Collective Consciousness: Damage #1

by stephengervais on January 17, 2018

Welcome to this week’s edition of Collective Consciousness, our weekly article where the staff takes one comic and puts it under the microscope. This allows us, and you, faithful reader, to get a good idea of how the comic fares against a variety of opinions. This week we're taking a look at the kickoff issue of a new line of titles stemming from the Metal event called The New Age of DC Heroes, Damage #1.
 
DC solicit: “Tasked as the government's own living, breathing, ticking time bomb, Ethan retains no control when the monster takes over. Cheaper than a nuclear warhead and twice as effective, Ethan fights to rein in the damage he unleashes when the beast inside him springs free for one hour a day. With everyone around him in danger, Ethan struggles to contain the DAMAGE he inflicts on the DC Universe.”

Written by: Robert Venditti
Art by: Tony S. Daniel
Publisher: DC Comics
 
 
Kalem
DC’s New Age of heroes is what companies should do instead of yearly reboots. Create a bunch of new characters and stick a nice #1 on a bunch of covers while claiming to be committed to innovative ideas. Admittedly, this is a much better approach than the one Marvel has taken by just replacing all their original characters. Ironically though, Damage doesn’t feel like a new character at all. In fact, it’s a pretty blatant copy of the Hulk. A man battles to retain his soul in the body of a destructive monster and the military wants to neutralize him because his power is compared to that of a WMD. The biggest discrepancy between Damage and the Hulk so far is that Damage is a product of the military-industrial complex while Hulk was just bad science. In their pursuit of power, the military created a monster and are now trying to clean up their mess. It’s an interesting story but lacks originality. Damage indicated that DC is giving their best shot at creating a new batch of heroes but aren’t trying to recreate the originality of something like the Young Animals line. On the light side, Tony S. Daniel does a phenomenal job portraying the destruction Damage causes simply by existing. It’s beautiful to look at, but the story is pretty middle of the road.
 
 
Michael
There is a reason Tony S. Daniel’s name appears first on the front page credits. He does all the heavy lifting on the book. The art is great, with more than one splash page thrown in for good measure. It’s kinetic and fun but that’s about all this book offers. There is very little in regards to plot or character development. It literally drops you right into the action and never lets up. It never gives you any reason to care about this man trapped in the monster's body. Any attempt at a supporting cast is minimal. There’s the jealous soldier who wished he was Damage instead and screams exposition to the rampaging monster in the middle of a battle. Don’t forget the mysterious Colonel with both an eye patch and a facial scar. I expected the debut of a new character to be a bit more than just action and destruction. 
 
It’s going to be hard to read this without comparing it to the Hulk. He’s an attempt at a new super soldier who loses control and becomes a raging monster. The catch is that he can only be Damage for 1 hour. I expected something more from DC. Something that would suggest that this character is unique and deserves to be in the stands but I never found that hook. This book does almost nothing new and merely comes off as a DC’s Hulk. It might be fun to look at but that’s about all I can say about it
 
 
Olivier
DC comics have been touting this new launch of characters for going on almost half a year now and Damage is their opening salvo and from this first issue, I'm left wondering whether they should have begun with another title. This is not to say that I don't see massive potential in a Hulk-like character who is controlled not by rage, but by a timer, a-la Hourman. It makes for an interesting concept, but that concept is pretty much lost in the over-reliance of splash pages and all-out fights that we have no background on in the first issue. 
 
That is where this issue really lost me. I understand that the commitment with this new DC Age of Heroes is to bring back the emphasis on the art, something I admit has been quite lacking in most comics in the past decade, but it should not come at the expense of storytelling. What we get in the form of storytelling in this first issue is not much: Damage (or Ethan) is a big monster, created by the army (I’m assuming US) who has just escaped from them. We get to see who the “creator” is at the end, and get a surprise visit from a certain task force as well, but, well, there is not but since that’s pretty much all the plot for this issue.  
 
Luckily, DC has put the entry point at $2.99 for this book, because I don't think many fans would stomach a higher price point for a book that can be essentially read during a commercial break. 
 
 
Charles
Woo, DC comics, scary, I'm a Marvel guy, I'm outta my depth, I don't know … oh, we're doing "the Hulk, but DC?" Ahh, right back to my comfort zone.
 
Split personalities, monster working for the government, anti-monster power armor, hard-driving military antagonist, even the twist of a time-limited transformation - these cards are all familiar to a dedicated Hulk reader. This particular hand is a pretty good combination, and it's not one Marvel is offering right now. This might well poach some old-school fans who like their Hulk extra smashy and less Amadeus-Cho-y.
 
Tony S. Daniel's art gives the show plenty of visual impact. Damage causes a lot of damage and it's all portrayed in loving detail. Where it falls down is in not providing much insight into the man behind the monster, Ethan Avery. Until we get to know him, it's super tough to judge this story as anything *but* a Hulk knockoff. 
 
Robert Venditti's script lavishes its attention on the supporting cast instead and rushes (too quickly) to introduce some guest stars. It paints a bleak picture of this title's future: "Weird face Hulk" running an endless gauntlet against better-loved DC heroes until the sales numbers crater. That'll happen sooner rather than later if Mr. Venditti doesn't give us our missing fall-in-love moment. The good news is that one really well-written scene could solve this problem, and if we get that next month, this series might have some real legs.
 

 Harlan
 It might be because I just watched the Incredible Hulk last week as part of my not so strictly scheduled countdown to Infinity War, but Damage #1 felt just a little too unoriginal for me. While I didn’t find anything that wowed be about the narrative, it’s still a great presentation with dialogue that is very straight forward (in a good way) in letting you know where each character stands, which makes for a pretty great starting point. I did find the art much more enjoyable. Damage is as intimidating as can be, and the red skies and gray smoke do a great job of setting a dramatic, high-stakes tone for most of the book. Also notable is the monster’s lack of text boxes when he makes any sound. It goes a long way in making it feel like his screaming can’t be ignored.
 

Doug
Having stuck with the indie comic publishers for so long, I’d forgotten how truly great top-notch comic book artwork can be. The details in the skies, clouds and explosions. The textures on the characters. I really felt like I could reach out and feel Colonel Jonas’s scar. The details and shading on the muscles just attest to Miki’s and Morey’s artistry. I also liked the countdown clock that starts at the beginning of the issue. It gives a 24 feeling, but not as gimmicky. And the greatest compliment I can give this comic is I got stuck in one of those time trances when reading it. I felt like I should turn the page and be on page 3, but it was the end of the book. I checked my watch. I took the normal amount of time to read it, but I was so absorbed by the comic that time just flew by. As far as the plot and characters go? I don’t know. Something was happening. Not sure what. It’s been over 20 years since I regularly read DC, and over a decade since I’ve seen a comic book movie (I was just let down too many times, so I said goodbye to all of them), so I’m not sure if I was supposed to know what was going on before the book started, or even how many of the characters I was supposed to recognize (I recognized the obvious ones—just not sure if I should know them all). But I am sure the other guys can cover that. I can just tell you this. It’s a really good book.


Peyi
Damage is the first of the new age of heroes comic line. This book is written by Robert Venditti, who is currently writing one of my favourite series, Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps. That series is so good, that it is a shame that the first issue of Damage isn't great. The issue is just pages and pages of beautifully drawn fight scenes against the army. I understand that the character is meant to be an Incredible Hulk rip-off but the issue doesn't make the effort to focus on what differentiates Hulk and Damage. At the end Venditti introduces the idea of Task Force XL, who are going to capture Damage. The idea of Task Force XL is actually a really cool idea, and I am interested to see how they are used in this series. Personally I would have liked Harley and Deadshot to be substituted with other big and strong characters. Hopefully Venditti plans to do more with this team and the series as a whole, than it just being beautiful fight scenes.
 

Hussein
The release of this book heralds the beginning of DC's NEW AGE OF HEROES, a line that I'm generally excited about. The most amazing thing about this new initiative is that DC is creating some brand new characters, and is putting the artist at the helm. Yes, this book is by Tony S. Daniel and Robert Venditti instead of the reverse, and they did a pretty great job establishing this new character as well as solidifying his place in the DC Universe.
 
The strongest element of this issue for me was Daniel's art. This is simply some of the best work I've ever seen Daniel put out. It's meticulously detailed and the finishes by Danny Miki and Tomeu Morey's colouring in tandem create a genuinely gorgeous book. Daniel certainly sells the scale of destruction that Damage is capable of. Now, obviously there's going to be some Hulk parallels. This man transforms into a raging monster which he barely has any control over, and he is now hunted down by the government. It's not exactly original material, but it's all up to Daniel and Venditti to craft interesting supporting characters to create a new world for Damage to live in.
 
***
 
Well there you have it folks, 8 takes on one issue. It looks like this week everyone agrees the issue features amazing artwork by Tony Daniel but the story lacks originality with quite a few comparing the protagonist to the Hulk. Most enjoyed reading the title but all said it lacked storytelling meat making it a quick read without a lot of substance. Some said it has potential and like DC’s concept of creating new characters. Looks like the majority, based on the art and Venditti’s past writing, will be giving this title an honest chance and pick up the next issue.

What did you think? Let us know below in the comments, on our Twitter feed, or on our Facebook page. See you next week!
 
 
 
 

Our Score:

7/10

A Look Inside