Damn Nation

by Andrew Cosby

From the creator of UPN's Haunted and the Sci-Fi network original series Eureka comes one of the most ambitious and horrifying tales ever committed to the comics page! Writer Andrew Cosby has imagined a United States shut off from the world by concrete barricades and barbed wire - not because of what might get in, but what might get out. A vampire plague has spread from sea to shining sea and when a small holdout of scientists trapped outside of Buffalo, N.Y. discover a cure, it's up to a Special Ops team from the President's current offices in London to go in and get it. Yet, not everyone in the world wants to see America back in the saddle again ...

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics, Horror, Post Apocalyptic, Vampires

104 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2005

Reviews

[Dev · Rating 2 out of 5]

It wasn't necessarily bad I guess, just really uninspired and the same old plot we've seen time and time again. If there were more volumes they might have been able to work it into some more interesting and original but as it is, it's just pretty boring. Also while the art is pretty, it's often hard to make out what is happening. I'm sure this is on purpose and is supposed to enhance the 'mood' or whatever but like shaky-cam in movies, I just find it annoying.

[Faith Strange · Rating 2 out of 5]

2,5 🌟

[Nikki · Rating 3 out of 5]

hits the same beats that i've seen from a million other zombie stories. damn nation describes itself as a vampire story but... these guys are indistinguishable from the fast zombies of 00s media, which is good because it scratches the zombie itch i have currently. the characters and story aren't very strong, but the art of the vampires is genuinely disturbing and definitely the highlight here! the niagara falls cameo was wonderful.

[Hank · Rating 4 out of 5]

Uh, I guess zombies could be naked. But when they're not, how come their shoes come off well before the rest of their clothes tatter away? Aren't shoes usually more durable and well secured to your body?

[Ill D · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty water colors are juxtaposed with the typical comic-book style onomatiopeics in Andrew Cosby's, Damn Nation! Alongside this bizarre visual palette is an insipidly vague and irritatingly understated narrative which is embryonic at best and skeletal at best.

Unlike most (comic) books, I actually bothered to read the introduction and was pleasantly surprised to learn that Cosby was inspired by one of my favorite moves of all time, Alien! I too am a huge fan of the 1979 Ridley Scott classic and his accolades got me really excited to read his story. However, no matter how genuine his love for Alien might be, the influence on the book is evident but, reduces to more of a paper thin veneer than anything else.

So where do I begin? As stated before, the watercolors, while vivid and evocative, definitely feel somewhat out of place in the comic book world. Moreover, the usage of characteristic letter-block sound affects across dreamy paints seems more akin to puerile graffitism than legit art. Imagine how you would feel to see childish spray paint embossing the Mona Lisa? Hyperbole sure, but the comparison is similar.

Next, while Alien is a stellar blend of Sci-Fi/Horror that constantly piques our interest with continual plot twists that keep the story fun and engaging, Damn Nation's story is murkier than Dracula's coffin without much to show for it. Not only are we given mere crumbs of a government conspiracy/cover-up, and even tinier grams of character development for the main actors in the story, even the villains, which are direct rip-offs of George Romero's zombies, don't really do much in the narrative.

This is disappointing on so many levels and especially offensive to moi because it's directly influenced by my beloved Alien. While the first Alien movie continually frightens us with further depictions of the Alien itself, we don't really see the zombie-esque creatures do much in the story. They show up, chomp a few bones and that's about it.

Borrrrrrring.

So in conclusion, I have no idea how or more importantly why this ever got published. With a story weaker than a five year old's and character development befitting the IQ of a rock to match, this comic book was damned (pun intended) from the beginning. Maybe there was some Weinstein casting-couch stuff going on. Maybe Cosby had some dirt on the higher ups at Dark Horse Comics. I don't know and I don't care. I just want to know how the hell this work got into distribution.

So give it a read if you're a weirdo. And if you're a true fan of the Alien series (sans the shitty third and Prometheus onward of course) definitely bring a barf bag alongside your Starbucks to compliment this offensive work because you'll be barfing in stanzas to see Ridley Scott's masterpiece influence such a worthless piece of garbage.

[Damian Herde · Rating 3 out of 5]

I grabbed it on spec second hand, so not that invested.
I know it was meant to be vampires, but the vibe was much more ‘fast zombie’. Some of the art was outstanding. The story and characters could stand a little more development.

[Reyel2107 · Rating 3 out of 5]

for the art !!

[Scott Brillon · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good story with wonderful art.

[Raquel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wish there was another volume!! I really enjoyed the storyline and darkness of the characters. Definitely a good read for horror fans.

[✨ Bookferatu ✨ · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is one of my favourite Dark Horse gems that at some point had been in development to be adapted into film, but despite having begun scripting, budgeting and casting as far back as 2009, as far as I know this production is still in doubt.

But what prompted MTV Films to buy the feature rights to and what incited Paramount Pictures to supposedly be invested in distributing that feature to begin with is the frightening and bleak tale of a vicious vampire-like plague in a post-apocalyptic U.S. and how a Special Ops team must reach the "cure".

It begins with a lost Russian cargo ship arriving at a port with it's entire crew dead, or are they?


My summary -

PROS: I really enjoyed the calculated effort of regalvanizing the vampire genre by accentuating the savage qualities of the monster parasites in this story (Some may call them zombies, in a way they are, but with their measureless bloodlust, i tend to think of these undead as more vampiric). Fast-paced plot with interesting facets and twists.
Striking art, really good atmospheric visual storytelling.

CONS: Not long enough to get into the depths of the whole plot, feels more like the beginning of something bigger than having any real closure. Would loved to have seen the survivor's relationships explored a bit more. I had to take off two stars just because of the abrupt conclusion, it needed a better "ending" and also for passing over opportunities to probe more into character connections. Maybe it's because I did get a sense of investment into them and just am left wondering.

WHAT I LIKED BEST: The artwork is *especially gorgeous*, I mean, WOW! and I really felt like every frame is a masterpiece.

If you enjoy vampiric/undead creatures portrayed as truly vicious and predatory and appreciate stunning artwork check out this fast-paced horror tale, if for nothing else than to enjoy the visual storytelling.

[Artur Coelho · Rating 2 out of 5]

Devastados por uma praga de vampiros, os estados unidos estão em isolamento profiláctico do resto do mundo. Rumores de uma cura levam uma equipa de operações especiais que mistura agentes ingleses e soldados americanos no exílio a penetrar no território isolado numa missão de salvamento. Mas há agendas secretas num mundo em que os Estados Unidos estão neutralizados e as antigas potências europeias recuperaram o seu lugar de poder no planeta. E hordes de vampiros a percorrer as américas. Vagamente interessante em termos de premissa, com um argumento perfeitamente banal, Damn Nation distingue-se pela qualidade expressiva da ilustração.

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

I actually rather enjoyed this story as it went past the usual post-apocalypse events and showed a bit of how the rest of the world would respond to such events and how a change in political power and political greed can come into play. The illustrations are suitably dark and foreboding and add a sense of anticipation and dread to the story and the finale is superb, leaving the reading hanging as to what is to come as all is not as straight forward as it seems.

[Mouse · Rating 2 out of 5]

Feels very much like 30 Days of Night or The Strain. The plot is rather basic and one that we've read or seen before. The art was dark and kind of scratchy and inconsistent at times, which made the whole thing rather hard to get into. Unfortunately this book didn't scare me or really do much at all for me.

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very creepy, beautiful art. I find myself wanting more story ... more more more.

[Lori · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm hoping this isn't a stand alone. I like the premise of the walking dead and would like to see this series expand like that.

[Marcela · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good story and beautiful art, but having only 3 issues it falls short from being anything amazing. A pity.

[Brent · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent Zombie novel. Simple and an easy read. At its current length it almost feels a bit cookie cutterish, if it was longer, more character development could have made it stand out more.

[Jason · Rating 3 out of 5]

not too bad. but really just a novella. very short