Supermassive 2024: Radiantly Beautiful

Writers Kyle Higgins, Ryan Parrott, Mat Groom, Melissa Flores, and Joe Clark push the fifty-page narrative of Supermassive 2024 forward with deliberate speed: the opening pages take us from Namibia, Africa to Whiting, Indiana to San Francisco, California to New Orleans, Louisiana to Chicago, Illinois (in a different timeline).

Given the IndyCar speed of the story, new Massive-Verse readers may find Supermassive 2024 disorienting at times. The first fifteen pages or so feel like an expositional beatdown: readers are tossed unceremoniously into Image’s paneled Colosseum and asked to tussle multiple characters, fictional interpersonal dynamics, and assumed stakes. This will be somewhat off-putting to readers without foundational knowledge of the Massive-Verse, so I do not recommend that new readers start with this crossover one-shot. Explore the stories that precede this one first.

The middle third of the one-shot marks a notable transition from rushed exposition to expertly paced action. The fight scenes are—chef’s kiss—beautiful. Stefano Simeone’s artwork is perfect, just cartoonish enough to be fun without undercutting the narrative’s emotional arcs. Vibrant colors splash across each page, creating a kaleidoscopic tableaux so compelling that even apathetic readers will marvel at the artistry. The panels and lines are sleek, polished, and engaging: a Power Rangers aesthetic collided into the saturated color palette of Blade Runner 2049. If I had a poster-sized copy of every panel of Supermassive 2024, I would cover my walls with the Radiants.

The Supermassive 2024 writing team is at its best when they’re curating combat. The comic’s dialogue varies in quality, but the motion is consistently top tier. Years ago, I read DC’s Blackest Night crossover event. It was my first real foray into the world of comics. I soaked up each panel and felt enthralled by the colorful world of weaponized emotion. Since then, a small list of titles (Tokyo Ghost, East of West, and a couple others) have sparked such excitement. Now I can add Supermassive 2024 to that list.