DC Comics reviews for 7/18/18

Damage #7

Damage’s seventh issue showed marginal improvements, but its Achilles’ Heel keeps holding it back. Col. Jonas’ Hunters make the foolish decision to go after Ethan Avery on a ferry and unleash Damage. Writer Robert Venditti doesn’t come up with anything particularly groundbreaking with this battleground, but it’s an atypical backdrop for a fight.

Venditti spends more time on Col. Jonas’ backstory. While Jonas doesn’t come off like the usual military villain, she’s also too similar to Thunderbolt Ross in The Hulk. Venditti is going to need to keep establishing some fresh beats to Ethan and Jonas to not make them come across like pale imitations of comic book legends.

The main problem this issue is the art. Larry Hama provides the breakdowns for Diogenes Neves and Tom Derenick. Both artists have done much better work on other books, but the art here is underwhelming. Lackluster and poorly detailed art is the main factor that’s making Damage look like a third tier title. DC still hasn’t managed to find an artist to top the initial take on the character by Tony Daniel, who still provides covers, for the book.

Damage has potential, but it hasn’t quite reached it yet. DC tends to give new books a decent shot at finding an audience. Damage seems like it’s going to need a longer leash than some of the other New Age of Heroes books.

Rating: 6 out of 10