It's everywhere.

Pick up a newspaper. Turn on the television. Go on the Internet.

Heartbreaking images and dire words chronicling the acts of terrorism and the resulting "War on Terrorism". Although there's a firm divide on what people think about it, there's one common ground humanity can all agree on; we're all in this together. As we've come to discover, these horrifying events know no boundaries and can strike anyone, anywhere, anytime. As we continue to reel from recent events, we also look tot he future and ask ourselves... 'what's happening next?' Although no one can definitely answer that question, it nonetheless prompts stirrings in the hearts and minds of each and every one of us.

Coming this November from DC's Vertigo imprint is DMZ. This ongoing monthly series follows a young photographer who's abandoned in an urban war zone. With no rules, no boss and an open expense account, he dives into an unprecedented behind-the-scenes look at a war-zone and the people who live it in. When you think "urban war zone", you might picture some far-off country... but imagine it in New York; Manhattan, to be exact. Gone is the larger than life metropolis, replaced by sometime akin to World War 2-era Stalingrad.

If that wasn't enough to pique your interest, it is created and written by Brian Wood (Channel Zero, DEMO) with art by Italian illustrator Riccardo Burchielli. A celebrated designer in his own right, Brian Wood will be doing the covers as well as 2-4 page cutscenes in each issue. Newsarama caught up with Brian Wood to get briefed on DMZ.

Newsarama: Let's start with the man at the center of the story: Matty. Just who is he, and how did he end up in the demilitarized zone?

Brian Wood: Matty's just this kid (well, college undergrad) from Long Island who's dad scored him this great internship, assistant to a Pulitzer award-winning photojournalist. He'll be accompanying the news team on an assignment in Manhattan, which is pretty much a no man's land now, handling the photo equipment.

NRAMA: On the surface DMZ seems the story of two warring factions, being the United States and the Free Armies. Although everyone is familiar with the United States, can you tell us more about the U.S. and the Free Armies as they are during the time of DMZ?

BW: The future America that we're presented with at the start of DMZ #1 is a country that's been split by a civil war of sorts, one that's been grinding on for years and years and is currently locked in stalemate. Leading up to that, the U.S. had extended its police and "spreading of freedoms" actions throughout the world, and in doing so has gotten so bogged down and weakened at home that the anti-government militia types, the dudes in bunkers in places like Montana, see their opportunity and rise up.

They might seem like unlikely candidates to take on the United States government, but this government is one that's been pushing its own agenda for decades, ignoring the voice of the people. As pissed off as people are now at Bush's war, imagine him opening up several more fronts around the world, instituting a draft and hiking taxes and cutting services to pay for it all. Then imagine that running for 15, 20 years with no end in sight. The people are going to do something.

So the Free Armies, as they call themselves, have succeeded in pushing the U.S. forces from middle America to the extreme edges of the country. They stop in New Jersey, at the edge of the Hudson, and stare across Manhattan Island at the U.S. troops dug in on the Brooklyn/Queens side. And there they've sat for years, fighting over the same couple miles, neither side making any progress.

This is where the story begins. And the story isn't so much about the politics and the war itself as it is about how life exists under these conditions, with this war as a backdrop.

NRAMA: This war has more than just two sides; namely, the people stuck in the middle. Just who are the inhabitants of the demilitarized zone, and why are they there?

BW: They are mostly citizens of Manhattan that for whatever reason (mostly financial) never made it out in time. The armies closed in and now they're all trapped in the city, left to fend for themselves. There is a small additional population of people from either side who have snuck in, military types, who are either operating as spies, insurgents, psychological warriors, or just gone AWOL.

NRAMA: The news media play an ever-increasing role in the life of an informed citizen in modern society. What are Matty's superiors looking for with the reports from the demilitarized zone?

BW: Liberty News, the organization that hired Matty, is little more than the official mouthpiece of the U.S. government. They want reports they can edit and spin as necessary, to paint the enemy as terrorists and killers. The assignment that Matty's sent on in the first issue is a massive PR campaign for the government, rather than any sort of objective news story.

NRAMA: Due to the situation Matty falls into, you aptly describe him as "the ultimate embedded journalist". Although embedded journalism is far from new, that particular term and the rigors of it are being brought to the forefront with the United States' unfolding "War On Terror". Did the recent reports from these writers in the various warzones strike a chord with you as a person and a writer? And if so, are there certain journalists or stories that stuck out to you more than others?

BW: I started on this book years ago, for myself, before I started looking for a publisher. During that time I've read dozens of books written by or about war reporters (the ones about the Soviets in Afghanistan stuck with me the most). In addition I've been watching the war on television, and one thing occurred to me that really helped shape this book. I know nothing about war. Never been in one, never joined the army, nothing. No relatives of mine are still alive that ever fought in a war. I am completely incapable of writing an honest and sincere war story. I'd just be a poser.

But one thing that I am equipped to write about is watching a war. Between the Cold War, Gulf War 1 and 2 and Afghanistan, I know all about watching a war on the news. Being a bystander of sorts, being pulled one way and the other by the news media's various biases. I could write a story about that. That's who Matty is - an average guy that watches a war and talks about it.

NRAMA: Looking further into being an embedded journalists, one of the first rules is to be an impartial observer. How does Matty react to the guidelines of journalism and his superiors when he's the one in harm's way?

BW: This is an ongoing struggle Matty has to deal with. He's no journalist, never worked as one or trained as one. He's a photo tech that's presented with an incredible opportunity, and to it he brings not only his enthusiasm but his emotions. He has to learn as he goes to separate his own ideas and biases from the work. Impartiality is harder that it looks, especially when one's ingrained beliefs are being challenged every day.

NRAMA: Some readers might remember your first professional comics work, Channel Zero, and draw some parallels to DMZ with the situation and "political climate", so to speak. In setting these books in a speculative near future based on real world events we all see in the news, what are you aiming at conveying to the reader?

BW: Channel Zero was pretty preachy at times. It's meant to be, as a direct reaction to the politics of the times. DMZ, while set in a really crazily political setting, isn't meant to be preachy. It's not even actually about politics, or the war, but more about the civilians on the ground who are existing despite it all. Matty, and the reader, will be watching the politics as spectators, not as such active participants like in Channel Zero.

It'll look and feel familiar, but the point of it all is very different. At least for me.

NRAMA: The artist on board for DMZ is Riccardo Burchielli. How did Burchielli's work come to your attention and how did he end up on the book?

BW: Will Dennis, my editor, sent me a link to his website. That's pretty much all it took. I looked at the "Chourmo" samples and was like, “That's the guy.”

NRAMA: Let's talk more about Riccardo. Deciding on a sequential artist to depict the real world events depicted in DMZ couldn't have been easy; let's just say that most comic artists don't get to have much fun. Looking at Riccardo's work, what particular elements of his work make him right for this book?

BW: We went through a pretty long list of people initially. What made Riccardo stand out, for me anyway was that it's totally great, a mix of European draftsmanship with touches of manga here and there, and it doesn't look like American superhero comics. As you said, this is a very real world book, so I wanted an artist who could draw the story the same way I saw it.

NRAMA: Your role in this book isn't just limited to 'creator' and 'writer', you're also doing the covers and some cut-scenes that are spliced into the book. Given your Eisner nominated cover work on Global Frequency, what are you striving for in the covers?

BW: The Global Frequency covers were pure photo-illustration. I didn't ever actually draw anything for them. For DMZ, I wanted to really get back to basics with my drawing, so even though the end result is still compiled and colored in Photoshop, I'm trying to hand-draw as much of it as possible. It'll have the same sort of "assembled" feel that the Global Frequency covers have, I will have just achieved that differently, more traditionally. Which in this case it’s extremely satisfying.

NRAMA: Looking at the cut-scenes you're creating, why did you decide to handle these parts of the book?

BW: It was my intention from the very start, way, way before I started pitching this project around, that I would be both writing and drawing. I'd done a lot of preliminary sketches and designs. But when this became a Vertigo book and turned into an ongoing series rather than a miniseries, it was pretty clear to everyone involved, including me, that I would not be able to handle writing and drawing a monthly book. I'm just not that fast or experienced.

I wasn't ready to give up all the art chores, though, so I worked it so I'd be doing covers and these segments of the story, the "broadcast" parts, about 2-4 pages per issue.

NRAMA: Why did you decide to bring this project to DC/Vertigo?

BW: Besides money? [laughs]

It's true - a few small press companies expressed interest in the book, but for something that would be such an investment of time and energy, I really needed a publisher with a support system, editors, letterers, and yeah, a deal that would pay my rent bill. I started talking to Will Dennis about it, and his honesty and support and enthusiasm for the project have really made it something I could never have done on my own. Plus, both he and (assistant editor) Casey Seijas are fellow Brooklyites, so we're all on the same page.

NRAMA: Meet anyone who's lived in New York, and one of the most inevitable questions that get asks is if they were there on September 11th, 2001. Since those terrible events were in such close proximity to you and where you lived, how has it impacted on you as a creator and on DMZ in particular?

BW: I was a few miles away from lower Manhattan that day, so my 9/11 experience is pretty tame compared to some friends of mine. I was stuck in Bushwick for three days watching TV. Once I was able to get in to the city on the subway and got out below the "security line" they set up on Houston Street, the images of the streets vacant of cars except for military vehicles, and the smell of burnt rubber really made an impact. It really looked like a war zone. I suppose that image stayed with me all this time, even after all the other memories from those few days have faded.

As far as the city goes, I think its just added to the myth of the city. New Yorkers always brag about how tough they are and how their city is the best, and you know, they're right. We're right. There's no place like New York City.

NRAMA: As a former resident of New York City (now in California), has your newfound outside perspective of the Big Apple bled into your work on DMZ?

BW: I don't know if it has. Living outside of NYC for a year or two doesn't seem to have affected my work at all. If anything, it's made me love the city even more. I'm actually moving back to Brooklyn at the end of the summer, in part because of DMZ. Since Riccardo is in Italy, I'll be able to go out and shoot custom photo reference for the script, and also just to re-acquaint myself with the city again. It'll make the book that much better.

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