Living Up To Expectation: DMZ #37

DMZ #37
Written by: Brian Wood
Art by: Riccardo Burchielli

Many years ago one of the most popular books at Vertigo was by British writer Warren Ellis and American artist Darrick Robertson ... it went by the rather cumbersome name of Transmetropolitan ... but was more frequently known as quite simply Transmet. For a good portion of the series the thrust of the story is the main character, Spider Jerusalem, trying to right a wrong that he has made. That was a story that had a strong sense of humor and a mean streak a mile wide. DMZ has been a book about the slow rise over three years of Matty Roth from lowly photo-tech intern to voice of a disenfranchised and disowned populace of a demilitarized goldmine. No matter how devastated NYC will always be the crown jewel of America, and neither side of this war seems to be able to call it quits while the 5 boroughs remain contested. I find it far more believable that Matty, after spending three or so years among the people being a truthteller to the world that he would have the sway to effectively back a firebrand candidate to victory. If only he had been given the kind of time that would have been necessary to properly vet his candidate, he might have realized that the light at the end of the tunnel was a Mack truck barrelling toward him. Parco Delgado might not be the man we had all hoped him to be. Let's hope that Matty can find some way to reshape the man he thought he once knew, and undo the damage that comes with great power ... not to mention the damage that would come from the Prada weilding harpy that's been whispering in his ear while Matty was away.