DMZ #50

Written by Brian Wood
Art by Rebekah Isaacs, Jim Lee, Fábio Moon, Ryan Kelly, Lee Bermejo, Riccardo Burchielli, Phillip Bond, John Paul Leon, Eduardo Risso, and Dave Gibbons

The last few years have been rough on Vertigo, sales wise, and so when one of their titles reaches the 50th issue milestone, it is cause for some celebration; especially when that book is frequently one of their most original and best.

DMZ has been telling, over the last four years, the story of New York City during the 2nd American civil war. New York is disputed territory between the American Army and the Free States Army. Matty Roth, a young journalist, was accidentally abandoned in the city, and the series has been chronicling his activities and changing personality throughout that time.

This anniversary issue is the perfect jumping on point for new readers, as it is designed as Matty's "Notes From the Underground", small stories, vignettes, and profile of the different people that have had an impact on Matty's life. Wood uses this issue to showcase some of the many different facets of life in the DMZ that the series has become known for. There is a political story, wherein Matty meets the supreme commander of the Free States forces. There is also a story where he meets a man who has painstakingly protected some of the great works of fine art that were in Manhattan at the start of the war. We get a window into some of the relationships that keep the city functioning, such as when Zee helps recover an unexploded ordinance, and when Matty has dinner with Wilson. In short, this issue encapsulates all that is amazing about this series.

And I haven't even talked about the art yet. Wood collaborates here with a number of incredible artists, and they all manage to display the city in its gritty majesty. I would have liked to see a page by Wood himself, as it's been too long since the earlier issues, where he usually drew a single page.

The last arc of DMZ ended with a huge game changer, in terms of the political and environmental situation within the city. This issue feels like a last look back before Matty jumps into something completely new, and I enjoyed it quite a bit. If you are not reading DMZ, you're missing out.

Ex Machina Special #4

Written by Brian K. Vaughan
Art by John Paul Leon

So I really admire the way Vaughan has basically written this one-shot issue of Ex Machina to call out the comics industry, and DC in particular, for their use of paper. The story is about a gardener who murders a newspaper publisher after he has a confrontation with Hundred over the mayor's environmental policies.

There is some hinting that this Gardener character, who can communicate with plants, has a link to Hundred, the other character who speaks to animals, and the strange intimations of a parallel world that keep showing up in the series. And of course, he's linked to Hundred's past as the Great Machine, as are all new plot developments in this series.

That alone makes for a good comic, but it's the sniping at the comic industry, and its "virgin paper going into virgin hands that tuck them away into poisonous plastic. Forever." Later, Hundred talks about how he has pressured the newspapers in NYC to convert to recycled paper, but has done nothing about the comic industry. He also refers to the need for comics to be using paper stock 'certified by the Forest Stewardship Council, not the logging industry's shills," which is, of course, is a comment on DC's recent decision to use paper certified by questionable means.

It amuses me that DC published this form of self-criticism. At the same time, it's Wildstorm, and they seem to have a lot of freedom (mostly because no one reads them).

This book made a nice companion to The Amazon published by Dark Horse this week.

The Winter Men Winter Special

Written by Brett Lewis
Art by John Paul Leon

Well, this is a book I never thought I'd see come out (and on time at that)! This comic first came out back in 2005, and was supposed to be eight issues long. As it continued, slowly, it got squeezed down to six issues, but the sixth comic was never solicited until a couple of months ago, when it became this issue here.

What with Wildstorm's history of just canceling titles before they complete (Stormwatch: Team Achilles), it is a huge surprise to me that this book ever saw the light of day. And I'm very happy that it did.

This series is about a group of ex-Soviet superheroes, who wore mechanized armor very similar to DC's Rocket Reds, and how they are making a life for themselves in the post-Soviet Russia of corrupt oligarchs and mafioso. It is also about strange weapons being produced in secret cities, the black-market organ trade, and the difficulty of staying married. It is an excellent series. The early issues had a different voice to them - the dialogue was Russified, and the entire series was structured very much like a Russian novel, with long asides and a tapestry-like plot.

In this issue, Lewis and Leon have to finish things up quickly, and so have to trade off some of their Russian novel style for the quicker bang of a Hollywood movie, but with their own peculiar sensibilities showing through. The first page serves as a slight re-cap, mostly just showing us names and faces, but it has Kalenov, the protagonist, say, "My little friends, I thought I would have more time to tell you how things ended up. But perhaps for now... I will just tell you the good parts..." before launching us into the story.

I'd meant to re-read the first 5 issues before getting to this, but never got the chance. Regardless, I got caught up quickly, and really enjoyed seeing this story through to the end. Leon's artwork was perfect for this book - bleak and dirty, like so much of the world he portrays, yet also beautiful. The lettering of John Workman Jr. also stands out in this comic, matching the incredible work he did on Simonson's Thor run years ago.

If you haven't been reading this series, I strongly recommend you pick up the inevitable trade. It's one of the best comics of 2005!