We finally get to meet Matty’s mother and… she’s ok? Not too much of a bitch? Anyway, she’s in the DMZ because she’s been hired as a political consultant to the only guy running for office who’s actually from the DMZ. This move to “normalization” of having elections but still having the baddies from all 3 sides trying to influence it felt like an attempt to do something new, but barely felt earned by the books that came before. I’m not sure how realistic Delgado Nation is on this world, I guess

This was an interesting read with what is going on in the current political season. It probably resonates a lot better with people who are under a two party system. Regardless, it did seem like a plausible scenario. Of course, I am skeptical. We will have to see where this goes...

Meh. DMZ continues its downward spiral into creative irrelevance with this volume, which has so much going on it's hard to keep up with. Wood is really begin to show flaws in his storytelling, as the long form narrative of DMZ is taking more and more turns into haphazard storytelling. The most obvious indication of this is all the multiple story elements happening in BLOOD IN THE GAME.There was plenty enough story to fill a six-issue collection on the strength of the election story alone. But Wo...

Best book of the series so far. The US Army and the Free States Army try to force an election on the war-torn DMZ and it all looks a little too much like Karzai in Afghanistan until Parco Delgado announces his candidacy for governor of the DMZ. A lifetime resident of New York, Delgado espouses some of the most fiery anti-imperialist rhetoric I've ever heard outside of an Immortal Technique record and he seems dead-set on setting up his own government regardless of what the USA and FSA have to sa...

Very intrigued by these developments. Matty seems to be losing his objectivity and plunging into some questionable dealings. I enjoyed the political gamesmanship of V.6, and the window back into the neighborhoods of the DMZ in V.7. Looking forward to more.

This one is a tough one to rate, but it may really be the timing of it. I'd picked this up a couple months ago, promptly cleaned there-after and stupidly left it in a drawer which I managed not open until a recent cleaning redux. Of course a couple months ago was going to be a perfect time to read the story since it was just about the time the election cycle was really doubling down, and would have tied in perfectly with my own innate fervor over elections.Reading it AFTER the election, AFTER th...

DMZ gets more political than ever when election time is at hand. Our protagonist reporter Matt finds himself at odds with the principle of neutrality as one candidate, despite his outrageous populism and emotional rhetoric, awakens surprising hope in him. Could this one man make a difference as a governor of an independent demilitarized zone?DMZ is always delightfully analytical, fast paced and plausible. "Blood in the Game" delivers on all those accounts. The depiction of the campaign Matt foll...

Ah much better than last one. This is Matty back in the center of conflict. I love having him there, even if I don't always agree with him, simply because his reactions work for story purposes. And here we have DMZ voting for their first, would be, president. High tensions are starting as Delgado might be the next leader but not everyone agrees with his ways. This leaves Matty's relationships with multiple people, family included, strained. Overall, much better made and paced. Giving us plenty o...

I finally feel like Wood's back in the swing of things with this volume. At this point, we've seen 5 straight volumes about the horrors of war and the duplicitous nature of the armies on each side, so it felt like a shift in tone was needed to keep this series going. Luckily, Wood achieved that in just the right way.After years of a lawless, violent, kill-or-be-killed status quo in the DMZ, the Free States and the U.S. decide it's time Manhattan has a leader (one selected by one of them). Howeve...

Really enjoyed this issue, it came back to Matty's POV and added an interesting twist and forward motion to the DMZ world.

Decent entry in the series, but not as strong as some earlier arcs. For me this came down to the pacing ... after a strong setup (introducing Matty's mom, Parco, setting up all the different players in the election), it feels like the middle issues are treading water. Character development also falls by the wayside. Still, it's more DMZ and worth reading if you're into the series.

Blood in the GameWe return back to the normal story board,Matty supporting a candidate for The DMZ, a new twist to the story, Paco Delgado An election in a war zone, an occupied city with multiple outside parties seeking control!And we get to meet his mother.A good volume!

Not my favorite part of this series. I don't like all the political bs.

This Volume returns to Matty Roth and the big story after Vol 5. covered other characters.This time, it's about an election to put a provisional government in the DMZ. Matty is covering the story for Liberty News (even though he hates them), and what follows is a very interesting story about a 'grassroots' candidate who very much forces the issue of having himself included on the ballot.Delgado, the man of the people makes an impression on Matty who ends up discovering that he's not as objective...

Blood in the Game presents what "free elections" might look like in a war-torn occupied city, if that city was New York. I think Wood does an excellent job of depicting the tangled web of media, government, and military and their efforts to control democratic elections. The wild card Delgado is an interesting addition to what seems to be business as usual concerning the planned outcome to the elections, although you're never really sure what his true intentions are (I'd definitely be a cynic lik...

Journalist Matty Roth has been working and living in the DMZ long enough to have become influential both in the DMZ and in the world outside. In this latest issue, a cease-fire is issued so that an election can get underway. Matty is putting his faith in the Delgado Nation, supported by the vast majority of those living in the DMZ. Unfortunately, the powers that be are not too keen on seeing Delgado coming into power and efforts are made to silence both the candidate and elections. Enter Matty's...

The US and Free States agree to hold an election for control of Manhattan, assuming a run-of-the-mill two-party American race. But local populist upstart Parco Delgado jumps into the ring and turns the status quo on its head. Matty Roth jettisons his journalistic impartiality to throw in with the new guy. I have mixed feelings about this volume. Wood's vision of a corrupt, violent, American election rife with sabotage by anti-democratic actors was positively prescient. But the relationship betwe...

It's Election Time in the DMZ.The United States has their candidate and the Free States has theirs.And then a 3rd Party Candidate comes forward. He has the support of the people, the charm and desire. And he wants nothing to do with either Party, instead offering to for a new nation in the DMZ. Can he do it? Will he Survive? And who is the mysterious political adviser that shows up?

The sixth volume of DMZ takes us to the halfway point of the series with a subtle shift in the story from wartime action to politics, as Matty crosses lines into an ethical gray area even more dangerous than ones he’s entered previously. Great story.

Just when I thought I’d caught up with everything DMZ, the comic book gods surprise me. While standing in front of and perusing the shelves of my local comic book haunt, there -- lo and behold! -- was volume six (a single, lonely copy at that) waiting. Oh, lucky me! This latest trade paperback collects the recent Blood in the Game storyline that weaves together several new plot threads. First there is the imminent election of the first leader of the DMZ (shades of the recent Iraqi elections post...