Status
Available
Call number
Collections
Publication
Vertigo (2006), Paperback, 128 pages
Description
In the near future, America's worst nightmare has come true. With military adventurism overseas bogging down the Army and National Guard, the U.S. government mistakenly neglects the very real threat of anti-establishment militias scattered across the 50 states. Like a sleeping giant, Middle America rises up and violently pushes its way to the shining seas, coming to a standstill at the line in the sand - Manhattan. Or, as the world now knows it, the DMZ. Matty Roth, a naive aspiring photojournalist, lands a dream job following a veteran war correspondent into the heart of he DMZ. Things soon go terribly wrong, and Matty finds himself lost and alone in a world he's only seen on television. There, he is faced with a choice: find a way off the island, or make his career with an assignment most journalists would kill for. But can he survive in this savage war zone long enough to report the truth?… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member wealhtheowwylfing
America is gripped by a vicious civil war between the United States and the Free States. NYC is caught in the middle, a perilous no-man's-land filled with ordinary citizens turned desperate survivors. Little information gets in or out of Manhattan (or the DMZ, as it's known), so a Pulitzer-winning
By and large, the art is merely servicable. A full trade in, the characters have very little personality. The dialog sounds clunky, cliched and impersonal. The city doesn't quite make sense. Years after being cut off from the outside, how are they still eating? Zee makes an off-hand comment about growing their own food (which inspired me on a long research tangent about making my own tofu--thanks, DMZ!), but I really doubt they have enough seeds and soil to feed an entire city. There are still noodle carts--where are they getting their noodles? Do they grow their own wheat? Where? Matty gets a certain amount of notoriety for being the only official member of the press in the DMZ, but we never see him parlay it, or barter it, for necessities. How is he paying for food and toilet paper? Does the DMZ recognize US money? How bout Free States money? How bout bank cards? Just how cut off *are* they? Did all the rich people skedaddle, or were they killed, or do they run medieval fiefdoms now? Given that "DMZ" is not really about the characters, I expected it to be about the city--but most of the city is completely unexplained or explored. I don't think Wood actually considered what life in this city would be like--his take is a very superficial one, and it's frustrating!
I don't feel like I wasted my lunch break on this, but if I'm not assured it gets significantly better, I wouldn't waste my time on another issue.
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journalist and his entourage set out to be the first. But they are shot down just as they enter the DMZ, and only the journalist's oblivious young photographer survives. Zee, the local medic, takes Matty Roth under her wing for a few days and shows him around. Eventually, he becomes interested in life in the DMZ (and disenchanted by the US actions there), so he decides to stay and document what he can.By and large, the art is merely servicable. A full trade in, the characters have very little personality. The dialog sounds clunky, cliched and impersonal. The city doesn't quite make sense. Years after being cut off from the outside, how are they still eating? Zee makes an off-hand comment about growing their own food (which inspired me on a long research tangent about making my own tofu--thanks, DMZ!), but I really doubt they have enough seeds and soil to feed an entire city. There are still noodle carts--where are they getting their noodles? Do they grow their own wheat? Where? Matty gets a certain amount of notoriety for being the only official member of the press in the DMZ, but we never see him parlay it, or barter it, for necessities. How is he paying for food and toilet paper? Does the DMZ recognize US money? How bout Free States money? How bout bank cards? Just how cut off *are* they? Did all the rich people skedaddle, or were they killed, or do they run medieval fiefdoms now? Given that "DMZ" is not really about the characters, I expected it to be about the city--but most of the city is completely unexplained or explored. I don't think Wood actually considered what life in this city would be like--his take is a very superficial one, and it's frustrating!
I don't feel like I wasted my lunch break on this, but if I'm not assured it gets significantly better, I wouldn't waste my time on another issue.
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LibraryThing member shannonkearns
i am loving this series so far. the artwork is great and the story is engaging. can't wait to see where it goes from here.
LibraryThing member JackieP
This first volume of DMZ is a graphic novel about a second civil war in America, which follows the encounters of a rookie journalist (Matty Roth) as he attempts to uncover the truth. Very engaging and had far more depth than I expected. Highly recommended.
LibraryThing member JonathanGorman
Good start to the series, looking forward to more volumes. A little bit of war with a touch of Cory Doctorow-ish makers.
LibraryThing member Krumbs
I'm not sure what I expected with this one, but this certainly wasn't it! Much more interesting and varied than I had anticipated. The idea of a post-apocalyptic New York is nothing new, but how it's dealt with in this case is fascinating. Reminds me of how Y: The Last Man was before it devolved
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near the end. I'm definitely picking up the next one in this series. Show Less
LibraryThing member R3dH00d
I'm not sure about this series yet. The premise sounds good enough, but I'm not all that interested in the main characters so far.
LibraryThing member lavaturtle
I've had this on my shelf for ages, and finally got around to reading it. It was written 10 years ago, and in some ways it's obviously a product of its time -- the US is bogged down in overseas wars, and questions about the neutrality of journalists embedded with military forces are prominent --
I like that the story re-humanizes the people who get caught in the middle when wars are fought over their neighborhood. And that the way things are in "dangerous" neighborhoods is the result of rational choices people made to protect themselves, not just faceless "crime" and "violence". There are no easy answers in here, just more questions of what should be sacrificed, what should be protected.
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but in other ways it's aged well. People living in "violent" neighborhoods (whether actual war zones or just poor) are still treated as disposable by occupying forces. Anti-government militias are even more of a thing than they were 10 years ago.I like that the story re-humanizes the people who get caught in the middle when wars are fought over their neighborhood. And that the way things are in "dangerous" neighborhoods is the result of rational choices people made to protect themselves, not just faceless "crime" and "violence". There are no easy answers in here, just more questions of what should be sacrificed, what should be protected.
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LibraryThing member teknognome
A good premise for a story, in a potentially interesting world. Unfortunately this volume doesn't go into much details about how the world got to be how it is, or even what the situation is outside the surrounds of Manhattan. Also, the final arc about the stolen jacket was completely uncompelling,
Maybe it's the start of something interesting, but that depends a lot on what the next volume is like.
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especially given it's end. Maybe the next volume goes somewhere interesting with it, but it doesn't leave me wanting to out.Maybe it's the start of something interesting, but that depends a lot on what the next volume is like.
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LibraryThing member YorickBrown
There's a civil war going on in North America. Long Island belongs to one side, New Jersey belongs to the other, and Manhattan is the DMZ. A young reporter gets stranded there and has to find a way to survive, and hopefully send back some exclusive news.
The comic's first impact is a visceral
Premise aside, the book's plot and characters are interesting enough to carry you through the first few issues. Future installments will tell whether they're meant to function as your guide through the nightmare landscape of urban war, or will exist as independent entities in their own right.
Original post on "All The Things I've Lost"
The comic's first impact is a visceral
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reminder that war is real, and that modern war happens to everyday people in the place where they live. Amid the horrific vision of a bombed-out lower Manhattan, you're forced to remember that the realities of bombed-out Baghdad (and countless other places as well, but especially Baghdad) are just as close to home.Premise aside, the book's plot and characters are interesting enough to carry you through the first few issues. Future installments will tell whether they're meant to function as your guide through the nightmare landscape of urban war, or will exist as independent entities in their own right.
Original post on "All The Things I've Lost"
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LibraryThing member TobinElliott
Really good introduction to an entirely new world: New York as a battleground.
Think Escape From New York coupled with the feel of The Walking Dead (without the zombies, of course).
The art's fantastic, the writing's great. What more do you want?
Think Escape From New York coupled with the feel of The Walking Dead (without the zombies, of course).
The art's fantastic, the writing's great. What more do you want?
Awards
Language
Physical description
128 p.; 6.59 inches
ISBN
1401210627 / 9781401210625