I finally feel like Wood's back in the swing of things with this volume. At this point, we've seen 5 straight volumes about the horrors of war and the duplicitous nature of the armies on each side, so it felt like a shift in tone was needed to keep this series going. Luckily, Wood achieved that in just the right way.After years of a lawless, violent, kill-or-be-killed status quo in the DMZ, the Free States and the U.S. decide it's time Manhattan has a leader (one selected by one of them). However, a new face rises up from the DMZ, claiming the island needs its own government and leader. This is where it gets interesting again. It becomes very unclear who to trust even with this new player in the game, helped by the way Wood has taught the reader not to trust anyone but Matty Roth. I was very impressed about halfway through the book when I realized how well Wood had trained me to feel untrustworthy and uneasy around these new characters. Reading this book made me feel like I was a part of it, involved somehow, in a way I haven't really felt with a comic in quite a while. Huge kudos for that.The story has a few problems. The random appearance of Matty's mother being my biggest gripe. It's super convenient and coincidental that his mother just happens to be one of the premier campaign managers in the world the very moment a campaign is happening in the comic, particularly since we have never heard a single word about his mother in the previous 5 volumes of this series. It feels forced and unnecessary to throw in a little family conflict just for the hell of it.However, I very much enjoyed the way the election played out. It felt like a warped, more visceral version of one of our own elections, and really hammered home just how desperate things are in the DMZ. This was definitely my favorite entry since volume 2, and with any luck the momentum gained from this storyline will carry through for a while. the plot of DMZ gets back on track with this wicked volume of a war-time election. all of the various parties are vying for power in ways they know how: violence, intrigue, and sheer power. a candidate, seemingly of the people, gains public approval and thereby power. through it all, Matty navigates being various people's pawn to try to do what's right for the people of the DMZ. fast-paced and interesting with the promise of a completely different kind of world in the next volume.
Do You like book DMZ, Tome 6 : Un Jeu Sanglant (2010)?
Free elections in the DMZ? Power to the people? Return to the main storyline.
—AZUUUHLess
favorite arc thus far. really liked a lot of the crowd scenes done here.
—gingercookie
I really loved the series but I still say the first book is the best.
—sreid
