DMZ #68

Written by Brian Wood
Art by Riccardo Burchielli

I can see where some may feel that this final story arc in DMZ is a little anti-climactic, as this issue is all about Matty driving around Lower Manhattan with Zee, meeting people and talking about the future of the city, but I find it fascinating.

To start with, the proposal to divide New York into 'Five Nations' in the wake of the peace armistice between the US and the Free States is pretty interesting.  Matty has two weeks to finish up his work before he has to turn himself in to the government, and he's using that time to organize his notes and complete as comprehensive an accounting of the war as he can.

He and Zee travel to Ground Zero, a first for Matty, and then meet with a representative of Lower Manhattan - the 'First Nation'.  He is, of course, a "finance real-estate douchebag", which is what Lower Manhattan is known for.  I like how Wood shows us the real Ground Zero, and then shows us exactly the type of people who profited from it.

There is something wistful about this arc, as we ride with Matty through the city for a final time.  I plan on soaking up as much nuance as I can from the remaining three issues of this series.