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DMZ #9
DMZ, Vol. 9: M.I.A.
The ninth volume in the critically acclaimed series that looks at life during wartime – America’s 21st century Civil War.
After the shattering events of DMZ VOL. 8: HEARTS AND MINDS, M.I.A. takes Matty to a remote and desolate section of the city. Self-exile forces him to take a good, hard look at himself and his conduct since he entered the DMZ, and he doesn’t like what he’s seeing. His discovery presents him with an opportunity that he’s tempted to take, but is the price too high?
This volume also includes a pin-up gallery with art by Jim Lee, Dave Gibbons, Eduardo Risso and others.
128 pages, Paperback
First published February 1, 2011
About the author
Brian Wood
1,186 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 64 reviews
September 30, 2023
Mah, volume transitorio?
Matty è alle prese con la propria coscienza dopo quanto è successo, e decide di fare qualcosa di buono pensando già di venire catturato e imprigionato mentre riporta alla frontiera le piastrine di alcuni soldati morti da tempo.
Invece arriva un cambio di status, l'ennesimo. Vediamo se riuscirà a non deragliare e a riscattarsi, stavolta.
Matty è alle prese con la propria coscienza dopo quanto è successo, e decide di fare qualcosa di buono pensando già di venire catturato e imprigionato mentre riporta alla frontiera le piastrine di alcuni soldati morti da tempo.
Invece arriva un cambio di status, l'ennesimo. Vediamo se riuscirà a non deragliare e a riscattarsi, stavolta.
February 15, 2026
Another really good volune!
November 21, 2013
While I feel like the methods Wood used to get Matty Roth to where he is in this volume were a little cheap and unfounded, I have to say I really like what he's doing with the aftermath. Having essentially ruined his own life, credibility, integrity, oh, every aspect of his personality that made him likable, now Matty Roth is dealing with it. What we get in this volume is an honest, fairly heartbreaking deconstruction of the central character Wood has spent so much time developing, and I very much enjoyed the arc this one took.
I will say, I'm a little disappointed with how the Parco storyline has progressed. Parco was a very important, polarizing, yet realistic warlord-esque leader of Manhattan, and then when stuff started getting rough he just disappeared. Not just from Manhattan, but from the stories of DMZ itself. He's referred to and everyone wants to know what happened to him, but it feels pretty nuts that Wood seems to have just dropped any investigation into what went wrong with Parco. We had a very clear and interesting development of that character, and then all of a sudden he's just not around. It felt like this was going to matter somehow, to either show something about Parco's ideals or how he further affects the US or Free States, or even Matty, but no. He just kind of fades away. It feels like a missed opportunity that I hope gets cleared up or explored in the final volumes of this series.
Other than those few letdowns here as we approach endgame (which are present in this book due to a few circumstances I won't spoil), I have really liked the direction Wood has pushed this series. What started as a ground-level exploration of journalism and life in a warzone has turned into a huge character story, focusing on how that warzone has torn apart a single man just trying to do right by it. Plot contrivances aside, this is a great series.
I will say, I'm a little disappointed with how the Parco storyline has progressed. Parco was a very important, polarizing, yet realistic warlord-esque leader of Manhattan, and then when stuff started getting rough he just disappeared. Not just from Manhattan, but from the stories of DMZ itself. He's referred to and everyone wants to know what happened to him, but it feels pretty nuts that Wood seems to have just dropped any investigation into what went wrong with Parco. We had a very clear and interesting development of that character, and then all of a sudden he's just not around. It felt like this was going to matter somehow, to either show something about Parco's ideals or how he further affects the US or Free States, or even Matty, but no. He just kind of fades away. It feels like a missed opportunity that I hope gets cleared up or explored in the final volumes of this series.
Other than those few letdowns here as we approach endgame (which are present in this book due to a few circumstances I won't spoil), I have really liked the direction Wood has pushed this series. What started as a ground-level exploration of journalism and life in a warzone has turned into a huge character story, focusing on how that warzone has torn apart a single man just trying to do right by it. Plot contrivances aside, this is a great series.
February 23, 2026
DMZ may not always be consistently good, but I will say it always does a good job of continuing its narrative. For all its touch and go's I've decided to stick with this one for now, especially because this volume seems like a real "pivot" to a new phase of the story.
February 4, 2023
This entry was similar to some previous installments. There are ebbs and flows. This one didn't hit as hard for me and extended the story in an unrealistic way. The things that happen for our hero don't make much sense except for the fact that he is our hero and therefore must survive to continue the saga. Ebb and flows so the next one will probably be fantastic.
May 29, 2011
A man hits rock bottom, not even seeking redemption - in fact, fighting with his very being *against* redemption - and finds something to put in its place. This is the heart of very good storytelling.
And a satisfying, if not convenient or glossy way to achieve some measure of relief after the events of the last book.
I'm glad to see Wood found a way to give this book and our favourite un-hero a future we still want to read. Feels very true to the guy we've been following all these years.
And a satisfying, if not convenient or glossy way to achieve some measure of relief after the events of the last book.
I'm glad to see Wood found a way to give this book and our favourite un-hero a future we still want to read. Feels very true to the guy we've been following all these years.
June 18, 2021
First up is a collection of guest-illustrated micro-stories and single-page character bios.
NGO
A coms executive hires Matty and a cabbie to go real estate hunting in Manhattan so he can open a new communications hub. They drive the guy to the first spot on his list and rob him then tell him to get the hell out of Manhattan. An effective piece of DMZ characterization.
Little Plastic Toy
Wordless black and white with a little pop of orange in a child's toy, which is apparently dangerous. Zee takes it from him and gives it to some hazmat-clad figures. This would be more effective it were clearer.
Looted
A Manhattan billionaire called in favors and spent his fortune rescuing as many of the city's priceless art pieces as he could. Now dying, he requests Matty's help and contacts in getting the pieces out of the DMZ to safety. Neat; deftly examines what would be another logical consequence of the second civil war.
Heart of North Jersey
Mattie is taken deep into the Pine Barrens to interview the Supreme Commander of the Free States Army. He's a young charismatic man and details the FSA's plans at length, before they get drunk together and he confiscates Matty's tape recorder. But Matty smuggles the recording out in his mouth. Brief but convincing layout of the FSA's success and its strategy and goals.
Wilson's Kitchen
A two page foray into Wilson's basement restaurant kitchen. Nothing happens. Just a reminder that Wilson the gangster is a power stabilizing force and that Matty is his friend.
----------------------------------
And then the meat of the book. After ruminating on the shattered debris of his life--and after a detour in which he's captured and tortured by Parco's sister Rose--Matty decides to turn himself in to the US and face the consequences for his part in the nuclear detonation outside the city.
Only to find out that Liberty News and the federal government have other plans for him, as delivered by his estranged father.
I'm not sure someone in Matty's position could ever escape Guantanamo for what he did, but Wood constructs a surprisingly plausible scenario. This is a very thoughtful, credible volume.
NGO
A coms executive hires Matty and a cabbie to go real estate hunting in Manhattan so he can open a new communications hub. They drive the guy to the first spot on his list and rob him then tell him to get the hell out of Manhattan. An effective piece of DMZ characterization.
Little Plastic Toy
Wordless black and white with a little pop of orange in a child's toy, which is apparently dangerous. Zee takes it from him and gives it to some hazmat-clad figures. This would be more effective it were clearer.
Looted
A Manhattan billionaire called in favors and spent his fortune rescuing as many of the city's priceless art pieces as he could. Now dying, he requests Matty's help and contacts in getting the pieces out of the DMZ to safety. Neat; deftly examines what would be another logical consequence of the second civil war.
Heart of North Jersey
Mattie is taken deep into the Pine Barrens to interview the Supreme Commander of the Free States Army. He's a young charismatic man and details the FSA's plans at length, before they get drunk together and he confiscates Matty's tape recorder. But Matty smuggles the recording out in his mouth. Brief but convincing layout of the FSA's success and its strategy and goals.
Wilson's Kitchen
A two page foray into Wilson's basement restaurant kitchen. Nothing happens. Just a reminder that Wilson the gangster is a power stabilizing force and that Matty is his friend.
----------------------------------
And then the meat of the book. After ruminating on the shattered debris of his life--and after a detour in which he's captured and tortured by Parco's sister Rose--Matty decides to turn himself in to the US and face the consequences for his part in the nuclear detonation outside the city.
Only to find out that Liberty News and the federal government have other plans for him, as delivered by his estranged father.
I'm not sure someone in Matty's position could ever escape Guantanamo for what he did, but Wood constructs a surprisingly plausible scenario. This is a very thoughtful, credible volume.
December 9, 2024
Honestly, the longer this series goes on, the more I like it. Wood and Burchielli just keep finding new avenues to explore and the art and storylines just get more and more engaging.
And this? This was like feeling the foundation settle a bit. Let's see where we go from here.
And this? This was like feeling the foundation settle a bit. Let's see where we go from here.
March 19, 2011
The 50th anniversary issue was pretty pointless.
The main story soldiers on. I wonder if Brian Wood has a plan, how to end the saga of Matt Roth. And how long it will take to get there.
The main story soldiers on. I wonder if Brian Wood has a plan, how to end the saga of Matt Roth. And how long it will take to get there.
June 7, 2019
It was a while since I read DMZ, so some of the story I had forgotten. So that was a bit bad as I was confused about some of the plot points. But on the other hand, I thought the writing in this one was better then in the last few I read. If that is due to it being better, or only due to the time since I read it, I do not no. In any case, I enjoyed it.
I do wonder how the protagonist after four years of living in a warzone, manage to look like a pro cross-fit trainer, but that is a question for another day.
The book is also still very "cool", everyone is "cool", and most people look like some kind of anarchist teens wet dream. And I find that a bit funny. But then mr Wood seems to like to write it that way. The Northlander series is even worse when it comes to that.
But in the end of the day its an interesting story with good characters and in its own fiction a believable plot. I only hope that the current orange US president dont make it a non-fiction work of art.
A weak 4 stars.
I do wonder how the protagonist after four years of living in a warzone, manage to look like a pro cross-fit trainer, but that is a question for another day.
The book is also still very "cool", everyone is "cool", and most people look like some kind of anarchist teens wet dream. And I find that a bit funny. But then mr Wood seems to like to write it that way. The Northlander series is even worse when it comes to that.
But in the end of the day its an interesting story with good characters and in its own fiction a believable plot. I only hope that the current orange US president dont make it a non-fiction work of art.
A weak 4 stars.
November 16, 2019
So, now the previous volume comes into focus. We have a redemption arc happening. Good people do bad things in war and what happens next.
At least, this seems more true to character. I can buy this. The continuation of the war and the reflecting on what the Bush Doctrine would mean to an American target is quite interesting. This gives a way for Americans to understand how their foreign policy and intervention affects people in a way they could understand. I am not sure that this graphic novel got much coverage when it came out in terms of impact on mainstream culture. I do know that it is in production.
I wonder how this will play out. Will it be just another alternate history tale or whether the impact will be understood as a cautionary tale of interventionist (read war hawk) policy application?
At least, this seems more true to character. I can buy this. The continuation of the war and the reflecting on what the Bush Doctrine would mean to an American target is quite interesting. This gives a way for Americans to understand how their foreign policy and intervention affects people in a way they could understand. I am not sure that this graphic novel got much coverage when it came out in terms of impact on mainstream culture. I do know that it is in production.
I wonder how this will play out. Will it be just another alternate history tale or whether the impact will be understood as a cautionary tale of interventionist (read war hawk) policy application?
April 5, 2018
I was starting to lose interest in this series, but I enjoyed both of these volumes (8 & 9). While I like seeing what's happened to the city, Wood sometimes spends too much time on that stuff. These books, smartly, stay on Matty and let the city's story unfold through him. Took too long to get to Matty's dark night of the soul, but it's pretty compelling (if maybe a little too far) when it goes down. I enjoyed it - still not entirely sure if I'm going to keep reading it though.
August 13, 2019
After it showed promise in the previous volume;
to the point of no return and all that;
the made him come back with offering amnesty -_-
it did not make sense,
but here we go again back to the DMZ;
maybe it will be the road to redemption,
but I do not like how it was handled in this volume.
Waiting to see where are we going with this new development!
to the point of no return and all that;
the made him come back with offering amnesty -_-
it did not make sense,
but here we go again back to the DMZ;
maybe it will be the road to redemption,
but I do not like how it was handled in this volume.
Waiting to see where are we going with this new development!
June 14, 2019
Normalizující díl.
Opakující se postup, který mě pořádně naštval až tu: Matty někoho nasere (většinou Liberty News, ale v předchozích dílech třeba i Parca), vypadá to, že je v háji a pak mu (s různě dobrými důvody) nasraná entita nabídne pomocnou ruku a většinou navrátí status quo.
Opakující se postup, který mě pořádně naštval až tu: Matty někoho nasere (většinou Liberty News, ale v předchozích dílech třeba i Parca), vypadá to, že je v háji a pak mu (s různě dobrými důvody) nasraná entita nabídne pomocnou ruku a většinou navrátí status quo.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 24, 2023
Like all series, this one hits some highs and some lows. The story seems to have stalled. Is there an end to the war? Is there an end to the story? It doesn't seem so, at this point. I'll continue with the series, but it has lost a lot of impact.
January 12, 2025
Matty is turning it around
Matty was becoming extremely hated. Slowly he looking like the Matty from the early volumes. One of the better volumes in the back end of the series so far.
Matty was becoming extremely hated. Slowly he looking like the Matty from the early volumes. One of the better volumes in the back end of the series so far.
July 17, 2017
It all gets a little far fetched here.
January 11, 2018
This series is really good and this volume was particularly good. It was a lot of little stories about side characters in between advancing the main plotline.
July 11, 2018
It is very rare that anyone gets punished for acts that they committed during a war. Wars bring out the best and the worst of people. I'm not sure if humans would be what they are without it.
November 23, 2018
The book is so very interesting
June 13, 2019
A great turn in character development. What do you do with a character you've essentially made unlikeable? Can he come back?
September 22, 2019
I like the turn Matty takes in this volume- it was definitely not what I expected, and bodes for an interesting conclusion to DMZ.
May 6, 2020
A couple of throw away filler stories and a bigger one retconning some of Matty's problems.
May 7, 2021
Woah.
October 19, 2022
A soft four - wish the intro vignette was longer (this series has the best one offs) and the end was really well done. Narratively taking this back to the journalism level was a great move.
July 3, 2024
Excellent tale and graphics. Highly recommended.
September 19, 2013
Volume 9, MIA, picks up with a series of short pieces about various people in the DMZ (Wilson, Zee, Kelly, Business Investors, Soames, the leader of the FSA, etc.). There's some very good stuff there, which does a great job of further expanding our knowledge of these people and the situation around, and catching up with people we've maybe not seen for a bit.
The main storyline, MIA, picks up after the explosive finale of Vol 8...Matty is now living in self-imposed exile in the outskirts of Manhattan. Between his responsibility for the execution of 12 civilians, and his involvement with Delgado Nation securing, and then detonating a nuclear weapon outside of NYC, Matty is at the lowest point we've ever seen him.
He wants to get away from everything and everyone, and he's about as wracked with guilt and self-pity as a person can get. Between the Liberty News 24/7 radio broadcasts and the Radio Free DMZ, we get a narrative of what is happening on the ground as well.
It feels like Matty is ready to swallow a bullet or 2 at this point, but comes across something that gives him just enough motivation to pull himself together, brave his way all the way back across town, through nuclear fallout and warzones, airstrikes from the USA, and people hunting for him.
He is caught by people looking for Parco Delgado (who has vanished from the DMZ altogether) but they're not the people you thought they would have been...
Matty is prepared for the worst, and actually seems to feel that he deserves nothing but that, yet at the 11th hour, an unexpected offer comes his way from a very unexpected source.
This is back to the high level we've come to expect from the series, as Wood presents us with a man left with nothing but guilt for the crimes/terrorism he's helped perpetrate. A man who doesn't feel he deserves salvation, who wants to pay for his guilt, yet somehow finds a sliver of possibility for a small measure of salvation.
This is also one of the best volumes in the series for paralleling the Iraq/Afghan wars, and how the USA's strikes against terrorist in the enemy camp mean that 'those who are innocent have nothing to fear' while they bomb the shit out of those innocent people's lands and homes in some supposed attempt to get at Delgado Nation supporters/fighters. Now those 'Bush Doctrine' pre-emptive strikes are aimed at Americans, and the irony is full on for those who can see it for what it is. It's a scathing indictment of US war on terror, and how humanity is a very easy thing for a man to lose after 4 years in a non-stop war zone.
The salvation Matty is able to find isn't an easy one, but he does find the means with which to seek that through continuing what he was first sent to do. In many ways the last panels of this volume constitute a rebirth for Matty, and a chance to start all over as a wiser, more hardened Matty where it all began in issue #1.
Fantastic work here, just a writer at the peak of his prowess. Terrific stuff.
The main storyline, MIA, picks up after the explosive finale of Vol 8...Matty is now living in self-imposed exile in the outskirts of Manhattan. Between his responsibility for the execution of 12 civilians, and his involvement with Delgado Nation securing, and then detonating a nuclear weapon outside of NYC, Matty is at the lowest point we've ever seen him.
He wants to get away from everything and everyone, and he's about as wracked with guilt and self-pity as a person can get. Between the Liberty News 24/7 radio broadcasts and the Radio Free DMZ, we get a narrative of what is happening on the ground as well.
It feels like Matty is ready to swallow a bullet or 2 at this point, but comes across something that gives him just enough motivation to pull himself together, brave his way all the way back across town, through nuclear fallout and warzones, airstrikes from the USA, and people hunting for him.
He is caught by people looking for Parco Delgado (who has vanished from the DMZ altogether) but they're not the people you thought they would have been...
Matty is prepared for the worst, and actually seems to feel that he deserves nothing but that, yet at the 11th hour, an unexpected offer comes his way from a very unexpected source.
This is back to the high level we've come to expect from the series, as Wood presents us with a man left with nothing but guilt for the crimes/terrorism he's helped perpetrate. A man who doesn't feel he deserves salvation, who wants to pay for his guilt, yet somehow finds a sliver of possibility for a small measure of salvation.
This is also one of the best volumes in the series for paralleling the Iraq/Afghan wars, and how the USA's strikes against terrorist in the enemy camp mean that 'those who are innocent have nothing to fear' while they bomb the shit out of those innocent people's lands and homes in some supposed attempt to get at Delgado Nation supporters/fighters. Now those 'Bush Doctrine' pre-emptive strikes are aimed at Americans, and the irony is full on for those who can see it for what it is. It's a scathing indictment of US war on terror, and how humanity is a very easy thing for a man to lose after 4 years in a non-stop war zone.
The salvation Matty is able to find isn't an easy one, but he does find the means with which to seek that through continuing what he was first sent to do. In many ways the last panels of this volume constitute a rebirth for Matty, and a chance to start all over as a wiser, more hardened Matty where it all began in issue #1.
Fantastic work here, just a writer at the peak of his prowess. Terrific stuff.
July 30, 2015
I decided I wanted to re-read and finish reading DMZ. When I was a lot more into comic books, I started buying up trades, life got in the way right after I picked up M.I.A.
First, I absolutely love this series. It is gritty, and raw and each character is unique and fascinating in their own way. Since the very beginning we have watched Matty Roth attempt to learn about and understand what life is like in the DMZ, and watch it break and corrupt him more and more.
After hitting rock bottom, Wood tries to let the story breath a little bit, and revisits some of the familiar faces we have grown to know and love. After finishing this one, knowing that there were 3 volumes left I've not see yet, I couldn't help but wish Wood would go back and publish more single issues - telling the stories of other DMZ residents.
Fantastic story telling, and it is my re-read of DMZ that wants me do dig out my copies of FABLES, PREACHER, and Y The Last Man and revisit them, and maybe find a few new comparable books along the way.
First, I absolutely love this series. It is gritty, and raw and each character is unique and fascinating in their own way. Since the very beginning we have watched Matty Roth attempt to learn about and understand what life is like in the DMZ, and watch it break and corrupt him more and more.
After hitting rock bottom, Wood tries to let the story breath a little bit, and revisits some of the familiar faces we have grown to know and love. After finishing this one, knowing that there were 3 volumes left I've not see yet, I couldn't help but wish Wood would go back and publish more single issues - telling the stories of other DMZ residents.
Fantastic story telling, and it is my re-read of DMZ that wants me do dig out my copies of FABLES, PREACHER, and Y The Last Man and revisit them, and maybe find a few new comparable books along the way.
May 22, 2011
I've been really impressed with this series from the get go. It's an interesting concept: civil war in the U.S in the 21st century. The perspective of the 'journalist' is good. The fact that the journalist (Matty Roth) has the connections he does simultaneously seems contrived, the only reason his character is able to survive in the DMZ for as long as he has, and the only way the story could conceivably encompass the enormity of the situation. Brian Wood seems to have thought this all through very thoroughly and he's exploring mre elements of what such a war would do to people, the existing government, exisiting media institutions, the UN, the rest of the world, and so on. I look forward to every issue that comes out and burn through them in so short a time that I seem to be waiting for them more than reading them!
June 12, 2015
"Por aquel entonces, sabía quién era y qué coño estaba haciendo. En cambio ahora... Si me fusilan por traidor al menos me darán una respuesta"
Después del subidón que supuso Corazones y Mentes, era inevitable que la siguiente entrega fuera una bajada tanto en calidad como en interés. La historia se centra de nuevo en Matty y en cómo este lidia con las consecuencias de sus actos. Nos encontramos con un tomo muy reflexivo, que aunque hacía falta, siempre me aburre porque el Matty filósofo no sólo es cansino sino un poco pedante. Aun así, tenemos la oportunidad de encontrarnos con viejos conocidos y el final, no sólo tiene un giro que no esperaba, sino que nos ofrece un enfoque interesante para las próximas entregas.
Reseña completa aquí: http://gutenbergylumiere.blogspot.com...
Después del subidón que supuso Corazones y Mentes, era inevitable que la siguiente entrega fuera una bajada tanto en calidad como en interés. La historia se centra de nuevo en Matty y en cómo este lidia con las consecuencias de sus actos. Nos encontramos con un tomo muy reflexivo, que aunque hacía falta, siempre me aburre porque el Matty filósofo no sólo es cansino sino un poco pedante. Aun así, tenemos la oportunidad de encontrarnos con viejos conocidos y el final, no sólo tiene un giro que no esperaba, sino que nos ofrece un enfoque interesante para las próximas entregas.
Reseña completa aquí: http://gutenbergylumiere.blogspot.com...
Displaying 1 - 30 of 64 reviews