There’s a lot of post-apocalyptic…stuff…around these days. Whether it’s books, film, television or video games, end-of-days pop culture abounds. And comic books are no different than those other forms of media.
A dystopian future, it seems, sells.
More important than moving product, however, the apocalypse allows for great character-driven stories, doesn’t it? And the permutations of character and plot, wrapped up in a big final days bow, seem endless.
Brian Wood (he of Rockstar Games once upon a time), can write story and plot. His well-regarded, creator-owned projects like DMZ, Demo and Northlanders, despite their varying genres, all contain story and characters as their major strengths. And now he brings those aspects to the fore on an eagerly anticipated post-apocalyptic series.
And believe me, it’s gonna be…yeah!
The Massive #1
Written by: Brian Wood
Illustrated by: Kristian Donaldson
Published by: Dark Horse Comics
A monthly series, The Massive takes place in a “post-war, post-crash, post-disaster, post-everything world”. Leave it to Wood to take the genre to it’s most extreme! There’s a twist here, however, and that twist revolves around in-situ characters.
The setting for this story is the environmental trawler called Kapital, wherein Captain Callum Israel, cruises the world’s oceans in search of the mysteriously missing sistership (along with missing friends), The Massive. Yes. The title of the comic is about a ship that isn’t even in the series. Well, not yet. What I’ve read so far reminds me of both Lost and Battlestar Galactica. Uh, aboard a boat, of course. But, unlike those artistic achievements in television, Brian Wood asks us, here in comics, what does it mean to be a leading environmental activist after the world has ended? How do you go about saving a planet that is already doomed?
Of course, there are antagonists here: pirates, murderers and thieves abound in The Massive. But it’s the characters, existing within the confines of the apocalypse, that will bring you back, month after month: their struggle to remain true to themselves will be utterly compelling. And the amazing artwork by Kristian Donaldson is a huge draw (pardon the pun) too!
Everything about The Massive is big: the sweeping story, the landscapes, the world building. You’ll also find bonus material in each month issue that won’t be found in any electronic version or future collected edition of the series including background information on characters, equipment and history, easter eggs and other fun and interesting stuff that will all serve to enrich the story. Heck, Brian Wood already has a sequel off-shoot planned!
So make the run today and pick up the first issue of The Massive. Reading it might actually allow you to enjoy the inevitable death of our little planet. And check out Biff Bam Pop’s interview with Wood right here!
Every Wednesday, JP makes the after-work run to his local downtown comic book shop. Comics arrive on Wednesdays you see and JP, fearful that the latest issue will sell out, rushes out to purchase his copy. This regular, weekly column will highlight a particularly interesting release, written in short order, of course, because JP has to get his – before someone else does!
