Review: Damage #1

Quick Summary

Pros: There are plenty of action filled moments and cool fight scenes here. Damage is an interesting and unique character. The entire comic looks amazing, with art that really helps to enhance the story.

Cons: The comic is too short to tell exactly how worthwhile this series will end up being.

Overall: This new series starts off with a bang, as intense action and fierce battles immediately showcase exactly what this new character is capable of. Damage is a compelling character who’s powers provide a unique source of potential for the series to work with. Alongside this, the artwork looks fantastic and enhances every action sequence in a way that makes the entire book more enjoyable to read. It is still to early to tell exactly what this series will become, but it is clearly off to a good start.

Story

The release of Damage #1 marks the beginning of DC Comic’s “New Age of Heroes” and the introduction of a brand new character. Clearly, creators Tony S. Daniel and Robert Venditti, wanted to make a splash with this dual debut and decided to do so in the most bombastic way possible. Intense action and fierce battles dominate this issue and provide enough excitement for anyone to become instantly excited for what is happening. In addition, Damage proves to be a compelling character with a lot of potential for the future. The only problem is that this issue is too short to fully grasp what this series is going to develop into or how good it will be. It is clear there is potential here though, and that Daniel and Venditti know what they are doing.

(spoilers start here)

The story in this issue follows Ethan Avery, a military man who has the ability to change into Damage, a monstrous and powerful creature, for one hour at a time. Clearly upset with his current predicament, he breaks free from the army and goes on a rampage against them. He eventually is able to calm himself down and revert to his human form, but is now being hunted by both the military and the Suicide Squad.

Right off the bat, the similarities between Damage and other monstrous characters, specifically the Hulk, are obvious. He is an ordinary human with the ability to lose control and turn into something extraordinary. Going into this comic, I was worried this would be the extent of Ethan’s character and feared the comic would be a generic mess because of this.

The result, however, is anything but. Daniel and Venditti have added their personal flair to Damage and thus turn him into a well-rounded and interesting character. Setting Damage on the run from the government, giving Ethan and Damage the ability to “think” to each other, and introducing a seemingly important cast of secondary characters are all choices that help make this series stand out. The most significant of these choices though is the set of rules guiding Damage’s powers. He is only able to transform for one hour and, after doing so, cannot transform again for a full day. These things make Damage unique and give me hope that we’ll be seeing even better stories as this series moves into the future.

The problem with this issue is that it is simply too short to develop anything more than a vague idea about the potential for this series. We see Damage fight someone on his escape and know that the Suicide Squad is coming after him but, besides this, know next to nothing. I am not saying this problem is something that makes the series unreadable, if the next issue is worthwhile then this all becomes a moot point; I am simply saying that it is still too early to tell what exactly this comic series is going to develop into.

(spoilers end here)

Art

One thing that we do know for sure about Damage is that the artwork is phenomenal. Tony S. Daniel, Danny Miki, and Tomeu Morey form a creative team that knows how to put Damage in situations that look amazing and emphasize the action aspect of this book. Characters, buildings, vehicles, and even rubble all have a great level of detail and show the care put into this book.

The aspect of the artwork I was most impressed with what how Damage was portrayed. Every page Damage was on conveyed his weight and presence in a way that felt real. His interactions with enemies or simply the pavement below his feet showed how massive of a creature we are dealing with. Showing mass in such a way is integral to the success of a book like this.

Continuity

Damage #1 is the first issue in a brand new series from DC Comics. The only comic prefacing Damage’s appearance here is one page from Dark Days: The Casting (Review), which teases Damage. Other than this, Damage #1 is all readers need to read in order to understand this comic.

The story started here will continue in Damage #2.

This issue also makes a reference to another comic book, detailed below:

• The Suicide Squad’s redesignation as “Task Force XI” is something that was alluded to back in Justice League vs. Suicide Squad (Review).

 

Back to DC Comics Reviews