of the Italian's illustrations after encountering him at a comics fair in Naples in March 2003. Burchielli had never drawn for an American comic book before but his detailed approach to storytelling, intensity in conveying action, and conviction for the work impressed Wood enough to pursue a collaboration. Narrative direction was the sole purview of the writer, with character design left to the artist. The co-creators' trial met with the approval of Vertigo executive editor Karen Berger, and so DMZ was set in motion; the first issue, featuring concept artwork from Wartime, hit the shelves on November 9, 2005. When asked about the length of the series in March 2008, Wood stated: "I haven't locked it in 100%, but I'd be happy to see DMZ run 60 issues". The series ended with the publication of issue #72 on December 28, 2011 and was collected in 12 trade paperback volumes. Synopsis The series is set in New York City, sometime in the near future and in the midst of a civil war that has turned the island of Manhattan into a demilitarized zone. The conflict concerns two primary forces: the federal government of the United States of America and the Free States armies. In issue #2, its explained that the Free States are less a geographical entity than "an idea", and that the movement began with an uprising of secessionist groups that formed a separate government in Montana before spreading across the country. The Free Armies and the U.S. military first met in combat at Allentown, Pennsylvania where the Free Armies won, after which the Free Armies descended on New York. The planned evacuation of Manhattan went disastrously wrong, but despite that the U.S. Army was finally able to halt the advance of the Free States forces. There was even a sense among troops that the U.S. forces were ready to start reclaiming territory from and pushing back the Free States army, until the calamity of Day 204, when a squad of U.S. soldiers mistakenly gunned down nearly 200 peace protesters. With the U.S. robbed of all momentum and public support for an advance, the two sides settled into an uneasy stalemate, where Manhattan is the location of the DMZ between the two warring parties, with the FSA occupying territory including New Jersey and inland, and the United States holding Brooklyn, Long Island, and other parts unknown. The U.S. government still