American Vampire #27

Written by Scott Snyder
Art by Riccardo Burchielli

This is a strange issue of American Vampire.  Don't get me wrong - it's still very well-written, but I just found that the parts didn't add up the way they usually do.

To begin with, the cover does not, on any level, have anything to do with what happens in the comic.  This issue finishes off the two-part story featuring Calvin Hobbes, in conflict with a small group of werewolves in Alabama.  Pearl, the comic's usual main character only appears at the very end of the issue, and she's neither in the rain nor standing near someone with a gun.

Another thing that threw me is Riccardo Burchielli's artwork.  I've enjoyed his work on DMZ and Northlanders, but with this issue, his style has changed quite a bit, and I don't really like it.  It felt like he was trying to fit his approach with the usual look that Rafael Albuquerque has established for this series, and then mix it with the way that Roger Cruz drew the last issue.  It didn't really work.

The other thing that threw me is a rather random and unexplained flashback where Calvin discovers his wife (I assume) naked in his backyard hanging laundry and covered in vampire bites.  I vaguely remember that vamps had killed his family (I think his backstory was explained in the WWII arc where he debuted), but this scene is not given enough context for it to be very effective.

What I did like about this comic was the way in which Snyder examines other manifestations of 'vampires', which include the aforementioned werewolves and zombies.  Much like Chris Roberson has in his iZombie, Snyder attempts to work a more unified theory for monsters into his writing, and while it's still 'comic book science', I appreciate the consistency.

I am very much looking forward to the next issue, which promises the return of Pearl, Henry, and most importantly, Rafael Albuquerque.

DMZ #72

Written by Brian Wood
Art by Riccardo Burchielli

What a perfect way to end a long-running and complex series.  I feel like DMZ didn't receive enough attention over the last few years.  It's been as good as other lionized Vertigo series like Y the Last Man, but has never developed the same sort of vocal, loyal fan base (although we know they are out there - this comic has had remarkably stable, if not stellar, sales).  Now that the series is over, I imagine that people will begin to re-read and re-examine it as a series that, while consisting of speculative fiction set in the future, really captured the zeitgeist of the last six years.

Six years ago, America was embroiled in two costly, and poorly defined, foreign wars, vigorously pursued by its evangelical neoconservative president.  Its housing market hadn't burst yet.  Right-wing church-goers, racists, and crazies hadn't formed the Tea Party.  Wall Street hadn't been occupied.  The military-industrial complex was only ever gaining in influence and power.  Journalism was beginning its decline towards irrelevance in the lives of the common man and woman.  Income disparity was growing, and the country was increasingly split along ideological lines.  Ground Zero was a fresh wound.

DMZ grew out of the sense that, for the first time in a very long time, Americans recognized that their future was not as bright as it used to be.  It was, therefore, easy to accept a not-so-distant future where the country was split in a second civil war.  It also wasn't hard to accept that the country's greatest city would become an epicentre of conflict, tactically advantageous to both sides, but impossible to hold on to, and populated by some of the toughest, most recalcitrant people in the country.

Into this trashed out city, Brian Wood parachuted Matty Roth, a naive and ignorant kid with dreams of becoming a great journalist.  Over the last six years, we watched Matty grow to love and understand his adopted city, as he tried to use his unique position as a celebrity journalist to try to better things for the people of Manhattan.  He screwed up.  A lot.  There were a number of times where I didn't like, or understand Matty.  It's a good thing he wasn't really the main character of the comic; the city was.

As the series evolved and grew, it continued to reflect the times it was being written in.  Parco Delgado, the New York-born man who became mayor and took the political process hostage emerged out of the optimism and excitement that developed while Barack Obama ran for, and became, President.  The Free States was explained and understood in the wake of the national attention given to the Tea Party.  I always felt that Wood was using this series to, very subtly, inform us of the issues of our day.

Through it all though, he told a good story.  As I said, I didn't always like Matty, but I loved characters like Zee (Matty's on-again off-again girlfriend and medic), Wilson (the leader/saviour of Chinatown), DJ Random Fire, the graffiti artist Decade Later, and Amina, the would-be suicide bomber.  And of course, the city.  I've only visited New York a few times, but I feel like I've gotten a better sense of its neighbourhoods and its people through this comic.

This brings me, finally, to this last issue.  Matty narrates it through the introduction to the 15th anniversary edition of his book.  As we read along with a young woman, she travels through the re-built and redeveloped parts of Manhattan that were relevant to the comic.  We see the shrine to Wilson, and the memorial to the victims of the Day 204 Massacre.  It is a very fitting epilogue to the series, and I found it to be an emotional farewell to characters and places I grew to understand.

Riccardo Burchielli has been a huge part of this series's success.  His art has increasingly grown on me over the years, to the point where I am going to miss my monthly dose of his work, but I have to say that the fourteenth page, which is a splash panel of the young woman sitting on the steps of a building at the Day 204 site, is one of the most beautiful things he's ever drawn.

Wood, Burchielli, and the assorted guest artists and editors who have worked on this book over the years should be immensely proud of it.  It addressed some difficult issues, and became a lens through which we could look at our own world.  It also told some damn exciting and gripping stories.

DMZ #71

Written by Brian Wood
Art by Riccardo Burchielli

For most of this comic, I was convinced that I was reading the final issue, and as such, I found myself getting annoyed with the extent to which this issue was only focusing on Matty, when so many other denizens of the DMZ have grown on me over the last six years.  It's all good though, as there's one more issue left...

Most of this issue is set in a courthouse, where Matty stands on trial.  As per his arrangement with the government, Matty is prepared to plead guilty to every charge brought against him, no matter how much they are based on twisted facts and narrow readings of events.  At the heart of this entire final story arc is Matty's intense guilt for his actions over the course of this series - to him, being punished for something he didn't do is as righteous a form of penance for the things that he actually did.

I like the way Wood and Burchielli flash back to events from the course of the series as the justices read out the charges.  It's a fitting way to look back over this series as it comes to its conclusion.  I've been thinking lately about how much this series is a product of its times, but I think I'll wait until next month to discuss that.  I'm going to miss this title.

DMZ #70

Written by Brian Wood
Art by Riccardo Burchielli

'The Five Nations of New York' continues the long goodbye for this long-running series, as this month Matty Roth travels to the Empire State Building, chats with Zee some, and gets arrested.

We learned a couple of years ago that the Empire State Building had become the home to a 'death cult' of first responders, who were ultimately responsible for Matty's time in the DMZ starting the way that it did.  Death cults don't react well to change, and so it's kind of interesting to see what's going on in the building in the wake of peace breaking out.  In a lot of ways, this seems like a very anti-climactic last visit for Matty to make, but the heart of this issue lies with Matty's time with Zee.

They talk about just how Zee managed to maintain her sanity through the years of strife and turmoil in the DMZ.  She's always been the most interesting character in this series, so it's nice to be able to see things from her perspective one last time.  I'm not sure how Wood is going to finish things off next month, but I look forward to finding out.

DMZ #69

Written by Brian Wood
Art by Riccardo Burchielli

My, but sometimes a twenty-page story can feel very short.  In this issue, Matty Roth continues his good-bye tour of Manhattan before both he and us, the readers, leave it forever.  Matty knows that he's going to be detained (or perhaps disappeared) as part of the deal he arranged with the US government, but is using his remaining time to finish organizing his notes and to visit each of the 'Five Nations' of the new New York.

We travel with him first to Chinatown, where the residents are holding a memorial service for Wilson, their leader and protector through the years of conflict.  Wilson was always one of the more interesting characters in this comic - he seemed almost other-worldly at times, but there was an issue that focused on him about a year ago (I think) that revealed a great deal about his character.  What I like in this part of this comic (aside from the terrific crowd scenes drawn by Buchielli), is the way in which Matty wrestles with his feelings for Wilson, and the surprise he feels upon learning that Wilson viewed him as a friend, as opposed to a convenient partner at times.

After that, Matty and Zee make their way to Parktown, the region surrounding and including Central Park.  It was the way Wood made use of the Park in the earliest issues of this comic that helped solidify my loyalty, but now the Ghosts who looked after it are gone, or in the case of Soames, ghosts of their former selves.

Perhaps its indulgent to spend the last five issues of a series running this long saying good-bye to characters and locales, but being the sentimental creature that I am, I'm enjoying it a great deal.

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.

DMZ #67

Written by Brian Wood
Art by Riccardo Burchielli

DMZ is entering its final story arc, 'The Five Nations of New York', and it seems that peace may actually be coming to the DMZ.  Most of the issue is narrated by our mysterious pirate radio broadcaster (I'm still hoping it's going to be Jennie One), who checks in on a number of the peace initiatives, such as Zee coordinating with the Red Cross, massive gun amnesties, and housing lotteries.  If ever there is proof that Manhattan is recovering, it's that the real estate market is back...

Brian Wood tries to cover a lot of ground in this issue, although at the heart, we still have Matty Roth wrestling with his actions over the last few years, and trying to avoid being the pawn of the government.  That aspect of the comic has become a little tired, to be perfectly honest, but I'm still curious to see just how Matty is going to land when this all ends.

Curiously, the cover posted on Vertigo's website (shown here) is missing the foreground of the published comic.  It's not a spoiler - like all of John Paul Leon's images for this book, it's quite nice - and so I wonder why they removed it.

DMZ #66

Written by Brian Wood
Art by Riccardo Burchielli

It's been a while since we've seen what's going on with Zee, the character who has more or less functioned as the conscience of this series since we, and main character Matty Roth, first met her back at the beginning of Matty's time in the DMZ.

Since splitting with Matty, Zee has been living with Martel, the girl Matty rescued from Trustwell, the Halliburton stand-in that was one of the plagues the people in he DMZ have had to endure.  As this issue opens, Martel leaves, and Zee finds herself examining her stubborn persistence in the city.  It's true that she comes from New York, and so can't go home, but still she struggles with the notion of abandoning her medical work, and leaving the city to its fate.

While she goes through this conversation with herself, the reader is treated to a number of flashbacks to different moments over the last five years as she revisits her relationship with Matty.  I like that DMZ has run in real time, covering such a long stretch of time in the life of the city and its inhabitants.  There is only one arc left before this series ends, and so it's fitting that Brian Wood take a moment to look in on one of the most important characters in the book.

Before finishing here, I want to comment on how wonderful John Paul Leon's covers have been for this book, since he took over from Wood.  This issue's cover is among the best he's done.

DMZ #65

Written by Brian Wood
Art by Riccardo Burchielli

Parco Delgado is no Osama Bin Laden, but it's interesting to look for parallels between these two figures, given the proximity of the release of this comic to Bin Laden's death at the hands of the American military.

In this comic, Delgado became the Governor of New York through what is believed to be a rigged election.  It comes out during his trial that he was receiving money and security from the FSA, but that he had no intention of ever becoming their puppet.  He also makes it clear that he did not detonate his nuclear device at Indian Point, and that it was indeed the US Army who caused the explosion there.  Matty has proof, and decides to enter into negotiations with the US so that he can save Parco from execution, and also bring the war to an end.

Bin Laden, of course, is an Islamist fundamentalist who received training from the US during the war between Afghanistan and the Soviet Union, and who later used his training and connections against the US.  Parco was never meant to be an analogue of Bin Laden, but this comic and world events have often gone hand in hand, in an allegorical fashion, and the timing here is a pretty cool coincidence.

On top of these events, Matty also gets to see Zee again, meets the president, and has finally come as far as he can from being the self-absorbed loser we met when the series began.  I think there are four issues left in this series, and I'm looking forward to watching Wood wrap things up.  Next issue is a Zee solo issue, and it should be great.

DMZ #64

Written by Brian Wood
Art by Riccardo Burchielli

As we get closer and closer to the end of DMZ, there is definitely a sense that Brian Wood is trying to wrap up loose ends, and provide a satisfying conclusion to not just Matty's story, or New York's, but to many of the supporting characters that have been developed over the years.

While I have been really enjoying seeing Matty's reaction to the more direct involvement of the US Army in the DMZ, it is the news broadcasts and channel-surfing pages that have given me the most pleasure lately.  In this issue, the technique of flipping channels has shown us what has happened to characters like DJ Random Fire and the family of the soldier accused in the Day 204 Massacre.

In the main part of the story, we see Matty trying to figure out what's going on with old friends like Wilson and Zee, while the Free States Commander gives up Parco Delgado to the Army.  This title has a lot of momentum right now.

DMZ #63

Written by Brian Wood
Art by Riccardo Burchielli

It's become hard to read this book without always being aware of the fact that the title is nearing the end of its run, and that soon enough, the final fate of Manhattan will be decided.

This current arc, 'Free States Rising', gives Matty total autonomy in terms of his obligations to the American army and Liberty News, but it also has him facing many of his demons.  This issue opens with him having a secretive conversation with the FSA commander we've seen many times throughout the history of this series.  He tells Matty where Parco Delgado, the former leader of the Delgado Nation, is hiding, and Matty heads off to see him.

Both of these men, Parco and the Commander, have had a huge influence on Matty and his time in the DMZ.  Now, it almost feels like Matty is seeking some closure with each of them, and is doing his best to no longer allow anyone to manipulate him, although having read his conversation with Parco, I'm not sure that he's too successful at that.

I'm expecting big things from the last year of this comic.

DMZ #62

Written by Brian Wood
Art by Riccardo Burchielli

After a few months of flashbacks and one-off issues, Wood has brought us back to the current situation in Manhattan, as the United States Army enters the city in large numbers.  They have finished their massive bombing campaign, and are now making their way through the city with the goal of taking control of it, and then coordinating their entry into Free States territory.

Matty Roth, the usual main character of this series, is traveling with them in his new role as embedded journalist.  Matty's been used by Liberty News and the army before, but he agrees that an independent, impartial record of the invasion needs to be kept, and that he is probably the only person able to do the job.  It's amusing that for most of the issue, the soldiers don't attempt to make use of Matty's superior knowledge of the territory, and he doesn't volunteer it.

This series has been about Matty's growth more than anything.  Here, he reflects on the attitudes and actions of the soldiers entering the DMZ for the first time, and recognizes in them his own earlier self.  What remains to be seen is how Matty will leave this particular part of his journey, especially after an old, familiar face shows up towards the end of the issue.

I feel like, as the series nears its end, Wood is finally able to put into play some things he's been planning for a long time, and that makes this series exciting again.  It's very nice to see regular artist Burchielli back on the book, as he's been gone for a little while now.

Northlanders #34

Written by Brian Wood
Art by Riccardo Burchielli

Metal, the arc that concludes with this issue, has to be the strangest story Wood has told in Northlanders to date.  While he has danced with the supernatural in some of his stories in book before, they have always been told in the context of the characters perceiving a new thing in mystical terms.

This is the first arc that has ever moved from historically verifiable and plausible plots into the fantastical.  Prior to this issue, it was quite believable that Erik, the protagonist and berserker murderer of Christians, was quite simply insane and was imagining the supernatural elements of the story.  This issue makes it seem that the odd parts of the story were really happening, as Erik has a big fight with Black Karl, who grows in size during their brawl.

Also, Hulda, the goddess that Erik has been communicating with almost since we first saw him, also speaks to Ingrid, Erik's love.  I'm not sure how effective this story was when compared to some of the finer Northlanders arcs, but I did like the way that Wood inverted peoples' usual expectations for this title and made it fresh and unpredictable.  It's been cool to see Burchielli draw something other than a bombed-out Manhattan for a change too.

Northlanders #33

Written by Brian Wood
Art by Riccardo Burchielli

I've been enjoying Metal since it started, but I think this is the best issue of the story to date.

Erik and Ingrid are continuing their rampage across the Norselands like a Viking Micky and Mallory Knox, hunting down and slaughtering Christians everywhere.  Their legend has grown, and one night, while sharing a fire with some local Norsemen, they learn about how the locals see their deeds.

At the same time though, the spectre of Black Karl, the man they killed last issue, pursues them.  The way Wood has structured this arc, I'm not sure what is real and what is in Erik's mind.  Northlanders has always been delivered as a historical fiction series, so this arc, with its spirits (and now Draugrs) is jarringly out of place.  I tend to read scenes like the last one in this comic as proof of Erik's addled mind, but I suppose it is also possible that Wood is giving us an old school Vertigo story, with all the dark fantasy that usually entails.

Either way, I'm enjoying this book.

Northlanders #32

Written by Brian Wood
Art by Riccardo Burchielli

Metal, the latest arc in Northlanders, starts to really get moving with this issue.  Erik, our dumb brute of a hero, continues his vendetta against the Christians that have invaded his world, in the most brutal ways possible.  The Christians have brought in a man to hunt him down.  This character is basically the same person that we saw in the Ryan Kelly-drawn The Cross + The Hammer arc a while ago, which I continue to see as a companion piece to this story, albeit from an opposite perspective.

The two men have a confrontation, but before that we learn a lot more about Ingrid/Agnes, the girl who caused Erik's rampage to begin in the first place.  It turns out that she really is an albino, which was somewhat unclear before, and may be as tapped into the spiritual nature of the old ways as Erik seems to be.  We also get a lengthy treatise on the proper way to make charcoal, which is the type of thing I love this comic for.

Burchielli is doing some cool work in this comic.  He has a couple pages to show Erik at his Christian-slaughtering work, and the style he uses is visceral and unsettling.  There is an undercurrent of hallucination throughout this arc, and it's been very cool to see.

Northlanders #31

Written by Brian Wood
Art by Riccardo Burchielli

This is a strange arc.  Prior to this arc, Northlanders has stayed focus on historical accuracy and realistic portrayals of life in the Norse period.  With this arc, Wood is introducing some of the old gods, as Erik, our protagonist, has frequent conversations with one god.

This leads me to ask if Erik is crazy, or if this is a shift in tone for the series.  Regardless, it's a good story, as the consequences of Erik's actions last issue (slaughtering a delegation of Christians and burning their half-built church) are explained to him by Ulf, the man who was berating him at the start of the arc.

Wood has chosen to focus on an interesting part of European history, and I'm interested in seeing how this conflict between the Christians and the Norse will play out.  In a lot of ways, this story works as a counterpoint to the earlier arc, The Cross + The Hammer, which had an Irishman resisting against Viking invaders.

Northlanders #30

Written by Brian Wood
Art by Riccardo Burchielli

I always get excited when a new arc of Northlanders gets underway.  What I like most about this title is the way each arc is set in a different place and time, this time around being in 8th Century Norway, where a group of Christians have commissioned the local Vikings to build a church.

This is a huge opportunity for the town.  There is the promise of employment and wealth, which many locals are willing to trade away some of their culture and spiritual autonomy for.  This does not extend to Erik, the gigantic unskilled blacksmith who is fired from the construction project at the beginning of the story.  Erik communes with the old gods (through hallucinogens; this hasn't become a traditional Vertigo book with gods and goddesses wandering around), and takes umbrage at the actions of the arriving Christians - particularly a young girl that they have brought with them.  He decides to make his objections known one night, setting off 'Metal' in a big way.

I like the way Wood is showing these two conflicting religions and cultures.  One can read a lot into the scene where the one Christian demands that the Norsemen divert the river so it runs next to the church so that the priests and monks don't have to travel far to urinate.

Wood is joined on this arc by his DMZ collaborator Burchielli, and as usual, the two work very well together.  I'm not sure how long this story is set to run, but I look forward to seeing this cultural conflict continue.

DMZ #54

Written by Brian Wood
Art by Riccardo Burchielli

Wood uses this issue to both finish up the MIA storyline and reset the entire title, taking it, and Matty, back to his roots as the series moves forward.

Basically, since giving his order that led to the deaths of a group of civilians, Matty has been overcome by guilt and self-doubt.  He's been wandering through New York on his way to turn himself in to the US forces, and to turn over the dog-tags of a few dead soldiers he discovered a few issues back, this slight act of contrition taking on massive symbolic importance in his mind.

What Matty finds is not what he was expecting.  His father is on hand, and they have a very interesting conversation, before Matty is offered a new job.  So much of this series has been about chronicling Matty's maturation, as he has moved from being a glory-hunting tourist to a political activist to his new role, as observer and conscience; in other words, he's finally ready to become a true journalist.

I've often been impressed with this book, and I really like this new/old direction.  There has been a lot of talk lately about how comics do not permit any real change in their characters, and at first it felt like Wood was, by returning this book to something closer to its original concept, bowing to similar pressures, but I expect that this was the plan all along, and that the contrast between the Matty of the first year of this series to the Matty of now will be quite interesting.  Good stuff.

DMZ #53

Written by Brian Wood
Art by Ricardo Burchielli

This month, Matty gets tortured and then has a chat with Parco Delgado's sister, who is one scary Grace Jones with piercings type.  The army is escalating its activities in the DMZ, and Matty is looking for a new role for himself, as he comes to the realization that he is the best person to write the official historical record of what has been going on all these years.

I like how Wood is comparing the way Rose tortures Matty to the way he is torturing himself for his role in the destruction of the Parco nation in the wake of the nuclear explosion.  Matty resumes his probably-doomed task of returning some dog tags to the American army, which has become an act of contrition or redemption for him.

As always, this is a great book, even if this issue was a pretty quick read.

DMZ #52

Written by Brian Wood
Art by Riccardo Burchielli

So how do you react when you feel you're responsible for a nuclear explosion on American soil?  Matty is looking for ways to redeem himself, and is making some very strange conclusions about the best way to do that.  He wants to return the dogtags of the dead soldiers he found in a crashed helicopter last issue (wonderfully illustrated on the cover by John Paul Leon), even though he knows it means crossing a very hostile city and speaking with American Army soldiers who are probably going to be less than happy to see him.

When Wood has Matty out in the city, it reminded me of stories I'd read about life in Sarajevo during the war there.  Matty is terrified of crossing Broadway, which has become a 'river of blood' separating the east from the west side of the city.  There is a real sense of menace in these scenes, where every person is a potential threat.

This series is consistently entertaining and impressive.