DMZ (comics)
| DMZ | |
|---|---|
 DMZ | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Vertigo |
| Schedule | Monthly |
| Format | Ongoing |
| Publication date | November 2005 – present |
| Main character(s) | Matty Roth Zee |
| Creative team | |
| Created by | Brian Wood Riccardo Burchielli |
| Written by | Brian Wood |
| Artist(s) | Riccardo Burchielli Brian Wood |
| Penciller(s) | Jared K. Fletcher |
| Colorist(s) | Jeromy Cox |
DMZ is a comic book series published by DC Comics under their Vertigo imprint.
DMZ is written by Brian Wood, with artwork by Wood and Riccardo Burchielli (the Italian artist's first comic book in the United States). The first issue was published on November 9, 2005. The first trade paperback, entitled On the Ground (ISBN 1-4012-1062-7), reprints the first five issues of the series; the second TPB is anticipated for February 2007 and will reprint the five-issue Body of a Journalist storyline and the two single issues that followed. [1].
Setting
Template:Spoilers The setting is New York City in the near future. A civil war is taking place between the United States of America and the Free States. The Free States are described in the first issue as being "New Jersey and inland"; in issue #8, it is revealed that "the Free States are an idea, not a geographical entity"[2]; the movement began in Montana and made its way east. The Free Armies and the U.S. military met at Allentown, Pennsylvania where both sides decided that they did not want to fight, after which the Free Armies descended on New York; the exact chain of events from hereon has yet to be revealed. Manhattan is the location of the demilitarized zone between the two warring parties. In an interview, Brian Wood described the back-history as the citizens of Middle America having risen up against the pre-emptive war policies of the US government, causing a Second American Civil War. He expanded on this in a more recent interview:
Midwestern militia groups revolt against their local governments in protest of rampant U.S. adventurism overseas and, in the absence of the National Guard, are able to gain far more ground than they thought possible. Small insurgent groups pop up in towns and cities across the country, and a sizable force, the Free States Army, pushes toward Manhattan. The city proves too big for them to take, and also for the U.S. Army to defend. The war stalls there, a stalemate, neither side being able to shift things.[3]
Manhattan is mainly empty, with only 400,000 people still on the island (compared with 1.5 million in the 2000 census), populated only by the poor — who were not evacuated —, snipers and holdouts. Wood has described the setting as: "Think equal parts Escape From New York, Fallujah and New Orleans right after Katrina"[4].
The protagonist is Matthew (Matty) Roth, a naïve photo journalism intern from Long Island, who enters the DMZ with a news-crew. He becomes trapped when the rest of the news crew and the soldiers escorting them are killed in a firefight with "insurgents". Matty becomes the only journalist on the ground in the DMZ and he begins to report on the daily struggle of life for the everyday citizens of Manhattan.
Notable places
Template:Spoilers A lot of information about the New York of DMZ can be found in issue #12, which was a Time Out-style guide to the DMZ.
- Central Park
- The park is mostly deforested, the trees having been cut down for firewood. A rogue special forces unit known only as The Ghosts patrols and protects what is left. This unit is based out of the Central Park Zoo, which they also run, taking care of the animals that are left[5]. Central Park and The Ghosts were featured in issue #4.
- Chinatown
- Asians were the largest ethnic group who were overlooked by the evacuations; Chinatown is still heavily occupied, but behind closed doors[6].
- Ground Zero
- In issue #12, Matty mentions that Ground Zero is "one of the craziest places in the city"[6]; Wood describes it as "this place that no one goes, like a sacred site."[7]. The site is surrounded by a high wall and controlled by the U.S. military, possibly for its political significance for propaganda[6].
- Old Meat-Packing District
- This section of the city is controlled by the Independent Artists’ Collective Protectorate. It is also the section of the city where Matty starts his reporting.
- Stuyvesant Town
- This is one of the better areas of Manhattan to live in. Stuyvesant Town is a closed and secure community that has regular electricity supply — although only for one hour a day[8]. Matty manages to get an apartment in this area. Stuyvesant Town was featured in issue #5.
Collected editions
| # | Title | ISBN | Release date | Collected material |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | DMZ: On The Ground | ISBN 1-4012-10627 | June 7, 2006 | DMZ #1–5. |
| 2 | DMZ: Body of a Journalist | ISBN 1-4012-12476 | February 7, 2007 | DMZ #6-12 |
External links and references
Official and semi-official sites
- Vertigo comics
- Brian Wood's website
- Brian Wood's blog on LiveJournal
- DMZ images from Brian Wood's Flickr account
Other links
- The issues of DMZ on ComicBookDB.com
- DMZ images on PopCultureShock.com
- DMZ page on IGN.com
- DMZ cover art on ComicArtCommunity.com
- Showing the DMZ: Brian Wood talks DMZ #12 on newsarama.com
References
- ^ Brian Wood (2006-10-01). "DMZ vol. 2". LiveJournal. Retrieved 2006-10-04.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ DMZ, issue #8, June 2006
- ^ Chris Arrant (2006-10-03). "War Torn: Brian Wood's DMZ and Supermarket". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved 2006-10-04.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Dave Richards (November 9, 2005). "The War at Home: Wood and Burchielli talk DMZ". Comic Book Resources.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ DMZ, issue #4, February 2006
- ^ a b c DMZ, issue #12, October 2006
- ^ Shaun Manning (2006-08-04). "Wizard World Chicago: Brian Wood one-on-one". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved 2006-10-04.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ DMZ, issue #5, March 2006