7.30.14 [#BookOfTheWeek]

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The Massive #25 (Dark Horse): Man, I’m running short on time again this week between career, family, and SDCC. There are quite a few solid picks out, including the wrap of the first arc in The Fuse #6 by Antony Johnston and Justin Greenwood (something I’m pretty excited about), Black Science #7 (I read the SDCC Exclusive Edition and it was terrific – panicked action sequences with a big narrative heart), Low #1 (which I also read in an SDCC Exclusive Edition, and if you dig Black Science, you will surely dig Low), the always strong East of West #14, and Jason Aaron’s new creator owned jam Southern Bastards #3, among other offerings. But, if I only had $4 to spend this week, it would definitely go toward The Massive #25. Brian Wood and Garry Brown (returned for the final arc) reward faithful readers by finally addressing the three central conceits of the series (Mary’s true nature, the cause of The Crash, the whereabouts of The Massive) and how they’re all interconnected seems to intensify exponentially with each of these latter arcs. There’s global action, mysteries unraveled, and it paves the way for more of the same in forthcoming issues. If Wood and his collaborators (including Eisner Award Winner Jordie Bellaire!) can stick this landing with #30, The Massive could be structurally one of the most different, emotionally one of the most satisfying, and critically one of the biggest sleeper hits in recent memory. Grade A+.