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This popped up on Amazon.  Collects #1-12 of the series, in hardcover, loads of extras, for $30US.

At DC’s request, I wrote the following treatment for a DMZ TV show (my second; they requested a film treatment from me in 2007).  I had a few mandates, the first was to create a larger, younger-overall cast and introduce them at the start, and to create The Wire-like arcs that had a unifying concept to each.  I actually liked this, I liked introducing Parco at the start, and making him a young guy.

This, of course, went nowhere.  If anyone read it, I never heard about it.  But this exists, its mine, and I figured I’d share it.

http://www.brianwood.com/DMZ_TV_2009.pdf

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livefromthedmz:

“The Hidden War” is the first full arc to feature rotating artists for self-contained spotlight issues on specific characters. Collecting issues 23 through 28, we’re treated to engrossing portrayals of the many compelling personalities inhabiting the city “you can’t kill.” Artistic collaborators Riccardo Burchielli, Nathan Fox, and Danijel Zezelj give us Decade Later – the DMZ’s resident street artist, Amina – a young woman whose life is co-opted by the war, Wilson – the crime boss of Chinatown, IWN Reporter Kelly Connolly, DJ Random Fire, and Soames – the FSA defector turned “Ghost of Central Park.” As the title suggests, “The Hidden War” teaches us about the individual personal wars created by the conflict in the DMZ. Through these diverse characters, we learn one solemn truth – that intimate moments and meaningful decisions must be found and seized when and where they can, for life is turbulent and often short in the DMZ.

Brian, I’ve been dying to discuss issue 27 with DJ Random Fire and art by Nathan “The Next Paul Pope” Fox. For me, this was a quintessential issue of DMZ that represents how somewhere in the middle of this conflict, there’s a vibrant underground culture happening even as war attempts to derail society and crumbles the city. The issue is like this b-side deep cut about a new culture being forged in fire. It opens with that Jared K. Fletcher free-floating rhyme that just pounds like bass against your chest. I’m losing it here; I can’t even come up with a question. Tell us about this issue and DJ Random Fire.

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I’ve done a few interviews in these past weeks, linked below.  The one for CBR has a somewhat startling title, and I’m not sure it represents anything I said in the interview but in a practical sense I guess its true.  Although if anyone is saying goodbye to anyone, its not me to DC.

CBR: Brian Wood Bids DC Comics Adieu

That CBR one is also the first time I’ve been asked about Supergirl.

iFanboy has a two-parter here and here.

And The Beat quoted this from me here, with some commentary.

Yes and no. It’s the end of one era, I suppose, where I was doing all this work for Vertigo and not only earning a living but having that as a career — being a Vertigo writer as a career. I think the condition of the comics market these days, combined with all the recent changes at DC, I don’t think that exists anymore as an option for anyone. Well, certainly not for me. Vertigo’s output, as publicly stated by DC, is to be reduced, and I cannot expect to be able to write two plus books for them. Which breaks my heart, no exaggeration.
 

I’m heading upstate for a week for some much needed downtime after writing four scripts in two weeks.  I’m contemplating writing a web comic, similar in format to Freakangels.  Any artists out there?

Justin Giampaoli, of 13 Mins fame, has just launched his LIVE FROM THE DMZ website, essentially a DVD extras collection for the entire series from #1 to #72.  Up now are two articles - an intro essay and an overview interview.  Lots of behind the scenes info, really early sketches, cover designs, logos, etc.  I expect Justin will be interviewing me (and my collaborators) on a steady basis throughout the year, and I promise to give him full access to both my brain and the hidden facts about the series.

Go check it out at : http://www.dmzthecomic.com

I got my comp copies of DMZ vol. 9 yesterday, about 3 weeks ahead of its release date, which is February 16th.  Today in the mail I got copies of the Spanish and Italian-language editions of the same, which possibly indicates its already on stands in Europe.

Foreign editions occasionally dispense with my cover art, and in this case they went with JP Leon’s excellent cover to DMZ #52.

DMZ #64
Written by BRIAN WOOD
Art by RICCARDO BURCHIELLI
Cover by JP LEON
“Free States Rising” concludes here as the final battle for the city of Manhattan, as well as the fate of the entire country, begins to unfold. Matty Roth, the ultimate embedded journalist, reconnects with his on-again off-again friend Zee, who finds Matty a very changed man since she last saw him.
On sale APRIL 20

NORTHLANDERS #39
Written by BRIAN WOOD
Art by SIMON GANE
Cover by MASSIMO CARNEVALE 
“The Siege Of Paris” concludes not with a bang or a whimper, but with a political settlement. What of the warriors who bled and died on the battlements for all those long months? Mads and Abbo try to make sense of it from Mads’ rather bleak new perspective. War was a bitch back then just as much as it is now.  On sale APRIL 13

THE NEW YORK FIVE #4 (of 4)
Written by BRIAN WOOD Art by RYAN KELLY
Cover by KELLY and WOOD
The semester is in full swing and our four (five?) girls could not be more on their own. But when tragedy strikes, they realize what a small world the big city can be and discover the strength sticking together gives them. On sale APRIL 2

and in May:

DMZ VOL. 10: COLLECTIVE PUNISHMENT
Written by BRIAN WOOD
Art by ANDREA MUTTI, NATHAN FOX, DANIJEL ZEZELJ, CLIFF CHIANG and DAVID LAPHAM
Cover by BRIAN WOOD
In this collection of tales from DMZ #55-59, citizens and soldiers – new characters and old – weather the storm of a brutal “shock and awe” bombing campaign on the DMZ.
Included is a story concerning the enigmatic Wilson, the self-professed protector of Chinatown and confidant to series star Matty Roth who has always said he’d own the DMZ in the end. Now, with the U.S. poised to steamroll its way into the city, it’s do-or-die time for the old man. In another tale, Matty lends his Liberty News secure phone line to DMZ citizens to reach out to loved ones outside the city – a direct violation of his contract. Is this the beginning of a new, compassionate Matty looking to atone?
On sale MAY 4

I just put this up on eBay:

Which is the cover art that went into making this:

which is due in stores in May.

I’m sitting here, working on a very short, company-owned project that is one of the biggest names out there, something with huge, global awareness, and its more fun than I would have thought.

2010 sucked for me.  Hardly anyone on the outside could tell that, but aside from obvious things like the birth of my son Ian, there’s been too much stress, fear, and disappointments on the creative side.  But I did get a lot done.  Here’s what I wrote in 2010 (not what was necessarily published during that time):

DMZ 50-64

Northlanders 26-37, 40

The New York Five 1-4

DV8 6-8

Demo 5-6

Thirty-six scripts, roughly 800 pages of comics.

Despite that, or rather not counting that, it was rough.  A lot of pitches were written and rejected, always for reasons beyond my control.  I’m determined to take better control over this in 2011.  One of the side effects of being exclusive while working on long-running monthly books is the lack of time or room to launch new projects.  I have proposals for a half-dozen monthly series, and several mini-series that I’ve been sitting on for years, and I feel I need to get some of these moving while they’re still relevant.

It’s hard to make any kind of comment on the state of the comics industry without it sounding cliche or bitter.  I’m not the sort of writer who seeks shelter in the Big Two properties, although who knows, maybe I should?  For 14 years I’ve strived to carve out a place for myself where I can have an actual career, a lucrative one, writing creator-owned books, but can that last forever?  At what point can I say: there, look, I did it.

What I do know is everyone is taking a hit, in one way or another.

Writing comics is a dream job, but its also work, and my 3 scripts a month during 2010 often made comics feel like a grind, and in the new year I want to do something about that.  I love working hard, but I hate the grind, and before this past year the last time I felt the grind was when I was sitting in a cubicle at Rockstar Games.  For me, the joy is in creating something new, and 2011 needs to see a lot of new stuff from me.

I have 42 pages of script to write before the end of this year, then its off to spend New Year’s Eve in a quiet place in Upstate New York.  Thanks, everyone, for buying and reading.  My ability to do what I have done in my career is solely down to the strength and power of my readership, and that’s you guys.  

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