The closest comparison I can make for Brian Wood and Riccardo Burchielli’s DMZ is that of looking at society through a funhouse mirror. Although slightly distorted, the image is still recognizable, and nothing can be more true-to-point than with the sixth volume on the series, Blood in the Game, which ran in issues 29-34.

Published in the months leading up this year’s historic Presidential election, Blood in the Game follows series star, reporter Matty Roth, as he covers, and then becomes deeply involved in, the election of a provisional governor to represent the DMZ in peace talks to bring the ravaged city back into the US fold.

Among those vying for the office are representatives from the separatist movement, various factions of the war-torn city and a charismatic unknown who makes is candidacy public moments before a citywide cease-fire. This charismatic candidate, Parco Delgado, and his followers in the “Delgado Nation” seek to rebuild Manhattan to not only its’ former glory, but into a entirely new, sovereign nation.

Throughout the entire story arc, Wood manages to weave a tale that takes a hard look at how politics are handled, reported on and viewed, not only in the world of DMZ, but in our own as well. Television news stations that are little more than governmental mouthpieces, politicians with hidden agendas and private security companies acting like para-military units are just a few of the parallels that appear between the real world and the world in which Matty Roth lives.

Although the pacing moves very quickly at some points, Blood in the Game is in line with the previous five volumes of the series, carrying the threads of the overall storyline throughout. My only complaint regarding the series is a lack of a recap from previous arcs. Over the course of the series, I seemed to have lost focus on the nature of the initial conflict between the US and the Free States (the separatists), and although the conflict is only a backdrop to the story of an imbedded journalist living in a war zone, I feel that it would be nice to know what we’re fighting for, so-to-speak. But, I digress…

Blood in the Game is a fine addition to the story that has come before and Burchielli continues to deliver the goods when it comes to art. From the wide, cinematic establishing shots to the ability to capture every detail in a close-quarters firefight, his artwork is consistent, sharp and fitting to the urban battlegrounds that he illustrates.

DMZ Volume 6 – Blood in the Game, from DC/Vertigo Comics, hits comic shop selves on February 11, 2009.