The Massive Part 1: Landfall

I picked up on The Massive, a three part story,to switch things up from my usual superhero-centered line up. As a vegetarian interested in social issues, I thought the environmental focus of the serieswould be both enlightening and enjoyably. I was Massive-ly disappointed. I’m not saying that this is a bad comic; Brian Wood seems to be esteemed writer and is also the new writer of X-Men, which I also read. It just wasn’t what I thought it would be.

The Massive begins on the ship, Kapital, which is headed by Callum Israel. Currently the crew of the Kapital is searching for its companion ship, The Massive; both are part of a conservation group called the Ninth Wave. These were the parts I found pretty boring. The crew is unable to locate The Massive nearby but does find that their ship is about to fall under attack. The captain’s girlfriend, Mary, heads a boat out to take them down before they can reach the ship. On ship, Cal tells another crew member, Mag, that they are trying to remain pacifist. Mary, on the other hand, doesn’t mind killing the pirates coming their way. I did like her line about how living in a ruined world wasn’t going to “afford [them] the luxury of a personal moral code.”

The parts I did kind of enjoy were the parts that told how the world began to crumble. The comic recounts events that began to alter aquatic communities, in and out of water.  There are also panels mimicking reports from the Kapital, as well as a United States document branding Ninth Wave, The Kapital, and Cal as threats to security. The only panel that really stood out to me is when they find a group of dead killer whales, whose eardrums were ruptured by the resound shockwaves coming from nearby destruction. Really, this was the only instance where I saw the environmentalist part of the story that was promised. Whales communicate, travel, and with sonar waves, so of course a colony of whales would be unable to survive if their hearing was lost. The larger impact of the destruction is seen here.

I thought The Massive was going to describe a world largely where nature had been wiped out and feature a man who had spent his life trying to prevent that. That’s pretty much what the first product description I saw said. I thought this Cal character would have to do some soul searching and be very, very angry at the world. But instead there are ships, guns, and the obliteration of human structures. My sourness with this comic is mostly personal. I wanted to see a world where humans finally realize how badly they need nature but have destroyed it. And this main character would have nothing to save now and trying to build a new future.  I don’t dig the whole sailor scene that much. I wish we knew something about the characters.

I’m still going to pick up the next issue because I feel(or rather, hope) many of my digressions with The Massive #1 will be cleared up as the story progresses. Again, not a bad comic, just one the failed my expectations.

6/10