Damage #2

By Tony Daniel, Robert Venditti, Danny Miki and Tomeu Morey

DC is launching a bunch of new heroes for readers to enjoy; this is called the new age of heroes. The first of these was Damage, which seems to be a big tough brute. The one thing about this character is that DC is going to have to make sure that he doesn’t resemble the Hulk too much, which will be a challenge. As we roll into the second issue of the series, we’re offered a little more insight into who Elvis Avery and Damage are, and where they will be going in the future.

Robert Venditti handles the words for this issue, which is actually a big task because this is where we find out more of what Damage can do. While Venditti does give us some more information on Elvis, he feels horrible for the destruction Damage caused, he’s still a very raw character right now. Venditti allows us to see that he’s trying to control his powers and keep Damage in check, which shows the audience that he doesn’t want to be destructive. The issue begins to pick up when the Suicide Squad shows up and attempt to recruit Damage. Venditti uses these pages to show us that Damage is a tough take down as he makes short work of them. We’re two issues in and it’s clear that DC and Venditti are trying to show differences between a certain gamma radiated hero and Damage, but they will probably always be compared. Damage will be labeled a cheap knock off, but there are a couple of things done with him, like the hour time limit, that shows DC is trying to distance themselves from that. Venditti has turned in a fun script and we shouldn’t compare Damage to another hero because it will take out the joy of the read.

The pencils this issue are handled by Tony Daniel with inks by Danny Miki and colors by Tomeu Morey. The art this issue is excellent. Tony Daniel is a great artist and his work is always exciting to see. He brings so much emotion and greatness to his work and it oozes off of every page. The action sequences against the Suicide Squad look phenomenal, and Damage busting out of another characters palms is gross and cool at the same time. Daniel nails every characters look down, and he’s helped by the wonderful inks of Danny Miki shading in eyes and darkening the page just right. The colors by Tomeu Morey are great too. Reds leap off the page as Akando attacks Damage. Red plays a prominent theme throughout the issue, and Morey does it well. A red sky behind the characters catches your eye, even though there is a huge battle going on. These are the little touches Morey does that make the colors work. There might not be a book out this week that has better art in it than Damage #2.

The best thing to do here is to just take Damage for what he is and enjoy that. This issue was well written and drawn excellently. DC is trying to make Damage a different hero, and in time he will get there, but until then, this is a fun book that should entertain anyone with a sense of adventure.