| SYNOPSIS: Elijah Snow, who looks remarkably well for a man as old as the 20th century, is recruited from a meaningless existence to be the third man of the organization known as Planetary. Joining Jakita Wagner, the lovely and leather-clad, super-strong team leader, and the Drummer, a wiseass who can tell machines what to do, Snow learns that Planetary's goals -- funded by a mysterious fourth man -- are to uncover the secret history of the past century, wherever that quest may take them. Snow's first mission is to a mountain cavern hidden in the Adirondacks, to encounter an extraordinary man by the name of Doctor Axel Brass, a 1930s superhero who disappeared decades earlier. Brass and six associates of that era had taken on the responsibility of protecting the universe, and in 1945 designed a massive computer brain which enabled them to literally code the future of the world. That awesome invention also proved their undoing, for as the brain moved into life, it opened a doorway into our reality from a parallel one. Through it came another group of superbeings, their own universe on the verge of destruction, to battle for supremacy in ours. "We saved the world that night," recalls Brass. "Only I survived." Unable to switch off the brain, Brass watches over it to make sure no one else comes through...for more than 50 years. REVIEW: The opening, existential scene at a roadside diner in the desert sets the tone, as a world-weary, burnt-out Snow is enlisted by the beautiful, vibrant Jakita to a world of intrigue and wonder. And true to the spirit of the series, it wastes little time setting the stage before sending us off on an awe-inspiring adventure. A Doc Savage adaptation whose determination and heroism ("I eliminated my need for food and sleep in 1942") are barely conceivable lets us know what we're in for from the characters, and a secret team of superheroes that takes familiar ideas of power and the incumbent responsibility to an extreme by literally shaping the fabric of the universe takes the point even further. Forced to face the consequences of such a position, they then make the ultimate sacrifice to safeguard our reality.  In this fast-paced first issue, jammed with plenty of story and a multitude of fascinating characters, we see immediately where the bar has been set for the series -- cosmically high. The forces wielded and the threats faced are not only global, but on a universal plane. Whereas the Preview dealt with but a relatively small secret, this issue deals with one almost beyond comprehension. We see it all through the eyes of the cynical Snow, the exhilarated Jakita, and the sarcastic Drummer, and we come to learn what the experience means to them. Moreover, we meet a near mythic figure in Doc Brass, a larger-than-life archetype of heroism who we clearly haven't seen the last of. When you finish this story, you'll scarcely believe it was but a single issue, because quite a lot happens in a very short time. In a comics world where all too often the opposite is true, it's a great thing.
| |  Random Thoughts:The white-haired, white-suited Snow enthralls us from the start. Cynical, skeptical, sarcastic, he also displays a dry sense of humor. Immediately, he makes this series his own. Jakita wins us over pretty early on too, succinctly explaining her reason for joining the team. "I get bored easily," she says. "Planetary keeps me from getting bored." Ellis is quite content to borrow from, and pay homage to, classic characters and stories from comic book history, shown both here and in the Preview. It's more than a theme; it's an intrinsic component. In terms of mystery and drama, an early exchange between Wagner and Snow foreshadows the kind of series this will be. Upon learning that Planetary has always been a three-person field team, Snow asks, quite reasonably, what happened to the previous third man. Wagner remarks quite seriously, "Tell you later." A beat. "When we've worked it out for ourselves." Not sure how I missed this until it was pointed out to me recently -- the invaders from another world bear a striking similarity to the members of the Justice League of America. Look closely at the picture and it won't be hard to guess who each one is. I'll try to be sharper about these things in the future. RATING: 10/10. An epic first issue. Awesome stuff. |
