BoomBot
Feb 20, 2005, 03:41 am
<a href="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/previews/dh/0205/DamnNation_01.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/previews/dh/0205/DamnNation_01t.jpg" align=left alt="Damn Nation #1"></a>Reviewer: Raul Grau, RJacknite@aol.com
Story Title: Dawn's Early Light
Suggested for Mature Readers
Life in a Time of Vampires
Story: Andrew Cosby
Art: J. Alexander
Letters: Clem Robins
Editor: Scott Allie
Assistant Editor: Matt Dryer
Designer: Joshua Elliott
Pubisher: Mike Richardson
Created By: Andrew Cosby
Dark Horse Comics
Forget the effeminate aristocrats, sipping blood from brandy snifters, these vampires are monsters, and these monsters are winning. America has literally become a Damned Nation, and humanity is clearly on the losing side of this species war... at least, that is the impression given in this first issue. Out of the twenty-six pages of story, only one features the undead (though what a page it is). The focus here is on the living, beginning with the doomed scientists who made the accursed discovery, and continuing with the soldiers fighting to unearth a cure.
Since this tale centers on the characters, it is only fair that they are developed well. We are first introduced to Special Agent Childs, so enthralled in government service that she has probably had her own birthdate classified, followed by Dr. Lansing, a bumbling but optimistic genius, and two researchers, who are both much too interesting to live. Five years later, we encounter the military side of the narrative, with the expedition led by Lieutenant Riley, who probably did not sleep her way to the top, more likely she severely beat those in line before her. Among the military unit is Cole (in these situations, there is always a Cole... or a Hicks), a fatalistic, overmedicated professional soldier with a warped sense of humor. The rest of the squad will probably receive equal attention, just as soon as their numbers are thinned down slightly... which will almost certainly happen soon.
Beyond just bullets and bloodsuckers, Damn Nation has a touch of international intrigue and a firm grasp of current events. Assuming you are up on your geography, the ending will prove shocking, quietly illustrating the scope of the chaos. It will certainly be an uphill battle back to a proper civilization, but a funny little thing called hope can be spotted hiding amongst this post-apocalyptic nightmare, and, even if you do not particularly care for humans, the characters are engaging enough to root for.
Before the current zombie craze, vampires were the goto creature for horror comics, yet Andrew Cosby has found a new approach for an old enemy. Much like he did with the dearly departed UPN series Haunted, Cosby has generated a pervasively dark world, but injected his creations with equally dark humor. There are shots taken at the current administration, horror cliches, and even the necessary exposition is fluid and unobtrusive. The aptly named Bud and Lou have the comic timing of that other famous duo, bouncing the funny ball while digging through corpses. I, for one, had never laughed quite so hard before at the phrase 'hermetically sealed'.
While I did not care for Jason Alexander's work on Gotham Central, here he is spectacular. The pages are each stunning paintings, with multiple layers of color and texture on each figure. Alexander perfectly sets the atmosphere of this dystopia, where even the days are awash with a disturbing orange, and the nights... well, the nights are far worse. His natural style is well suited to this world, as everyone looks like they had not slept in years, and with good reason. There are also some astonishing tricks done with lighting here, such as the use of infrared lenses causing an unearthly green glow. And then there are the vampires- pale, sickly creatures, who I am dying to see more of.
ART:
<img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/dhfull.jpg"><img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/dhfull.jpg"><img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/dhfull.jpg"><img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/dhfull.jpg"><img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/dhnone.jpg">
STORY:
<img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/dhfull.jpg"><img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/dhfull.jpg"><img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/dhfull.jpg"><img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/dhfull.jpg"><img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/dhhalf.jpg">
OVERALL:
<img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/dhfull.jpg"><img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/dhfull.jpg"><img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/dhfull.jpg"><img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/dhfull.jpg"><img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/dhnone.jpg">
Order this issue online now from X-World Comics and save! (http://x-worldcomics.com/yourvirtualstore/shopdisplayproducts.asp?id=1698&cat=DAMN+NATION)
Story Title: Dawn's Early Light
Suggested for Mature Readers
Life in a Time of Vampires
Story: Andrew Cosby
Art: J. Alexander
Letters: Clem Robins
Editor: Scott Allie
Assistant Editor: Matt Dryer
Designer: Joshua Elliott
Pubisher: Mike Richardson
Created By: Andrew Cosby
Dark Horse Comics
Forget the effeminate aristocrats, sipping blood from brandy snifters, these vampires are monsters, and these monsters are winning. America has literally become a Damned Nation, and humanity is clearly on the losing side of this species war... at least, that is the impression given in this first issue. Out of the twenty-six pages of story, only one features the undead (though what a page it is). The focus here is on the living, beginning with the doomed scientists who made the accursed discovery, and continuing with the soldiers fighting to unearth a cure.
Since this tale centers on the characters, it is only fair that they are developed well. We are first introduced to Special Agent Childs, so enthralled in government service that she has probably had her own birthdate classified, followed by Dr. Lansing, a bumbling but optimistic genius, and two researchers, who are both much too interesting to live. Five years later, we encounter the military side of the narrative, with the expedition led by Lieutenant Riley, who probably did not sleep her way to the top, more likely she severely beat those in line before her. Among the military unit is Cole (in these situations, there is always a Cole... or a Hicks), a fatalistic, overmedicated professional soldier with a warped sense of humor. The rest of the squad will probably receive equal attention, just as soon as their numbers are thinned down slightly... which will almost certainly happen soon.
Beyond just bullets and bloodsuckers, Damn Nation has a touch of international intrigue and a firm grasp of current events. Assuming you are up on your geography, the ending will prove shocking, quietly illustrating the scope of the chaos. It will certainly be an uphill battle back to a proper civilization, but a funny little thing called hope can be spotted hiding amongst this post-apocalyptic nightmare, and, even if you do not particularly care for humans, the characters are engaging enough to root for.
Before the current zombie craze, vampires were the goto creature for horror comics, yet Andrew Cosby has found a new approach for an old enemy. Much like he did with the dearly departed UPN series Haunted, Cosby has generated a pervasively dark world, but injected his creations with equally dark humor. There are shots taken at the current administration, horror cliches, and even the necessary exposition is fluid and unobtrusive. The aptly named Bud and Lou have the comic timing of that other famous duo, bouncing the funny ball while digging through corpses. I, for one, had never laughed quite so hard before at the phrase 'hermetically sealed'.
While I did not care for Jason Alexander's work on Gotham Central, here he is spectacular. The pages are each stunning paintings, with multiple layers of color and texture on each figure. Alexander perfectly sets the atmosphere of this dystopia, where even the days are awash with a disturbing orange, and the nights... well, the nights are far worse. His natural style is well suited to this world, as everyone looks like they had not slept in years, and with good reason. There are also some astonishing tricks done with lighting here, such as the use of infrared lenses causing an unearthly green glow. And then there are the vampires- pale, sickly creatures, who I am dying to see more of.
ART:
<img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/dhfull.jpg"><img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/dhfull.jpg"><img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/dhfull.jpg"><img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/dhfull.jpg"><img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/dhnone.jpg">
STORY:
<img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/dhfull.jpg"><img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/dhfull.jpg"><img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/dhfull.jpg"><img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/dhfull.jpg"><img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/dhhalf.jpg">
OVERALL:
<img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/dhfull.jpg"><img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/dhfull.jpg"><img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/dhfull.jpg"><img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/dhfull.jpg"><img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/dhnone.jpg">
Order this issue online now from X-World Comics and save! (http://x-worldcomics.com/yourvirtualstore/shopdisplayproducts.asp?id=1698&cat=DAMN+NATION)