I like Brian Wood. His Local is a constantly fine read and Supermarket is too. However, DMZ is not. Unlike either of those titles, DMZ is a Vertigo title. Vertigo is not indie. It's mainstream. Both Local and Supermarket are loaded with nuance. Vertigo tends not to allow much nuance, at least not surface nuance. But being Wood's first series for the man isn't what hurts DMZ, instead it's the concept. DMZ is all about the concept. Manhattan as a demilitarized zone. DMZ owes more to Escape from New York, except that film did a couple good story-telling things... First, it gave the audience the history of the situation (New York gets barred off because of the crime rate), while DMZ teases at the history. Second, DMZ tries to be socially relevant. I'm sure Wood and I would agree on a lot politically, but political rhetoric should not be a story's driving device.
I frequently say... well, maybe not so much lately, but I have frequently said, a good review discusses the work in its own context. It is what it is. However, I'm not trying to write excellent criticism here. I'm lazy. Wood's strongest writing is when he looks at characters and when he looks at how they interact with each other. The first issue of DMZ has scenes with people and people talking. The second two issues (the first story, On the Ground, is three issues--the second two seem to be following a slightly different first issue than the one published, however) feature little of those scenes. The second issue in particular is in summary and reads just like I'd expect a mainstream comic book to read. The third issue again seems only slightly connected to the first two, even though it's the next day, and most of the time is spent on action scenes. There are some pop culture references in there too, unbelievable ones.
DMZ is an idea without a story, without any characters (the main character changes completely a few times in the story, so does the love interest). As an idea, it's got some initial appeal, but once all of the factors are explored, it's pretty obvious it isn't going to work. It's not bad. It just doesn't work.