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spiveyja's review
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
ladybrewsalot's review
adventurous
dark
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
4.75
mootastic's review
5.0
What if the pop culture of the 20th century were actually history? That's the question Planetary tries to answer by following a group of archaeologists whose goal is to explore all the strange goings-on in their world, all of which just happen to bear an uncanny resemblance toward popular entertainment in our own.
Each issue of Planetary focuses on a particular pop cultural touchstone, whether they be superheros, pulp adventurers, or kaiju monsters, and reinterprets them through a new, and weird, lens. Though each issue is basically it's own self contained mini-movie, together they form an overarching story about conspiracy, discovery, and the strange landscape that is our shared nerd heritage.
Basically, the bigger geek you are, the more you'll appreciate Planetary. Many of pop culture's biggest names are represented here, albeit in a distorted (though still easily identifiable) manner. Planetary works not just as entertainment, but as a metatexutal exploration of that entertainment. Recommended for anyone who loves geeky things.
Each issue of Planetary focuses on a particular pop cultural touchstone, whether they be superheros, pulp adventurers, or kaiju monsters, and reinterprets them through a new, and weird, lens. Though each issue is basically it's own self contained mini-movie, together they form an overarching story about conspiracy, discovery, and the strange landscape that is our shared nerd heritage.
Basically, the bigger geek you are, the more you'll appreciate Planetary. Many of pop culture's biggest names are represented here, albeit in a distorted (though still easily identifiable) manner. Planetary works not just as entertainment, but as a metatexutal exploration of that entertainment. Recommended for anyone who loves geeky things.
dantastic's review
4.0
Elijah Snow is recruited for Planetary, a secret group of archaeologists uncovering the secret history of the 20th century. But who is the mysterious Fourth Man of Planetary? And why are there gaps in Snow's memory?
I read the first few issues of Planetary in singles as they were published. Frankly, I didn't appreciate it as much as I should have, probably because I didn't get a lot of the references. Now, almost twenty years later, I'm reading the big honkin' omnibus I've had in my possession for at least a couple years.
Planetary is both a love letter to comics and an examination of what super beings with access to advanced technology would do in the real world. Why isn't Reed Richards using his knowledge to change the world? Maybe he is and you're just not aware of it. There's a conspiracy behind everything and the super humans are pulling the strings. That's the core premise of Planetary, as I see it as of the 35% mark. There might be changes farther down in the review since I'm cobbling this one as I go. There's a lot of shit to keep track of in almost 900 pages.
Planetary takes place in the Wildstorm Universe, so The Bleed is prominently featured. Stormwatch is mentioned but I think that's pretty much it. Planetary is largely its own animal, a tangled web of conspiracies going back a hundred years.
There are analogues and homages galore, starting with the first issue. Planetary finds a secret cavern in the Aidirondack mountains with Doc Brass, a Doc Savage analogue, inside. Brass is crippled and has been awake for over 50 years, watching the gate some of his mystery man companions created in the 40s. Brass is straight out of the Bama cover Doc Savage books, complete with widow's peaked hair resembling a skull cap.
From there, Planetary keep digging and Snow keeps getting more and more suspicious. I noticed references to all sorts of characters: Fu Manchu, The Shadow, Tarzan, the Fantastic Four, Constantine, Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, Superman, Nick Fury, and the Hulk, and that was just in the first third of the book. Sherlock Holmes, Captain Nemo, Carnacki, and others were also in attendance. I'd read an annotated version of Planetary just to see all the references I'm missing. The Planetary has things in common with The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Philip Jose Farmer's Wold Newton universe, and the X-Files.
Many of the issues were self-contained, a rarity in this day and age. Then again, the series did start almost 20 years ago. There's some decompression but nothing like today. John Cassady's art is decent but nothing I'd compose a sonnet about. Ellis' writing shows a love for comics and their progenitors, the pulps, but also an exasperation that super beings would spend so much time punching each other instead of fixing the world. The weirdness level is high but it's a coherent weirdness, more or less.
As Snow gets closer and closer to going up against the Four, things pick up and I had to restrain myself from going into seclusion to devour it. When the Arthur C. Clarke by way of Jack Kirby event happened, it was agony to put the book down. The sheer scope of Planetary is impressive. The truth behind the Four makes me think twice about Mister Fantastic's intentions that fateful day.
The ending was good, though a little anticlimactic. Also, I didn't know a fourth of the book was going to be crossovers outside of the main Planetary tale. Fortunately, the crossovers were very well done. Planetary teams with The Authority, meets versions of Batman from across the multiverse, and a future version of The Planetary go up against the Planetary earth versions of Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman. Honestly, my only gripe with the crossovers is that they weren't placed chronologically in the book.
And now that I've finished this kitten squisher of a tome, I've got a Planetary-shaped void in my life. Planetary takes some over the top concepts common to comics, ratchets them up, and places them in the background of a slow-burning detective story. There's not much else like it out there. I'm glad I have this massive version of it so I can read it again in years to come. 4.5 out of 5 stars.
I read the first few issues of Planetary in singles as they were published. Frankly, I didn't appreciate it as much as I should have, probably because I didn't get a lot of the references. Now, almost twenty years later, I'm reading the big honkin' omnibus I've had in my possession for at least a couple years.
Planetary is both a love letter to comics and an examination of what super beings with access to advanced technology would do in the real world. Why isn't Reed Richards using his knowledge to change the world? Maybe he is and you're just not aware of it. There's a conspiracy behind everything and the super humans are pulling the strings. That's the core premise of Planetary, as I see it as of the 35% mark. There might be changes farther down in the review since I'm cobbling this one as I go. There's a lot of shit to keep track of in almost 900 pages.
Planetary takes place in the Wildstorm Universe, so The Bleed is prominently featured. Stormwatch is mentioned but I think that's pretty much it. Planetary is largely its own animal, a tangled web of conspiracies going back a hundred years.
There are analogues and homages galore, starting with the first issue. Planetary finds a secret cavern in the Aidirondack mountains with Doc Brass, a Doc Savage analogue, inside. Brass is crippled and has been awake for over 50 years, watching the gate some of his mystery man companions created in the 40s. Brass is straight out of the Bama cover Doc Savage books, complete with widow's peaked hair resembling a skull cap.
From there, Planetary keep digging and Snow keeps getting more and more suspicious. I noticed references to all sorts of characters: Fu Manchu, The Shadow, Tarzan, the Fantastic Four, Constantine, Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, Superman, Nick Fury, and the Hulk, and that was just in the first third of the book. Sherlock Holmes, Captain Nemo, Carnacki, and others were also in attendance. I'd read an annotated version of Planetary just to see all the references I'm missing. The Planetary has things in common with The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Philip Jose Farmer's Wold Newton universe, and the X-Files.
Many of the issues were self-contained, a rarity in this day and age. Then again, the series did start almost 20 years ago. There's some decompression but nothing like today. John Cassady's art is decent but nothing I'd compose a sonnet about. Ellis' writing shows a love for comics and their progenitors, the pulps, but also an exasperation that super beings would spend so much time punching each other instead of fixing the world. The weirdness level is high but it's a coherent weirdness, more or less.
As Snow gets closer and closer to going up against the Four, things pick up and I had to restrain myself from going into seclusion to devour it. When the Arthur C. Clarke by way of Jack Kirby event happened, it was agony to put the book down. The sheer scope of Planetary is impressive. The truth behind the Four makes me think twice about Mister Fantastic's intentions that fateful day.
The ending was good, though a little anticlimactic. Also, I didn't know a fourth of the book was going to be crossovers outside of the main Planetary tale. Fortunately, the crossovers were very well done. Planetary teams with The Authority, meets versions of Batman from across the multiverse, and a future version of The Planetary go up against the Planetary earth versions of Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman. Honestly, my only gripe with the crossovers is that they weren't placed chronologically in the book.
And now that I've finished this kitten squisher of a tome, I've got a Planetary-shaped void in my life. Planetary takes some over the top concepts common to comics, ratchets them up, and places them in the background of a slow-burning detective story. There's not much else like it out there. I'm glad I have this massive version of it so I can read it again in years to come. 4.5 out of 5 stars.
ppetropoulakis's review
5.0
Planetary is an organization of mystery archeologists. This is just the surface of the series that encapsulates the pop culture of the 20th century. The superhero tropes, Cthulu like mysteries, multiverses and parallel worlds, planetary has it all. It seems that Warren Ellis has a talent for creating literary worlds almost in a Alan Moore fashion. As a read it was very entertaining, all 900 pages of this omnibus are outstanding.
hagbard_celine's review
4.0
Weird and compelling and brisk and steeped in comics referents. Ends strong. Very pleased.
pjwhyman's review
5.0
Brilliant, simply brilliant. One of the best comic book series ever, all in one page.
helpfulsnowman's review
4.0
In this book, I found a great example of something difficult to capture.
So many books, comics especially, rely on creating a bizarre, almost trippy experience for the reader. Like Swamp Thing or Sandman, they take readers on a trip, almost trying to re-create in readers the sense of confusion and disorientation that the characters would feel.
I've always disliked that feeling. Or rather, I think it can get lazy here and there. If someone drugs Batman and he starts hallucinating, well, I just don't care anymore.
What Planetary does beautifully, it has science that's confusing as hell, and I suspect that even if I took a lot of time to plot it all out and make sense of it, a lot of it would still be complete nonsense anyway.
HOWEVER, the book has a heart to it. It's revealed slowly, not even coming in to play until much later. But as you progress just beyond half way you start seeing that there's a purpose to the weirdness. More importantly, you don't need to understand the weird science-y stuff to understand the emotional core of the book.
Which brings me to something else entirely.
Is a graphic novel review the right place to talk about a tragic shooting, the latest in a series of never-ending acts of violence we seem to be stuck with?
For me is it the right place? Yeah.
Here's the comparison I just want to make.
After every tragedy we spend a lot of time discussing why it happened. This time, the big theory has to do with some sort of misogyny machine that's operating in the background of human society all the time (please note that I'm not invalidating that as it's own issue, but..well, just humor me and keep going). In the past we've also discussed any number of other possibilities too. Violent video games. Music with dark lyrics. Mental illness is always a factor.
In Planetary, one of the goals was to get rid of these bastards known as The Four. The Planetary organization could have gone about this by trying to figure out their every motive, quirk, and origin. And certainly some of that happened, but more importantly, the goal was to remove The Four from their positions of power. If you can figure out where this asshole is going to show up next, you can launch him into space forever without knowing his personal philosophy. Done.
So here's what I'm saying: Does a big bad goal always require knowing the origin of the problem?
We can spend the rest of our (possibly foreshortened by violence) lives trying to figure out why these shootings happen. Why this guy did this, why he did that. We can try to suss out motives, find that common thread, and then prevent this in the future.
Again, I do think that these issues are important. I'm not invalidating the problems of misogyny or mental illness. They are important issues, even if nobody is ever shot again.
However, what I'm saying is that in this case, talking about the motives seems to distract us from the problem at hand.
The problem at hand is that nobody can keep us safe. Seriously. And I don't want to sound like a total conspiracy nut, but wouldn't it be nice, say as a lawmaker who is pro-gun, if the public turned to a discussion of feminism and misogyny as opposed to gun control? Because that's a conversation where there are no clear answers.
I mean, yes, the clear answer is Misogyny Bad. Duh. But what I mean is, the discussion gets insane. What IS misogyny? Is a misogynist someone who FEELS a certain way, or ACTS a certain way? Can we change how people FEEL? Look at all these examples of people treating each other like shit.
In one particularly appalling example from the New Statesman, an otherwise decent article is marred by this line:
This is not the first time that women and unlucky male bystanders have been massacred by men claiming sexual frustration as justification for their violence.
So you weren't a real victim. You were just an unlucky male bystander. Thanks. I'm sure a man's loved ones would appreciate that. It will probably be a big comfort to them, knowing that the death of someone they cared for was just a side effect.
And then, holy shit, we're not even really talking about a shooting anymore. We swirl off into something else, and it's good that we're having more discussion, but goddamn it, we're not solving these shootings. We're not. Have they decreased in scope? Frequency? Have we learned anything of importance from these shootings?
If there's something I'd like us to take from this one, a little something I learned from Planetary, it's this: We don't need to know the origin of the motive in order to stop these things from happening. Just as the Planetary folks didn't need to know about the personal philosophies of their enemies to try and stop them, we don't need to know the motive to stop this from happening. Or hell, at least slow it down. Make an effort.
Why hasn't a school said, "We only allow students in our school who have no access to guns"? That means no guns in the home. Hey, it's a constitutional right. And it's also a constitutional right to attend a different school.
If the NRA truly believes that guns don't kill people, people kill people, then why don't they put some of their considerable funding into setting up free mental health for youth? Show us. Show us that the world is still safe when it's full of guns but our emotional needs are met.
How is it that I was given access to guns at age 14 and this was perfectly legal? You aren't seen as being responsible enough to see Rated R movies, drive a car, even play the Powerball. Yet, here, have a gun. I wasn't responsible enough to handle my own boy parts. And those were FAR from capable of doing much harm, believe me.
Fuck, if people are proud to be card-carrying NRA members, why can't I get some kind of card that proves I DON'T own a gun? And then, hey, a business owner could choose to give me 10% off. I bet a movie theater in Aurora would probably be down with upgrading my popcorn from small-giant to medium-giant for free if I could show my non-gun card.
What I want to get across here, I'm ready to try some shit to solve this problem. What no longer interests me is the shooter's mindset. I am interested in the issues that face young people and how those issues are expressed through violence and treating people the wrong way. But for me, the priority is stopping this shit. I don't think that I, as the man I am, can solve the big problems. I can't solve misogyny. I can't solve the fact that bad parenting is a big, big deal. I can't overhaul the mental health industry of the United States. What I can do is my part. I can say that I'm willing to live in a town that doesn't have guns. Period. I'd be willing to submit to a background check and not purchase or own firearms if it meant my child was in a school where all the other parents of students had done the same. I'm willing to give up what some people interpret as my right in order to possibly, just for even a fraction of a silver of a chance, I'd give up a concrete right just for the very small hypothetical, mathematical improbability that it MIGHT save a stranger's life. In this case, when there's a demonstrable causation, I'm willing to give up a right that I have exercised in the past if it means the POSSIBILITY of making a small difference.
That's all.
Oh, and I guess definitely read Planetary.
So many books, comics especially, rely on creating a bizarre, almost trippy experience for the reader. Like Swamp Thing or Sandman, they take readers on a trip, almost trying to re-create in readers the sense of confusion and disorientation that the characters would feel.
I've always disliked that feeling. Or rather, I think it can get lazy here and there. If someone drugs Batman and he starts hallucinating, well, I just don't care anymore.
What Planetary does beautifully, it has science that's confusing as hell, and I suspect that even if I took a lot of time to plot it all out and make sense of it, a lot of it would still be complete nonsense anyway.
HOWEVER, the book has a heart to it. It's revealed slowly, not even coming in to play until much later. But as you progress just beyond half way you start seeing that there's a purpose to the weirdness. More importantly, you don't need to understand the weird science-y stuff to understand the emotional core of the book.
Which brings me to something else entirely.
Is a graphic novel review the right place to talk about a tragic shooting, the latest in a series of never-ending acts of violence we seem to be stuck with?
For me is it the right place? Yeah.
Here's the comparison I just want to make.
After every tragedy we spend a lot of time discussing why it happened. This time, the big theory has to do with some sort of misogyny machine that's operating in the background of human society all the time (please note that I'm not invalidating that as it's own issue, but..well, just humor me and keep going). In the past we've also discussed any number of other possibilities too. Violent video games. Music with dark lyrics. Mental illness is always a factor.
In Planetary, one of the goals was to get rid of these bastards known as The Four. The Planetary organization could have gone about this by trying to figure out their every motive, quirk, and origin. And certainly some of that happened, but more importantly, the goal was to remove The Four from their positions of power. If you can figure out where this asshole is going to show up next, you can launch him into space forever without knowing his personal philosophy. Done.
So here's what I'm saying: Does a big bad goal always require knowing the origin of the problem?
We can spend the rest of our (possibly foreshortened by violence) lives trying to figure out why these shootings happen. Why this guy did this, why he did that. We can try to suss out motives, find that common thread, and then prevent this in the future.
Again, I do think that these issues are important. I'm not invalidating the problems of misogyny or mental illness. They are important issues, even if nobody is ever shot again.
However, what I'm saying is that in this case, talking about the motives seems to distract us from the problem at hand.
The problem at hand is that nobody can keep us safe. Seriously. And I don't want to sound like a total conspiracy nut, but wouldn't it be nice, say as a lawmaker who is pro-gun, if the public turned to a discussion of feminism and misogyny as opposed to gun control? Because that's a conversation where there are no clear answers.
I mean, yes, the clear answer is Misogyny Bad. Duh. But what I mean is, the discussion gets insane. What IS misogyny? Is a misogynist someone who FEELS a certain way, or ACTS a certain way? Can we change how people FEEL? Look at all these examples of people treating each other like shit.
In one particularly appalling example from the New Statesman, an otherwise decent article is marred by this line:
This is not the first time that women and unlucky male bystanders have been massacred by men claiming sexual frustration as justification for their violence.
So you weren't a real victim. You were just an unlucky male bystander. Thanks. I'm sure a man's loved ones would appreciate that. It will probably be a big comfort to them, knowing that the death of someone they cared for was just a side effect.
And then, holy shit, we're not even really talking about a shooting anymore. We swirl off into something else, and it's good that we're having more discussion, but goddamn it, we're not solving these shootings. We're not. Have they decreased in scope? Frequency? Have we learned anything of importance from these shootings?
If there's something I'd like us to take from this one, a little something I learned from Planetary, it's this: We don't need to know the origin of the motive in order to stop these things from happening. Just as the Planetary folks didn't need to know about the personal philosophies of their enemies to try and stop them, we don't need to know the motive to stop this from happening. Or hell, at least slow it down. Make an effort.
Why hasn't a school said, "We only allow students in our school who have no access to guns"? That means no guns in the home. Hey, it's a constitutional right. And it's also a constitutional right to attend a different school.
If the NRA truly believes that guns don't kill people, people kill people, then why don't they put some of their considerable funding into setting up free mental health for youth? Show us. Show us that the world is still safe when it's full of guns but our emotional needs are met.
How is it that I was given access to guns at age 14 and this was perfectly legal? You aren't seen as being responsible enough to see Rated R movies, drive a car, even play the Powerball. Yet, here, have a gun. I wasn't responsible enough to handle my own boy parts. And those were FAR from capable of doing much harm, believe me.
Fuck, if people are proud to be card-carrying NRA members, why can't I get some kind of card that proves I DON'T own a gun? And then, hey, a business owner could choose to give me 10% off. I bet a movie theater in Aurora would probably be down with upgrading my popcorn from small-giant to medium-giant for free if I could show my non-gun card.
What I want to get across here, I'm ready to try some shit to solve this problem. What no longer interests me is the shooter's mindset. I am interested in the issues that face young people and how those issues are expressed through violence and treating people the wrong way. But for me, the priority is stopping this shit. I don't think that I, as the man I am, can solve the big problems. I can't solve misogyny. I can't solve the fact that bad parenting is a big, big deal. I can't overhaul the mental health industry of the United States. What I can do is my part. I can say that I'm willing to live in a town that doesn't have guns. Period. I'd be willing to submit to a background check and not purchase or own firearms if it meant my child was in a school where all the other parents of students had done the same. I'm willing to give up what some people interpret as my right in order to possibly, just for even a fraction of a silver of a chance, I'd give up a concrete right just for the very small hypothetical, mathematical improbability that it MIGHT save a stranger's life. In this case, when there's a demonstrable causation, I'm willing to give up a right that I have exercised in the past if it means the POSSIBILITY of making a small difference.
That's all.
Oh, and I guess definitely read Planetary.
sfletcher26's review
5.0
Simply the graphic novel by which all other graphic novels should be judged.
plaguevacant's review
5.0
One of, if the not THE greatest comic series I have read. Period.
Ellis takes a page from Moore's League of Extraordinary Gentleman and does it one better, weaving an entire century's worth of imaginative fiction into a single sweeping story. 30s Pulp heroes, H.G. Wells, Hong Kong action movies, Silver Age comics, Kaiju, Vertigo comics, Sherlock Holmes, Tarzan, Nick Fury, 50s Sci-Fi films, the Lone Ranger, Arthur Clarke's Rama... they are all here, classic figures re-framed by the narrative, both strange and familiar at the same time.
John Cassady's art is amazing, and perfectly creates the truly mind-bending set pieces Ellis imagines. The omnibus is a well-bound package collecting the original series as well as some less interesting crossover comics.
Well worth it, and highly recommended.
Ellis takes a page from Moore's League of Extraordinary Gentleman and does it one better, weaving an entire century's worth of imaginative fiction into a single sweeping story. 30s Pulp heroes, H.G. Wells, Hong Kong action movies, Silver Age comics, Kaiju, Vertigo comics, Sherlock Holmes, Tarzan, Nick Fury, 50s Sci-Fi films, the Lone Ranger, Arthur Clarke's Rama... they are all here, classic figures re-framed by the narrative, both strange and familiar at the same time.
John Cassady's art is amazing, and perfectly creates the truly mind-bending set pieces Ellis imagines. The omnibus is a well-bound package collecting the original series as well as some less interesting crossover comics.
Well worth it, and highly recommended.