"Damage Vol 1" is the first of the "New Age of Heroes" that I've read. It, unfortunately, falls rather flat. I wished that the story was a little better but the art is fine.

Ethan Avery is Damage. He’s like the Incredible Hulk only bigger and not green and he has a skull face. Like the Hulk, he gets mad and stomps things. We all have days like that, but he can only do it an hour at a time, and only once a day. That’s about my limit too. Being enraged is exhausting.

Ethan has a bug up his bum because Colonel Jonas turned him into Damage. Major Liggett is jealous because he wanted to be Damage. Nobody’s happy. Especially not Amanda Waller, who’s never happy. She turns up with the Suicide Squad to clean up the mess. That would ruin anyone’s day.

Ethan also has a voice in his head. The voice is annoying. Again, I have the same problem, except the voice in my head is my voice. I’m really identifying with Ethan. So does Poison Ivy, but we’ll get to that.

Deadshot shows up in the second issue to recruit Ethan to join the Suicide Squad. That’s nobody’s idea of a good job, except maybe Harley, but she’s crazy. Eventually the Suicide Squad fights Damage (again), which goes on for a while, which gives characters a chance to banter like they always do when they’re fighting.

Wonder Woman shows up because she got her own movie so DC has to milk that every chance it gets. Poison Ivy (evil version, but warring with good version) shows up because she’s hot and artists like to draw her. The Warriors of Gorilla City show up because … well, I have no idea why anyone would write Grodd into a story. Swamp Thing shows up because Ivy has pretty much made a swamp out of a cornfield.

So what does this add up to? Not much, yet. The concept (military lies to soldier, turns him into a weapon while stealing his humanity, leading him to escape and be all pouty) isn’t original, but it has potential. The potential wasn’t realized in this volume (schizo Poison Ivy feeling it with schizo Damage was a really weak point) and I’m not sure whether this will ever go anywhere beyond “I hate being Damage, my life sucks.” There are snatches of good writing in Damage but not much in the way of good plotting. It’s too early in the series to condemn it so I’m giving it 3 ½ stars, on Amazon’s scale a bit better than “it’s ok” but not a title that merits the more enthusiastic “I liked it.”

ARC from Netgalley.
3.5 Stars.
The first book I have read from the "New Age of Heroes" from DC Comics.
Ethan Avery, who wanted to serve his country and fight, has become the only success of the Damage Project, a chemically altered warrior (think pretty much exactly like the Incredible Hulk) who is unstoppable for 60 minutes. Taking on the city of Atlanta and the new Task Force XL (Suicide Squad), then Wonder Woman, as well as Poison Ivy and Gorilla Grodd, Damage lives up to his name.

But he is changing.... Damage and Ethan can speak to each other and can help let loose or keep in line. And still, Ethan only wants to serve.

But... what has Colonel Marie Jonas subjected Ethan to as Damage? And how can Swamp Thing help this new hero?

Character design is cool and the story has potential to be good, but it really feels like a 'Hulk for DC'. I'll continue on, seeing how the character develops more, as well as how he integrates into the universe as a whole.
Recommend.

Damage is what this TPB was about, but not just the big Hulk like thing called Damage that was made out of an eager Army private by a black ops operation. It was, interestingly, also about planet damage, and even mental damage to a point. I have to say, usually the titles of these series are sorta on the nose, but, this one, at least for this TPB was really cool.

Honestly, I read it because I guessed that there was going to be some Poison Ivy and some Harley Quinn in it, unfortunately they never meet in it, but, it was still a pretty cool TPB.

It sorta reminded me of the limits that Dial H for Hero put on itself, and how using limits like that can make a comic series better sometimes.

I received this book via Netgalley thanks to DC Entertainment.

Ethan Avery wanted to become a hero, so he joined the military where he became part of a secret weapons test. Now he becomes Damage and destroys for an hour and then need to rest for twenty-three hours. Ethan is not happy, so he escapes, knocks out the Suicide Squad and fights Wonder Woman to a draw in Atlanta. Interesting interlude with Poison Ivy and Swamp Thing that offers him new options. An interesting beginning for a different hero.

I'm honestly surprised Marvel hasn't sued for copyright infringement. This is the Hulk set in the DC universe. He's even chased by a female Nick Fury. The best thing I can say about the book is Tony Daniel makes it look great. Unfortunately, he only does the first 3 issues. Then Cary Nord and Diogenes Neves step in and they are serviceable except Diogenes needs to learn how to draw apes if he's going to pencil Grodd. The plot consists of DC characters lining up to punch the Hulk, I mean Damage across the U.S.

Is this New Age of Heroes line just supposed to be Marvel characters set in the DCU? Because I read Sideways and it was a ripoff of Spider-Man.

Tony Daniel is a very consistent artist, and his muscled, veiny Damage monster in Damage Vol. 1: Out of Control is appropriately Hulk-like, his scenes of destruction appropriately widescreen. Damage offers a strong Fugitive undertone -- Damage Ethan Avery, on the run, discovers a problem and tries to solve it. As a basically nice guy, and a soldier, trying to do right, Ethan Avery is a compelling protagonist. In their various forms, the human Ethan and hulking Damage talk to one another, which is especially notable since Damage is feral as Damage but articulate in Ethan's head. What Damage is, if not just a hulked-out Ethan, is something I'm curious about and that I hope writer Robert Venditti intends to address. For the next volume I'm eager to see Venditti delve into what makes Damage different from his antecedents and get into some of the nuances of the character.

This book is like the DC version of the Hulk story, though there is an element of the Suicide Squad to it (also guest starring). It could have gotten more into the head of the protagonist to make it more engaging.

Wow, this must easily be on the way to being DC's biggest-selling book, like, totally evs! It's got this super indestructible title character, who's a bit of a monster, but only for a one-hour shift each day. I mean, just look at him go – even his own controllers can't control him, not even in an Iron Man suit. So up comes the Suicide Squad! And you know what? Not even they can control him! So Wonder Woman comes along – and even other characters in the JLA get a whole word to speak, it's that amazing. Seriously, any fan of any series ever will jump on board here – and I'm not even joking?!

Er… except that I am. This is stodgy retreading of old ground. Yes, it jokes about how flippin' familiar Damage is, but it really is a Hulk rip-off, even if you factor in the human talking to the monstrous and the anima talking to the man inside that wants out, and the contrivance of the time limit. But everywhere you turn you find something over-familiar, or crap – or, of course, both. The woman in charge of it all would be called Amanda Waller except (a) she has a Nick Fury eye-patch, and (b) Waller comes in later. And then the whole trying-too-hard sugar rush completely collapses, as the second half of this book is a set of three monthlies where our hero and some new friends are faced with newly-made-evil Poison Ivy.

It's good that they've made her sexy again, or tried to; but it's not good that this is just a mess. This launch title for the so-called New Age relaunch proves that to be completely misnamed.

'Damage Vol. 1: Out of Control' by Robert Venditti with art by Tony Daniel is part of the DC New Age of Heroes line. Once you start reading this, that will seem like a confusing title for this character.

Ethan Avery volunteered for a project with the military called 'The Damage Project.' That should have been his first warning to run away. Instead, he got turned in to a monster that wreaks havoc blindly on everything around. The good news is that this only lasts for an hour, then he becomes poor old Ethan again and can't Hulk, er, Damage out again for 24 hours. After he wreaks some Havoc on Atlanta, Suicide Squad XL, then Wonder Woman tries to take him out. Damage makes pretty quick work of them and flees. This isn't what Ethan signed up for. Can he figure out how to control Damage and become a kind of hero?

There isn't much plot in this volume. It's kind of one big running slug-fest, and, yes, it is reminiscent of the Hulk. Honestly comics do this kind of thing all the time, so that didn't bug me. I kind of like the idea of a massive heavy hitter working alongside Superman and Batman. The Ethan persona needs to be given more to do. His character is flat and lifeless and we don't really feel a lot of sympathy for this hapless guy who signed up for the wrong experiment.

I did really like the art in this. The Damage character looks a bit like Doomsday without the spines, and that joke is even made along the way.

I received a review copy of this graphic novel from DC Entertainment and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.

Damage is a new series by DC Comics, and if you look at the cover you can immediately get a good idea of what sort of character this guy is. Like we’ve seen in many a comic book series, Ethan Avery was a solider willing to do anything to help his country – including letting mad scientists experiment on him. Unfortunately for him, while the experiment was a success, he didn’t make out so well as many other characters in the same position.
Origin stories for new characters are always tough. They have the potential to take off and become a huge success, or they could fizzle into nothing. Sure, there are series that fit between those two extremes, but I feel like those happen in smaller frequencies.
In this case I’d say that Damage has a lot of potential, we just haven’t seen all of it yet. The character design itself isn’t really anything new, but it’s also a format that we know can work. It’s just a matter of figuring out what makes him interesting – what makes him stand out amongst all the other irradiated shifters of the world.
Still, the first volume did manage to surprise me at more than one point. The appearance of Waller and the Suicide Squad shouldn’t have surprised me at all. Waller’s handling of the situation was probably the most believable point in the series – and trust me, that’s an insult to her (one well earned). Of course Waller either wants to obtain or destroy Damage. She’s only capable of seeing things in black and white, but instead of good versus evil is a matter of what she can use versus what she can’t use.
One other appearance surprised me a lot more; Poison Ivy made a show! She’s one of my favorite DC villains, so naturally I was thrilled to see her. I’ll be honest that I wasn’t terribly thrilled with the way she was represented here…however the covers involving her are absolutely fantastic so I guess I can forgive it.
There are a few more cameos, one of which seems like it might lead into the next plot. At least it was the conclusion of this one, so I’m making an assumption on that. I don’t know how much that character can help Damage, but everyone seems to think he can? Which is an interesting revelation. There’s also an epic fight with Wonder Woman (naturally she goes right after Damage) which was fun to watch if nothing else.
As weird as it sounds, I wasn’t expecting Damage to spend so much time away from the cities. But so far we’ve seen him spend as much time out of the cities as in them. In fact, we see him spend a decent chunk of his time in a field or forest. The unexpected locations are surprising, but not unwelcome. It hadn’t occurred to me just how many series I’ve been reading have been based in the city until now. So the change is actually really refreshing.
As far as I’m concerned the jury is still out on Damage. I think it has a chance to be something really interesting. It just needs some time to work out some of the issues it has. I’ll probably continue reading it to see how it goes.

This graphic novel collects the first six issues of DC’s new Damage comics. The first issue was originally released in January 2018.

I’d never heard of Damage before, but this is a re-imagining of the character originally created back in 1994. Damage is a lot like the Incredible Hulk, though instead of a brilliant scientist, his secret identity is a soldier with dreams of becoming a hero.

Ethan Avery, a 21-year-old soldier, volunteers to take part in an experimental program. The goal: to create a super-weapon capable of taking out enemies without losing any lives. The program succeeds, allowing Ethan to become the unstoppable monster known as Damage.

There’s a catch, though. Ethan can only become Damage for an hour at a time, and needs to recharge for a day between each transformation. Damage also has its own personality, fighting with Ethan for control of their body.

There was a lot of action in this. Every volume had Damage going on a rampage for an hour. He takes on superheroes, supervillains, and the military. As cool as this was, I would have enjoyed more non-fighting scenes. There are hints of a larger story within the DC universe throughout, which I found more interesting than the action.

Overall, the graphic novel was an enjoyable read, though I won’t be in a rush to pick up the next volume.

Kind of underwhelming rip-off of the Hulk. Damage is the result of an experiment on a poor soldier, Ethan Avery, turning him into an unstoppable force of destruction for an hour each day (after which he must sleep it off). Damage even looks like the Grey Hulk, with a bit of Deathlok thrown in for good measure. Avery can't really control the beast within (though the issues here suggest that won't be the case for long), and the female colonel responsible for his creation wants him back once he gets loose. Damage fights the Suicide Squad, Wonder Woman, and even has a run-in with Poison Ivy and Gorrilla Grodd, and yet remains pretty much a cypher. We don't know who he is or what's driving him and the plotting doesn't help very much. Also, the art is quite variable, with most of it courtesy of Tony S. Daniel (which often consists of little more than two-page splash spreads of Damage in battle), but also some fill-in work by Diogenes Neves, Cary Nord, and Danny Miki. By the end of the 6th issue, Damage doesn't even look like the same character anymore.

Private First Class Ethan Avery is enlisted to become a one-man army in Damage Vol 1: Out of Control, part of the New Age of Heroes series.

Ethan is genetically modified by the army to have super strength and defense along with being the size of a three-story building. When transformed, he is called Damage. He can only transform for one hour each day before he must rest. On his first mission to destroy the Vlatvian facists threatening the US with nuclear war, he is a great success. When he goes rogue, the Suicide Squad volunteers to help defuse him with unplanned results. Eventually, Wonder Woman is also called in to help.

The plot reminds me of a famous comic movie franchise only their man-into-monster has retractible claws. Even though the plot wasn’t too original, the artwork was. It’s awesome! It uses real shadowing—not the usual cross-hatching—and accurate light sources. The feeling is almost photorealistic except for the extraordinary images being portrayed. The coloring is also true to life rather than the usual bright or dusky color palette.

Damage Vol 1: Out of Control is perfect for comic art fans. The art gets 5 stars but the plot only 3 for a net score of 4 stars! (Sorry my accounting alter ego might be showing a bit here.)

Thanks to DC Comics and NetGalley for an advance copy.

Damage Vol. 1 was a refreshingly different superhero tale for the DC universe. Faithful soldier, Elvis Avery wants to be a hero and volunteers for a secret military experiment. A monster is what he becomes for one hour at a time he wreaks havoc wherever he may be. Taking on the Suicide Squad and Wonder Woman, Damage is just a monster who wants to be left alone and defending the helpless when that is the only option. The art is easy on the eyes with splendid colors and clean, beautiful drawings. I found Damage intriguing, action-packed, and one exciting joy ride of a read. My voluntary, unbiased review is based upon a review copy from Netgalley.

This is a decent story. I mean, it rips off the Hulk from Marvel wholesale, but that said, there were some interesting interactions between Damage and other established players in the DC universe. I especially enjoyed the story arc bits involving Ivy and Swamp Thing. I think there is inherently a lot of potential with Damage, and I hope they go on to fulfill it in future volumes instead of just continuing to rehash story arcs that have been done for decades with Hulk comics, which is how this volume started but quickly moved away from.

Interesting story line and particularly well drawn. I liked seeing Harley Quinn, albeit briefly. I’d be keen to see her again more in following editions. Poison Ivy was absolutely beautiful and it was cool going more into her canon.

An action packed graphic novel. Lots of explosions and fighting scenes. Great for a younger audience. The story was a little lacking though.