M.I.T.N.G REVIEWS “THE MASSIVE” AN APOCALYPTIC ENVIRONMENTALIST STORY WRITTEN BY BRIAN WOOD

There’s a tremendous amount to wrap your head around in Brian Wood’s (DMZ, Supermarket) latest endeavor THE MASSIVE, illustrated by Kristian Donaldson (CHUCK, Dr. Horrible) Dave Stewart and distributed by Dark Horse Comics , but all of it’s deeply intriguing and is probably one of the biggest “what if” stories I’ve ever read. I’d like to say one thing before continuing with my review and that is the hero in this book CAPTAIN CALLUM ISREAL (assuming he is indeed a hero) looks a lot like Jared Leto. I just found that funny given the “green” content of this tale…moving on. I’ll start with a premise as given in the liner notes of the issue…and as instructed there should be no spoilers.

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. Callum and his crew will come up against pirates, rebels, murderers, and thieves as they struggle to remain noble toward their cause. Can you save a planet that’s already doomed?

I’m not going to start off by calling this a post-apocalyptic story…why? Cause shit’s still happening when we meet the central character’s in this story, whom by the way are all very snazzy dressers, futures looking bright so far, so long as I have my D&G. No real sides can be taken as we follow Ahab (Callum) right into the heart of darkness, we still have much to learn about the ship KAPITAL and it’s crew especially who Callum really is and how (OKAY I LIED… SPOILER ALERT!!) he’s been attached to supposed terrorist acts around the world with a radical conservationist group that he’s turns into the now, Ninth Wave Conservationist Group. Some of his loyal crew consist of Mag Negendra (Callum’s first mate) and Mary the only remaining member of the former radical group. Who and what this radical group did are still unknown. The three are the central characters so far and seem to have an undying loyalty to the environmentalist cause and finding The Massive (a ship that was part of the Ninth Wave that has gone missing for twelve month’s). I don’t feel I can legitimately go into detail without giving some facts away, so I’ll say that the overall mood is how one would feel if you were the most wanted person in the wold, adrift at sea and unable to dock anywhere for fear of being arrested. You have this crew all down for the cause, but time and resources are running out for all aboard as you battle pirates, mercenaries and murderers at sea and the world is literally collapsing around you. Brian gives us intelligent insight into our theoretical future, one that for all intents and purposes could be well on it’s way to happening. Being a vegetarian (humanitarian reasons), a story like this strikes deep. The world we live in is a complete “science fiction disaster” when you consider most of us will never see first hand the results of our actions until it’s too late. The story reminds me a lot of Sea Shephard and what they might be facing in years to come. I love good sci- fi/apocalyptic stories as much as the next person, but I’m hoping this story doesn’t go all space alien and Brian keeps it grounded. Besides real life is fucking strange enough. The illustrations by Kristian Donaldson are excellent. I can never get over how hip everyone looks. Definitely a fan of good looking characters and environments and Kristian delivers on all points. The cover art done by both Kristian and Brian is exquisite and lends itself well to the pages that follow. Hoping for a t-shirt of that cover art soon (crossing fingers). This story easily follows in the vein of Y: The Last Man and if your a fan of Y you’ll love this story. The Massive is set to release June 13th on DARK HORSE. Pick this shit up!