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Underground > Comic Books >

Planetary #25 SPOILERS

Elijah, Freelance Rabbi

17:49 / 09.05.06

So This came out last week I guess, I picked it up the other day.

I was pretty underwhelemed with the issue. The big reveal of it being that Super Spy John Stone has been working for the Four the entire time, and they pissed him off so to get revenge he jogged Snow's memories.

Or maybe the other reveal was the big one, the one that the Four went through the bleed to Apokalips and made a deal with Darkseid to give them random super powers in exchange for Earth 50 years later.

So, anyone else read this? Was anyone totally thrilled with this issue? I know there are unresolved plot points that will remain that way, but as we reach the home stretch do you think the first 3rd of the book being dedicated to beating on Stone was usefull?

Hallo, Paper Spaceboy

17:56 / 09.05.06

Ahem. We've already discussed it a bit.

Elijah, Freelance Rabbi

18:06 / 09.05.06

dammit

I even searched, and saw a thread for 23 and 24.

Stupid other thread...

Our Lady Has Left the Building

17:08 / 22.10.06

Preview for issue 26.

Hmmm, I've not been reading the individual comics but I can't help but notice that it all comes down to the chief good guy meeting the chief bad guy in a room that has something to do with somewhere near the beginning of the series... So now rather than 'homaging' old pulp and sci-fi Warren is ripping off his own stuff? Again? (I get bonus points if the issue ends with The Four having their memories blocked/wiped)

Hallo, Paper Spaceboy

18:52 / 22.10.06

I know this makes me sound like a fool, but the preview actually renewed a little bit of interest in Planetary. A touch predictable, sure, but I want to finally see Dowling.

And, simply, the return of "Mystery Archaeologists" rather than bitchy Revengers.

Elijah, Freelance Rabbi

15:35 / 23.10.06

Wow, that actually sounds like it could be really cool.

23:28 / 23.10.06

Planetary's conclusion (sans epilogue) and SSoV 1 in the same week. S'gonna be a good week.

Hallo, Paper Spaceboy

23:32 / 23.10.06

Plus a Runaways digest is coming out, and Nextwave! This is going to be a very good Wednesday.

the credible hulk

07:35 / 26.10.06

Hrm. Somewhat anti-climactic.

Without giving much away, there were some really good moments, Cassaday's art looked fantastic, but the Dowling stuff was not as exciting as I had hoped.

Can't wait for the epilogue.

09:34 / 26.10.06

One note:

It's "descendants" not "ancestors".

16:13 / 26.10.06

Is there a theme/focus for issue twenty-six? Just wondering. It'll be a while before I can afford to buy anything that isn't edible, post massive holiday movie purchasing.

16:17 / 26.10.06

I sort of liked it... Very talky but still a sort of neat twist on competing methods.

The art was of course lovely and it was great to see the return of one of my more favorite secondary characters. Is this the end of it all? Will there another issue?

16:40 / 26.10.06

Yes, there will be one more issue. Ellis describes it as an epilogue, so don't expect it to tie up all dangling plot threads. It hasn't been scheduled yet, but we can expect it some time in early 2007.

16:52 / 26.10.06

The coda issue is already written, by the way. So there's just the drawing, coloring, lettering, editorial stuff. And, y'know, distribution.

Hallo, Paper Spaceboy

19:38 / 26.10.06

Drums gets the best line of the issue.

"Wow. If we get to give parallel Earths names, this needs to be Earth Toilet-on-Fire."

Highlighting, you know, how Planetary can not be called anything even close to approximating a Justice League knockoff. Thank god. I can only hope we see an end to JLA satires.

Behold the new Planetary equivalent of the Marvel Family!

And, yeah, the return of mystery archaeology. That's what I longed for.

Dowling was a little anticlimactic, but otherwise it was a good issue. Solid. A closing of doors.

Wonder if my girl Melanctha will be in the next one?

Regrettable Juvenilia

12:14 / 25.02.07

I shouldn't be telling you this, but I have it on good authority that the genre of storytelling that Planetary is going to be paying homage to in its final issue is modern adult video entertainment.

It'll be much like the last page of Wanted, but for a whole issues, and it will be broader in perspective. That is to say, the perspective of the panels. The, ah, camera angles, if you will. After reading it, I suspect a lot of people might feel differently about 'Elijah Snow'.

They might feel very differently.

uncle retrospective

12:19 / 25.02.07

Fly? why did you post that? What was the point? Bored?

15:17 / 25.02.07

No.

Mr F, while not a celebrity yet, is nevertheless somebody who goes out for the odd beer with Warren Ellis, in a way that I wish I could.

As a consequence, Mr, to you, Flyboy has the inside straight on whatever's going on in Warren's world, even if, sometimes, it's quite hard to remember what his plans were for 'Thunderbolts', or anything.

Regrettable Juvenilia

15:48 / 25.02.07

Sadly the real explanation is much more prosaic.

I just think it might have been better for everyone if, four years ago or however long it was, Warren Ellis had just said, on one of his many, many forums/blogs/livejournals/fetish photography sites: "Look guys, I'm sorry, I'm just not interested in Planetary anymore, I'm bored with it, bored with the concept and bored with the characters, and I have no idea how to wrap it all up. I've got lots of new ideas though, and in a few years time I'll write something called Nextwave which might just be the best thing I've ever done! But I'm afraid it would be pointless and tiresome to try and spin this one out any longer."

I think I and a lot of other people would have though, well, fair enough, fair dos, Warren. All the best with your future projects, as long as they're not with Avatar. Perhaps he could have wrapped things up with one more issue in which everyone dies horribly. It would have been better than the Four being dropped down a hole... wouldn't it?

16:25 / 25.02.07

I'm the only one who liked the death of the Four (minus two), aren't I? They were, after all, built up as badder than bad and superpowerful because they had stuff, but I mean, politicians and world-leaders of all stripes 'have stuff' but, no matter if you've got nuclear weapons stashed all over the globe, if somebody turns out the lights and smacks you over the head with a crowbar, you're going down. If you dropped a canyon's worth of dirt out from under Dick Cheney or Castro, they'd fall and die and be hurt.

The only thing I've seen against this working, is the suggestion of Kim Suskind having a forcefield. Not I remember any in-series actual demonstration of such, but if there was, that might pose a problem.

The real reveal was how petty the villains were. Stretchy-boy might've been brilliant in the sciences, but he wasn't a tactician, particularly, or a very socially savvy individual.

And it was funny.

I just wanted to see the crew and if any familiar faces made it on aside from the Captain Marvel guy.

20:10 / 25.02.07

The only thing I've seen against this working, is the suggestion of Kim Suskind having a forcefield. Not I remember any in-series actual demonstration of such, but if there was, that might pose a problem.

We saw her put one up back when she raided the Planetary installation in Antarctica, but we didn't get to see it do much of anything since Ambrose put her down a moment later.

21:25 / 25.02.07

A few years ago, in one of his guides to self publishing Dave Sim did a little cartoon of a comic shop. On of the little details was a display bearing the legend: pieces of paper with 'Star Trek' written on them - $10. It kind of summed up the idea that some people will buy anything if they have already bought into it. Some Star Trek fans would indeed buy pieces of paper with star trek written on them.

I think something similar is at work with some comic creators. Warren Ellis is definitely one of these creators. As such I'm not sure that the perceived quality of Ellis's writing is largely irrelevant - people will still be buying it.

15:33 / 18.06.08

Apparently, John Cassaday has finally started drawing PLANETARY #27.

I'm utterly fucking stunned.

ONLY NICE THINGS

15:40 / 18.06.08

Surely this is an April Fool which, in the manner of its subject matter, is so late that nobody remembers its original intention?

Hallo, Paper Spaceboy

18:26 / 18.06.08

Well, one assumes that with Astonishing X-Men finished up, apparently, he has time now?

04:28 / 19.06.08

Great News. Very much looking FWD to this.

DC needs to get on the case and release more PLANETARY Absolute editions.

ONLY NICE THINGS

06:06 / 19.06.08

Also, I am very much looking forward to WildC.A.T.S 2.

07:17 / 19.06.08

Maybe it´ll be published as a bonus in a Planetary hardcover trade.

I can´t exactly remember what happened in the end anymore. The bad guys were thrown down a canyon or something? I´d be in the same situation as with the last issue of Seven Soldiers. That was one year late? I would have had to reread the whole series. I plan to do that sometime...

07:36 / 19.06.08

Well this kind of answers the question I was going to pose over on Stupid Questions.

So Planetary has completely stalled out then? I read the collected one with "the League" and the returning Victorian gun-club capsule ages ago.

So nothing since?

09:49 / 19.06.08

Planetary has been limping to the finish line for years. Hell, Ellis suggested that #27 wouldn't be the end, because he might want to do some one-shots.

Personally, I think he's trying to torture the trade-waiters.

18:14 / 19.06.08

27 is an epilogue.

18:34 / 19.06.08

From 44 Things Said at the Warren Ellis Spotlight Panel at SDCC last year:

13) Planetary #27 was written two months ago.
.
.
.
42) There will be a one-shot Planetary comic, and it will be expensive.

Haus of Mystery

20:23 / 19.06.08

Impetus = gone. To quote Black Francis:

How could something so great turn so...shitty?

(although should probably substitute 'great' for 'alright, but a bit try-hard like 90% of Warren Ellis comics. Except NextWAVE which was actually great)

Hallo, Paper Spaceboy

21:35 / 20.06.08

Back in the day, Planetary was better than all right -- but between the shift in focus (i.e. Snow lost his way and we were stuck with simple-minded revenge drama and easter eggs rather than your plain old mystery archaeology) and the delays, it rather lost its way. Ellis being bored with it probably is more at fault than anything -- he's rather hyperactive with his fictions, even if a lot of them fall into the same categories...