Posted in: Comics, DC Comics | Tagged: damage, dc comics, ethan avery, HRL, robert venditti, sci-fi, superheroes, tony s Daniel
Damage #1 Review: The Clock is Always Ticking
Ethan Avery, AKA Damage, has gone on the loose. Damage is a massive creature created by the military for as-of-yet unknown purposes. He is a walking weapon, and his handlers will do anything to get him back.
So, Damage is very reminiscent of the Hulk. He's a massively bulky creature. He was created by the military. The military wants him back. It feels pretty explicitly like the Hulk.
There are some differences of course. Damage has a time limit, which we see throughout the comic. Ethan Avery isn't a scientist; he's a military man himself. He volunteered to become Damage instead of being caught in an accident.
All these comparisons and contrasts aside, is it a good read?
It's pretty fun, yeah.
The first issue is a straightforward depiction of the escape of Damage with a power-armored soldier trying to wrangle in Ethan. At the end, we see the commanding officer picking up the pieces of the mess it became.
There is potential, as my fellow reviewer Joe Glass said, but I'm less optimistic than he. This opening issue poses an uphill battle for the series, because the Hulk comparisons did have a way of dominating my thought while reading it.
We learn very little of Ethan, which is a big problem too. We only get the whispers of his voice in Damage's head. That being said, Damage may have a personality of his own, and that does pose an interesting angle.
Tony S. Daniels's artwork is as strong as ever. Danny Miki does some solid inking work as well. Tomeu Morey uses a really good dark purple-centered palette for much of the environment, and that looks really good.
Damage looks like it could be interesting. The first issue doesn't have me especially optimistic, but I'm not ready to write it off either. I can recommend trying it for sure, though, and you should feel free to check it out.