work, because the moral terrain of the Iraq War doesn't really map onto that of the Civil War portrayed in DMZ. The U.S. soldiers in DMZ can't really cleanly match to the real U.S. soldiers in Iraq, because the DMZ soldiers are not in Iraq, they're in the U.S. The setting of the war at home instead of somewhere we invaded on the flimsiest of pretexts changes everything.
I also didn't really like how the Kelly comic unceremoniously killed her off in the first panel, then tried to fill out more of her story through flashbacks. Maybe I would have liked a “final day in the life of” story better. I'll probably still read the next one.
I also didn't really like how the Kelly comic unceremoniously killed her off in the first panel, then tried to fill out more of her story through flashbacks. Maybe I would have liked a “final day in the life of” story better. I'll probably still read the next one.
November 25, 2024
Main character is still annoying but the story and other characters more than make up for it.
September 16, 2023
A good continuation to the first book where the story keeps developing and Matty keeps growing as a character! Keeps the momentum going into the next book and make us want more!
October 27, 2016
This interesting and depressing comic continues its what if scenario of New York becoming its own country. This is a world where 9/11 did happen and then shortly after small town folks started revolting against the government and eventually their movement became big enough to over take New York.
So shit gets even more real in this volume of life in a warzone. This is a story about the confusion and brutality of a long war, this one has been going on for something like 5 years. Both sides are humanized to a decent degree with out main character Matty just trying to report the news and not get his head blown off. A lot of the conflict in this book ends in shitty resolutions (not that they are shitty to read, just bad deals) and a lot of pointless deaths. If you are in the mood for something sad, but occasionally uplifting then this series, at least volumes 1 and 2 are worth a look, this series is I believe 5 books long (who knows how many comics though?) and I most certainly want the rest.
So shit gets even more real in this volume of life in a warzone. This is a story about the confusion and brutality of a long war, this one has been going on for something like 5 years. Both sides are humanized to a decent degree with out main character Matty just trying to report the news and not get his head blown off. A lot of the conflict in this book ends in shitty resolutions (not that they are shitty to read, just bad deals) and a lot of pointless deaths. If you are in the mood for something sad, but occasionally uplifting then this series, at least volumes 1 and 2 are worth a look, this series is I believe 5 books long (who knows how many comics though?) and I most certainly want the rest.
December 14, 2018
Nice follow up. Book one felt a lot more hectic than this one, but I think this one takes more time to focus on the cross-breeding of war and politics, and how ugly the results can be. The largest arc is also the strongest, and much of the rest is made up of single issue stories focusing on particular characters so as to better know them and their daily lives inside the DMZ.
I'd say the one main hurdle I've faced as far as fully enjoying these books is that none of the characters truly stand out to me. Matty is just okay as a protagonist, and most other characters phase in and out of the story even if I did think they were particularly interesting. One character who I thought did have potential was wasted for no particular reason that I could see. On a minor note, I was really surprised to find some glaring typos in this book. There's only five or six, but that's kind of a lot still and they were easy to spot.
I'm still eager to find out exactly how much Wood is able to get out of this premise and this world, so I look forward to book three. Very enjoyable, just hasn't hit that high note for me....at least yet.
I'd say the one main hurdle I've faced as far as fully enjoying these books is that none of the characters truly stand out to me. Matty is just okay as a protagonist, and most other characters phase in and out of the story even if I did think they were particularly interesting. One character who I thought did have potential was wasted for no particular reason that I could see. On a minor note, I was really surprised to find some glaring typos in this book. There's only five or six, but that's kind of a lot still and they were easy to spot.
I'm still eager to find out exactly how much Wood is able to get out of this premise and this world, so I look forward to book three. Very enjoyable, just hasn't hit that high note for me....at least yet.
February 2, 2021
In a story about failure and who takes the blame for such failure, DMZ finds brilliance.
This book contains the friendly fire arc, which is such a high note for the series. Everything comes together in a bleak yet poignant story about soldiers charged for a massacre they committed.
I was surprised over how much I took away from the story and how it challenged my view on who should bear the consequence for such events.
The art changed dependent on nararive was also a genius touch. This arc is a master piece.
The rest of the book is good aswell, and helps add both flavor and weight to the series, taking clear inspiration from real world events at the time. The art is
gorgeous and comes from several contributers, while still fealing totally organic to the book.
So far DMZ is really something else, and works Decades Later as it's titular artist.
This book contains the friendly fire arc, which is such a high note for the series. Everything comes together in a bleak yet poignant story about soldiers charged for a massacre they committed.
I was surprised over how much I took away from the story and how it challenged my view on who should bear the consequence for such events.
The art changed dependent on nararive was also a genius touch. This arc is a master piece.
The rest of the book is good aswell, and helps add both flavor and weight to the series, taking clear inspiration from real world events at the time. The art is
gorgeous and comes from several contributers, while still fealing totally organic to the book.
So far DMZ is really something else, and works Decades Later as it's titular artist.
July 11, 2021
These deluxe editions are really top-notch for quality. The story was very intense practically the whole way through. The chaotic nature to the story is really great especially with the mix of real world morality. There are loads of extra content, although I find a lot of the interview questions a little lack luster - it would be nice to have a little more in-depth questions into the lives of the creators. Hopefully that'll be explored more in the later volumes. Given how intense most of the story was throughout this volume, the ending was definitely lacking and felt pretty out-of-place. From what I can tell from the interviews, it seems like I wasn't the only one that felt this way about it. Overall, really looking forward to reading the other three volumes in this series.
April 28, 2024
Man, this book is a rush, and as perfect as a comic can be. As I said earlier, this isn't a good jumping on point for new readers (read volume 1 first) but for me as a fan since the first issue, it makes the mythology of DMZ even better and profound. The tears Matty sheds are real. DMZ does not present the "make believe" world that most comic books present. DMZ is a work of fiction, but the drama portrayed within is just as real and scary as the hell in Iraq. The one-shot issues of the various characters we meet in DMZ gives us further development of a fictional world, but despite what the old cliche says, sometimes you can have too much of a good thing.
May 21, 2020
A strong second Deluxe Edition from Brian Wood and Riccardo Burchielli (along with some guest artists for select issues). This volume continues the world building that Wood developed across the first 12 issues, while also exploring the lives of different supporting characters. These one-off snapshots add additional layers to the narrative and potential plot points to follow up on. The level of detail within this world really draws you in and I’m really curious to see how the narrative unfolds over the next 3 Deluxe Editions.
October 11, 2024
Review is for the entire series read consecutively (Deluxe Vols. 1-5)
Wow. Brian Woods produced a masterpiece. A story and a world shot through with politics but uncontaminated by then-current politics, something modern authors could take note of.
The NYC he creates is populated with real people, and the various coalitions and conflicts are recognizable s well.
Read it to see humanity at it's best and it's worst.
Wow. Brian Woods produced a masterpiece. A story and a world shot through with politics but uncontaminated by then-current politics, something modern authors could take note of.
The NYC he creates is populated with real people, and the various coalitions and conflicts are recognizable s well.
Read it to see humanity at it's best and it's worst.
August 1, 2017
Starts off as good as the first, but I felt that the focusing on some of the side characters later on in this collection took away from the story as a whole and served more to show what we've already been told or implied about certain characters, rather than building on the world as a whole. However, nice to see a little bit of pre-war and during-war times.
May 19, 2020
Tom drugi jest lepszy od pierwszego. Wszystko za sprawą jednej z historii. "Bratobójczy ogień" jest ponurą opowieścią o sprawiedliwości i banalności zła i prawdy. Genialnie skonstruowana i nie zostawia obojętnym. Reszta historii też stoi na wysokim poziomie. Doskonała seria. Oby kolejne trzy tomy wydano bez opóźnień.
January 9, 2022
I thought this was okay, but I don't really connect to any of the characters. I think I'm starting to lose interest in this series. There are some interesting subjects brought up here, but I had trouble finding a stake in them. The last set of issues here are all one-shots about individual characters. If I was more invested in this world, I might have appreciated that.
February 21, 2021
13-17, Public Works, ☆☆☆☆☆
18-22, Friendly Fire, ☆☆☆☆☆
23, Decade Later, ☆☆☆☆
24, Amina, ☆☆☆☆
25, Wilson, ☆☆☆☆
26, Kelly, ☆☆☆☆
27, Random Fire, ☆☆☆☆☆
28, Soames, ☆☆☆☆
18-22, Friendly Fire, ☆☆☆☆☆
23, Decade Later, ☆☆☆☆
24, Amina, ☆☆☆☆
25, Wilson, ☆☆☆☆
26, Kelly, ☆☆☆☆
27, Random Fire, ☆☆☆☆☆
28, Soames, ☆☆☆☆
August 7, 2021
Excellent
November 10, 2021
Liked the first few story arcs in the collection, the individual stories at the end were a mixed bag.
February 22, 2022
This is truly a great series so far. It's definitely a product of its time and I'm not sure it would mean so much to the younger audiences but still pretty cool.
February 23, 2022
Είναι πραγματικά εντυπωσιακό αυτό που έχει γίνει σε αυτή τη σειρά. Τρομερή σύλληψη και εκτέλεση.
March 27, 2022
Another great edition to the series. Fantastic stories and amazing artwork. Compelling writing that still rings some truth today.
April 3, 2022
La historia de la Zona Desmilitarizada de Manhattan continúa y poco a poco vamos conociendo a más actores en la zona mientras la guerra civil americana se desarrolla alrededor de la isla.
April 21, 2022
Este cómic ya en su día era bueno,pero con los tiempos que corren se ha vuelto hasta terrorifico
Displaying 1 - 30 of 47 reviews