Review: Massive #13

I’ve really been awaiting this issue of The Massive, not because of any big cliff hanger, but because the focus is finally on the USA.  Not that I don’t like hearing about the Indian ocean, the north pole, and everywhere in between, but I’ve really wanted to know: what happened to the United States during the Crash?  Also, Garry Brown is back on art (those who read my review of The Massive #12 will know how unimpressed I was with Danijel Zezelj’s art), who is the artist of The Massive as far as I’m concerned.

Welcome to America.  New York City to be precise.  Under 75 feet of sewage infused water. And somewhere among the canals that used to be Broadway, Wall Street, and Madison Avenue there is a crazy Russian in a nuclear sub.  The story is the same from the Carolinas up to Maine.  Well, except the sub part.  That’s New York’s problem alone.

I was really intrigued by this issue for a number of reasons.  First, like I said before, I was quite curious about the fate of the United States in all of this mess.  Other than a comment here or there that the US had a pretty significant collapse and that their fall dragged a number of other countries under with them, there wasn’t much news about the States until now.  Here we see the government relocated to high ground in Colorado, the new eastern seaboard, not California, which is sinking into the sea.

I’m also wondering about Garry Brown‘s return to the series for issues 13, 14 and 15, after having been absent for the most recent three.  I began reading with issue 8, I believe, with Brown, he has had the longest run with the comics (issues 4-9) and the only returning artist thus far.  Is Brian Wood settling on a more permanent art partner?  I hope so.  I have really enjoyed his work, though I have to admit some of the most beautiful pages I think I’ve ever seen in an comic probably come from Donaldson‘s work in the first three issues.  Anyways, I digress.  My point is that it is so refreshing to see Brown’s work again, and I’m really hoping it’s here to stay.

It’s definitely a good read; go ahead and buy yourself a copy. After all, it’s just $3.50.  While you’re at it, pre-order The Massive #14 and #15.  I just have a feeling this is going to be a good trilogy.  A feeling deep in my comic gland (found in the same place as the appendix, but on the right side).

Matthew Bryant, aka Baker Street Holmes, is an Editor for the Red Shirt Crew and an avid “inventive anatomists”.  He has discover-created three organs: the comic gland, the soul badder and the B9 growth.  For more information please consult your doctor.  You can follow him on Twitter at @BStreetHolmes or e-mail him at HMCrazySS@gmail.com.

Review: The Massive #10 and The Massive Vol. 1

This week we have The Massive #10 by Brian Wood, but last week we saw the release of the The Massive Volume 1 as a trade of issues one through six.  I’ll take a look at the compilation to give a more comprehensive background than I did in my review of The Massive #9, and we’ll take a look at the new problems the crew of the Kapital encounters in their latest adventure.  Really starting to love this series!

So, a quick review of The Massive Volume 1:  This covers a lot more detail on the events of the crash, the environmental and economic collapse which created what is, for all intents and purposes, the apocalypse.  Generally, it can be summed up as everything that we write off as a problem for future generations escalates to cataclysmic levels in under a year; Hong Kong is flooded from global warming, usable water is becoming scarce, much of the world is in conflict, and the oceans are becoming more and more tumultuous.  I commented in my issue nine review that it focused on Georg’s back story and pointed out that it would be nice if the other characters go similar coverage.  They do for the most part, though Lars is still an enigma.

Before I go on to The Massive #10, I want to generally applaud the artists, Kristian Donaldson (issues 1-3), Garry Brown (issues 4-9), and Gary Erskine (issue 10).  There is some really great art in these comics.  I didn’t talk about the art in my last review, but reading through the first few issues, I saw some truly amazing pieces.  My favorite very well might be the closing scene of the third issue: a beautiful full page shot of the Kapital sailing off into the horizon under a gorgeous night sky.  This is, of course, just one example of the great work these artists do throughout the series to date.

On to The Massive #10!  Callum has faced pirates, warlords, hostile governments, and so many other threats since the crash.  But now, he faces a mutiny aboard his own ship, just as they catch a radar glimpse of the Massive.  In a world where most nations are trapped in civil wars, the international crew of the Kapital is forced to take their priorities into consideration.  They signed up to protect the world’s oceans from ecologically irresponsibility, but they’ve been spending their time almost exclusively looking for the Massive. Meanwhile, their home nations are being torn apart and they aren’t there to defend them.

So much of this comic series is external; it focuses on the environmental issues and the people in the world around the Kapital and its crew.  When they are running low on supplies, the story spends more time on the trials and figures that stand between them and those supplies than on the internal issues that come from it.  But this comic turns inward, not just that the main conflict takes place on board of the Kapital, but also to the internal struggle her crew faces in this new world.  It’s a good change of pace, especially since the comic hadn’t put much emphasis on the international strife on a large scale before.

Recommendation time!  I would recommend both The Massive Volume 1 and The Massive #10, for $19.99 and $3.50 respectively.  I wish the first one had more savings–a single dollar on a six part collection is not a great deal, but it’s something.  Also, if you’re interested, The Massive Volume 1 announced that Volume 2 will be out in December, and Volume 3 will be available next June.  If you are trying to save every last dollar, you might want to wait for those, but I don’t like waiting for a series this enjoyable.  I think I’ll be one of the people paying an extra dollar over six months to read them a little earlier.

Matthew Bryant, aka Baker Street Holmes, seriously wants to know Lar’s story.  He (Holmes, not Lars) can’t wait for next month’s story to roll around to see what happens next.  You can follow him on twitter at @BStreetHolmes or e-mail him at HMCrazySS@gmail.com.