Review: Planetary
"It's a strange world. Let's keep it that way."
A woman walks into a diner...
She gets a frosty reception from the sole customer, the cool customer Elijah Snow. A white-haired man who looks a lot younger than he should...
The woman, Jakita Wagner, is also far from average, in her figure-hugging onesie and with hidden strengths. She invites Snow to join her organisation, Planetary, which seeks to uncover "... what's really been going on this century. The secret history."
Lulled by the promise of a huge paycheck - plus some existential ennui and a niggling curiosity - Snow joins her at Planetary HQ and meets the third member of their team, The Drummer. Never without his drumsticks, he has an affinity with information in all its forms.
The first issue hits the ground running. No sooner is Snow introduced to Drummer than Wagner whisks them off on a mission to uncover a mystery in the Adirondack mountains. It seems there is more than one secret society out there, and they have been doing some very dangerous experiments.
Snow, Wagner and Drummer are soon chasing alien artefacts, giant mutations, interdimensional monsters and even the odd ghost. Just out of reach are their arch-nemeses, 'The Four', shadowy figures with nefarious schemes that threaten the existence of all humanity. The super-villains always seem to be tantalisingly half a step ahead of our heroes (who are not classic superheroes, despite having super powers, though Wagner's Black Widow/Emma Peel/S&M outfit does kind of nudge her into that category).
Ellis has fun with pretty much each and every sci-fi, comic book and conspiracy theory trope in existence. This is no disjointed farce, however, there are plot threads running through it all, drawing every distinct element together into a complex layered narrative. The characters have depth, subtlety and ambiguity to season the fantastic journey with savoury notes of gritty realism.
Cassaday portrays events with classical flair, honouring the noir elements of the story with lots of dramatic chiaroscuro: faces half-shadowed or starkly uplit, blended with beautifully detailed retro-futurist architecture and landscapes when our heroes really get "out there"...
Originally published by Wildstorm comics, there have also been DC crossovers, with which of course it segues seamlessly. This is a full-on let's-tick-all-the-boxes joyride for any kind of geek you might be, so you're guaranteed to love what's inside.
Zak Webber
Twitter - @sfcomicartist / Instagram - @sfcomicartist
JOIN US ON FACEBOOK! - SCI-FI COMIC NEXUS
*****
***
*
Comments
Post a Comment