The Massive 1 - 3

Title: The Massive
Series Type: Monthly Ongoing
Publisher: Dark Horse
Creative Team:

Writer: Brian Wood
Artist: Kristian Donaldson
Colorist: Dave Stewart

Genre: Environmentalism, Post-Apocalpyse

Ninth Wave's The Kapital and The Massive

The Massive is quite honestly a cross section of things I don’t know much about and ideologies that I haven’t spent much time considering.  To me that’s the fun of fiction.  I love a good story but a good story that challenges me to learn more, to research, to critically think; that’s infinitely better.  It is a bit of a double edged sword though.  Since The Massive is so far out of my personal experience I am often left wondering about the accuracy of the concepts being referenced.  Be warned there are minor spoilers from here on.

From Left to Right: Callum, Mary, and Mag

The Massive is the story of an environmentalist group known as Ninth Wave.  Ninth Wave consists of two ships; The Kapital and The Massive (Hey, that’s the title of the series).  Ninth Wave was founded by an ex-mercenary named Callum Israel.  Along with Callum, Ninth Wave is populated by mostly pacifistic volunteers from a variety of countries.  The most prominent crew members are Mary and Mag.  Mary is a seasoned environmentalist with whom Callum is currently in a relationship.  Mag served as a mercenary alongside Callum several years previously.   However unlike Callum, Mag seems to have retained his willingness to get his hands dirty when necessary. During the past year, a laundry-list of natural disasters have occurred all around the world leaving the Earth’s socioeconomic and environmental landscapes in ruin.  These disasters have included things like tsunamis, earthquakes, blackouts, and mass extinctions.  The question Ninth Wave now has to answer: What does it mean to be an environmentalist when the world has already ended?

One of the many odd catastrophes facing the world of the Massive

Brian Wood’s writing on the series has been quite good.  The Massive is clearly the work of a well researched and intelligent individual.  The dialogue is good and the characters have very detailed back stories (which I feel is apparent even though we don’t get to look behind the curtain too much yet).  Sometimes Wood’s writing is a little too text book.   It’s like he spent so much time figuring out this new world scenario that he couldn’t wait to get it out in the story.  It’s interesting to hear what’s gone on but it does slow down the main narrative quite a bit.  Not a lot happens to or with our main characters in these first three issues.  Still I’m excited enough about the series to stick with it and see where things go.

The narrative of each issue so far jumps back and forth between the past and the present.  The flashbacks usually come in 2 flavors; dry documentary style cataloging various catastrophes and character driven moments usually focusing on aspects of the world that have changed.  Dave Stewart does an excellent job of shifting color palettes in order to help the reader juggle the various non-linear narratives.  In a complex story like this, jumping around in time could be very messy but Brian Wood’s writing and Stewart’s colors keep things clear.  

An example of the coloring used to transition between past and present.

Kristian Donaldson’s artwork is excellent.  The characters are very distinct and the varied locations are always sharp and heavily detailed. I can’t stress enough the impressiveness of distinct characters in a series like this.  There are too many monthly comic artists who rely on the crutches of costumes and hair color to help the reader keep characters straight.  Kristian has no need for such things.  If I had any complaint at all about the art (and it is a bit nit-picky, I admit) it would have to be the covers to 2 - 4.  Issue 1’s cover is gorgeous (it’s my wallpaper on my work computer) but there’s a sort of sketchy unfinished quality to rest of the covers.  If the interiors looked like those covers (especially 3) I think I might be a little turned off to the series.

Overall, the artwork is excellent, the writing is thoughtful, and I’m excited to see where things go.  

Grade: A-