Exclusive DC preview: A new fighter enters the bleak dystopia of Suiciders

In the dreary alternate future of Lee Bermejo’s Vertigo series Suiciders, Los Angeles has been split into two dramatically different cities. New Angeles is a thriving metropolis, but Lost Angeles is a sprawling dump populated by the disenfranchised people that rose up following a cataclysmic earthquake. The borders are maintained by armed guards that have no qualms shooting to kill, and the peace is kept on a larger scale by The Coliseum, where bloody fights are staged and broadcast to the rest of the city.

The first issue of the series kept these two worlds separate, but the opening of this week’s Suiciders #2 suggests that New Angeles’ Coliseum is about to get a Lost Angeles transplant in the form of bearded brawler Straniero. These preview pages, written and illustrated by Bermejo with colors by Matt Hollingsworth, spotlight the creative team’s talent for sweeping dystopian visuals and bone-shattering action. The title page is an extremely effective summary of the environmental catastrophe that destroyed Los Angeles, and Straneiro’s takedown of his attackers gives a taste of the bloody intensity that Bermejo takes even further for the fights inside The Coliseum. It may be Straneiro’s lucky day, but it’s going to be a rough tomorrow if he’s headed for the arena.