Planetary Volume 1

Rather than shell out for those big collections of Planetary I saw in the solicits a few months ago, I bought some of the trades they released 15 years ago, since used copies were so much cheaper. I'm not too worried about missing out on the various crossover mini-series that I don't think are included in these. Do I really need to see the main cast interact with the Justice League, when Ellis and Cassaday are using various knockoff versions of them already?

(I was going to call them thinly-veiled, but in some cases the veil is practically diaphanous.)

The first trade, containing the first six issues, pretty much set the tone for the book. Planetary investigates strange things, all of which are variations on stuff from our popular fiction. A team of pulp heroes, kaiju, superheroes, etc. Usually things have gone disastrously badly, machines that create universes to search for answers before destroying them, or an endless cycle of murdered Hong Kong cops who become spirits of vengeance.

The book is entertaining. The stories have all been done-in-ones, with a larger subplot taking form in the background. I like the strange ideas in the same way I enjoy them in Atomic Robo (although with a very different tone), and with each issue being a different adventure, it creates its own momentum as I want to see what the next issue will bring. The writing isn't bad; I knew Ellis could do snappy, sarcastic dialogue already.

But it feels light. Like I'm just skimming the surface, playing "spot the reference" and seeing how John Cassaday draws weird stuff. The answer to that second part is, "better than I expected". I thought his style would be a little too stiff or realistic to draw things other than extremely good-looking people, but that actually seems to work in his favor. When he draws the corpse of a giant monster, it stands in stark contrast to the people around it. He can draw gleaming alien structures, and decaying ruins that suggest a long (and probably dark history). Laura DePuy's colors suggest things so bright they're blinding at times, but goes dingy or faded when needed.

The are and the general concept of the book are carrying most of the water. I wouldn't say I particularly care about Elijah Snow, Jakita, or the Drummer. I don't dislike them - well, the Drummer annoys me a little, but he also seems to have gotten the least focus so far - but they mostly serve as a way to get the story to the weird stuff. Maybe provide exposition for what take Ellis is going with as necessary.

It's working for me as an adventure story, which is fine. A good one of those is a pleasure to read.