The Dome: Ground Zero
Encyclopedia
The Dome: Ground Zero, is a one-shot graphic novel
published in 1998
under the short-lived DC Comics
imprint
, Helix
. Written and laid out by Dave Gibbons
and illustrated Angus McKie
, The Dome was notable for its innovative use of computer-rendered graphics to augment McKie's illustrations. Despite suffering by its association with the poorly-received Helix line, The Dome won praise both for the high quality of its art and for its well-constructed storyline set in the south Pacific
waters of a recognizably contemporary Earth environment, replete with the conflicting ideologies
of US techno-military forces and Christian fundamentalist eco-warrior
s.
are soon damaged by a variety of seemingly natural phenomena. It becomes apparent to observing military forces that the Quantum Bomb has triggered fallout
of a most unexpected kind - a gigantic reflective hemisphere, some ten-miles across and growing, has projected out of the ocean to cover ground zero at the site of the detonation.
Adam Berg, a geologist
responsible for surveying the blast-site prior to detonation and Lieutenant Elizabeth Lopez are despatched with a team of marines to investigate the interior of the dome, which itself is discovered to be not solid but rather a field of energy. Inside it they find the original island has spontaneously terraformed
itself into a greenhouse
-like environment occupied by the hostile remnants of an ancient alien
robotic civilisation. Berg and Lopez encounter both the fanatical Elias Walsh and the unbalanced Major Henderson, a survivor of the initial expeditionary force sent by the military. They must resolve the unworldly forces which have been brought into play inside of twenty-four hours, after which time the island has been scheduled for destruction by The Pentagon
by conventional nuclear weapons.
images were rendered and then opened using Photoshop for reworking and finally pasted onto the letters and panel borders. The result was to produce computer generated characters which were considered (at the time) more life-like and preserved the recognizable biomechanical attributes of human anatomy without sacrificing texture and detail.
Graphic novel
A graphic novel is a narrative work in which the story is conveyed to the reader using sequential art in either an experimental design or in a traditional comics format...
published in 1998
1998 in comics
-Spring:* Gay Comix , with issue #25, publishes its final issue -October:* Toy Biz buys Marvel Comics* Excalibur is canceled by Marvel with issue #125.-November:...
under the short-lived DC Comics
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
imprint
Imprint
In the publishing industry, an imprint can mean several different things:* As a piece of bibliographic information about a book, it refers to the name and address of the book's publisher and its date of publication as given at the foot or on the verso of its title page.* It can mean a trade name...
, Helix
Helix (comics)
Helix was a short-lived, science fiction and science fantasy imprint of DC Comics, launched in 1996 and discontinued in 1998. Helix was a short-lived, science fiction and science fantasy imprint of DC Comics, launched in 1996 and discontinued in 1998. Helix was a short-lived, science fiction and...
. Written and laid out by Dave Gibbons
Dave Gibbons
Dave Gibbons is an English comic book artist, writer and sometime letterer. He is best known for his collaborations with writer Alan Moore, which include the miniseries Watchmen and the Superman story "For the Man Who Has Everything"...
and illustrated Angus McKie
Angus McKie
Angus McKie is an artist who has worked as a colorist in the comics industry.He is best known as an English science fiction illustrator whose work appeared on the covers of numerous science fiction paperback novels in the mid 1970s and 1980s, as well as in Stewart Cowley's Terran Trade Authority...
, The Dome was notable for its innovative use of computer-rendered graphics to augment McKie's illustrations. Despite suffering by its association with the poorly-received Helix line, The Dome won praise both for the high quality of its art and for its well-constructed storyline set in the south Pacific
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
waters of a recognizably contemporary Earth environment, replete with the conflicting ideologies
Ideology
An ideology is a set of ideas that constitutes one's goals, expectations, and actions. An ideology can be thought of as a comprehensive vision, as a way of looking at things , as in common sense and several philosophical tendencies , or a set of ideas proposed by the dominant class of a society to...
of US techno-military forces and Christian fundamentalist eco-warrior
Eco-warrior
The term eco-warrior is a self-description for an environmental activist that adopts a 'hands-on' effort to save or salvage a plot of land, or to advance some ecological ideology...
s.
Plot synopsis
The US military has successfully test-detonated a Quantum Bomb, an unpredictable new weapon, on a disused island deep in the Pacific ocean despite intervention from Elias Walsh and his hang-gliding congregation of activist ecological protestors. Cities around the Pacific RimPacific Rim
The Pacific Rim refers to places around the edge of the Pacific Ocean. The term "Pacific Basin" includes the Pacific Rim and islands in the Pacific Ocean...
are soon damaged by a variety of seemingly natural phenomena. It becomes apparent to observing military forces that the Quantum Bomb has triggered fallout
Nuclear fallout
Fallout is the residual radioactive material propelled into the upper atmosphere following a nuclear blast, so called because it "falls out" of the sky after the explosion and shock wave have passed. It commonly refers to the radioactive dust and ash created when a nuclear weapon explodes...
of a most unexpected kind - a gigantic reflective hemisphere, some ten-miles across and growing, has projected out of the ocean to cover ground zero at the site of the detonation.
Adam Berg, a geologist
Geologist
A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid and liquid matter that constitutes the Earth as well as the processes and history that has shaped it. Geologists usually engage in studying geology. Geologists, studying more of an applied science than a theoretical one, must approach Geology using...
responsible for surveying the blast-site prior to detonation and Lieutenant Elizabeth Lopez are despatched with a team of marines to investigate the interior of the dome, which itself is discovered to be not solid but rather a field of energy. Inside it they find the original island has spontaneously terraformed
Terraforming
Terraforming of a planet, moon, or other body is the hypothetical process of deliberately modifying its atmosphere, temperature, surface topography or ecology to be similar to those of Earth, in order to make it habitable by terrestrial organisms.The term is sometimes used more generally as a...
itself into a greenhouse
Greenhouse
A greenhouse is a building in which plants are grown. These structures range in size from small sheds to very large buildings...
-like environment occupied by the hostile remnants of an ancient alien
Extraterrestrial life in popular culture
In popular cultures, "extraterrestrials" are life forms — especially intelligent life forms— that are of extraterrestrial origin .-Historical ideas:-Pre-modern:...
robotic civilisation. Berg and Lopez encounter both the fanatical Elias Walsh and the unbalanced Major Henderson, a survivor of the initial expeditionary force sent by the military. They must resolve the unworldly forces which have been brought into play inside of twenty-four hours, after which time the island has been scheduled for destruction by The Pentagon
The Pentagon
The Pentagon is the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense, located in Arlington County, Virginia. As a symbol of the U.S. military, "the Pentagon" is often used metonymically to refer to the Department of Defense rather than the building itself.Designed by the American architect...
by conventional nuclear weapons.
Artwork
As part of the creative process for The Dome, Angus McKie employed some illustrative techniques which were considered novel at the time, involving a computer-driven process from start to finish. After Gibbons finished the script he produced page layouts using Photoshop which he then provided to McKie who combined them with the letters and panel borders using Freehand. Painted 3DThree-dimensional space
Three-dimensional space is a geometric 3-parameters model of the physical universe in which we live. These three dimensions are commonly called length, width, and depth , although any three directions can be chosen, provided that they do not lie in the same plane.In physics and mathematics, a...
images were rendered and then opened using Photoshop for reworking and finally pasted onto the letters and panel borders. The result was to produce computer generated characters which were considered (at the time) more life-like and preserved the recognizable biomechanical attributes of human anatomy without sacrificing texture and detail.