Planetary, v. 1: All over the World and Other Stories

Collects: Planetary #1-6 (1998-9)

Released: March 2000 (DC / Wildstorm)

Format: 160 pages / color / $14.99 / ISBN: 9781563896484

What is this?: A trio of archaeologists of the unknown travel around the world, looking at weird stuff.

The culprits: Writer Warren Ellis and artist John Cassaday

Do you like action? Fast-paced plots? Interesting characters? Then Planetary, v. 1: All over the World and Other Stories is not for you.

Those questions aren’t important, though. You’re either interested when you hear the creators are Warren Ellis and John Cassaday, or you’re not. And make no mistake: this is very much a Warren Ellis book. It’s full of big, high concept ideas, investigated by hard-bitten, cynical people who smoke. Ellis has refined the style, but that’s the skeleton version of most of his work.

Ellis’ stories are almost entirely built on fictional analogues and familiar genres. Recurring character Doc Brass is strongly reminiscent of pulp hero Doc Savage. Island Zero, in issue #2, reminds readers of Toho’s Monster Island. Issue #3 is a Hong-Kong action movie crossed with a ghost story, although it is nowhere near as cool as that sounds. Since Planetary started in the late ‘90s, Ellis is beginning to lash out at superheroes, and All around the World features superhero analogues that border on the antagonistic. In issue #6, Ellis sets up the Fantastic Four (Voyagers Four?) as major villains, and in the preview issues, reprinted as a bonus, Ellis rewrites the origin of the Hulk. (I personally prefer the massive cancer beast Ellis cast the Hulk as in Ruins to Planetary’s indestructible monster.) And Ellis ties Planetary in with his other Wildstorm work, The Authority.

There’s nothing wrong with using well-worn ideas, especially when having new ideas or new characters intersect with them. In All over the World, Ellis introduces the Planetary team, a trio of “archaeologists” of the fantastic who investigate the weird under the mandate of the mysterious and fabulously rich Fourth Man. But they refuse to do much of anything. In the first four issues, everything works itself out before they get a chance do anything — although Elijah Snow, the new guy, does promise to help someone at some future date. Issue #5 is a conversation between Snow and Doc Brass. Only in #6 does Planetary do anything that poses any danger or involves effort beyond boarding a plane. There are hints and whispers of a larger conspiracy, but there is nothing compelling about it. If you are not captivated by Ellis’s reconceptualization of those older ideas, then there is little in this book that will interest you.

Each “adventure” seems unconnected, with little to suggest the links between them that is the hallmark of serial comic book stories. Even the action in #6 — which should be a welcome relief — is connected to #5 only tenuously, almost as if there is an issue missing.

Planetary features the early art of John Cassaday. How early? The author bios at the end mention only his work on Union Jack, X-Men / Alpha Flight, and Desperadoes. I think it’s safe to say those works are mere footnotes in his career now. His designs for the protagonists and Doc Brass are memorable — except for Jakita Wagner, the leader of the Planetary team, I immediately recognized them, more than a decade after the last time I had read an issue of Planetary. His work with Hong Kong ghosts in #3 manages to balance the ethereal and the real impressively. His one-page illustrations of Doc Brass’s career in #5 are fabulous and easily the highlight of All over the World. However, either the script or Cassaday himself seems to lack confidence in the art. The layouts rarely seem to include the spreads that would allow an artist to cut loose on Ellis’s big ideas, and occasionally important reveals are minimized or kept off the page entirely: the Hulk analogue in the preview story, the monsters on Island Zero, the spaceship in #4. DC even replaced his vivid original cover of the trade with the drab one pictured above.

Planetary has a great reputation, but I didn’t see why in All over the World. There are a lot of ideas here, but faith in Ellis is the only way a reader would believe they would coalesce into anything.

Rating: (2.5 of 5)

Astonishing X-Men, v. 4: Unstoppable

Collects: Astonishing X-Men v. 3 #19-24, Giant-Size Astonishing X-Men #1 (2007-8)

Released: August 2008 (Marvel)

Format: 200 pages / color / $19.99 / ISBN: 9780785122548

I was lukewarm on the previous volume of Astonishing X-Men, but I’m happy to say Astonishing X-Men, v. 4: Unstoppable is an improvement. (If they actually could have produced the issues on time, I could have said this earlier.)

Writer Joss Whedon and artist John Cassaday wrap up their run on the title that was essentially created for them, and the closure they give the title really helps give Unstoppable the emotional impact missing from previous volumes.

And when I say “emotional impact,” I mean more than just the punch to the gut the death of a character gives. The characters complete their emotional arcs — Scott and Emma in their relationship, Wolverine teaming up, as he often does, with a young female X-Man (Armor), Hank and Brand — and although that last pairing smacks of Whedon trying to give some importance to a character he created, it does give the character some closure that will never be followed up on again. The incompleteness of Kitty and Peter’s reunion also hits hard, and it’s predictably the most moving part of Unstoppable.

Still, everything I said about Whedon in my review of Torn is still applicable here. (Especially the bit about the Mohs scale.) I don’t care about Breakworld, and I never will; the same goes for Agent Brand and SWORD, who are ill-suited for an X-Men title (despite what Chris Claremont probably believes). Whedon can write dialogue, filling the story with quips, but it makes the story feel padded. (And I’m not sure whether Cyclops’ new-found levity is supposed to be characterization or another chance for Whedon to add one-liners. Either way, I don’t buy it.) In the old days (the ‘80s), this story would have been a three parter, not stretched over six issues plus a giant-size special. Weirdly, despite the leisurely pace, the transitions are frequently abrupt, making me wonder if I had accidentally skipped a page; I also had to look up what happened to the heroes trying to stop the world-destroying bullet (yes, really) to confirm I was right.

There are some clever bits of plotting, including when Emma uses telepathy to connect everyone’s mind while they’re being surveilled. I’m not entirely sure how I feel about how the prophecy about Colossus destroying Breakworld plays out. I can see how it’s clever, but since I never was emotionally connected with Breakworld, it lost some of its impact. But when Scott springs his trap on Breakworld and says, “To me, my X-Men,” I almost forgave Whedon all his faults.

Almost.

Looking back on my review of Torn, I was really surprised how much I praised Cassaday’s work. It’s deserved, but there are times I look at his work, and it reminds me too much of Frank Quitely — not that I mind similarity or imitation, but Quitely’s work has always skeeved me out: those heads are not normal, and often, neither are Cassaday’s. Peter and Scott still look too similar, partially because of that. I’m also not sure he’s the artist you want drawing alien landscapes; perhaps part of why Breakworld doesn’t click for me is that Cassaday doesn’t make it visually unique. But Cassaday is excellent with characters and their design — his Spider-Man makes me want a Cassaday-drawn Spider-series — and although this doesn’t give him as much room to play with the characters as Torn did, it’s still excellent work.

Whedon and Cassaday leave on a high note and leave the slate clear for other writers. For Unstoppable, you couldn’t have hoped for much more.

Rating: (3.5 of 5)

Astonishing X-Men, v. 3: Torn

Collects: Astonishing X-Men #13-8 (2006)

Released: January 2007 (Marvel)

Format: 152 pages / color / $14.99 / ISBN: 0785117598

Torn is the third volume of Joss Whedon and John Cassaday’s Astonishing X-Men series, and by this point, I just wish they’d get on with things.

The events in Torn spin out of the dull second volume, Danger, in which Emma Frost appears to be on the path to betraying the X-Men with elements of the former Hellfire Club. Torn is six issues of that group trying to mentally and physically destroy the X-Men. Unfortunately, that seems like two or three issues too many, as much of the plot seems to be marking time so that the storyline can reach a total of six issues. There is, I think, only one or two fights leading into the final issue of the TPB. There’s some conflict, yes, but it goes nowhere.

Whedon is drawing heavily on two previous X-Men stories: the Grant Morrison New X-Men plot that had Cassandra Nova turning the X-Men inside out and the classic Dark Phoenix saga by Chris Claremont and John Byrne. Cassandra Nova is not a concept that I particularly felt needed revisiting, especially since she and her Morrison overtones clash horribly with the classic Hellfire Club / Phoenix era aesthetic Whedon is trying to draw on here. But Whedon’s the main plot requires the use mind control on the main characters, and if you’re going to use a psychic villain, Cassandra Nova’s going to be near the top of the list.

There’s no doubt Whedon’s having a lot of fun using mind control on certain characters; Wolverine as a Victorian nancy boy is funny, for instance, and Scott’s insecurities are interesting. Whedon certainly knows how to write dialogue — if more comic book writers could do that, we’d all be happier. But it serves to pad out the book. I can’t help thinking Whedon would be served better by a more assertive and discriminating editor, but who knows? Maybe editor Mike Marts is the man best suited for the job.

In Torn, Whedon lets his love for Kitty Pryde shine through. The Mohs scale does not go high enough to measure the hardon Whedon has for Kitty Pryde. Kitty Pryde is happy! Kitty Pryde is having sex! (Really good, intangibility inducing sex! Even if it is with Colossus!) Kitty Pryde gets to graduate to the Wolverine role in the original Hellfire Club storyline (and in a way fulfill the Phoenix role too).

Cassaday does his usual excellent job on the art, with his somewhat retro designs of some of the characters going quite well with the Dark Phoenix undertones. Cassaday knows what he’s doing; it’s easy to phone in some aspects of mind control stories, but when one of the characters’ mind is mucked about with, Cassaday changes his look as well. Other than Scott and Peter looking a little too similar (and not particularly caring for the design of Danger, the previous arc’s villain), I’m very happy with Cassaday.

The less said of the subplots left over from previous volumes of Astonishing X-Men, the better. Whedon seems to have little facility at creating characters, as none of the villains or heroes he’s created have evinced the slightest interest from me.

Whedon and Cassaday’s tenure on this title — and perhaps the title itself — will probably end after the next volume. Although I feel little reason for optimism, I’ll probably stick it out and read that one as well, both to wrap up my investment in the story and to see Whedon and Cassaday’s strengths again.

Rating: (2.5 of 5)