By Dustin Cabeal

I am not the first, nor will I be the last to make a comics and wrestling comparison. Some think they’ve cracked some kind of Omega Code or feel that they really need to explain it in order for you to “understand what they’re saying.” I’ve written too many reviews and talked way too many hours to think that I’m talking to some un-initiated audience, so I’ll just dive in on Damage #2.

DC’s is really trying to get Damage over with the crowd. The problem I see happening is that it’s coming on a bit too strong. In comics, when a superhero company is trying a new character, it’s always a bad sign when one of the big heavies show up. It’s like a wrestler with a gimmick that’s not quite working, suddenly getting a big match at a PPV with a seasoned and popular worker. The crowd could go either way. In comics, it usually leads to cancellation. Which is what makes Damage so interesting. Instead of letting the character get his footing and building up his own story, he’s being thrust fist first into the DCU. The first issue ended with the Suicide Squad showing up. That easily could have been the battle for the entire first arc. Damage no sells all of their moves and lays waste to them in just a few pages. The issue ends, with a DC big heavy coming in for the next fight.

I’m not against this, but at some point, the book will need to sink or swim based on the character and not who the character is fighting. That and the character they picked is a great choice. It really shows that DC is embracing the fans favorites, just like wrestling. If anything, DC should pay as much attention to the swaying popularity of characters as wrestling (really just WWE, but you get it, I’m not trying to put that company over).

There is a bit of a mystery still to the story. Colonel Jonas, a woman that oozes, “Don’t fuck with me” continues to make us think that Damage was really an opportunity to not have more soldiers die. Damage, when talking to Ethan paints a different story. A story of lies and horror. We learn this as Ethan dreams of a past mission and wakes up with Damage talking in his mind. What’s interesting is that Damage doesn’t seem as articulate when he’s driving the ship. Just a lot of grunts and fist bumps. He’s like a really dangerous bro…same haircut too.

Potentially, we find a home or setting of support characters for Ethan. If he doesn’t return to this shelter then the issue has spent a lot of time building up nothing. Also, I guess in Atlanta people are more generous with their change because in L.A. and other cities I’ve visited no one is just dropping quarters in full coffee cups because they have a kind heart, but also don’t give a crap to pay attention.

The Suicide Squad are okay. Venditti has always been able to give the core idea of a guest character quickly and easily. He does that here and it’s the equivalent of a squash match, in which everyone gets their shit in and gets out. All the gimmicks are on display. It’s a bit cheesy, but it works. What else are you going to have them do for one issue? Nothing. You have Deadshot say his line about never missing and weirdly give out classified information about Task Force X. Parasite tries to feed, Harley Quinn apparently does hammer jokes now and Grundy can’t get to Sunday. It works, but it cold be more. It could be better and more interesting instead of dropping this guy down in the middle of the universe and saying, “be relevant.” We’ll see. Hopefully, having Damage kick the crap out of everyone one hour at a time will provide interesting stories and character moments.

The art continues to play to Daniel’s strengths. There’s a few splash pages because that’s faster for him to illustrate and he can complete the full issue. What DC and Daniel’s are failing to see is that Venditti is co-writing this the way he did his Valiant books in which a second artist could be doing part of the work. Maybe they’ll get there eventually. Right now, though, the art is great to look at, but it’s not guiding the story. It’s getting by and that’s a bummer. Daniel’s is trying to keep up, but that’s a far cry from his best work as an artist.

Damage isn’t a bad comic book by any means. It’s safe though, it’s playing to its strengths and hell, maybe more comics should do that. But with so many superhero comics and new comics out each week, playing it safe doesn’t mean it’s innovating or intriguing. I worry that with so many other amazing comics to pick from, that Damage might end up feeling too familiar and become something easily passed on. Which is a shame, the gimmick has legs, it just needs some more time to stretch them.

Score: 3/5

Damage #2
DC Comics