In this first volume of Brian Wood’s new, sprawling post-apocalyptic epic, follow the crew of the Kapital from the flooded remnants of Hong Kong to Unalaska, with stops in Antarctica and Mogadishu, as post-Crash ethics and economics are explored across a broken world. This trade paperback collects issues #1–#6 of the series, plus three eight page stories from Dark Horse Presents.

We named The Massive as the “best non-super hero comic” of last year, and the series is making a case to repeat this year. We also would have considered it for “best comic series” if we had that award. Brian Wood got “best writer” (primarily for his work here as well as Dark Horse’s Conan) and Callum Israel, the main character, was named best character. That’s a lot of awards for a comic book series. And all of them deserved, very much so.

The Massive is easily one of the smartest comics on the market right now and works on so many levels, it’s kind of ridiculous. First, there’s a mystery. The crew of the Kapital are searching for their sister ship the Massive which has gone missing. Next there’s the backdrop of this post-apocalyptic world devastated by environmental disaster. We don’t really know why this has happened, but it has. Each issue we find out how this world has changed because of it. Next there’s the crew of the Kapital, and their varied pasts and motives. The characters are so original, so unique.

In the first volume we’re finding all of this out. It’s a mystery never revealing too much, and each layer peeled back slowly drawing you in more and more. The comic and characters are so thought out, it’s amazing. Each is a unique individual, in their attitude, motivation, background and look. They seem like well rounded individuals that are full of depth and mystery. That can be said about the world they now live in too. This is a world full of new rules and economies, a new way of life.

The brilliance of this series is that it is so real, so well thought out. This is a comic every month I await for it’s release and immediately devour. We’ve talked about it often on our radio show, because we love it that much. It’s that good.

With this first trade, you can find out and finally read the best comic on the market. Do yourself a favor and get to your store and pick it up. I can’t recommend this series enough.

Story: Brian Wood Art: Kristian Donaldson and Garry Brown

Story: 10 Art: 10 Overall: 10 Recommendation: Buy

Dark Horse provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review