Oh Damage Control, How do I love the? Let me Count the Ways...

[Rylon]

Damage Control is awesome. I bought the first mini back when it came oh those many moons ago. So when I stumbled across the first issue, I knew I had to get it.

Dwayne McDuffie, the writer of the first mini and the creator of Damage Control, is the writer on this new mini. He hasn't lost his flare for comedy or his understanding of Superheroes.

Favorite scenes in this issue:

Mrs. Hoge negotiating with Tony Stark.
"Damage Control works out of the Flatiron Building."
"What, am I missing something?" "Your clothes, dear. Put some on."
"I'm going to call Tony Stark and have you audited, then killed."
(He was kidding, he doesn't have the authority to order an audit.)
"Ok. Take a big seat."


If there is a god, then the first series will be in trade and people can see the awesomeness that is Lenny asking for a replacement worker because some random guy on his crew "had an origin."

[Cthulhudrew]

I would have picked this one up if it had the obligatory Thunderball appearance (which it didn't; sad clown), but I will definitely be picking it up as a trade (and I'm assuming there will be a trade).

BTW, hilarious piece about Dwayne McDuffie and a "modest proposal" he had for a series before leaving Marvel back in the day at Lying in the Gutters (http://www.comicbookresources.com/columns/?column=13) this week (scroll down).

[matthewaos]

So Damage Control has been around for some time... What's the name of the first mini?

[Excelsior]

Great Issue. Damage control is a genius concept. It will always be a welcomed read. After Civil War, Damage Controls restoration and repair contracts should give them more funds than Haliburton.

[HepOne]

I would have picked this one up if it had the obligatory Thunderball appearance (which it didn't; sad clown), but I will definitely be picking it up as a trade (and I'm assuming there will be a trade).


There are only 3 issues so it might be packaged with other 'aftersmash' comics in the trade. You might not want these so it may be better to get the singles.

[Rylon]

So Damage Control has been around for some time... What's the name of the first mini?Appropriately, Damage Control I believe it was four issues. But my copies are in another state, so I can't check. It was also written by McDuffie.

[bulbasteve]

Appropriately, Damage Congrol I believe it was four issues. But my copies are in another state, so I can't check. It was also written by McDuffie.

From ye olde wiki: "Damage Control employees first appear briefly in a four-page story in 1988's Marvel Age Annual and fully in 1989 in a serialized story published in the anthology comic Marvel Comics Presents #19 (although they are posited to have existed since the earliest days of widespread superhero-related property damage). Subsequently, the employees of Damage Control have been the subject of three separate comic book limited series (each limited to four issues), published between 1989 and 1991, and have had frequent minor roles in many other Marvel comics."

[Spiffy]

Great book, but their repair figures are BS.

No way you repair MOST of New York, even with all the "advantages" of the fictional Marvel Universe over the real one, for less than TRILLIONS.

[Monty_Cristo]

was Visioneer in this issue? was Monstro?

[Will.S]

There are only 3 issues so it might be packaged with other 'aftersmash' comics in the trade. You might not want these so it may be better to get the singles.
That's the same reason why I bought them in singles.

I probably have about all of Damage Control's mini's.

[vitruvian]

Heh. The Thunderbolts are about to get pwned. I mean, they took pains to show us Ben Grimm yakking with Luke Cage and others, with Dr. Strange and Vance Astro floating in the background. I don't see any of the heroes there who *are* registered helping the TBolts out...

[cernunnos]

was Visioneer in this issue? was Monstro?

I think they were.

[jackolover]

Beautifully written by Mc Duffie. I haven't liked his superhero stories, but anything non-hero related works very well. The detail and the arrogance of the players is very much a reminder of the Heroes for Hire work from World War Hulk, where things happen behind the scenes but are just as gripping as the main book. Unlike what is happening in ASM right now, this book, without any hero fights or hero soap opera, locks into an emergency, and gets serious about the job. Head hunters go out and find the pieces that all fit together.

And who is this BART character? Will we find out more about him, or is he a known quantity already?

This seems to take place as practically WWH ends, and during the Aftersmash oneshot. That the TBolts show up is a good twist to the reconstruction. Why complicate things with detail, when you have a deadline to reach, so of coarse, send in the TBolts by all means Mr. Osborn. I'm sure Daredevil and the New Avengers are going to do nothing more than look up and say, 'Sure. Come on down. Check our papers you morons'. I think Iron Man will make a visit about then too. Either that, or BART comes and kicks their a*se.

A very enjoyable read, and a fine bookend to the WWH, because no one else mentions reconstruction in any other books. I wonder if they will mention Project Laser-NY-to-the-Negative-Zone? There was a chance, there, that if Hulk left the building, they could have zapped Manhattan Island off the map.

I will definately pick up the rest of this. I had imagined this would be the worst of the mini's to come out of WWH, but it is one of the strongest. Well done Dwayne, Salva, and Guru for a well represented piece of organisation. I saw a little of Damage Control in the Wolvy mini in CW, but I never imagined that the structure McDuffie constructed was this elaborate. Good to see the images of the destroyed sections of NY, and can't wait to see the population flooding back into town, just as the TBolts try to fan out, for the rego cards, and all hell breaks loose.

[Excelsior]

Beautifully written by Mc Duffie. I haven't liked his superhero stories, but anything non-hero related works very well. The detail and the arrogance of the players is very much a reminder of the Heroes for Hire work from World War Hulk, where things happen behind the scenes but are just as gripping as the main book. Unlike what is happening in ASM right now, this book, without any hero fights or hero soap opera, locks into an emergency, and gets serious about the job. Head hunters go out and find the pieces that all fit together.

And who is this BART character? Will we find out more about him, or is he a known quantity already?

This seems to take place as practically WWH ends, and during the Aftersmash oneshot. That the TBolts show up is a good twist to the reconstruction. Why complicate things with detail, when you have a deadline to reach, so of coarse, send in the TBolts by all means Mr. Osborn. I'm sure Daredevil and the New Avengers are going to do nothing more than look up and say, 'Sure. Come on down. Check our papers you morons'. I think Iron Man will make a visit about then too. Either that, or BART comes and kicks their a*se.

A very enjoyable read, and a fine bookend to the WWH, because no one else mentions reconstruction in any other books. I wonder if they will mention Project Laser-NY-to-the-Negative-Zone? There was a chance, there, that if Hulk left the building, they could have zapped Manhattan Island off the map.

I will definately pick up the rest of this. I had imagined this would be the worst of the mini's to come out of WWH, but it is one of the strongest. Well done Dwayne, Salva, and Guru for a well represented piece of organisation. I saw a little of Damage Control in the Wolvy mini in CW, but I never imagined that the structure McDuffie constructed was this elaborate. Good to see the images of the destroyed sections of NY, and can't wait to see the population flooding back into town, just as the TBolts try to fan out, for the rego cards, and all hell breaks loose.

Well in McDuff's defense. He hasnt been allowed free reign to write his kind of stories till now. During his FF run, he had a limited array of stories in which he could tell, due to the fact that Millar/Hitch's looming FF run would devour any story arc he had written. In fact, his run became dangerously close to being permanent--due to positive fan reaction. Like anything, I believe the excellent art chores of Salva Espin help to elevate the book as well.

[TotalWorldDomination]

Great book, but their repair figures are BS.

No way you repair MOST of New York, even with all the "advantages" of the fictional Marvel Universe over the real one, for less than TRILLIONS.

It depends on A) HOW you want to rebuild and B) WHO is going to rebuild.

Look at it this way. New York real-estate is worth hundreds and hundreds of billions of dollars on paper. The average apartment in Manhattan is between 1.2 and 1.3 million and you've got close to 2 million people living on the island. Is the overall cost because of the actually materials used in the construction of the apartments? Hell no! it's all about location and proximity to everything else in Manhattan! So you're not going by the overall real-estate value but rather the RAW MATERIALS value. Just going by Raw Materials without including Labor or profit, the number is a pretty good one.

Given this is a national emergency, I can see the USGoverment allowing the fine folks at damage control to do the job while ignoring US Labor laws, thus allowing for Non-Unionized workers to be employed in the reconstruction of Manhattan (IE, Supers, Robots and other "shortcuts"). If the majority of your heavy lifters/workers are actualy licensed supers that are NOT part of your overall estimate (lets say they call in all initative teams from the northeast) that lowers costs tremendously. If you can build it in less then a day (as they somehow are) that cuts costs even MORE since the unionized workers get paid by the hour.

It's not the dollar total, but the amount of time that is unrealistic. it would take YEARS to repair that much damage to New York.

Well in McDuff's defense. He hasnt been allowed free reign to write his kind of stories till now. During his FF run, he had a limited array of stories in which he could tell, due to the fact that Millar/Hitch's looming FF run would devour any story arc he had written. In fact, his run became dangerously close to being permanent--due to positive fan reaction. Like anything, I believe the excellent art chores of Salva Espin help to elevate the book as well.

And yet he has been able to deliver at least one plotline that was enough to get me to jump back on the book (the Idea 101 plotline that is currently running). McDuff has been fantastic with the FF, and I hope that Marvel keeps him in mind for other big name books in the future.

[RodeoWearden]

So Damage Control has been around for some time...

Oh yeah. I have an old issue from 1989 where Albert is trying to collect on a bill from Dr. Doom.




And who is this BART character? Will we find out more about him, or is he a known quantity already?



Bart was an intern way back in the day. Very typecast kind of guy. No pay, all the grunt work, etc. He got offered a position as a personal assistant eventually, and now he's just part of the staff. I dont even know if he has an 'official' position, he's just kind of there.

[Spiffy]

Heh. The Thunderbolts are about to get pwned. I mean, they took pains to show us Ben Grimm yakking with Luke Cage and others, with Dr. Strange and Vance Astro floating in the background. I don't see any of the heroes there who *are* registered helping the TBolts out...
To me the response to the Thunderbolts should logically be:

"Who went and revised the charter for the team from COLORADO to give them authority in New York?"

I mean it was one thing to show them being given special assignments during Civil War, but AFTER that they were designated for a specific area. And the writers seem to keep forgetting that, when its convenient.

[Cthulhudrew]

The Thunderbolts don't exactly follow the standard Initiative model, though. They are based in Colorado (and serve as that state's team, functionally), but their operations are federally regulated, through the CSA, and not SHIELD/Tony Stark.

So they've got every right to be operating on New York soil. They're federal agents tasked with bringing in those who don't register, which is not a function of the other Initiative teams.

[jackolover]

Bart was an intern way back in the day. Very typecast kind of guy. No pay, all the grunt work, etc. He got offered a position as a personal assistant eventually, and now he's just part of the staff. I dont even know if he has an 'official' position, he's just kind of there.

Does Bart have powers, when you say grunt work?

[Expletive Deleted]

Does Bart have powers, when you say grunt work?No. He does actual intern-y grunt work.

[Monty_Cristo]

he used to have powers, right? nevermind. i was thinking of Edifice Rex.

http://www.marvunapp.com/Appendix/edificer.htm

[Excelsior]

I love this cover. It has sensory overload written all over it. Like a glut of natural disasters that have hit the Marvel u--Over the years. What a great creative team they have going here-- I hope they team up on other projects. Like an International team of Marvel Characters//Not so subtle hint...hint...hint...

http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u102/NoPrize/WWHASDC002_int-1.jpg

[Monty_Cristo]

I love this cover. It has sensory overload written all over it. Like a glut of natural disasters that have hit the Marvel u--Over the years. What a great creative team they have going here-- I hope they team up on other projects. Like an International team of Marvel Characters//Not so subtle hint...hint...hint...

http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u102/NoPrize/WWHASDC002_int-1.jpg

what de hell is that?!

[Expletive Deleted]

what de hell is that?!I don't know, but I like it.

[Sijo]

Does the miniseries deal at all with the fact that Stamford's destruction was Damage Control's fault? (Via their former owner enhancing Nitro precisely for that purpose.) Don't look at me, I think it was a terrible idea, but it's still cannon. Is this fact public? If so, it would be a big blow to the company. If not, why not?

[Excelsior]

Does the miniseries deal at all with the fact that Stamford's destruction was Damage Control's fault? (Via their former owner enhancing Nitro precisely for that purpose.) Don't look at me, I think it was a terrible idea, but it's still cannon. Is this fact public? If so, it would be a big blow to the company. If not, why not?

Good Point. But we are talking about the U.S. of A, here. Remember that terrible incident that happened on the Virginia tech campus. And the guns that were involved, and how they were purchased. No one attacked the gun manufacturer or how they were brought. An using that fact as an allegory for superhero powerups, the same reaction would happen.

Congress passed the SHRA in the Marvel U, much like the real life bill that supposedly makes it harder for those who have mental problems to obtain guns. (Notice how I said supposedly, because of the North Illinois campus tragedy)

[CMBMOOL]

I love this cover. It has sensory overload written all over it. Like a glut of natural disasters that have hit the Marvel u--Over the years. What a great creative team they have going here-- I hope they team up on other projects. Like an International team of Marvel Characters//Not so subtle hint...hint...hint...

http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u102/NoPrize/WWHASDC002_int-1.jpg


Wow, if there is any example showing us too many events in the Marvel universe, then this should be one of them. :p

[Karthak]

I love this cover. It has sensory overload written all over it. Like a glut of natural disasters that have hit the Marvel u--Over the years. What a great creative team they have going here-- I hope they team up on other projects. Like an International team of Marvel Characters//Not so subtle hint...hint...hint...

http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u102/NoPrize/WWHASDC002_int-1.jpg

Ouch. That actually hurt my eyes. :D

[Will.S]

I love this cover. It has sensory overload written all over it. Like a glut of natural disasters that have hit the Marvel u--Over the years. What a great creative team they have going here-- I hope they team up on other projects. Like an International team of Marvel Characters//Not so subtle hint...hint...hint...

http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u102/NoPrize/WWHASDC002_int-1.jpg
Lots of "Wars" there.

I love it.

[IamtheRock3]

havent read it let

read the first one

but wondering does what they did in Cival war brought up (being behind nitro power boost). Cause arent they like evil now

[Expletive Deleted]

Cause arent they like evil nowTheir old CEO was, but Wolverine killed him. Now the good guys are back in charge.

[Will.S]

Their old CEO was, but Wolverine killed him. Now the good guys are back in charge.
In a nutshell yep.

[Comet Man]

After checking out first looks, then reading this topic, y'all have convinced me to start getting this title. I also really like Dwayne McDuffy.

Also looking forward to the new Goliath. The costume looks good at least, although I'd rather see a big G on the front. No biggie though.