Tony S. Daniel is off the latest Damage issue, but writer Robert Venditti continues on as he attempts to flesh out this brand new DC Comics character. It’s a “New Age of Heroes” and Venditti aims to reveal more about poor Ethan, a soldier who was a victim of scientists turning him into a living weapon.
So what’s it about?
The official summary reads:
Poison Ivy attacks a group of fieldworkers, forcing Ethan to choose between transforming into Damage and saving them–or protecting his own sanity! And will Colonel Jonas and her squad capture him before he discovers the truth about what he really is?
Why does this matter?
This is one of only a handful of new heroes DC Comics is introducing, which is an event worthy moment in their history given new characters aren’t introduced that often. This character is also unique in the DC universe as he’s a monster that seems to be able to control his powers, but only to a certain extent. When unleashed he can do some real damage. Last issue we found out he can take on Wonder Woman, for instance.
Fine, you have my attention. What’s good about it?
What is Poison Ivy up to this time?
This issue fleshes out a truck driver character in a way I wasn’t suspecting. Typically supporting characters like this are introduced to get our hero from point A to point B, but this one is fleshed out nicely to give the title more realism and color. He also serves as a good guy with a good heart who will most likely be burned by Damage by the end of the day. Speaking of, Venditti fleshes out Damage’s backstory with a flashback that reveals how he got his powers. The use of Poison Ivy in the story is a good choice as her power set has no limits, depending on the story of course, which Venditti exploits well in the end.
Colonel Jonas also gets a covert ops crew that’s quite intriguing. Like a good X-Men lineup, Venditti gifts the team with different powers that suit the story and the mission. It’ll be fun to see them use their powers as the story pushes forward.
Artist Cary Nord does a good job with this issue giving the human characters a bit of chipper realism that’s delightful. Poison Ivy’s powers are displayed well and the colors Tomeu Morey gives her are quite nice. The detailed leaves that cover her are quite nice too. When Damage enters the story he looks lean, but huge, which helps create a sense of power and force. Environments look quite good too, like the edge of a jungle that mysteriously pops up in a wheat field.
This is a sweet looking page.
It can’t be perfect can it?
This series has moved at a fast clip with each issue ending before it really delivers an ample amount of entertainment. Outside of building up this trucker and Colonel Jonas’ crew of super soldiers not a lot happens. You get a pretty stereotypical hero being tested by scientists scene, a few scenes with Poison Ivy screaming about humans being bad, and a short confrontation between her and Damage. Luckily this series is only $2.99.
Is It Good?
It has some fun new characters to chase after Damage, and we get a bit more revealed about Damage’s creation, but overall this issue is over before you know it.
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