Tuesday, February 22, 2011

DMZ #34

Blood in the Game: Chapter 6
By Brian Wood (writer) and Riccardo Burchielli (artist)

The end of this arc is a bit anticlimactic. There were some tense moments, not everything went smoothly. The note it ended on wasn't too dramatic but does hint at possibilities of things yet to come.

I love the way Burchielli depicts the rain. There's a lot of it in this chapter. It feels real and wet, whether it is coming down hard or dripping from somebody's scalp.

Overall I enjoyed this arc very much. It isn't the best arc, that would be Friendly Fire, but I'm eager to continue reading this series. I want to see where the story goes next and I am hopeful that I will enjoy it.

DMZ is published by Vertigo, an imprint of DC Comics.

Monday, February 14, 2011

DMZ #33

Blood in the Game: Chapter 5
By Brian Wood (writer) and Riccardo Burchielli (artist)

This is another chapter that is told visually, for the most part. There are lots of big panels and a couple splash pages. It begins with a crime scene investigation of an incident that occured off screen and ends with what looks to be the planning stages of further criminal activities. Interestingly enough, both the investigation and the planning are conducted by the same compant, Trust Well.

Although it only occurs a few times, all of them early in the chapter, the use of speed lines was appropriate. Some people see them as a short cut, an easy way to convey motion. Bottom line, love 'em or hate 'em, they get the job done, in these cases work well with the rest of the art in those panels and help to tell the story.

DMZ is published by Vertigo, an imprint of DC Comics.

Saturday, February 12, 2011

DMZ #32

Blood in the Game: Chapter 4
By Brian Wood (writer) and Riccardo Burchielli (artist)

Most of this chapter is slowly paced. Most of it is devoted to the immediate aftermath of the event that happened at the beginning of the arc and the end of the previous chapter. Matty is waiting for news, something to happen. Eventually something does.

While he is waiting the visual storytelling gets a little more interesting than it was in the previous chapter, which is to say more visual. There are a number of splash pages and pages with a limited number of panels. They don't move the story forward by leaps and bounds but they do help to reveal some of the nuances. The panels flow together better in this chapter. The gestures and facial expressions are more expressive and meaningful.

Eventually the pace picks up, towards the end, and the story starts to move forward more quickly, once again. It ends on a cliffhanger with Matty having to decide what to do, how he should handle the situation. He doesn't hold all the cards. He is at a bit of a disadvantage but doing nothing is not an option.

DMZ is published by Vertigo, an imprint of DC Comics.