The Outhouse - The Greatest Comic Book Forum

by ****** » Fri Jun 08, 2012 7:16 pm

THE MASSIVE #1
Writer: Brian Wood
Artist: Kristian Donaldson

In a post-war, post-crash, post-disaster, post-everything world, the environmental-action trawler Kapital scours the earth’s oceans for its mysteriously missing sistership, The Massive. Captain Callum Israel, a man who has dedicated his life to the ocean, now must ask himself—as our planet dies—what it means to be an environmentalist after the world’s ended. Callum and his crew will come up against pirates, rebels, murderers, and thieves as they struggle to remain noble toward their cause. Can you save a planet that's already doomed?

by **Eli Katz** » Fri Jun 08, 2012 8:01 pm

amlah6 wrote:Did I Punchy this week's thread by picking a non-traditional comic?

No; you picked something really awesome.

I forgive you now for recommending Young Liars.

by ****** » Fri Jun 08, 2012 8:05 pm

Young Liars was the pinnacle of the medium

by **Stephen Day** » Fri Jun 08, 2012 8:07 pm

The thing that stood out to me the most about this series is how Waid and Krause are using the fact that this is a web comic quite effectively. I thought that the page design, in which sometimes only a panel at a time is revealed, was a really good storytelling method that did a nice job of adding to the story's drama. The only problem with this method is that doing it takes up so much space at times that the issues themselves are, in some cases, shorter that they should be.

As for the story itself, Nocturnus and Galahad are an interesting father and son pairing. Waid does a good job of making both of their points of view clear. The reader can see how they are both right and both wrong, depending upon just what they're talking about at any one point. It should be interesting to see just what is happening with Nocturus's wife/Galahad's mother. Is she actually still alive? If not, just what exactly is going on?

I'll give this an 8 out of 10.

by **Stephen Day** » Fri Jun 08, 2012 8:09 pm

amlah6 wrote:Did I Punchy this week's thread by picking a non-traditional comic?

It was a fine choice.

It's difficult to say why this Review Group is so inactive compared to other recent ones. :smt102

by **guitarsmashley** » Sat Jun 09, 2012 12:28 am

I don't know how I feel about downloading something legally. It makes me feel dirty.

by **guitarsmashley** » Sat Jun 09, 2012 12:29 am

That and I don't feel like reading 6 issues of something.

by ****** » Sat Jun 09, 2012 1:03 am

guitarsmashley wrote:That and I don't feel like reading 6 issues of something.

It's not the same as six issues. Each episode is probably the equivalent of about 10 comic pages.

by **Punchy** » Sat Jun 09, 2012 11:15 am

amlah6 wrote:Did I Punchy this week's thread by picking a non-traditional comic?

Yes

by **Eli Katz** » Sat Jun 09, 2012 11:48 am

Stephen Day wrote:The thing that stood out to me the most about this series is how Waid and Krause are using the fact that this is a web comic quite effectively. I thought that the page design, in which sometimes only a panel at a time is revealed, was a really good storytelling method that did a nice job of adding to the story's drama. The only problem with this method is that doing it takes up so much space at times that the issues themselves are, in some cases, shorter that they should be.

As for the story itself, Nocturnus and Galahad are an interesting father and son pairing. Waid does a good job of making both of their points of view clear. The reader can see how they are both right and both wrong, depending upon just what they're talking about at any one point. It should be interesting to see just what is happening with Nocturus's wife/Galahad's mother. Is she actually still alive? If not, just what exactly is going on?

I'll give this an 8 out of 10.

I agree with Stephen's review. I love the way the web comic at key points guides the pace of reading. It forced me to slow down and read the comic at the speed that Waid and Krause intended. In doing so, the comic builds some very suspenseful moments. As I read these issues, I kept thinking how cool it would've been to have Severed or Walking Dead published in this format. I think horror comics, in particular, lend themselves to this design, because they often feature many wordless sequences where characters find themselves moving into increasing danger from panel to panel.

So because this book has showed me that web comics can be better than print comics, and because Krause's art is excellent but generally under-appreciated, I'm giving this book a big ...

9/10

by **Stephen Day** » Sat Jun 09, 2012 12:51 pm

Eli Katz wrote:I agree with Stephen's review. I love the way the web comic at key points guides the pace of reading. It forced me to slow down and read the comic at the speed that Waid and Krause intended. In doing so, the comic builds some very suspenseful moments. As I read these issues, I kept thinking how cool it would've been to have Severed or Walking Dead published in this format. I think horror comics, in particular, lend themselves to this design, because they often feature many wordless sequences where characters find themselves moving into increasing danger from panel to panel.

So because this book has showed me that web comics can be better than print comics, and because Krause's art is excellent but generally under-appreciated, I'm giving this book a big ...

9/10

Thanks for agreeing with me.

However, I have to slightly disagree with the bolded part of your review. I don't think the panel design says that web comics can be better as much as it says that the two mediums are different and that they both have their strengths and weaknesses. For instance, a big double splash page, if used right, can be impressive in a classic comic book, but I don't think it translates very well to a web comic.

by **Victorian Squid** » Sat Jun 09, 2012 1:01 pm

amlah6 wrote:Did I Punchy this week's thread by picking a non-traditional comic?

I tried to post a review last night but the site wouldn't load repeatedly.

by **Victorian Squid** » Sat Jun 09, 2012 1:03 pm

ITT: Eli Katz discovers motion comics, something Marvel animators thought were innovative roughly 50 years ago.

by **Eli Katz** » Sat Jun 09, 2012 2:57 pm

McDarkseid wrote:ITT: Eli Katz discovers motion comics, something Marvel animators thought were innovative roughly 50 years ago.

Thankfully, these comics are different from, and much better than, Iron Man cartoons circa 1965.

by **Eli Katz** » Sat Jun 09, 2012 2:59 pm

Stephen Day wrote:
Thanks for agreeing with me.

However, I have to slightly disagree with the bolded part of your review. I don't think the panel design says that web comics can be better as much as it says that the two mediums are different and that they both have their strengths and weaknesses. For instance, a big double splash page, if used right, can be impressive in a classic comic book, but I don't think it translates very well to a web comic.

You're right. Yet, on balance, I think the web format offers more possibilities for creators to explore than the print medium.