Planetary #27 – Review

By Warren Ellis (writer), John Cassady (artist), Laura Martin (colorist)

One year after the final confrontation between Elijah Snow and Randall Dowling, and the world is a very different place indeed.  All the technological marvels and scientific secrets that Dowling had spent his life hoarding are now being developed by the Planetary Organization into practical applications that are being used to radically improve the quality of life the world over.  Snow has won an astounding victory and fulfilled his mandate of protecting the 20th Century, but you wouldn’t know it from the look on his face.  He is visibly irritated and upset.

Despite all he has achieved, there is still one loss that Snow cannot bear to suffer, and it is that of his friend and colleague Ambrose Chase, who was thought to have been killed during a previous mission even though his body was never recovered.  Because of this, Snow believes there is a chance Ambrose might still be alive, and he will stop at nothing to save his life.

After years of delays, the much belabored last issue of Ellis and Cassady’s phenomenal story ends in the only way it possibly can, with the century’s greatest detective solving the one mystery that has constantly eluded him.  A vast majority of the plot involves Snow’s quest to discover once and for all what happened to Chase; more to the point, it involves the Drummer talking about what he, Snow, and Jakita are going to do in order to discover what happened to Chase.  The majority of Ellis’s script is spent with the main characters talking about what to do, and talking about the theoretical science (at length) needed to get it done, and the consequences of their actions. But when the actual moment where they finally do something seems abrupt and rushed by comparison.

Not only that, but their actions never quite come off as being as big a threat as Drummer implied they would be.  Ellis does a solid job of developing this level of tension and severity as Drummer warns Snow that what they’re about to attempt may very well destroy the universe. But when that threat never came around I had felt like I’d been misled into worrying more than I needed to.  I would have preferred to see Ellis focus far less on the hard science and techno-talk surrounding Snow’s rescue mission and pay more attention to the reasons why Elijah is so utterly determined to try and save Ambrose against all odds.  I think with the focus more on the character, this issue would have made for a more dramatic and engaging story.

I have nothing but praise and accolades for Cassady and Martin, who have both been working on this book for so long that they are an intuitive and dynamic team.  Even as they worked on such a comparitivly quiet issue as this, they found ways to make the story come to life.  For the finest understanding of the artistry these two have brought to Planetary, look no further than the beautiful gatefold cover gracing this issue.

Reading this issue has been a bittersweet experience.  I’m so happy I got to enjoy one more Planetary story, but I can’t help but feel disappointed the story is now over.  To Ellis, Cassady, and Martin I can only say “thank you” for reigniting my love of comics and giving all of us such fantastic stories.  Well done.

Grade:  B+

-Tony Rakittke

Planetary #1: Special Edition – Review

By Warren Ellis (writer), John Cassady (artist), Laura Depuy (colorist)

Planetary is the greatest comic book you’re not reading.  I can say that with confidence because the last issue came out almost three years ago, and the final issue still has yet to be released.  Until that fateful day arrives though, DC is using the recent release of the Watchmen movie to launch an interesting marketing campaign called “After Watchmen…What’s Next?” in which they are reprinting a number of comics they think will appeal to fans of the movie.  Planetary was fortunate enough to be one of the comics chosen for this campaign, and I couldn’t be happier.  Despite its many setbacks and delays over the last ten years, Planetary has earned its rightful place as one of the finest examples of comic literature ever, and for the low price of one dollar, you can experience a little bit of the magic, mystery, and adventure that have been the hallmarks of this amazing title.

At its heart, Planetary is a story about stories.  It’s about cutting open the superhero genre with a scalpel, finding out where it came from, and discovering what made its parent genres so great and beloved in the first place.  But in addition to being an intelligent piece of metafiction, it’s also a damn fine story.  Planetary is the tale of a wealthy organization of mystery archaeologists led by Elijah Snow, a wretched old bastard who was born on January 1, 1900 and controls cold-temperature powers.  He is aided in his research into the unknown by Jakita Wagner, a young woman with superhuman speed and strength and a penchant for punching things in the head, and The Drummer, a socially inept savant who speaks to machines but is awkward around people.

In this issue, the team goes on their first mission together, where they are dispatched to the Adirondack Mountains to investigate a complex of hidden, man-made caves that may have been the last destination of Doc Brass, a pulp-era science adventurer who disappeared in 1945.  The team recovers Brass, but not before he tells them why he has exiled himself in the mountains, and what he has been protecting our universe from for the last fifty-four years.

Planetary is in many ways, a love letter to the genre we all hold so dear.  It reminds us of where the superhero came from, and where the superhero is headed.  It is a celebration of everything that is great and exciting about storytelling, and needs to be read by all comic books fans at least once.  If this is indeed “a strange world” and Jakita was right in saying that we need to keep it that way, then please do your part and experience Planetary.  I promise you won’t be disappointed.

Grade:  A

Tony Rakittke