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The Massive #1-3
The Massive Omnibus Volume 1
In a post-war, post-crash, post-disaster, post-everything world, the environmental-action trawler Kapital scours the earth's oceans for its mysteriously missing sistership, The Massive.
Captain Callum Israel, a man who has dedicated his life to the ocean, now must ask himself--as our planet dies--what it means to be an environmentalist after the world's ended.
This omnibus collects issues #0-#15 of acclaimed writer Brian Wood's sprawling, post-apocalyptic epic at a must-own value rate.
Collects issues #0-#15 of The Massive.
Captain Callum Israel, a man who has dedicated his life to the ocean, now must ask himself--as our planet dies--what it means to be an environmentalist after the world's ended.
This omnibus collects issues #0-#15 of acclaimed writer Brian Wood's sprawling, post-apocalyptic epic at a must-own value rate.
Collects issues #0-#15 of The Massive.
392 pages, Paperback
First published May 24, 2016
About the author
Brian Wood
1,187 books962 followersBrian Wood's history of published work includes over fifty volumes of genre-spanning original material.
From the 1500-page future war epic DMZ, the ecological disaster series The Massive, the American crime drama Briggs Land, and the groundbreaking lo-fi dystopia Channel Zero he has a 20-year track record of marrying thoughtful world-building and political commentary with compelling and diverse characters.
His YA novels - Demo, Local, The New York Four, and Mara - have made YALSA and New York Public Library best-of lists. His historical fiction - the viking series Northlanders, the American Revolution-centered Rebels, and the norse-samurai mashup Sword Daughter - are benchmarks in the comic book industry.
He's written some of the biggest franchises in pop culture, including Star Wars, Terminator, RoboCop, Conan The Barbarian, Robotech, and Planet Of The Apes. He’s written number-one-selling series for Marvel Comics. And he’s created and written multiple canonical stories for the Aliens universe, including the Zula Hendricks character.
From the 1500-page future war epic DMZ, the ecological disaster series The Massive, the American crime drama Briggs Land, and the groundbreaking lo-fi dystopia Channel Zero he has a 20-year track record of marrying thoughtful world-building and political commentary with compelling and diverse characters.
His YA novels - Demo, Local, The New York Four, and Mara - have made YALSA and New York Public Library best-of lists. His historical fiction - the viking series Northlanders, the American Revolution-centered Rebels, and the norse-samurai mashup Sword Daughter - are benchmarks in the comic book industry.
He's written some of the biggest franchises in pop culture, including Star Wars, Terminator, RoboCop, Conan The Barbarian, Robotech, and Planet Of The Apes. He’s written number-one-selling series for Marvel Comics. And he’s created and written multiple canonical stories for the Aliens universe, including the Zula Hendricks character.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
August 4, 2019
After years of abuse, the Earth has reached its tipping point. A series of natural disasters referred to as The Crash has destabilized the global economy and presumably killed millions of people. We don't really know for sure just like the crew of the Kapitol. If you think about it, major disasters could happen all over the Earth and you wouldn't have any idea for months if you were deep at sea. This is all told through random flashbacks throughout the story. We follow around the crew of a Greenpeace like group of do-gooders called Ninth Wave as they ostensibly search for their sister ship, The Massive, who they lost contact with a year ago. In reality, they go searching for resources in this new barter economy. The crew is made up of resourceful individuals with dark pasts they are seeking redemption for. Most have become pacifists, sometimes to an unreasonable degree when they are being attacked by pirates and the like.
Different from Wood's other apocalyptic future comic DMZ, Wood has created a quite enjoyable and exciting book here.
Different from Wood's other apocalyptic future comic DMZ, Wood has created a quite enjoyable and exciting book here.
August 1, 2023
Review of the whole series
I loved it. The Massive is an excellent post-apocalyptic comic book series that revolves around environmental themes. It’s set in a world where a global environmental catastrophe known as The Crash has occurred and drastically changed the world. Humanity witnessed wildfires raging, urban decimation, and complete global communication blackouts. Water became scarce. Troubles everywhere.
The story centers on the crew of an environmental activist ship called The Kapital, led by Captain Callum Israel. The crew embarks travels across the oceans, searching for their lost sister ship, The Massive, which went missing during the chaos of The Crash.
The series addresses pressing environmental issues like and explores the consequences of humanity’s abuse of the planet. It touches on topics of climate change, overconsumption, and the impact of human activity on marine ecosystems. It presents them maturely and thoughtfully, without getting too emo.
I loved how well-developed and interesting all characters are. The crew members of The Kapital are diverse, flawed, and relatable, each dealing with their own personal struggles amid the global crisis.
Kristian Donaldson and Garry Brown’s detailed illustrations capture the desolate post-apocalyptic world and the harsh realities faced by the characters. Their art is simple, minimalistic, and elegant.
Many post-apocalyptic stories focus on action and survival, and readers love them for it. The Massive does more and adds layers of complexity by addressing political, social, and philosophical issues. It avoids black-and-white portrayals. In this world, the line between heroes and villains is often blurred. And the reality is ambiguous.
Is it perfect? No. Some readers will find “The Massive” too slow; It frequently gets introspective and focuses on character development rather than constant action. I appreciated the depth and substance of this story, but others may find them tiring.
Overall, The Massive is an outstanding comic series focused on environmental themes. It provides a complex and character-driven story and a more thoughtful take on the post-apocalyptic genre. If you enjoy stories that make you reflect on the impact of our actions on the world, give it a shot.
I loved it. The Massive is an excellent post-apocalyptic comic book series that revolves around environmental themes. It’s set in a world where a global environmental catastrophe known as The Crash has occurred and drastically changed the world. Humanity witnessed wildfires raging, urban decimation, and complete global communication blackouts. Water became scarce. Troubles everywhere.
The story centers on the crew of an environmental activist ship called The Kapital, led by Captain Callum Israel. The crew embarks travels across the oceans, searching for their lost sister ship, The Massive, which went missing during the chaos of The Crash.
The series addresses pressing environmental issues like and explores the consequences of humanity’s abuse of the planet. It touches on topics of climate change, overconsumption, and the impact of human activity on marine ecosystems. It presents them maturely and thoughtfully, without getting too emo.
I loved how well-developed and interesting all characters are. The crew members of The Kapital are diverse, flawed, and relatable, each dealing with their own personal struggles amid the global crisis.
Kristian Donaldson and Garry Brown’s detailed illustrations capture the desolate post-apocalyptic world and the harsh realities faced by the characters. Their art is simple, minimalistic, and elegant.
Many post-apocalyptic stories focus on action and survival, and readers love them for it. The Massive does more and adds layers of complexity by addressing political, social, and philosophical issues. It avoids black-and-white portrayals. In this world, the line between heroes and villains is often blurred. And the reality is ambiguous.
Is it perfect? No. Some readers will find “The Massive” too slow; It frequently gets introspective and focuses on character development rather than constant action. I appreciated the depth and substance of this story, but others may find them tiring.
Overall, The Massive is an outstanding comic series focused on environmental themes. It provides a complex and character-driven story and a more thoughtful take on the post-apocalyptic genre. If you enjoy stories that make you reflect on the impact of our actions on the world, give it a shot.
August 21, 2019
You can find my review on my blog by clicking here.
If it isn’t already clear enough, the planet is far from being in the same healthy state as it once was generations ago. With all the wounds we inflicted to our natural environment, leading us to limited resources to work with on a daily basis, we are left with the only viable solution staring disappointedly at us: to slow down the eventual end with short-term solutions. But what if the planet had a surprise for us when we least expect it? What if it was to suddenly grow tired of our foolishness and retaliate by speeding things up? Critically-acclaimed writer Brian Wood offers fans a bleak glimpse of the future by bringing in an ecological disaster that allows him to portray the potential societal and economic consequences that man will have to face if Mother Nature was ever to revolt.
What is The Massive (Omnibus Vol. 1) about? Collecting half of Brian Wood’s famous post-apocalyptic comic book series, from issues #0 to #15, the story follows a determined crew of environmental-activists known as the Ninth Wave, on the Kapital, looking for their sister ship, The Massive. The world in which they roam is now mostly plunged underwater following the Crash, an ensemble of natural disasters—earthquake, volcanoes, you name it. With only skyscrapers poking out of the water and sea stations established in various countries, the crew constantly faces unsettling obstacles, notably pirates of all kind, as they explore a world where the rules have changed forever.
With three out of six volumes collected into one book, this edition allows the reader to fathom Brian Wood’s writing style. Although Brian Wood is oozing with some of the finest ideas that bring him to explore a dystopian future where mankind is stripped of its resources and needs to work together to build a utopia with what is left in the world, the direction and execution struggled to appeal to me. The story often jumped from one corner of the world to another as the crew fruitlessly searched for their sistership’s location. Each location came with its fair share of threats and gave Brian Wood the opportunity to dive into the past of each of his characters but never managed to make them stand out in any particular fashion. Halfway into the volume, the story seemed to desperately search for land and sprawled on forever, giving a distinctive feeling that it simply never knew where it was heading.
While intriguing, the characters mostly left me wondering about their purpose on this unappealing mission and why they were doing the things they were doing. What mostly made this a rocky boat ride was how the story would continuously flip back and forth between the present and the past to give readers a glimpse into the history of the characters. The constant switch of point of view and timelines gave a feeling of being aimlessly jerked around, merely adding a yellow tone to the art to make it easier to distinguish present from past. This simply made it much more complicated for the reader to be invested in the character, as their background weren’t as interesting as they could’ve been. I also found the artwork to not help too much with my immersion, besides for the setting being grandiose and epic at times, as character designs could vary from mediocre to decent, especially when the artist would change and new visual styles would be attempted.
The Massive (Omnibus Vol. 1) is an overly stretched out post-apocalyptic tale of a world mostly plunged underwater with sketchy characters driven by questionable motives looking for answers wherever they could set foot on.
Yours truly,
Lashaan | Blogger and Book Reviewer
Official blog: https://bookidote.com/
February 13, 2024
(Zero spoiler review)
'Holy overpriced and poorly thought out eBay purchase, Batman', but the ass sure dropped out of this thing, and fast.
For the most part, I enjoyed the first volume of this. I enjoyed the second volume of this, for the most part. But god help me if come the third arc of this, it didn't turn around and piss on my cornflakes, and then tell me it was some new fangled, ultra tasty new flavour. Cue my ire rising with the turn of every page.
The first half of this book wasn't perfect. Quite a ways from it in fact. Though such was the initial premise and the general nature of the story telling, plus the fact that there wasn't a superhero in sight, that I was more than willing to forgive if not forget the flaws evidenced here. But again, that was until the this thing went from mostly promising to utterly pathetic.
This book meanders, and I do mean MEANDERS, like meandering is an Olympic sport and it's been training all it's life. Whole issues go by with nothing happening. There isn't a single likeable character whatsoever. The author clearly doesn't have a clue what he is doing from issue to issue, nor does this thing stand up to even the slightest degree of scrutiny if you engage one thousand of your brain into something approaching critical thinking. Plot lines are started then abruptly abandoned without resolution. And the art... god help me the art. The first two artists were fine. Nothing exceptional by any stretch, but it got the job done more or less. Then it was like Dark Horse stopped paying people actual currency to draw the book and tried to recruit people willing to work for pocket lint. Never has the art and story devolved so quickly and so perfectly in tandem. If it wasn't so utterly appalling, such a conjoined fall from grace might even be considered beautiful. But it's not. It's appalling.
How this has 20 more issues to go, let alone where I am going to summon the determination to actually read them is beyond me at this point. I put down the book three times in the last few issues, forcing myself on with a resolve I didn't know I possessed. Somehow I finished it and I'm angry at myself for doing so.
Hot damn I spent a lot of money on these books. The comic gods are laughing at me again. Absolutely unacceptable. 2/5
OmniBen.
'Holy overpriced and poorly thought out eBay purchase, Batman', but the ass sure dropped out of this thing, and fast.
For the most part, I enjoyed the first volume of this. I enjoyed the second volume of this, for the most part. But god help me if come the third arc of this, it didn't turn around and piss on my cornflakes, and then tell me it was some new fangled, ultra tasty new flavour. Cue my ire rising with the turn of every page.
The first half of this book wasn't perfect. Quite a ways from it in fact. Though such was the initial premise and the general nature of the story telling, plus the fact that there wasn't a superhero in sight, that I was more than willing to forgive if not forget the flaws evidenced here. But again, that was until the this thing went from mostly promising to utterly pathetic.
This book meanders, and I do mean MEANDERS, like meandering is an Olympic sport and it's been training all it's life. Whole issues go by with nothing happening. There isn't a single likeable character whatsoever. The author clearly doesn't have a clue what he is doing from issue to issue, nor does this thing stand up to even the slightest degree of scrutiny if you engage one thousand of your brain into something approaching critical thinking. Plot lines are started then abruptly abandoned without resolution. And the art... god help me the art. The first two artists were fine. Nothing exceptional by any stretch, but it got the job done more or less. Then it was like Dark Horse stopped paying people actual currency to draw the book and tried to recruit people willing to work for pocket lint. Never has the art and story devolved so quickly and so perfectly in tandem. If it wasn't so utterly appalling, such a conjoined fall from grace might even be considered beautiful. But it's not. It's appalling.
How this has 20 more issues to go, let alone where I am going to summon the determination to actually read them is beyond me at this point. I put down the book three times in the last few issues, forcing myself on with a resolve I didn't know I possessed. Somehow I finished it and I'm angry at myself for doing so.
Hot damn I spent a lot of money on these books. The comic gods are laughing at me again. Absolutely unacceptable. 2/5
OmniBen.
May 26, 2016
Although I really enjoyed reading this same material in trade paperback a couple of years ago, I enjoyed this hardcover library edition even more. Initially I was a bit skeptical about some of the plot devices and wasn't wild about the change in artists and art styles, but I'm beginning to think the book may be much stronger than I originally thought. I can't wait for the second library edition volume.
October 4, 2018
4
Brian Wood was relatively new to me until DMZ came along, I have since hunted down other stories. The Massive is a very different book, it's one that sits on the fence of dystopia and the environment, a very odd mixture. I liked the book, it's an enigma wrapped in a treasure hunt storyline that has a topic that is super hot at the moment. I'm glad I have this series to finish.
The storyline is a little hit and miss but the characters are the key here, they save this from becoming a melodramatic mess. Brian Wood creates real characters and they have depth, it's just a shame the core storylines don't engage or carry the same depth. There are a few issues that go nowhere, treading water until the next comes along. I enjoyed how the issue unfold, the art is very interesting and Wood keeps the characters at the centre. The treasure hunt storyline is central arc and along the way characters disappear and reappear, but it has the key arc that keeps this from going nowhere. I hope the reveal is worth the wait.
Why the 4?
I thought I might not like the book, but the central mystery is engaging and Wood never sacrifices characters for story beats. DMZ tends to have issues that lead nowhere but The Massive hasn't fallen into that troupe as yet, key word is yet here. The second volume is another heavy mass of issues so that will be more down time for me. I enjoyed the book, didn't love it, but the characters have grown on me so I'm eager to see how this concludes. Another high concept down right.
Coming up next is The Massive Volume Two, it's going to fill up a little bit of time due to the size. I have a lot of graphic novels coming up, some new from Image and DC. Infidel is one I'm very excited to read. Jeff Lemire's Dark Horse superhero series is another on my to-read list. Lots of promising books coming up, super excited.
Brian Wood was relatively new to me until DMZ came along, I have since hunted down other stories. The Massive is a very different book, it's one that sits on the fence of dystopia and the environment, a very odd mixture. I liked the book, it's an enigma wrapped in a treasure hunt storyline that has a topic that is super hot at the moment. I'm glad I have this series to finish.
The storyline is a little hit and miss but the characters are the key here, they save this from becoming a melodramatic mess. Brian Wood creates real characters and they have depth, it's just a shame the core storylines don't engage or carry the same depth. There are a few issues that go nowhere, treading water until the next comes along. I enjoyed how the issue unfold, the art is very interesting and Wood keeps the characters at the centre. The treasure hunt storyline is central arc and along the way characters disappear and reappear, but it has the key arc that keeps this from going nowhere. I hope the reveal is worth the wait.
Why the 4?
I thought I might not like the book, but the central mystery is engaging and Wood never sacrifices characters for story beats. DMZ tends to have issues that lead nowhere but The Massive hasn't fallen into that troupe as yet, key word is yet here. The second volume is another heavy mass of issues so that will be more down time for me. I enjoyed the book, didn't love it, but the characters have grown on me so I'm eager to see how this concludes. Another high concept down right.
Coming up next is The Massive Volume Two, it's going to fill up a little bit of time due to the size. I have a lot of graphic novels coming up, some new from Image and DC. Infidel is one I'm very excited to read. Jeff Lemire's Dark Horse superhero series is another on my to-read list. Lots of promising books coming up, super excited.
April 5, 2021
A dystopian crash graphic novel that suffers from some confusing writing. I’m pretty sure one of the characters isn’t human, but no explanation is given for her ability to preform supernatural feats. Hoping the second omnibus clears all of this up.
August 24, 2020
Handily the most empty graphic novel I've had the misfortune to read.
Wood shows neither interest in nor understanding of the values of environmental activism or reality of the global conflicts he cosplays with.
What he does engage is a whole lot of incidental, Walking Dead style drama, nonsensical character decisions and violence to distract from the offensive superficiality at the core of this work.
Wood shows neither interest in nor understanding of the values of environmental activism or reality of the global conflicts he cosplays with.
What he does engage is a whole lot of incidental, Walking Dead style drama, nonsensical character decisions and violence to distract from the offensive superficiality at the core of this work.
November 1, 2025
This is a difficult book to rate honestly.
I really liked reading it, I tear through it rather quickly and it was never boring... but something is off.
The Story:
The story is about a group of people (we mainly focus on Callum Israel, but there are a few characters that we spend time with) that survived 'The Crash' which was an event where a lot of natural disaster happened destroying life as we know it (supposedly because of human action in not taking care of the environment). Now the world is on shambles and clearly the new world order is very different.
This group is traveling the world inside the Kapital, a boat from an organization called 'The Ninth Wave' which is kind of a Greenpeace but more serious about actually getting things done (or at least they say). They are trying to find their sister boat 'The Massive' and not being successful at that.
The Positives:
1- The art is great.
The story takes us to a lot of places on Earth so this gets to shine.
Also I'm reading the hardcover and oversized edition which gives it a plus.
My only gripe with the art is that sometimes flashbacks seem to close to the present time (style wise).
2- The writing.
As I stated before, I tear through it rather quickly and really enjoy how this was written.
This does not mean the story is great though, just that the writing is amazing.
3- The story is told in a Thriller way.
You get to know the characters rather well, except for Mary, which seems very weird and I can't figure her out, even though we get some background stories, maybe she will be important later?
It seems secrets and revelations are to come, bot for the characters and also for the ship they are looking for.
The Negatives:
1- The plot did not move much.
This is a 400 hundred page book. The main storyline is supposed to be one ship finding another and this plot practically did not progressed an inch.
We got a character developments and backgrounds. Also, we got some stories but not on the main plot of the book.
It's being told like a Thriller, but instead of unravelling pieces of the main mystery, we are getting to know the characters and the world we are in, which are fine, but I felt after half of the story something should have happened.
It's like we are avoiding the main story an taking detours through the world.
2- The writer is kind of preachy.
This book is heavily politicised.
Even though I do not agree with some of the things that the author believes, I can get behind a good story. But in this case I felt like he was writing from a moral high ground and preaching his ideas.
Summary
The book was fun to read but clearly the story needs to start progressing, it felt like we spent half the page count of the whole story to do the setup.
Some of the thriller aspects are great, but if the main story is kind of stuck then it loses some of it value.
We need less side stories and more focus on the main one.
But even with these negatives I still want to read book 2 and get the full story.
I really liked reading it, I tear through it rather quickly and it was never boring... but something is off.
The Story:
The story is about a group of people (we mainly focus on Callum Israel, but there are a few characters that we spend time with) that survived 'The Crash' which was an event where a lot of natural disaster happened destroying life as we know it (supposedly because of human action in not taking care of the environment). Now the world is on shambles and clearly the new world order is very different.
This group is traveling the world inside the Kapital, a boat from an organization called 'The Ninth Wave' which is kind of a Greenpeace but more serious about actually getting things done (or at least they say). They are trying to find their sister boat 'The Massive' and not being successful at that.
The Positives:
1- The art is great.
The story takes us to a lot of places on Earth so this gets to shine.
Also I'm reading the hardcover and oversized edition which gives it a plus.
My only gripe with the art is that sometimes flashbacks seem to close to the present time (style wise).
2- The writing.
As I stated before, I tear through it rather quickly and really enjoy how this was written.
This does not mean the story is great though, just that the writing is amazing.
3- The story is told in a Thriller way.
You get to know the characters rather well, except for Mary, which seems very weird and I can't figure her out, even though we get some background stories, maybe she will be important later?
It seems secrets and revelations are to come, bot for the characters and also for the ship they are looking for.
The Negatives:
1- The plot did not move much.
This is a 400 hundred page book. The main storyline is supposed to be one ship finding another and this plot practically did not progressed an inch.
We got a character developments and backgrounds. Also, we got some stories but not on the main plot of the book.
It's being told like a Thriller, but instead of unravelling pieces of the main mystery, we are getting to know the characters and the world we are in, which are fine, but I felt after half of the story something should have happened.
It's like we are avoiding the main story an taking detours through the world.
2- The writer is kind of preachy.
This book is heavily politicised.
Even though I do not agree with some of the things that the author believes, I can get behind a good story. But in this case I felt like he was writing from a moral high ground and preaching his ideas.
Summary
The book was fun to read but clearly the story needs to start progressing, it felt like we spent half the page count of the whole story to do the setup.
Some of the thriller aspects are great, but if the main story is kind of stuck then it loses some of it value.
We need less side stories and more focus on the main one.
But even with these negatives I still want to read book 2 and get the full story.
September 25, 2019
I was so pleasantly surprised by this. It is something I don’t think I’ve read in about 10-15 years.. an original, intelligent post-apocalypse story. I had grown disheartened of the genre. I understand any criticism though, comics are BAM! POW! action right? This series chooses to not show the “money shot”, such as a main character in a fist fight, and skips to the aftermath of him in a hospital bed. It’s more interested in the characters and their morals. Not for everyone, but exactly what I needed.
March 1, 2021
This is a post apocalyptic book done right as others have said. It’s a quest and at the same time a meditation on all the negative aspects of the human condition.
There are great characters here to get worked up about however not one of them is without complexity and flaws. It’s called The Massive and it’s truly a graphic novel on an epic scale.
There are great characters here to get worked up about however not one of them is without complexity and flaws. It’s called The Massive and it’s truly a graphic novel on an epic scale.
September 13, 2021
This GN is a 2.5 for me. Not sure what I'm missing that most readers liked. I found the writing somewhat confusing at times and the story seemed to jumped all over the place. I'm debating on reading volume 2.
August 6, 2020
Writing: 3
Garry Brown art: 4
Other art: 2
Garry Brown art: 4
Other art: 2
June 9, 2022
Slow and underdeveloped - I was frankly surprised to find out there is a second volume.
March 15, 2023
Really very good post-apocalypse ecofiction.
I felt a bit ambivalent about the deus ex machina ending, but it'll be interesting to see how that's explored in vol 2.
I felt a bit ambivalent about the deus ex machina ending, but it'll be interesting to see how that's explored in vol 2.
April 2, 2016
More reviews (and no fluff) on the blog http://surrealtalvi.wordpress.com/
The Massive Library Edition is a large size, luxury compilation of the first part of this Eisner-award winning dystopian series. There are a lot of ideas here - explorations of environmental disasters, humanity, and love/loss. Author Wood reaches deep and wide; and though it is a very uneven series, it definitely keeps a reader riveted. This compilation does end abruptly and without much resolution of the plot. But the broad, sweeping nature of this pan-global story means there is a lot to explore.Story: Captain Callum Israel, former paramilitary drone who developed a conscience and respect for the ocean, captains the 'Greenpeace' type ship, The Kapital. They do so in a world that is reeling from massive environmental disasters - hurricanes, earthquakes, typhoons, volcanic eruptions, etc. In this near-future, Hong Kong and New York City are underwater (the latter completely abandoned), oil and gas are currency, and world order has completely broken down. The Kapitol is searching for its sister ship, the Massive, which mysteriously disappeared and occasionally shows up on radar and then vanishes again. Callum navigates the world, trying to uphold nonviolence and conservation ideals in a world devolving into brutality and lawlessness. His crew is giving up hope, fracturing, and Callum's only ally is Mary - his mysterious lover.
Most of the story follows Callum's journey in the search for the Massive - taking him around the globe and encountering various situations. From pirates to warlords, separationists to rebels. Callum faces betrayal from within and without as he acquires needed supplies. Wood plumbs many depths here and each political situation encountered by Callum is unique and quite involved. It makes for very distinct storytelling on many levels.
Similarly, the characters are nuanced and carefully developed throughout the story. Some stay loyal, some rebel, some leave, and others change/grow as the Kapital encounters a world greatly changed within only a few short years of time. As the story progresses, the hopelessness of constantly missing the Massive as well as the mystery of Mary and just who (or what) she is take their toll on the crew and captain.
At times, it can feel preachy and overwritten. Yet there is a lot of subtlety here - a discretion needed considering the obviousness of the overarching messages of environmental mishandling. Clearly, the ocean is the main character of the story and it is the ocean who is guiding/hindering/manipulating the Kapital and its crew. It could have been pretentious but clever writing saves this from becoming trite or dreary.
The art design is effective and I appreciate the choices made among the characters and all their various nationalities. But it is also very inconsistent, starting out strong but losing momentum further in. But these first several issues did receive an Eisner Award for coloring.
I found The Massive fascinating and although I know the story takes some fantastical leaps in the next volume, I do greatly looking forward to finishing the story. Reviewed from an advance reader copy provided by the publisher.
May 18, 2016
I’ve wanted to read this for a while so I found it most auspicious when I was offered the chance to review the TPB of Volume One (Library Edition). It possesses many of the things I like in a story: scifi, mystery, and a post-apocalyptic world. Written by Brian Wood with most of the art done by Kristian Donaldson and Garry Brown, it offers up a world not far off from our own.
Callum Israel is a disillusioned mercenary who leaves his life of violence to found a group called the Ninth Wave. Refurbishing an old ship which they name the Kapital, the group works with a larger ship called, The Massive. They are direct action conservationists who, like Greenpeace, record environmental events and use non-violent means to stop abuses. However, a series of catastrophic events, man-made and natural, cause societies and cultures to implode. In North America, both the east and west coasts are submerged. Tsunamis devastate continents, global economies crash, magnetic storms bring down satellites and what’s worse for Callum and his crew—The Massive disappears during a storm.
Now the mission is to find their sister ship and try to stay alive.
Faced with pirates, storms, and despots who have taken over deep sea drilling stations, Callum depends on Mag, an old mercenary buddy; Lars, a good guy in over his head and a woman named Mary, to help run the ship. They are a ragtag team, but it works. Callum almost always has to reel in Mag from his former violent ways while Mary is the real mystery. She is not only able save herself in the direst of situations, but others as well. As in any good story, Callum possesses secrets of his own as well as other members of the crew.
The comic is structured in a series of flashbacks that not only develop character, but move along the story. Pacing is done extremely well as we are given just enough pieces of the puzzle to be satisfied and yet intrigued at the same time. Each chapter leaves you wanting to know more which is great. Initially, I did find it off-putting that we were not given any background information on Mary like we were for all the other male characters, but as I read on it became apparent why. Mary is the enigma. She is strong, resourceful and pretty much super-human at times. I imagine who and what she is will be revealed in a later issue.
My only bump was that 2/3 of the way into the book, Callum and Mag suddenly didn’t trust Mary after all the amazing things she had done for them. Her loyalty should never have been in question and I found it odd that it came up here, then never happened again.
I loved the art of Donaldson and Brown. They seemed to have really nailed the characters and their nuances. However, the art for the Polaris sections of “Breaker” and “Nunatak” didn’t quite equal the previous chapters. In “Breaker,” it seemed like the artist felt compelled to give Mary and Lars a softer more feminine look which neither had before. “Nuntak” I simply did not care for, but taste in art is subjective.
The theme of how the ocean speaks to us in different ways recurs throughout the story. I suspect that since life evolved from the sea, the writer is using that primordial call to teach us lessons we might not otherwise want to learn.
I look forward to the next volume.
Previously published at Fanbase Comics.
Callum Israel is a disillusioned mercenary who leaves his life of violence to found a group called the Ninth Wave. Refurbishing an old ship which they name the Kapital, the group works with a larger ship called, The Massive. They are direct action conservationists who, like Greenpeace, record environmental events and use non-violent means to stop abuses. However, a series of catastrophic events, man-made and natural, cause societies and cultures to implode. In North America, both the east and west coasts are submerged. Tsunamis devastate continents, global economies crash, magnetic storms bring down satellites and what’s worse for Callum and his crew—The Massive disappears during a storm.
Now the mission is to find their sister ship and try to stay alive.
Faced with pirates, storms, and despots who have taken over deep sea drilling stations, Callum depends on Mag, an old mercenary buddy; Lars, a good guy in over his head and a woman named Mary, to help run the ship. They are a ragtag team, but it works. Callum almost always has to reel in Mag from his former violent ways while Mary is the real mystery. She is not only able save herself in the direst of situations, but others as well. As in any good story, Callum possesses secrets of his own as well as other members of the crew.
The comic is structured in a series of flashbacks that not only develop character, but move along the story. Pacing is done extremely well as we are given just enough pieces of the puzzle to be satisfied and yet intrigued at the same time. Each chapter leaves you wanting to know more which is great. Initially, I did find it off-putting that we were not given any background information on Mary like we were for all the other male characters, but as I read on it became apparent why. Mary is the enigma. She is strong, resourceful and pretty much super-human at times. I imagine who and what she is will be revealed in a later issue.
My only bump was that 2/3 of the way into the book, Callum and Mag suddenly didn’t trust Mary after all the amazing things she had done for them. Her loyalty should never have been in question and I found it odd that it came up here, then never happened again.
I loved the art of Donaldson and Brown. They seemed to have really nailed the characters and their nuances. However, the art for the Polaris sections of “Breaker” and “Nunatak” didn’t quite equal the previous chapters. In “Breaker,” it seemed like the artist felt compelled to give Mary and Lars a softer more feminine look which neither had before. “Nuntak” I simply did not care for, but taste in art is subjective.
The theme of how the ocean speaks to us in different ways recurs throughout the story. I suspect that since life evolved from the sea, the writer is using that primordial call to teach us lessons we might not otherwise want to learn.
I look forward to the next volume.
Previously published at Fanbase Comics.
November 15, 2016
Decent ec0-techno-thriller-whateverer. This volume ends just when things start to get interesting. If Vol 2 doesn't start edging away from what it is doing now, I will give up on the series.
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