The Massive #18 – Review

By: Brian Wood (writer), Garry Brown (art), Jordie Bellaire (colors) and Jared K. Fletcher (letters)

The Story: The feud between Callum Israel and his old enemy Bors comes to a head.

Review (with SPOILERS): I don’t review The Massive every month because I feel like I always say the same thing: In The Massive, Brian Wood has created a fascinating world, but has stuck us watching the most boring man remaining on the planet.

Unfortunately, this issue was another example of the same problem.

In this story arc, we’ve seen Callum Israel and his colleagues from Ninth Wave drive their boat to Scandinavia to hassle whalers.  Apparently, anti-whaling was a big deal for Ninth Wave pre-Crash and Callum just can’t let go.  Because of the Crash, these whalers aren’t doing any sort of “commercial” whaling anymore: they’re now going out in longboats and hand-throwing harpoons at the whales.  The meat goes to feed the people of the village.  Nothing too sinister about this anymore.  And, the whalers are lead by a former oligarch named Bors who Callum used to battle with in the pre-Crash world.  Obviously life has changed for Bors and there are no more political power-plays, no more Ferraris, etc.  Bors is now a simple man who leads a bunch of whalers.

The Massive is intensely frustrating because there isn’t enough of a consistent thread through the various stories to really make a coherent narrative.  None of the stories seems to have any closure.  I mean, if you gave someone the first trade paperback of The Massive, they might wonder if our protagonists ever found the missing ship.  They might say, “Wow.  That was great.  They’re already up to issue #18?!?  Don’t SPOIL it for me, but I’ll bet it was awesome when they found all their friends on the missing ship….”  Except that plot-line seems to have been discarded.  Not “resolved”….just discarded.  Nobody in this issue even mentions the missing ship which had previously been cause for steaming around the world on a wild goose chase.  It’s just frustrating because Brian Wood is a new writer where it would be safe to assume that he just doesn’t know what he’s doing; Wood is an experienced pro who has told excellent long-form tales before.  So, there is a part of me that still wonders if it’s just me.  Am I not getting it yet?

X-Men: Battle of the Atom #2 – Review

By:  Jason Aaron; Brian Wood; and Brian Michael Bendis (writers), Esad Ribic; Giuseppe Camuncoli; Kristopher Anka; Chris Bachalo (pencils), Andrew Currie; Tom Palmer; Mark Irwin; Victor Olazaba; and Wade von Grawbadger (finishes), Ive Svorcina; Andres Mossa; Guru eFX; and Matt Milla (colors)

The Story: Fifty years ago, Professor Xavier assembled a team of young mutants, the original X-Men, to protect the world from evil mutants. Today, Xavier has assembled a team of young mutants to eliminate the original X-Men and protect evil mutants from the world. Happy anniversary, guys; hope you survive the experience.

The Review: At long last “Battle for the Atom” has come to a close. Can you believe that this event only started two months ago? At times it seems like it’s always been here.

When I opened this issue, I was surprised to see Jason Aaron’s name on the credits page. Brian Michael Bendis does manage to get the last word, but it’s Aaron who handles most of the heavy lifting. Bendis hasn’t shown his best self on this event, but Aaron was behind the rather abysmal last installment in Wolverine and the X-Men #37. Many of the flaws present in that chapter reappear here, but stronger plotting and more valuable subject matter allow this issue to escape the sins of its predecessor.

Though justifying the sheer amount of time and energy this story has subverted would require a pretty astonishing ending, taken on its own merits, X-Men: Battle of the Atom #2 is a strong issue that closes the book on one tale while writing the first lines of several others.

X-Men #6 – Review

Brian Wood (Writer), David Lopez, Cam Smith, Terry Pallot (Artists), Laura Martin, Matt Milla (Colorists)

The Story: The real X-Men from the future warns the current X-Men about the other mutants from the future as some mutants from the present fights the impostor.

The Review: One of the major problems of huge crossovers is the incorporation of the major themes in the ongoing books touched by the bigger story. When themes which aren’t necessarily touched upon or characters who aren’t always featured appears in a book, it can sometimes kill the pacing or the subplots that drive it forward. It’s an evil that doesn’t seem that necessary in some case, which makes it all the more disappointing when it occurs in the worst of ways.

It’s a mixed blessing then that Brian Wood is really able to use some of the characters and themes brought by Battle of the Atom to his own ongoing in a way that surprises, but also make sense. Despite the whole time-travelling characters being pushed in this book, Wood is successful in moving forward both his own plot as well as the larger one of the crossover.

My NYCC Experience

On my second day of New York Comic Con, I headed straight to the Empire Stage for my first really big panel: Marvel’s Amazing X-Men & the Marvel Universe.

Ushered into the room, I found myself surprised by the sheer scope of it. None of the other panels had warranted much more than a large classroom, this was more like a well-funded lecture hall. As we sat down a series of screens announcing the day’s panels sprung to life and subjected us to a loop of one of the most life-draining advertisements I’ve had the displeasure to view. I won’t go into the specifics too much, but, as the panel was sponsored by a certain drink company, we had to see their latest attempt at uncomfortable pandering: a lengthy commercial advertizing their “big cans”.

Amidst this sea of fandom, it was both uncomfortable and disheartening to see such corporate schlock on the screens. I couldn’t help wonder if this was just what they thought was funny or if it was trying to appeal to the con-going community specifically. If it was the later, I’m deeply saddened to know that this is what companies think of us, but I’m happy to say that, for the most part, there was universal mockery and scorn for the ad.

Thankfully, that only lasted a few minutes, and soon Marvel Senior Editor, Nick Lowe, took the stage to introduce our panelists. Though the architects of the current X-Men line, Jason Aaron and Brian Michael Bendis, were not in attendance, it was still quite impressive. The panel featured Gerry Duggan, the co-writer of Deadpool; Marjorie Liu, an acclaimed novelist who is just ending her run on Astonishing X-Men; Brian Wood, the writer of Marvel’s new X-Men; Dennis Hopeless, the aptly named scribe of Cable and X-Force and Avengers Arena; Charles Soule, the man behind Thunderbolts; Simon Spurrier, who writes X-Men: Legacy; and Peter David, who is finishing his lengthy run on X-Factor. The panel also included three editors: Jeanine Schafer, Jordan D. White, and Daniel Ketchem.

X-Men #5 – Review

by Brian Wood (Writer), David Lopez, Cam Smith (Artists), Laura Martin (Colorist)

The Story: Cyclops and Jean are on the run as several members of the X-Men try to get them back.

The Review: Big crossovers are both a boon and a curse for any book. While many readers that aren’t normally picking up the book shall try out something different in order to gain the full story, the story they may want to read does not always mesh with what went before in this particular title. It’s a double-edged sword that is best handled with care and that may cause more harm than good sometimes.

Unfortunately, this is what happens here as Brian Wood’s X-Men book serves as another chapter in the Battle of the Atom big crossover. What is normally a team showcasing the strong and diverse females from this particular corner of the Marvel universe ends up servicing the story instead of focusing on what make it different. It results in something that tries really hard to please the X-fans and those who wants the next big thing, yet stumbles in some small parts.

It’s not all bad, of course, as there are some parts that continue the strong characterization that Wood is able to give to some of the cast, like Rachel and Kitty Pride, who discuss being left behind to watch the school as the rest of the X-Men goes in search of Jean Grey and Scott Summers. The conversation they have feels like a normal discussion instead of an exposition-heavy dialect that only serves the story and not the characters, which is always good to see in such a book. However, those characters soon come clashing against the story as they merely arrive to grind the story to a halt, give a good ”the reason you suck” speech to the others X-Men and this resumes their roles for the story in this issue. They are well-written, yet their purpose for this issue seems a tad forced and clash against the pace of the crossover a bit.

The Massive #15 – Review

By: Brian Wood (writer), Garry Brown (art), Jordie Bellaire (colors) and Jared K. Fletcher (letters)

The Story: Will Georg launch the missiles from the Russian sub?  Can Cal and Mag stop him?

Review (with SPOILERS): It’s a little depressing how this series can’t quite capitalize on its tremendous promise.  Brian Wood and his artistic collaborators have created a fantastically interesting world in The Massive.  There is so much potential in this world and Wood seems like the type of writer who is interested in telling thought-provoking tales that have a coherent theme and message, yet we keep getting issues like this one.

I actually had to retype this review a couple of times.  The first effort turned into this 2000 word screed where I was ripping apart various scenes of the comic in a blow-by-blow fashion.  I realized that nobody wants to read THAT.  So, I tried again and had the same thing happened.  Then I restarted a third time and it got a little better, but still not quite the tone I wanted…..and now we have this.

Let’s just say that there are a LOT of problems with this issue.  Mostly, it just isn’t clear what is going on.  The opening scene is really confusing.  I mean, I saw Mag get the abort signal and saw him leave the bathroom, but really didn’t understand the impact of Georg being left behind until much later in the issue.  The thing is, there was no dramatic purpose to the opening scene being vague and unclear; it’s not a mystery that “pays off” later in the issue.  It was just sloppy storytelling.  You could blame the artist a little bit since it is mostly a silent sequence and the art really isn’t very clear, but I’m not sure how he could have done better.  I think Wood just wrote a scene that was pretty tough to illustrate and then there was no subsequent communication between artist and writer to fix it.  I wonder if that’s the kind of thing that happens when you’re writing The Massive, X-Men and also wrestling with the Lucas/Disney braintrust over your Star Wars outlines?

The Massive #14 – Review

By: Brian Wood (writer), Garry Brown (art), Jordie Bellaire (colors) and Jared K. Fletcher (letters)

The Story: Callum Israel searchs for a rogue submarine in a flooded NYC.

Review (with SPOILERS): This was another pretty strong issue of The Massive.  Just as with last month, this series is so much stronger when it is exploring this intriguing post-Crash world than when it focuses on the search for The Massive (the missing titular ship).  This is a cool world and it’s entertaining to see what will happen next whereas the hunt for The Massive is dull as hell and us readers don’t care about those missing people because we’ve never met any of them.  Heck…..I’m not sure any of the main characters have even mentioned the name of a single person on The Massive.

I’m sure we haven’t seen the last of that drab storyline, but let’s enjoy this nifty tale while it is in front of us.  Basically, in this issue we see Callum Israel and his crew looking for a rogue Chechen crew-mate who has stolen a Russian nuclear submarine and may want to fire his missiles at Russia.  All of this happens against the backdrop of a Manhattan that is under 40 feet of water and with the US Navy breathing down their necks.  It’s hard not to have a cool issue when you’ve got all these nifty elements and Garry Brown draws all the ships and helicopters really, really well.

I really like how Wood is playing with an idea of what our current world could become.  There’s a huge theme to The Massive that “you reap what you sow”.  That could describe global warming and its role in The Crash or it could describe a former Chechen child-soldier who is about to launch nuclear missiles at his former Russian oppressors or it could describe guys like Callum and Mag who can’t get away from their past working for a private military contractor.  These issues aren’t always handled perfectly, but I applaud any comic that aspires to something better than “giant monsters fighting giant robots!”

The Massive #13 – Review

By: Brian Wood (writer), Gerry Brown (art) & Jordie Bellaire (colors)

The Story: A glimpse of the post-Crash United States.

Review (with SPOILERS): This will be an odd review as I’m traveling and left my issue of The Massive #13 back home.  So, I’m writing purely from memory rather than my customary method where I have the issue next to me and can flip through it for reference.  As such, it’s very much a review about first and lasting impressions.  Who knows????   Maybe THAT is the way reviews should be done all the time?

This issue gave me a bit of storytelling-whiplash as we appear to have totally abandoned this “Where’s the Massive?” storyline from last issue.  Heck, I’m not even sure how they have physically relocated from one part of the world to another.  Weren’t they in the Pacific?  It really makes no sense and if you’re a big fan of the storyline where our protagonists basically steam around the world looking for a missing sister ship…then you will be disappointed with this issue.

Star Wars #6 – Review

By: Brian Wood (Writer), Carlos D’Anda (Artist), Gabe Eltaeb (Colorist)

The Story: Luke goes to save Leia and gets much more involved in the mission that Leia is involved in.

The Review: Did you ever read something that you know is crafted well, yet you could never truly get into for some reason? A novel or a comic that you can definitely see the qualities and the hard work put into, yet did absolutely nothing for you? This is what Star Wars by Brian Wood is doing for me right now.

There are several qualities to this book, like the willingness to stick to the mythos as much as possible, without being redundant. By incorporating some newer characters and giving us a plotline that can be easily placed between the first two films (the original ones, mind you), Brian Wood show inventiveness that does him credit. It can be hard to write in such a revered era while adding new stuff in it without sounding sacrilegious, which I do believe he manage fairly well.

X-Men #1 – Review

By: Brian Wood (Writer), Olivier Coipel (Penciler), Mark Morales and Olivier Coipel (Inkers), Laura Martin (Colorist), VC’s Joe Caramagna (Letterer)

The Review: As the old saying goes the female of the species is more deadly than the male, and that’s certainly the case when it comes to Marvel’s mutant community. While it’s often down to the guys to cause the conflicts and draw the battle lines, it’s usually the girls’ power sets that prove more decisive in a fight. Jean Grey’s daunting telekinesis, Storm’s mastery  of the weather, Emma Frost’s diamond form/psionic powerhouse double-dip…they’re hardly what you’d call a bunch of shrinking violets. Which is perhaps why the X-franchise is best placed to launch a title whose core team is comprised solely of women; there’s so many great, well-established female characters to choose from. The real challenge though was for Brian Wood to make this book about more than just gender politics, to make it great read for either sex by concentrating first on just making it a great comic book. On that front it’s most definitely a case of mission accomplished.

The Massive #12 – Review

By: Brian Wood (writer), Danijel Zezelj (art), Jordie Bellaire (colors) and Jared K. Fletcher (letters)

The Story: Callum Israel keeps chasing after The Massive.

Review (with little SPOILERS): I said in last issue’s review that The Massive isn’t really “a series to review on a monthly basis”.  Yet–due to a light week–The Massive is back under the bright lights again.  Let’s see how this deliberately-paced series fares when faced with monthly pressure to create a “discussable moment.”

Star Wars #5 – Review

By: Brian Wood (Writer), Carlos D’Anda (Artist), Gabe Eltaeb (Colorist)

The Story: Han Solo has to find a way out of Coruscant, as Leia and her squad fight some Tie-Fighter as per her plan to guess just who might be the rat in the rebel army.

The Review: I finally understood something about this comic and myself, something that came as some kind of realization as to why I rather disliked some of the scenes while I enjoyed others. I once said that I preferred the Han Solo scenes in general, while I found the space battles to be rather boring, but gave a rather vague assessment of just why I felt that way about those.

The Massive #11 – Review

By: Brian Wood (writer), Declan Shalvey (art), Jordie Bellaire (colors) & Jared K. Fletcher (letters)

The Story: Ninth Wave continues looking for the Massive off the coast of California.

Review: The Massive is a very odd series.  For one thing, it isn’t much of an ongoing story.  It’s more of a setting and an opportunity to watch some characters roam around and do stuff in this setting.  As such, it’s really not a series to review on a monthly basis.  When you review a series month-after-month, there is more tendency to focus on what happened in that issue rather than examining the series as a whole.  So, having not reviewed the series since the seventh issue, let’s take a look at what is going on….

Mara #4 – Review

By: Brian Wood (writer), Ming Doyle (art), Jordie Bellaire (colors) and Clayton Cowles (letters)

The Story: Professional volleyball may be no place for a super-being, but the military is happy to have Mara.

Review (with minor SPOILERS): This issue doesn’t have much zap to it.  After three issues chronicling the downfall of Mara Prince from “Super-Star Volleyball Icon” to “Horrible Cheater!”, this was the issue to show how the military really doesn’t care about fighting fair.  It was a predictable place for the comic to go, but the execution is off and it results in a story that doesn’t ask any interesting questions or cause any passions to be aroused.

Star Wars #4 – Review

By: Brian Wood (Writer), Carlos D’Anda (Artist), Gabe Eltaeb (Colorist)

The Story: Han Solo tries to escape from Coruscant, Leia goes on with her plan to find out the rat in the rebellion and Darth Vader is awesome.

The Review: When I reviewed the last issue of Brian Wood’s take on Star Wars, I mentioned the fact that there were parts that were much stronger, or at least, more interesting than others. I now realize, in retrospect, that it was not absolutely fair, as it seemed to come a bit from personal taste rather than actual appreciation and critical analysis of the various scenes. However, while I do admit that I rather prefer Han Solo to Leia Skywalker as a character, this issue made me see just why perhaps this analysis was closer to the truth than what I thought.

Ultimate Comics X-Men #24 – Review

By: Brian Wood (Writer), Mahmud Asra (Penciler), Juan Vlasco (Inker), Jordie Bellaire (Colorist), VC’s Joe Sabino (Lettering & Production)

Review: Great Odin’s Raven…I did not see this coming. This issue of Brian Wood’s Ultimate Comics X-Men is nearly everything I was hoping the series would be. Like the planets, every plot point has swung nebulously in its slow, laborious orbit, finally correlating in a revelatory alignment. The effect is invigorating. The terraforming, the missing post-cure mutants, Karen Grant in Tian, Kitty’s leadership and the opposition to it – it’s all culminated in one of most important changes the Ultimate Universe has made in a while. Utopia finally feels like a real thing, one worth caring about. I never thought I’d be writing those words.

After last month’s issue (a brilliant ‘done-in-one’ focusing on Storm’s recent history) I was expecting Wood to embark on a couple more self-contained detours before getting back to the barren landscapes and sullen soliloquies. What a difference a month makes. All that talk’s finally translated into action with Blackheath’s Sentient Seed having born startling results. A massive stretch of overgrown jungle wilderness has sprung up in the midst of Utopia with Kitty’s pioneers building houses in the tress. Mutants from all over the country, once forced into hiding, now make their way to Utopia’s borders seeking refuge and a home free from persecution.

Star Wars #3 – Review

By: Brian Wood (Writer), Carlos D’Anda (Artist), Gabe Eltaeb (Colorist)

The Story: Luke gets a little bit rebellious with one of his comrades; Leia tries to uncover the identity of the spy while Han Solo gets into a trap set by the empire.

The Review: There are several things that can be frustrating in comics featuring a whole universe: some concepts that are too conceited or too much used, some characters that don’t have enough screen time and a whole load of other problems. This issue here has a very particular problem that does not fatally undermine the whole thing, yet becomes a bit handicapping: there are some parts and characters that are much more interesting than others.

Now, this may seem normal, even obvious to most, but there is a difference when it is a ‘’universe’’ book. In a team book, it’s pretty much normal that some people prefer some characters above others, but in a ‘’universe’’ style book, the writer has to show a whole world through his story and his characters, to make everything interesting and relevant to the plot. Here, we have two plots, with one being about Leia commanding her own squadron and trying to uncover a traitor amongst their midst, while the other one features Han Solo being his regular self as he tries to get some work on Coruscant. It is the latter one that is more interesting and actually better written, as the adventure of the charming rogue is actually more fulfilling for a reader.

Ultimate Comics X-Men #23 – Review

By: Brian Wood (Writer), Carlo Barberi (Penciller), Don Ho (Inker), Jesus Aburtov (Colorist), VC’s Joe Sabino (Letterer)

The Review: This issue really took me by surprise. Much like Brian Wood  often did with great success during his Vertigo series DMZ, this is a stand-alone tale that breaks  away from the title’s continuing narrative to address an otherwise undocumented   chapter in one character’s life. In this case it deals chiefly with Storm and starts directly after she and Colossus participated in the breakout from Camp Angel (around issues #10 and #11) leading all the way up to just about the present day (around about #19). Just as with DMZ, this change in gear offers its readership the chance to catch a breath from the dense plotting of the ongoing title and for Wood to explore one of his individual cast member’s histories in rich detail and with a tighter focus. It is – for me – easily the best issue of Ultimate Comics X-Men in months.

Ultimate Comics X-Men #22 -Review

By: Brian Wood & Nathan Edmondson (Writers), Carlo Barberi (Penciler), Juan Vlasco (Inker), Jesus Aburtov (Colorist), Joe Sabino (Lettering)

Review: I dig that whole line of thought that when you’re tasked with reviewing something you should do so in a kind of bubble. You can only really give your personal honest opinion – otherwise you’re just acting as an aggregate for the communal hum of the internets. As such, I make it a rule to only read other reviewers’ critiques on a comic until I’ve submitted my own for publication. This serves me well. Occasionally though, I have to stick my head above the parapets and make sure that I’m not veering wildly off target, blinded by a cantankerous mood swing or unnerved by a total misreading of the material on my own part.

Ultimate Comics X-Men prompts this second-guessing behaviour more than most. I scratch my head and wonder why most other reviewers seem to be almost floored by Wood’s handling of the material, proclaiming the book to be one of, if not the, best X-titles on the stands (Ultimate or otherwise). Either I’ve been missing something entirely these last few months or these guys are all smoking the same blend of off-brand crack.

Star Wars #2 – Review

By: Brian Wood (Writer), Carlos D’Anda (Artist), Gabe Eltaeb (Colorist)

The Story: Han Solo is pursued by a well-known bounty hunter, whole Leia form a team to carry out the mission she received.

The Review: This feels like Star Wars. It’s a bold statement to start this review with, but it also very much true. In this issue, you’ve got much of everything that made this franchise great to begin with. There’s the scope, the war between good and evil, the space fight and the characters. Much of it ring true to the original trilogy, but there’s also something more to it.

What Brian Wood has succeeded in doing so far is properly extend and deepen some characters while respecting who they actually are and how they usually are presented. There’s Han Solo, still roguish and savvy like always, partnered up with his trusty Wookie friend Chewbacca. Here, he explores just how his life as a smuggler has been affected by his actions from A New Hope, which is a wise choice, as it had not been properly explored in the actual sequel to the original movie.

Mara #2 – Review

By: Brian Wood (writer), Ming Doyle (art), Jordie Bellaire (colors)

The Story: Having been revealed as superpowered, Mara finds her fans becoming skeptical.

Review (with SPOILERS): The biggest storytelling success of this issue is that it brings Mara to her rock-bottom point.  This is a 6-issue miniseries, so the storytelling needs to be snappy so that we spend more time on the interesting parts.  By laying Mara low at the end of this issue, we can spend more time on what happens next and less on the star-worship of professional volleyballers.  That’s a good thing because the market for volleyball comics is probably very small.

Brian Wood usually has “something to say” in his writing, so I suspect he’s playing around with (a) the morality of steroids, HGH, EPO and other, current performance-enhancing drugs and (b) our modern-day culture which reveres and pays so much money and attention to athletes.   And then lurking in the background is Mara’s twin brother who is a solider in some far-flung war.  Is he similarly “enhanced”?  Will Mara be asked to fight in the war now that everyone knows about her superpowers.  Is it “cheating” when she uses her powers in volleyball, but “heroic” if she uses her powers to slaughter a platoon of enemies?

Star Wars #1 – Review

By: Brian Wood (writer), Carlos D’Anda (artist), Gabe Eltaeb (Colorist)

The Story: After an ambush by the empire on Luke, Leia and Wedge, the alliance suspects that there might be a spy in their midst.

The Review: Star Wars means a lot to most of us, both as a sci-fi universe and as movies. It is cherished by millions, loving the classic battle between good and evil that was represented during the whole saga. It is a universe that is no stranger to comics, with some very good stories told in its vast continuity and lore. Writing in such a loved universe can have its lot of challenge to even the most seasoned of veterans or the greatest of writer. It is even more so when the story that is told in this issue is set in the most beloved part of the saga: the original trilogy of films.

A single error in characterization, in the timeline or the addition of several unwanted elements could topple all this noble effort down by the fans. Thankfully, Brian Wood is a smart writer and knows exactly what he can and what he should do with this series and all its characters. Here we see all the beloved characters, themes and designs from the first movie in a comic book format and it works really well, incorporating just the right amount of new elements in the mix to make sure it is a brand new tale.

Mara #1 – Review

By: Brian Wood (writer), Ming Doyle (art) & Jordie Bellaire (colors)

The Story: In the future, a young woman finds stardom as a professional athlete….but perhaps there is a secret to her success.

Review (with a minor SPOILER): Let’s hand it to Brian Wood for coming up with different sorts of futures than we often see in comics – or fiction in general.  While I really do enjoy stories like The Walking Dead or The Road where you are forced to consider things like the ethics of cannibalism, those stories do all have a similar vibe to them.  So, it’s nice to see something different.  The world that Wood introduces us to in Mara #1 is said to be “war-obsessed”, but it is obsessed in the way of “I like to watch FoxNews reports on drone strikes in Pakistan.” Surely there are parts of this future world that are war-ravaged, but we don’t see them in this issue.  Everything is spiffy and clean, and while it is slightly futuristic, it isn’t unrecognizable compared to the present day.

The Massive #7 – Review

By: Brian Wood (writer), Garry Brown (art), Dave Stewart (colors) and Jared K. Fletcher (letters)

The Story: The crew of the Kapital docks at a post-crash society built out of old oil platforms.

A few things: 1). An interesting view of societal crash. – The one thing to love about this series is the very different view of a failed society.  It wouldn’t be accurate to call it “post-apocalypse” because there are still governments and the United Nations and all the basic trappings of society…..it’s just that everything is kinda screwed up by all the flooding and earthquakes from “the crash”.  It’s an interesting view of a world that is staggering and that has little in common with The Walking Dead, The Road, The Stand or Mad Max.  In this issue, we see our characters stop off at a new society that has been formed from a bunch of floating oil-rigs that people have lashed together in international waters.  How fascinating!  They’ve even declared themselves a sovereign nation and asked for recognition from UN.  I love the clever possibilities that Brian Wood is showing us in The Massive.

Ultimate Comics X-​Men #20 – Review

By: Brian Wood (Writer), Carlo Barberi (Penciler), Juan Vlasco (Inker), Jesus Aburto (Colorist), Joe Sabino (Letterer)

The Review: In contrast to a lot of other readers and critics of Brian Wood’s time on Ultimate Comics X-Men, I seem to have had a hard time really vibing with the story he’s chosen to tell. I think it’s the slow-burn nature of the telling; Kitty Pryde’s evolved into the leader of the Mutant race, born out of revolution and war, and is now in the process of building her people a new nation. But since the Reservation X storyline has been in place she seems to be more of a pragmatic administrator than charismatic figurehead. It makes perfect sense for things to be this way of course but for me it lacks some pizazz. However, the way some people evidently feel about the title, they think this is the best thing to happen to the Ultimate X-Men in years… what am I missing? Is there something more going on here?