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villyidol's review against another edition
4.0
That's been a whole lotta awesome. But hell if I know what's going on.
It's almost like one of those TV shows where the clock is set to zero with every new episode and there's very little continuity.
Well, it‘s almost like that. Because there were just enough recurring themes to at least make me wonder if I had missed something.
Maybe it’s just that whole multiverse thing that made it sometimes a little confusing.
Or it’s me being stupid. Though that’s unlikely. Amiright?!
Am I right? *silence ensues*
Anyway, most of the issues, which is to say (almost) independent storylines, were great though. Only two were a little underwhelming.
Our kinda sorta superhero protagonists investigate paranormal phenomena and try to preserve balance and order in the multiverse. And it was fun to watch.
I especially liked the different settings
and the banter between the characters.
But there's just no feeling of closure in the end.
Very entertaining nevertheless. 3.5 stars. I bought the second volume already.
Well, just mayyybee a little tweak here and there and this could be really great.
It's almost like one of those TV shows where the clock is set to zero with every new episode and there's very little continuity.
Well, it‘s almost like that. Because there were just enough recurring themes to at least make me wonder if I had missed something.
Maybe it’s just that whole multiverse thing that made it sometimes a little confusing.
Or it’s me being stupid. Though that’s unlikely. Amiright?!
Am I right? *silence ensues*
Anyway, most of the issues, which is to say (almost) independent storylines, were great though. Only two were a little underwhelming.
Our kinda sorta superhero protagonists investigate paranormal phenomena and try to preserve balance and order in the multiverse. And it was fun to watch.
I especially liked the different settings
and the banter between the characters.
But there's just no feeling of closure in the end.
Very entertaining nevertheless. 3.5 stars. I bought the second volume already.
Well, just mayyybee a little tweak here and there and this could be really great.
hngisreading's review against another edition
3.0
Planetary field agents — Jakita Wagner (a bored super-woman), Elijah Snow (super [hot] old guy who can control cold and looks good in all white) and tech controlling weirdo, The Drummer — are Mystery Archeologists. They map “the secret history of the twentieth century” and… keep it a secret?
The first few issues are loosely connected stories of such mysteries: a snowflake that contains the multiverse, guarded by a 100-year-old super-human; a monster island; a ghost cop looking for vengeance; etc etc.
Our trio hunts these mysteries down to catalogue them and keep the secret. The origins of Planetary are shadowy; the people in charger even shadowy-ier. Elijah Snow is not cool with this.
This was mostly fun and interesting. A couple issues fell flat. I felt Elijah’s annoyance—we show up *after* the action most of the time & observe/obscure what’s leftover. But the end started to ramp up, a bit. The more Elijah digs, conspiracy theories abound.
I have a feeling I’m going to be quite confused in future volumes but that’s part of the allure of the multiverse: half of the intrigue is that I don’t know WTF is going on!
The first few issues are loosely connected stories of such mysteries: a snowflake that contains the multiverse, guarded by a 100-year-old super-human; a monster island; a ghost cop looking for vengeance; etc etc.
Our trio hunts these mysteries down to catalogue them and keep the secret. The origins of Planetary are shadowy; the people in charger even shadowy-ier. Elijah Snow is not cool with this.
This was mostly fun and interesting. A couple issues fell flat. I felt Elijah’s annoyance—we show up *after* the action most of the time & observe/obscure what’s leftover. But the end started to ramp up, a bit. The more Elijah digs, conspiracy theories abound.
I have a feeling I’m going to be quite confused in future volumes but that’s part of the allure of the multiverse: half of the intrigue is that I don’t know WTF is going on!
crowyhead's review against another edition
4.0
This was a ton of fun. I felt like I "got" the concept of Planetary much better than I did with the last collection I read, probably because this is the first collection. :) The interplay between Elijah Snow and Jakita Warner is brilliant -- no one does snarky dialog like Warren Ellis. My current favorite line: "Why do I even have to say this? Why do I have to say 'get off the unique and probably alien living plinth that zaps the unwary'? What is wrong with my life that I have to say these things out loud to someone who's been in Planetary that long?"
jordibal's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
5.0
neven's review against another edition
2.0
I've heard that this gets better, but volume 1 really didn't make me want to find out for myself.
theartolater's review against another edition
4.0
Closer to a 3.5, this is a weird half-sci-fi half-super hero comic by Warren Ellis, who's generally awesome. Honestly? This was just okay, but once the broader mythology fleshes out a bit, it gets a lot better. I liked the second volume more.
becks_books's review against another edition
1.0
One of these days I swear I'll read something by DC that I like, but alas! This is not that day.
First off- the characters were really one dimensional. I couldn't tell what they were like or what their motivations were. maybe it's explained in later volumes but we get barely any information in this volume about what these people are like and why the hell I should care. So far there's this 100 year old guy who I think has super powers? He seems... standoffish. There's a woman with a weird asymmetric top that just looks way too tight to be running around finding space crap in, she also seems standoffish? Like the typical "badass girl" thing. No thanks. Also she has superpowers. Not sure which ones. And there's this guy who's there I think for comedy or something (hard to tell, it wasn't very funny) and he's the dumb one I guess. He seems to have powers too? I don't know. Everything was so badly explained. I just want to sleep.
The plot was very clunky- each comic is kind of a standalone story linked with the others, and I didn't like any of them. Most of them felt like they just weren't explained well enough (could also be I gave up paying much attention near the end so I really don't know what happened there) and the stories just ended kind of abruptly with no conclusion. I didn't understand what was happening most of the time and maybe I should re-read it and focus really hard (I won't be doing that) or maybe I'd understand it more if I knew more about the DC universe and really got into DC comics? (Probably won't do that either)
First off- the characters were really one dimensional. I couldn't tell what they were like or what their motivations were. maybe it's explained in later volumes but we get barely any information in this volume about what these people are like and why the hell I should care. So far there's this 100 year old guy who I think has super powers? He seems... standoffish. There's a woman with a weird asymmetric top that just looks way too tight to be running around finding space crap in, she also seems standoffish? Like the typical "badass girl" thing. No thanks. Also she has superpowers. Not sure which ones. And there's this guy who's there I think for comedy or something (hard to tell, it wasn't very funny) and he's the dumb one I guess. He seems to have powers too? I don't know. Everything was so badly explained. I just want to sleep.
The plot was very clunky- each comic is kind of a standalone story linked with the others, and I didn't like any of them. Most of them felt like they just weren't explained well enough (could also be I gave up paying much attention near the end so I really don't know what happened there) and the stories just ended kind of abruptly with no conclusion. I didn't understand what was happening most of the time and maybe I should re-read it and focus really hard (I won't be doing that) or maybe I'd understand it more if I knew more about the DC universe and really got into DC comics? (Probably won't do that either)
beyadob's review against another edition
5.0
Warren Ellis is a freaking genius. I loved Transmetropolitan to bits. Trees was amazing as hell. And now I finally got around to reading his best work ever - Planetary. And I am absolutely blown away by it.
Planetary begins a bit slow and takes the amnesiac route to familiarize the reader with the protagonist’s universe. What a wonderful, weird, glorious universe it is. Ellis uses some truly fantastic ideas here: a machine that creates realities out of fictional narratives and lets those characters cross over, a brilliant post-Gojira tribute, World War II supercomputer that can access other universes, and so on.
It’s also a stupendously awesome and different take on superheroes. I won’t spoil it for you here; I highly suggest you read and find out yourself. The characters aren’t immediately likeable, but that’s how they’re designed: with flaws and everything. Once you break the surface, though, you’re in for a wild cast of characters that you’ll learn to love and hate.
The writing is sharp and superb. No moments are wasted. The art complements the writing, drawing the characters in a realistic fashion while maintaining the standard comic book feel. It’s a brilliant package that must be enjoyed first-hand.
If I had the chance to wipe my memory and read this again, I’d do so in a heartbeat.
Planetary begins a bit slow and takes the amnesiac route to familiarize the reader with the protagonist’s universe. What a wonderful, weird, glorious universe it is. Ellis uses some truly fantastic ideas here: a machine that creates realities out of fictional narratives and lets those characters cross over, a brilliant post-Gojira tribute, World War II supercomputer that can access other universes, and so on.
It’s also a stupendously awesome and different take on superheroes. I won’t spoil it for you here; I highly suggest you read and find out yourself. The characters aren’t immediately likeable, but that’s how they’re designed: with flaws and everything. Once you break the surface, though, you’re in for a wild cast of characters that you’ll learn to love and hate.
The writing is sharp and superb. No moments are wasted. The art complements the writing, drawing the characters in a realistic fashion while maintaining the standard comic book feel. It’s a brilliant package that must be enjoyed first-hand.
If I had the chance to wipe my memory and read this again, I’d do so in a heartbeat.