Readers beware. Brian Wood is setting us up for something here. Now that Callum Israel is determined to track down Arkady, I’m not sure what’s going to happen. Since issue eighteen didn’t end the way that I thought it would, I really don’t want to make any more assumptions about this series. I still feel like something critical is going to happen soon, but it may not be soon according to me. I was thinking that things were going to start erupting all around in The Massive universe. Apparently that is not the case. But like I said earlier, it may just not happen in the window of time that I had in mind. I do want to stress however, that the pot is being stirred. The water hasn’t been brought quite to a boil yet, but steam is rising. After the Kapital is surprised by an explosive attack, Callum Israel has decided that his best course of action is to track down the man who is most likely responsible, Arkady. An acquaintance from his days in the paramilitary group,”Blackbell”. And kind of a nutcase I might add. This guy has definitely got a loose wire somewhere in his genetic makeup. But it doesn’t look like Callum will be embarking on this mission alone. Another member of the crew pays him a surprise visit when he gets to Europe.

It’s the beginning of the arc, and you can never be exactly sure where any of Brian Wood’s stories are going until it’s too late. But so far, I’m happy to see that I wasn’t necessarily wrong when I saw changes in the near future for the Kapital’s crew. I kinda hope that this arc keeps Callum at its center throughout its entirety. He’s the reason that I’ve been reading for as long as I have. I really like his character and I know that he’ll be one of the characters that Wood will be remembered for throughout and after his career.

I feel like this duo of Brian Wood and Garry Brown has been together on this series for such a long time, that I tend to think of both of them every time that I think of one of them. And I don’t really see any negatives in thinking that way so far. Garry’s work in this issue is really solid.

I liked this issue. It really left me wanting more at the end. I was a little disappointed when I read the ending to “Longship”, but I can see that everything is happening for a reason, and that’s good. This situation with Arkady has the potential of really bringing some extremely powerful stuff to the table, and I can’t wait to see what that is. I don’t want to get too excited just yet, but I can safely say that I’m looking forward to “Bloc”.

Score: 4/5

Writer: Brian Wood Artist: Garry Brown Publisher: Dark Horse Comics Price: $3.50 Release Date: 1/22/14