Advance Review: THE MASSIVE VOL. 1: BLACK PACIFIC

THE MASSIVE VOL. 1: BLACK PACIFIC
Written by Brian Wood
Art by Kristian Donaldson, Garry Brown
Release Date: March 20, 2013

TheMassiveTPBA cataclysmic event has thrown humanity into chaos. Governments have fallen. Death tolls have been astounding. The world is a dark and terrifying place filled with more questions than answers. This is Brian Wood’s The Massive.

Brian Wood is doing post-apocalyptic the way it is meant to be done in this series, creating a world that is extremely familiar and at the same time completely foreign to the world we live in right now. Callum Israel leads Ninth Wave, a pacifist conservation group attempting to keep some semblance of order in a world that has been thrown into what appears to be anarchy. Israel captains the Ninth Wave ship the Kapital on a hunt for sister ship the Massive while readers are slowly exposed to the current state of the world. Locations in this series are somewhat recognizable, and the parts of the world discussed by Wood in the stories and supplemental materials make this arc and series as a whole very relate-able. Part of the reason why this series works on so many levels is that it is plausible. As scary a thought as that is, the civilized world really exists due to the stability of the environment and to see the world thrown into absolute chaos in the wake of some major environmental events is both an ominous warning and chilling look at a potential future. Wood does a masterful job in this trade paperback of alluding to major world occurrences without simply spelling out the current state of the Earth. Information is unfolded slowly, with hints and subtle mentions left as crumbs for the reader as to what Ninth Wave is up against and what the organization has been through. The characters themselves are closed books as well, with Wood slowly giving us glimpses into the primary players and what they are looking to achieve in this new world. Wood is definitely playing the long game with this series, weaving storylines through each other and letting details slowly fall into place and building tensions throughout the issues like a maestro conducting an orchestra.

Kristian Donaldson and Garry Brown provide superb art in this collection, both utilizing their particular skills to tell stories tailored to what they do best. Donaldson’s art is crisp and photo-realistic, creating the first glimpses at the current state of the world in The Massive and providing some fantastic looks at some impressive environmental events. His art is consistent throughout his issues, setting a great tone for the series delivering some great visuals of this stark world. Brown’s art drops some of the realism and goes down a little more ‘gritty’ of a path, which is totally suited to the story he is penciling. This is not a pretty world, and pencils that are not polished suits the parts of the world The Massive heads to during Brown’s issues. His work is detailed and awe inspiring at times, showcasing a world that is very different than the one we currently know. These two artists have given Brian Wood’s immense undertaking visuals that compliment his scripts brilliantly and paint a picture of a world in upset and uproar, and a humanity that is desperate to survive.

The Massive Vol. 1: Black Pacific showcases some of Wood’s best writing in his career and I will be shocked if this series is not up for several Eisner awards. This trade reads as a tight, cohesive unit that has been plotted out by a master tactician who is telling his tale at the perfect pace for something as epic as The Massive. This series is not to be missed and volume 1 is a perfect way to catch up quickly and get on board with one of the strongest series in comics.

Verdict: 10/10

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