John Cassaday is a well-known figure in the comics industry and that is primarily due to his work on “Planetary” (sure, his “Astonishing X-Men” run didn’t hurt either, but that came later). This provides the main impetus for the remainder of the series but in this first volume we are only given the most meagre of hints as to what this might entail. Each of these stories throws the reader into a particular genre from comics, literature or cinema, and demonstrates Ellis’ understanding and affection for each of them while placing them firmly into the Wildstorm universe.Īll of these stories are fun and well executed but it is only with issue four that Ellis begins to present us with the real plot of the series, namely uncovering the secret history of Elijah Snow and of the secret chiefs of the world, a shadowy conspiracy known as the Four. First up is curmudgeonly Elijah Snow, a century old man with the gift of manipulating the cold and with massive gaps in his memory Jakita Wagner, a woman with a low threshold for boredom, super-strength, speed and durability and The Drummer, who can detect and read just about any form of energy.Īs we follow them through the first six issues we are shown a collective of early 20 th century adventurers, amongst them versions of The Shadow, Fu Manchu, Tarzan and Doc Savage, an island in the no-man’s-land between Japan and Russia populated by monsters, a Hong Kong cop/ghost story and more. We are quickly introduced to our guides through the weird and wonderful universe the author has created. This device allows Warren Ellis to explore any number of genres at will, and to comment upon fiction and our relationships with it. Instead of the usual superhero collective, bound together to fight for truth, justice and the status quo, the Planetary team are charged with excavating the secret history of their world and responding to reports of the weird and wonderful like a turn-of-the-century Fortean endeavour. “Planetary” represented something different again.

Begun in 1998 at the time when Warren Ellis was helping to redefine the Wildstorm universe, having wrapped up his run on “Stormwatch” and launching “The Authority” to widespread acclaim.

With DC’s recent announcement that they are wrapping up and closing down the Wildstorm imprint of books it is fitting that we have been looking at one of that imprint’s finest works.

Planetary, Volume 3 by John Cassaday