| SYNOPSIS: It's 1919, Germany, and Elijah Snow makes his way up a storm-swept mountain to a broken-down castle. Lightning crashes down around him as he enters and lets himself into an abandoned laboratory, a room whose towering walls stretch up many stories to an open skylight above. At the lab's center, a place "where dead men walked," Snow examines an elevated platform some 50 feet above the floor. In doing so, he inadvertently releases several large egg-shaped structures from the walls (some years later, he'll learn once more about the dangers of disturbing mysterious eggs, chronicled in the Planetary/Authority crossover), hatching five vaguely humanoid monsters that he overcomes only thanks to his agility and unique powers. He then leaves the lab behind for his true objective at the castle: the library, and the three-dimensional, electrical globe he had been told about -- the secret map of the world. Jump ahead to 1920, England, and Baker Street. This time Snow breaks into the home of an elderly man, who he find in a shadowy sitting room, smoking a distinctive pipe that could only belong to the world's greatest detective, Sherlock Holmes. Telling Holmes he knows of the conspiracy that he and his associates had been up to since the past century, Snow goes on to say he intends to put an end to it. At which point, he is jumped by a pale, stone-faced ghoul who could only be yet another legendary figure: Count Dracula. Overcoming him easily, Snow learns from Holmes that the detective had wanted to do the same to the vampire "for the last 20 years." The point of the conspiracy, says Holmes, had been to make the world better. Instead, by taking to the darkness, they became darker themselves. Dracula's death will likely end the group's association. Snow, however, wants more: knowledge. "To be a detective, then?" says Holmes. "Very well. I can instruct you in my methods." And over the next five years, he does. Snow gets his wish. The seeds of Planetary are sown. REVIEW: Having already encountered Holmes -- not an adaptation of the literary character, like the various members of Doc Brass's team, but Holmes himself -- over the past couple of issues, it's not a total shock to see Dracula, the Invisible Man (John Griffin), Frankenstein and his monster, and even John Carter, Warlord of Mars (among others) either appearing or referenced in this issue laden with literary allusions. But it is somewhat jarring, albeit entertaining, to see them all thrown into the lexicon of the Wildstorm universe. Understand that I like to pretend the rest of the Wildstorm universe has no bearing or interaction with Planetary, period, Authority crossovers and references to the contrary. The day Voodoo or Grunge shows up in the book is the day I seriously rethink this whole web site thing.  At this point, without having a full grasp of where Ellis is going with this, I have mixed feelings about this whole "legendary literature figures as part of Snow's history" concept. Oh sure, it's cool seeing him wander through "the Baron's" lab, and kick the stones out of the notorious vampire. And the concept of a conspiracy between these legends is fun, just as it was in Alan Moore's brilliant League of Extraordinary Gentlemen series, to which there are some obvious references here. But there are a couple of key differences. First off, LoEG is obviously not set in the Wildstorm universe, or even really the "America's Best Comics" universe. There are no superheroes in Moore's title. And second, LoEG was both drama and adventure, sure, but on an important level, it was also a comedy. The idea of Henry Jekyll and Mina Murray being part of a team of heroes was played by Moore with a kind of dry, outlandish, wit. Planetary is not a comedic series, in any respect, so this development is a little tougher to accept here.
That said, Planetary has always been an homage to heroes, villains, and stories of the past, across a variety of media and genres. So the fact that the homage is a bit more overt here can be viewed as a logical progression. When I see where this is going, maybe I'll come around. All this is not to say I didn't enjoy the issue. John Cassaday's renditions of Frankenstein's castle, Stoker's Dracula, and the elderly Holmes are brilliant. Laura DePuy's muted colors are perfect. And it's great to see a young Snow, just starting out. More would and will be welcome. I liked the issue. I'm just not sure how I feel about the ramifications of it. I'll remain optimistic, however. | |  Random Thoughts: It's possible this theory was mentioned to me by another fan a while back. But it seems even more true now. In Issue #9, a fictional character from Planet Fiction escaped into the Planetary world, his current whereabouts unknown. In a world which is gradually becoming filled with characters who both we and generally the world of comics view as fictional themselves, what will a "fictional" character there be like? Real, perhaps? The entire frame of reference is topsy-turvy. Have the lines between reality and fiction been totally blurred thanks to "Planet Fiction?" Have we met this fictional character yet, without even knowing it? The possibilities are vaguely disturbing. It turns out Elijah Snow is neither British, as might have been expected by some, or born into aristocracy or wealth. In fact, he evidently grew up in such poverty that he "went to the lavatory in the woods" and drank his Uncle Caleb's homemade liquor, to boot. Yee-haw. Almost too many literary references dropped here to mention them all, some more obvious than others. Dracula, Frankenstein, Holmes, The Invisible Man -- crystal clear. The "man who went to Mars," most likely Edgar Rice Burroughs' John Carter, Warlord of Mars. The Frenchman? The Steam Men? Theories abound over on the DC Comics Planetary Message Boards; maybe it will have been resolved by now. I'm guessing we'll see that there secret map of the world again. Somewhere along the line I'm sure there will be a cover that I don't really care for. Hasn't happened yet, though. "And since I was fifteen years old I knew I could never resist stuff like this." You and me both, man. RATING: 8/10. A lot to love here. A lot I've got mixed feelings about. This juror is out.
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