He describes a period of heavy drinking before moving to New York City to attend college, stating, "I was ejected into the adult world too early, orphaned and lacking a plan, support, or sound judgement.

[20] He moved to New York City in 1991,[21] describing it as "something of a big leap of faith on my part... it was one of those situations where I had hardly any money, and a single backpack full of clothes.

Channel Zero is set in a dystopian near-future New York City where the tenets of then-Mayor Rudy Giuliani have grown into a freedom-restricting government initiative called "The Clean Act".

Channel Zero was orphaned shortly after Image Comics sold out of the first print run of the collected edition, opting not to return to press, and AiT/Planet Lar acquired it soon afterwards.

Wood co-wrote issues #63–70 with Ellis and 71–75 on his own, before the series was canceled as part of incoming Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada's attempts to simplify the X-Men franchise.

In January 2007, Intrepid Pictures optioned the feature film rights to Wood and Rob G.'s graphic novel The Couriers with Javier Grillo-Marxuach set to pen the screenplay.

Although initially inspired by the aborted NYX project, the series was not traditionally superhero and instead compared emerging powers to neurodiverse themes and tragic love stories.

"[38] Wood and Cloonan moved Demo from AiT/Planet Lar to Vertigo Comics in 2008,[39] announcing a "Volume 2" of the series, upping the total number of short stories to 18.

[41] The Demo format proved successful so Wood went on to replicate it, with some changes, for his 12-issue series Local at Oni Press, which launched in 2005 and was drawn by artist Ryan Kelly.

[45][46] Initially developed as Wartime, a five issue black-and-white miniseries, the comic was consciously a project of importance to Wood, representing a return to the perspective of his breakthrough work Channel Zero, a bleak portrayal of youth culture and anti-authoritarian expression in the repressive environment of Giuliani-era New York City.

[62][63] In late 2011, Bleeding Cool reported that during Fan Expo Canada, Marvel teased a Brian Wood return in 2012, alongside an image of Wolverine's claw marks.

[67] Wood returned in 2013 with the #1 selling relaunch of X-Men with an all-female "A-list" roster: Jubilee, Storm, Rogue, Kitty Pryde, Rachel Grey and Psylocke.

[73] Journalist Laura Hudson interviewed Wood for Wired Magazine, and quoted him as saying, ""There's too much cheesecake out there that is sold, or at least marketed, as a 'strong female' character or book when it's anything but, it just reinforces the worst opinions of the most sexist fans, and we gain no new ground.

After exiting his exclusive contract, Wood signed on to write the publisher's long-running Conan the Barbarian title, adapting the well-loved "Queen of the Black Coast" short story with Becky Cloonan on art.

Wood also launched The Massive, a creator-owned series with artist Garry Brown, depicting a group of environmentalists grappling with an unexplained failing of the earth's ecosystems.

"[85] In 2013 Wood was approached by Dark Horse to head up a brand new Star Wars monthly title, one that uses the original cast of the 1977 film, a first for the publisher.

[88][89][90][91] Italian artist Andrea Mutti joined Wood in creating Rebels, a historical comic series set during the American Revolutionary War.

"The Green Mountain Boys were America's first militia, and it's important to me to draw a very clear line between that and the guys that show up to Obama rallies with assault rifles on their backs, using that phrase to justify acting out.

"We have the great political divide of the day, often boiled down to the contrast between Hamilton's Federalist stance and the more states-oriented Democratic-Republicans that Jefferson and Madison pushed for, manifesting in street rallies and back-of-the-pub arguments.

Zula is cut from the same cloth as the crew of the Nostromo: blue collar people just looking ahead to the next paycheck dropped into a terrible situation and needing to struggle their way out of it.

Dark Horse described the series as "a raw and violent story that is a testament to the power of redemption and the resiliency of family, and a visually stunning tribute to samurai cinema."

[114] Wood also wrote and co-wrote several licensed comics during the late 2010s, EVE Online: Valkyrie, Terminator: Sector War, Mono, John Carter: The End, Planet of The Apes: Memorial, a short story for Megadeth: Death By Design, and RoboCop: Citizens' Arrest.

[116] In 2014 Warner Horizon were reported to be developing a DMZ television show with producers David Heyman and Andre and Maria Jacquemetton for the Syfy network.

[117] In January 2020, a new DMZ deal was announced, this time for HBO Max, with Ava DuVernay directing, Roberto Patino showrunning, and Rosario Dawson in a lead role.

[118] On November 19, 2020, Deadline reported that HBO Max has ordered DMZ to series with actors Hoon Lee, Freddie Miyares and Jordan Preston Carter joining the cast and Patino writing all four episodes.

[120][121] Although the project was shelved at the time, it was later released with a different creative team, while Wood used his ideas to develop the creator-owned series Demo with artist Becky Cloonan.

The catalog described it thusly: "Following up on the time-honored adage "you can't go home again", Dogs Day End details the personal journey of 30-year-old Andrew Maguire, pulled back to the small upstate hometown of his childhood by his mother as she enters the final stages of cancer."

[125][126] There were several DC Comics properties on the list - Green Arrow, Supergirl, Superman Beyond, Rima The Jungle Girl, "Gotham: Neighborhood Rebellion aka Catwoman Year 100", and what he termed "The Re-Imagined Wildstorm Universe."

[128] Shortly after appearing with MacFarlane at New York Comic Con,[129] Wood announced he was no longer employed on the book, issuing this statement: "For the sake of readers and retailers who read the current Image solicits (March 2015), I just want to sent [sic] out a little PSA and say that I am not the writer of Spawn #251.

[131] On November 13, 2013, cartoonist Tess Fowler publicly accused Wood of sexual harassment in offering her his hotel room number at a bar encounter during San Diego Comic-Con in 2003.