Oof. This one was quite a ride. Despite my extreme distaste with the way this volume ended, I would definitely say this is my favorite volume of DMZ thus far. Way, way back in issue 1 of the series, Zee mentions to Matty that "nobody knows what goes on in the Empire State Building," something I always found ominous and creepy, and would continually think about as the series progressed. It wasn't a mystery per se, just a lingering bit of cool I was always interested in. Finally, in this volume, we get a little bit of an answer about that, and it's weird, dark, and depressing. I love the way this book tied in to events way back in issue 1, as well, answering questions I wasn't even really asking but was very intrigued to learn about here.
Then, in the latter half of the book, we get back on track with Parco's morally ambiguous reign over Manhattan and Matty's seeming descent into becoming a raving militant. I loved the buildup here. The political side of this series really finds its footing in this volume, giving you absolutely no idea who to root for. All sides seem equally horrible and wrong (I'm hard pressed to say any side seems "right"), all pushing for their own best interest, none giving a damn about the civilians who get in the way. We get nuclear threats, invading armies, pirate radio that seems to double as pure propaganda. It's a splatter painting of warzone terrors that somehow stays on track, all the way up until the end.
But the end. Ugh. I HATED IT. Not because it was upsetting, though it was. Just because it seemed to drag a shark out of absolutely nowhere just to jump it. There was no character buildup to the way this story ends (doing my best to avoid spoilers). No breaking point, no emotional arc. Just suddenly and out of nowhere a character loses his mind and does something that makes absolutely no sense. And I feel that it may do irreparable harm to the series, since this one event by its very nature has to permanently alter the direction the series takes. Man. For a thrilling read that I was loving every second of, this volume really shit the bed. I'm still giving it 4 stars, in hopes the series isn't ruined from this point, and for the mere fact that the rest of this book is so incredibly good. But damn. DAMN, Y'ALL.