The Massive TPB Review: The Comic After Tomorrow

Brian Wood’s epic post-apocalyptic disaster comic book series “The Massive,” is just that.

A merging of the depth soaked character and story development of Battlestar Galactica and the scale of a flick the likes of “The Day After Tomorrow,” the trade, which combines the first five issues, feels more like full-fledged novel than a comic. It reads slower than your typical trade, but the payoff is ultimately worth it.

The world you once knew is gone. The rules for this broken, beaten and beguiled world haven’t been created yet; you have to make them up as you go along. Behind an assassin turned conservationist’s ship and his crew of colleagues and their own distinct personalities, what you get here is “Whale Wars” meets “The Road.” It may not be a happy-go-lucky tale of self-redemption, but for what it lacks in positive emotions, it makes up for with a daring ingenuity, and characters that never feel forced.

In a weird way, it’s a survival tale that is also champions the human spirit. The crew of the Kapital could have given up their mission months after the world fell into utter chaos. But behind their charismatic and focused leader, they forge ahead and try to preserve the essence of a logical society. They stay goal-oriented and don’t succumb to the devils of a lawless land, most of the time. At its essence, The Massive represents what great minds can do in the worst of times.

The team behind this book has more than a concept. They have as close to a living, breathing world as you can have in a comic book. Behind these believable characters, you have a tale that although deep, will pull you in and take you along. Wood’s status as a scribe of gritty comic book adventure was cemented with DMZ, but The Massive may end up in a category all its own. Smart and serious, Wood crafts a tale that could easily find itself on television one day. Excellent art by Kristian Donaldson put everything in vivid perspective, while The Goon colorist Dave Stewart proves his knack for the palette isn’t reserved for the likes of gun runners and zombies.

It may not feel or even read like a comic book at times, but that’s your own fault for expecting something traditional and conformist from Wood. Dynamic and powerful, Wood, Donaldson and Stewart turn the medium on its head and put it back together than they found it with this tale. All that considered, The Massive begs to be read.

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 14230 Articles
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports. Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders. His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023. Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief. Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale. Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.

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