Planetary

[Jeff of Earth-J]

Interest has been expressed in a Planetary discussion so I guess I'll start one and see where it goes. I have never read it before. I don't plan to do in-depth summaries because those who expressed said interest have, and some have committed to reading along with me. I bought the omnibus edition, which doesn't have a table of contents but it does have an introduction written by Alan Moore. It collects Planetary #1-27, Planetary Preview, Planetary/Batman, Planetary/JLA and Planetary/Authority. Issue #1 begins with a woman named Jakita Wagner recruiting a man named Elijah Snow into a organization called "Planetary." The third member of the group calls himself "The Drummer." She has been with the team for four years, but knows nothing about it before that, including whether or not it even existed. She explains that Planetary is always a three-person team, but when Snow inquires about the third person before him she responds, "Tell you some other time. When we've worked it out for ourselves." There is also a mysterious "fourth man" who finances the group.

Their first mission takes them to a base in the Adirondacks in search of a man named Dr. Axel Brass (basically Doc Savage) who was born on January 1, 1900 and disappeared on January 1, 1945. They find him a a headquarters filled with trophies (such as "The Hull of the Charnal Ship," "Vestments of the Black Crow King," "The Murder Colonels," etc.). They find Brass still alive. He has been awake since 1945; he eliminated the need for food and sleep in 1942; stopped aging in in '43; learned to close wounds with the power of his mind in '44. He and his collegues (basically Tarzan, the Shadow, etc... a sort of latter day "League of Extraordinary Gentlemen") created a quantum computer which opened the door to the multiverse where they discovered a team of super-powered individuals (basically the original Justice League of America) who attacked. Everyone except him was killed, and he has remained guarding the gateway ever since. 

"It's a strange world," Snow remarks.

"Let's keep it that way," Jakita agrees.

Planetary is written by Warren Ellis and drawn by John Cassaday. Earlier today I finished reading #37-47 of Stormwatch, also by Ellis, but it really didn't grab me. Some of his stuff I like, some I don't, but Planetary drew me right in.

[Jeff of Earth-J]

Snow defeats Dracula by freezing him, and then shattering part of him. He’s done this before – in fact, he did it to Frankenstein’s creatures in this issue – so why is it a mystery?

At the time I read it (and this is a bit embarrassing to admit), I had forgotten Snow's power. 

[Captain Comics]

Addendum: Two other possibilities for "the Frenchman" Snow mentions are Hercule Poirot (first published 1920, but as an adult, so he was around) and Paul D'Arnot (Tarzan's friend, first published 1912).

[The Baron]

Poirot was Belgian!  ;)

[Captain Comics]

Oh right, a Belgie, not a Frenchie. Sorry. Rules him out, I guess.

[Captain Comics]

PLANETARY #14

A re-imagining of Thor's hammer (the Marvel Comics one). In this case, a "transposition channel" opens a "transportation gate" into what Emil Gargunza described as "infra-space" and the Qys called "underspace." We also learn details about Kim Süskind, another member of "The Four."

I noticed the Miracleman similarity, too. And of course, that’s Thor’s hammer. But what are all those other weapons? Why are all those other weapons? (Shrugs) More evidence of Four perfidy, though. “They killed an entire world so the had somewhere to store their weapons.”

Unfortunately, that volume seems to have been cancelled after publishing #10 exactly a month ago.  But it is not IMO much of a loss.

Just delayed, I guess. I haven’t kept up with it, but #11 (of 12) is due next week.

What I saw of it isn't too engaging either.  While it does reveal a lot about what became of the Planetary characters and technically tells us a lot, it does so in a very bureaucratic, businesslike manner. I am half convinced that it existed to keep a couple of Batman-related characters occupied for a while and also to renew trademark rights over Planetary names and characters.  I fully expect that the next time we meet Planetary property this Outsiders series will be quietly forgotten, and rightly so.

I hadn’t planned to read it, but now I for sure won’t.

Some things about this issue:

• “The truth is in here,” says the scientist. X-Files reference? They do explain away X-File kind of stuff in this issue, like cattle mutilations and "alien abductions."
• A lot of people over the years (and I assume Ellis is among them) have argued that Sue Richards should go blind when she turns invisible. Ellis addresses that with Kim Suskind, who has goggles that literally jack into the base of her brain.
• And it looks like The Four do have kinda-sorta FF powers. Kim clearly has Invisible Woman powers. Leather has powers that manifest as blue flames around him (and a Ghost Rider skull effect when we first see him here).
• The last few pages show how Planetary tried and failed to capture The Four some time ago, resulting in Snow’s capture and the memory blocks implanted. Everything happened just as we were basically told had happened. (“I told you not to come looking for me.”)

Now they’re back at it again, but this time without their reality-warper. Snow better have something more up his sleeve than a popsicle.

[Captain Comics]

I forgot to mention that I think the cover to Planetary #12 is an homage to Rubber Soul, by The Beatles.

[Captain Comics]

The cover of the omnibus I am reading (not the dust jacket but the actual cover) is a mock-up of the "Planetary Guide" mentioned in this issue.

I am unable to find that online.

Carlton Marvell, I think, is based on Captain Future, another pulp character Mort Weisinger had a hand in creating. Weisinger described him as "a science fiction parallel to Doc Savage." If you've ever seen The Big Bang Theory, Sheldon and Leonard have a poster of a Captain Future pulp on display in their apartment. 

I wondered who he was. They’ve already done Captain Marvel (Jim Wilder).

When I mentioned Emil Gargunza and infra-space yesterday I was speaking tongue-in-cheek, but the reference to "the 'infra-space' established by British Intelligence in the fifties" is an indirect reference to Alan Moore's Miracleman (or "Marvelman" if you prefer). Infra-space, The Bleed, Dreamspace... call it what you will, this is a concept that appeals to me. First Comics, for example, had "Cynosure" (it's not a coincidence that I am currently rereading Grimjack at this time), and Valiant Comics had the "Lost Land."

I understood your Gargunza reference for what it was: A shorthand to another angle on this idea over at Miracleman.

I wonder if "Ayres Rock" is named in tribute to Dick Ayers...?

Just as I understand that this is also a joke.

I don’t have much to contribute this issue. Most of the references, if not all of them, are to Aborigine creation myths, with which I am wholly ignorant. I know a little more than I used to, though, thanks to this issue.

The Rock getting up and bumping (to bits) The Four’s aircraft with it head was pretty funny, though.

[Jeff of Earth-J]

I am unable to find that online.

Here ya go ↓

[Tracy of Moon-T]

[Captain Comics]

What do you know: I did find that online. I didn't know it was what you were talking about, though.