DMZ

AUTHOR: Wood, Brian

ARTIST: Riccardo Burchielli (illustrator); Brian Wood (illustrator and cover artist); Nikki Cook (illustrator); Kristian Donaldson (illustrator); Ryan Kelly (illustrator); Danijel Zezelj (illustrator); Andrea Mutti (pencils); Jared K. Fletcher (letterer); Jeromy Cox (colorist); John Paul Leon (cover artist)

PUBLISHER: DC Comics

FIRST SERIAL PUBLICATION: 2005-

FIRST BOOK PUBLICATION: 2006

Publication History

DMZ was first released in 2005 as part of DC Comics’ Vertigo line. The idea for the series was born out of Brian Wood’s experiences living in New York City, and he has called the book a collection of “city stories, but amplified.” The series began after editor Will Dennis facilitated a meeting between Wood and artist Riccardo Burchielli. Wood had seen Burchielli’s art on an Italian comic (Chourmo), which featured elements of graphic military action. Burchielli, a native of Italy, had grown up as a fan of American comics and was quick to accept the opportunity to work on DMZ.

Even though Burchielli has never visited the United States, the series is a vivid portrayal of New York, mostly because of Wood’s supply of photographic references and personal experiences. While he is best known for his work as an author, Wood also worked for Rockstar Games and did graphic-design work for music magazines and Nike. Despite Wood’s initial uncertainty regarding the longevity of the series, it became a premiere title for the Vertigo line. Wood has announced that the series will end with issue 72, but he has also mentioned the possibility of writing prequel stories that chronicle the events leading up to the second American civil war.

Plot

The first image of the series lays out the conflict according to a map. New Jersey and Inland are the Free States; Brooklyn, Queens, and Long Island comprise the United States of America; and in between is Manhattan Island, the DMZ. According to the initial time line, the story begins after the war has reached a stalemate, and the first issue takes place three days after a tentative cease-fire agreement has been reached.

The story begins with Matt Roth, a recent college graduate, accepting a job as an intern for Liberty News, where his father is on the board of directors. Almost immediately, Matt is given camera equipment and put on a helicopter bound for the DMZ with famous journalist Viktor Ferguson. Upon arrival, Ferguson and his security team are attacked and flee in the helicopter, leaving Matt behind. Ferguson’s helicopter is shot down, and Matt is left alone in the DMZ.

Matt soon meets Zee Hernandez, a medical student turned doctor, who protects Matt, instructing him on the dangers, rules, and customs of the war-torn area. When Matt contacts Liberty News for extraction, he sees firsthand the constant dangers faced by DMZ residents who are caught in between two warring factions. Wary of Liberty News and the U.S. government, Matt sets out to chronicle life in the DMZ. He quickly learns that the stories he had heard about residents of Manhattan are wildly inaccurate. As he witnesses the horrors of war and the toll paid by the disenfranchised and downtrodden locals of the city, Matt comes to think of himself as a journalist and is inspired to tell their stories.

Matt’s role as a journalist is first tested when he is vaulted into the limelight and forced into a political battle to decide the fate of Ferguson, who (it turns out) was captured, not killed, by the Free States. The U.S. Army uses the fact that Matt is stranded and the kidnapping to justify an invasion of the DMZ, but the Army is halted after Matt blackmails the government with photos of Ferguson’s murder by U.S. soldiers.

In an effort to win public support, the U.S. government grants the Trustwell Corporation a contract to rebuild Manhattan. Matt goes undercover in Trustwell’s organization to investigate allegations of corruption, eventually joining a terrorist cell within the company. Through conversations with a suicide bomber and a Free State spy, Matt learns that Trustwell is funding the terrorists against the company, creating a culture of panic and fear that secures their business interests in the DMZ. Subsequently, Matt exposes Trustwell through a rival news network rather than allowing the information to benefit Liberty News financially or benefit the Free States politically. Trustwell is discredited but remains a powerful player in the DMZ. Meanwhile, Matt becomes a DMZ icon.

During Matt’s second summer in the DMZ, he arrives at the Liberty News headquarters to do a story about the Day 204 Massacre, an event early in the conflict in which U.S. soldiers murdered a crowd of unarmed civilian protestors. According to the King, an absent-without-leave (AWOL) U.S. soldier featured throughout the series, Day 204 was the day the United States died. It sent the message that the United States was killing its own people and changed the public’s perception of the conflict.

During Matt’s investigation, a military tribunal acquits the soldiers involved and riots break out across the city. With the city calling for blood, the U.S. military drops one of the soldiers involved into an angry mob and he is beaten to death. Matt’s investigation leaves him disillusioned toward both Liberty News and the U.S. government.

To combat the growing tension within the DMZ, the Free States and U.S. government agree to form a provisional government. Leery of a return to a two-party approach, Parco Delgado announces his intention to run as a people’s candidate for the position. Matt joins Delgado’s efforts to win the election, especially after an assassination attempt on Delgado at a rally. Delgado’s charisma and Matt’s efforts, along with his mother’s role as a political consultant, help guide Delgado to victory.

Early in Delgado’s administration he evicts Trustwell and remaining representatives of the U.S. government. He consolidates his influence within an area referred to as Parco City. Matt’s first task for the administration is to use his connections with Wilson to find a rumored stockpile of Chinatown gold. Wilson gives Matt a portion of the gold, which Delgado uses to buy a nuclear weapon from Soames; the purchase of the weapon forces Matt to reassess his role within the Delgado administration. After turning over the bomb, he takes his mother’s job as press secretary. Matt fights against propaganda by establishing Radio Free DMZ, an independent voice to counter the U.S.-controlled Liberty News Network. However, he also hires a personal security force and engages in militant actions across the city. Matt has become an “enclave of one,” which allows him to be an autonomous agent within the city.

After Matt announces to the world that the DMZ is a nuclear state, a threatened U.S. government sends soldiers into the DMZ. Delgado goes underground and hides the bomb, leaving Matt to handle the press. As Matt ventures into the city he is captured and beaten by a group of U.S. soldiers. Bleeding in the street and filled with rage, Matt orders his security team to kill those responsible. Matt’s security team accidentally kills a group of civilians. Suddenly a pariah, Matt is left alone as U.S. bombers destroy the presumed site where Delgado was storing his bomb.

Volumes

•DMZ, Volume 1: On the Ground (2006). Collects issues 1-5. Addresses themes of journalistic integrity, the cost of civil war on the citizenry, and the dangerous power of the media to inform public opinion.

•DMZ, Volume 2: Body of a Journalist (2007). Collects issues 6-12. Criticizes the media’s role in justifying war, as the U.S. military creates a reason to bomb American citizens. Parallels discussions of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.

•DMZ, Volume 3: Public Works (2007). Collects issues 13-17. Criticizes the unchecked influence of the military-industrial complex in creating a culture of fear in order to secure business interests.

•DMZ, Volume 4: Friendly Fire (2008). Collects issues 18-22. Tells a cautionary tale for journalists. When a conspiracy becomes a tragedy, those involved must make sacrifices to preserve peace rather than expose the truth.

•DMZ, Volume 5: The Hidden War (2008). Collects issues 23-28. Includes short stories chronicling the lives of residents within the DMZ and explores the emotional and physical costs of war on artists, musicians, reporters, mobsters, and AWOL soldiers.

•DMZ, Volume 6: Blood in the Game (2009). Collects issues 29-34. Criticizes the representative gap created by a two-party system in politics as expressed by the DMZ’s first election. This arc also features themes of corporate influence over elections and skewed media coverage of local candidates.

•DMZ, Volume 7: War Powers (2009). Collects issues 35-41. The first arc follows a detachment of soldiers lying to their superiors to avoid combat with other Americans; the second deals with the acquisition of power within the DMZ and the threat it poses to military and political bodies.

•DMZ, Volume 8: Hearts and Minds (2010). Collects issues 42-49. One arc explores how grief can be corrupted in service of violence, and the second covers the ethical and physical dangers faced by journalists who cross into activism.

•DMZ, Volume 9: M.I.A. (2011). Collects issues 50-54. Addresses the theme of journalistic integrity as Matt, experiencing self pity after previous events, is given a second chance at redemption but chooses to deny himself amnesty in order to pursue the truth.

•DMZ, Volume 10: Collective Punishment (2011). Collects issues 55-59. Focuses primarily on the U.S. bombing campaign in the DMZ. Also features a story arc about Wilson.

Characters

•Matt “Matty” Roth, the lead protagonist, is a reluctant journalist who becomes a DMZ icon. Often seen with a bandaged nose and a press pass, he is the only journalist writing from the perspective of the locals. His character evolves over the course of the story, growing into a respectable journalist who eventually plays a central role in the rhetoric and politics of the DMZ. In later issues, he becomes a political adviser and soldier, and his actions reflect a growing cynicism and distrust of those in power.

•Zee Hernandez, a medical student turned DMZ doctor, runs a clinic to treat the wounded. After the war began and most citizens fled Manhattan, she stayed behind to care for the wounded. She often acts as Matt’s conscience, but she is also his girlfriend for a brief time.

•Wilson is Matt’s kooky neighbor and head of the Chinatown triad and initially helps Matt with bugged electronics, but as the series matures, he takes on more power. Eventually, he solidifies his power over Chinatown, an independent political entity within the DMZ.

•Parco Delgado is an uptown resident who becomes the first governor of the DMZ. Because of his charisma and loyalties, he is described as “the bastard child of Hugo Chavez and Al Sharpton.”

•The Free States Movement is a political group that rose up against the U.S. government. Within the DMZ, the group is led by an unnamed commander who operates out of the Lincoln Tunnel.

•The United States of America maintains military might and a recognizable political structure despite losing significant territory to the Free States. The government is as an extremist regime, fighting to regain lost control and influence.

•The Trustwell Corporation is a military contractor working closely with the U.S. government and Liberty News. Its actions are motivated by a desire for power and profit. Even after being forced out of the DMZ, several of its security groups remain to operate independently within the city.

•The Ghosts are a group of AWOL soldiers, led by Soames, who live in and police Central Park. Its members are rumored to be vigilantes but are also portrayed as environmentalists.

Artistic Style

The two primary artists on the book are Burchielli, who handles the majority of the interior pencil and ink artwork throughout the series, and Brian Wood, who does periodic pages and covers. While other artists have been featured throughout the series, Burchielli and Wood best express the artistic tone of the book.

In terms of their collaboration, Burchielli says Wood gives him a lot of freedom to set up the action and layout. Their primary debates are about the look and personality of New York. In describing his style, Burchielli states, “I really like simplicity in the stroke and a graphic synthesis that sometimes takes its inspiration from the ‘clear line’ of the French comics and from some South American authors.” Compared to Wood’s supplemental artwork, Burchielli’s art is strongly narrative, with dynamic action and high levels of background detail.

Wood’s experiences as an illustrator and graphic designer are evident in his incorporation of photography and graffiti art. At times his subjects are highly shadowed or featured in extreme close-ups that focus on a few specific aspects of faces or buildings. His visuals are often dark (in tone and composition), combining street art and realism. The sections of the book illustrated by Wood usually fuse words and images, creating art with a dramatic punch. For example, an early cover image featured Matt towering over his world, straddling the two territories, which are laid out like a map. An early story, titled “New York Times,” is illustrated by Wood and provides a tour guide’s perspective of life in the DMZ. While he intended to incorporate more of his art into the story, his success as an author has limited his availability. Fortunately, Wood illustrated the covers through issue 41, before passing the duties to John Paul Leon.

Themes

The main themes of DMZ deal with the daily life of citizens living in a war zone and the political, cultural, and human casualties of war. The journalistic perspective that guides the reader through the DMZ is part of an established comic tradition of reporters on the front lines of historic events, which stretches from Clark Kent (Superman) and Peter Parker (Spider-Man) to more recent examples such as Ben Urich (from Daredevil and other comics series) and Jessica Jones (from The Pulse). More impartial than a police officer, with the noble intentions of a public servant and the undercover and surveillance habits of a spy, the recent crop of journalists in comics have embraced a dark and gritty realism.

At times, Matt is an iconic example of the noble reporter, risking his life to expose truths that threaten public safety. However, later issues also show how reporters can themselves become the news, especially as Matt ceases to be a reporter and becomes a political adviser and soldier. Aspects of Matt’s evolution may represent the changing role of the media in the United States, as it increasingly influences political policy and debate.

As the series matures, it tackles issues such as war politics, corporate corruption, American nationalism, and journalistic integrity. The central military conflict in the story is essentially a war over the idea of America, fought with weapons and rhetoric. The war provides the thematic backdrop for the series, but the majority of the stories are about the people caught in the conflict, from poor citizens who could not flee to AWOL soldiers attempting to avoid fighting other Americans.

Impact

The concept of a second American civil war is in itself controversial. A similar comic thematically and conceptually is Frank Miller’s Give Me Liberty: An American Dream (1990); however, Miller’s series places the conflict in the future, adding a science-fiction element to the story. DMZ aims at a current and realistic portrayal of a war on American soil.

Some early reactions to the book described it as an attack on conservatives, but Wood was quick to dismiss the claim, stating, “the two warring groups in DMZ are just extremists fighting extremists. Homegrown insurgents fighting an extremist government regime, and it is the sane, normal people of all political affiliations that are caught in the middle.” Following Matt through the DMZ gives readers a street perspective on the locals who struggle to survive while two warring factions battle over their home.

Some story lines draw from contemporary news events, such as “Blood in the Game,” which depicts an uncertain election within the DMZ at the same time as the 2008 U.S. presidential campaign. Also within that story, Matt’s journalistic objectivity is lost as he finally picks a side in the conflict and becomes a political entity himself. Matt’s evolving role connects to previous traditions of comic journalists as well as modern concerns over the political power of the news to shape national debate.

Further Reading

Ellis, Warren, and Darick Robertson. Transmetropolitan (1998-2002).

Miller, Frank, and Dave Gibbons. Give Me Liberty: An American Dream (1990).

Bibliography

Knight, Bill. “Comic Journalists Beyond Clark Kent.” IJPC Journal 1 (Fall, 2009): 138-146. http://www.ijpc.org/journal/index.php/ijpcjournal/issue/view/18.

Wood, Brian, and Riccardo Burchielli. “The War at Home: Wood and Burchielli Talk DMZ.” Interview by Dave Richards. Comic Book Resources, November 9, 2005. http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=5926.