Comic Review: Damage #8

Damage #8

DC Comics

Writer: Robert Venditti

Artist: Diogenes Neves

Damage is at a bit of an odd place in my mind. For a little bit, I was getting the details of Damage mixed up with that of Marvel’s Weapon H. They’re both very similar. Both are Soldiers on the run, that can turn into a giant, strong, gray, hulking monster. The main difference being that Damage can only do it once a day for an hour at a time.

Damage #8 picks up the story from the previous issue, with Ethan Avery (Damage), in the hospital. There are only ten minutes left before his 24 hour cooldown period is up, and he can become Damage again. Colonel Jonas and her team are infiltrating the hospital, but before they can catch him, a man helps Ethan escape. The Unknown Soldier has arrived to help Ethan escape from being used as a weapon again.

The only actual action in this issue takes happens in an elevator. It’s a good sequence, but it’s over pretty quick. The series so far has been Colonel Jonas chasing Damage, and Damage being a step or two ahead of them. This issue ends right when they come face to face, so I’m hoping that that’ll be interesting to see. But I’m not holding my breath. The backstory that the Unknown Soldier gives us isn’t the most original or interesting thing either. Damage is created to be a weapon, and he ended up hurting innocent people. The Unknown Soldier takes an interest and decides to help Ethan escape. It’s not the most original story, and because we really don’t know Ethan that well, it’s just kind of there.

That’s my biggest problem with Damage. We don’t know Ethan that well, other than he’s Damage, and doesn’t want to hurt innocent people. There was an issue that gave us more of a backstory for Colonel Jonas, so we know her more than Ethan at this point. On top of that, the team that she’s using to track and capture Damage are all bland characters. They each have their own unique power, but unless they’re being called by their name, I don’t know which is which.

The art here is good. It has its downsides, but there are some good moments in there that balance out. For the most part, the people drawn are good. I mentioned Colonel Jonas’s team being bland, but they each have their individual look. There’s a page that shows the Unknown Soldier watching Ethan’s transformation to Damage, and the expressions he shows are great. The few pages of action, for the most part, look good. There’s one panel where it’s hard to tell exactly what’s happening, but other than that it’s all smooth.

All in all, this isn’t the best issue of Damage. It’s not bad, but it’s really not deviating too far from the trail. The story is a little stale, and there’s not much action. The backstory they gave us about Damage seems a little cliche. I like the possibilities that open up with The Unknown Soldier’s involvement. It’s just a matter of if we’ll see anything happen with him. I think Damage has a lot of potential, but so far it’s not doing anything with it.