 Planetary, published by DC / Wildstorm beginning in early 1999, was one of two bombs
dropped on the comics industry by Warren Ellis -- the
other being The Authority. Illustrated by the
excellent John Cassaday, Planetary featured single-issue stories exclusively, each telling
of a team of three meta-humans who were billed as "archaeologists of the impossible" -- people
who investigated the secrets of the strange super-hero universe in which they found themselves.
The team was managed by a secret "fourth man," whose identity became a subject of considerable
speculation as the title quickly became a popular one, though one in the shadow of
The Authority. The team's arch-villains, their
opposite number in the covert war for knowledge and control of the world behind the scenes, was
the Four -- a group based on the Fantastic Four and introduced in the excellent sixth issue.
Planetary took in other comics and the world beyond in ravenous fashion. The preview for
the comic dealt with a version of Marvel's Hulk. The
first issue dealt with a secret society of pulp heroes from the nineteen-thirties, including
analogues for Doc Savage and Tarzan. The second issue dealt with a version of Godzilla. The
third issue dealt with Honk Kong action films. The fourth dealt with a sentient ship, not unlike
The Authority's Carrier, that required a team to pilot
it that was very much like that other Ellis-created super-team. The fifth issue focused on the
Doc Savage analogue. And the sixth featured the analogue for the Fantastic Four in a brilliant
tale that established the foes of the team.
Issue seven featured the "mature readers" trend of the 1980s and early 1990s, including analogues
for everything from Alan Moore's
Miracleman to
Swamp Thing and Neil Gaiman's
Sandman. Issue eight was a take on 1950s' sci-fi films,
brilliantly bringing them into global conspiracies surrounding super-powers. Issue nine,
reminiscent of Grant Morrison's
The Invisibles, showed the death of a past team
member in a story that had fiction being used to alter the material world. Planetary #10
told a story of the DC pantheon, including Superman,
Green Lantern, and
Wonder Woman. Issue #11 featured an analogue
of Marvel's super-spy
Nick Fury. Issue #12 featured the revelation of
the fourth man's identity.
#13 featured Sherlock Holmes and Dracula, the Victorian age of pulp heroes also explored in
Alan Moore's
League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.
#14 featured a major point in the history of the Planetary team. #15 returned to the present and
featured Australian aboriginee religion.
The title, initially monthly, quickly became behind schedule and was officially designated a
bi-monthly. The first year of publication saw eight issues, with #9 having the same month in
its cover date as #1. Planetary / The Authority:
Ruling the World, featuring art by Phil Jimenez and not by Cassiday, combined Ellis's two
1999 creations for a prestige-format one-shot published between Planetary #10 and #11; it
also contained an advertisement for Batman /
Planetary, to be illustrated by Cassiday and "coming soon." Additional delays crept into
the Planetary schedule, however, including a four-month gap between #11 and #12. #13
strangely followed a single month later, but it would be the last before the title's two-year
anniversary in early 2001. #14 and #15 each followed their predecessors after four-month gaps.
Worse, #16 was not forthcoming.
The title's third anniversay in 2002 passed with only two issues to show
for the previous year. Writer Warren Ellis had apparently became ill and did not submit scripts.
Artist John Cassiday took other projects, including the high-profile relaunch of
Captain America, intending to return to
Planetary when time permitted. September 2002 saw JLA / Planetary, a
prestige-format book set in an alternate universe and illustrated by Jerry Ordway. When the
title turned four years old in February 2003, JLA / Planetary had been the only
Planetary material in a year and a half. Planetary #16 was solicited for 30 April
2003 release, only to be resolicited for late August (over two years since the previous issue) so
that the series could restart following the publication of Batman / Planetary: Night on
Earth in late June. Batman / Planetary: Night on Earth did appear as scheduled,
illustrated by John Cassaday, and Planetary returned with #16 on a bimonthly schedule.
Planetary #19 began the series's first two-part story.
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| IMAGE | TITLE | DESCRIPTION | STATUS |
| Batman / Planetary: Night on Earth, JLA / Planetary: Terra Occulta, Planetary #1-19, Planetary Preview:
Warren Ellis script |
| Batman / Planetary: Night on Earth, Planetary #1-19, Planetary Preview:
John Cassaday art and cover |
 |
Planetary Preview | though published prior to
The Authority #1, this story occurs after Planetary #2, since Snow joins in #1 and dialogue in #2 refers to the events of #1 as very recent; I have placed this issue here because it clearly precedes, in terms of artistic style, the series and because the series itself features events out of order | 0 |
without indicia
Larger Version Available
| Planetary #1 | cover-dated April 1999 | 1 |
Larger Version Available |
Planetary #2 | | 1 |
Larger Version Available |
Planetary #3 | | 1 |
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|
Larger Version Available |
Planetary #4 | cover-dated July 1999 | 1 |
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|
Larger Version Available |
Planetary #5 | cover-dated September 1999; refers to the events of "The Circle" (The Authority #1-4) | 1 |
| From the interior of Planetary #5 |
|
without indicia
Larger Version Available |
Planetary #6 | cover-dated November 1999; a simply wonderful and fantastic issue | 1 |
Larger Version Available |
Planetary: All Over the World and Other Stories | collects Planetary #1-6 and Planetary Preview; Alan Moore introduction
[REVIEW AND PURCHASE THIS BOOK]
| 1 |
| Planetary: All Over the World and Other Stories [hardcover edition] | published in early 2001, after the softcover but before the hardcover edition of Planetary: The Fourth Man?
[REVIEW AND PURCHASE THIS BOOK]
| 0 |
Larger Version Available |
Planetary #7 | a take on 1980s "mature readers" comics, including
Miracleman, the DC line, and
Alan Moore himself; featuring a version of John Constantine (from
Hellblazer), who morphs by the end into Spider Jerusalem (an interesting commentary on
Transmetropolitan's origins); cover-dated January 2000 | 1 |
Larger Version Available |
Planetary #8 | a brilliant take on 1950s science fiction films; cover-dated February 2000 | 1 |
| A touching scene from the interior of Planetary #8 |
|
Larger Version Available |
Planetary #9 | dedicated to
Grant Morrison; cover-dated April 2000 | 1 |
|
|
Larger Version Available |
Planetary #10 | tells an alternate version of Superman, Green Lantern, and Wonder Woman; cover-dated June 2000 | 1 |
|
Planetary / The Authority: Ruling the World occurs, or at least was published, here |
 |
Planetary #11 | features an alternative version of
Nick Fury and refers to the Nautalus; cover-dated September 2000; published on Wednesday, 26 July 2000 | 1 |
| From the interior of Planetary #11, featuring Stone (a
Nick Fury analogue) |
|
| Planetary #12 | cover-dated January 2001; published on Wednesday 1 November 2000 | 1 |
| The cover to Planetary #12, stripped of its background, titles, and insignia |
|
Larger Version Available
| Planetary: The Fourth Man | collects Planetary #7-12; Joss Whedon introduction; cover-dated January 2002
[REVIEW AND PURCHASE THIS BOOK]
| 0 |
Larger Version Available |
Planetary: The Fourth Man [hardcover edition] | published on Wednesday, 28 March 2001
[REVIEW AND PURCHASE THIS BOOK]
| 0 |
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Planetary #13 | cover-dated February 2001; published on Wednesday, 20 December 2000 | 1 |
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Planetary #14 | occurs in 1995, concluding with Snow's amnesia; cover-dated June 2001; published on Wednesday, 11 April 2001 | 1 |
without indicia
Larger Version Available |
Planetary #15 | "Creation Songs"; Planetary visits Larissa Chase, Ambrose's widow, and Axel Brass (from #1); Planetary shows up the Four at Ayres Rock; cover-dated October 2001; published on Wednesday, 1 August 2001 | 1 |
| Planetary Reader | collects Planetary #13-15; published in 2004 in preparation for Planetary's return with #16 | 0 |
| JLA / Planetary: Terra Occulta | an Elseworlds story in which Planetary, which includes Chase, runs the world, kills and monitors super-heroes who might oppose them, and distributes technology to the people;
Batman,
Wonder Woman, and
Superman attack Planetary's moonbase, killing all but the absent Drummer, though Superman dies in the process; feels quite rushed (and might have made, particularly with tighter art, a very nice 96-page original graphic novel or 2-issue mini-series); 48 pages; Jerry Ordway art; cover-dated November 2002 | 1 |
| Batman / Planetary: Night on Earth | arresting a dimension-warping criminal, Planetary shifts from Gotham City to Gotham City, encountering myriad versions of
Batman, most of them historical; 48 pages; cover-dated August 2003 | 1 |
| Planetary: Crossing Worlds | collects
Planetary / The Authority: Ruling the World, JLA / Planetary: Terra Occulta, and Batman / Planetary: Night on Earth; published in early 2004
| 0 |
not actual cover
Larger Version Available |
Planetary #16 | published, over two years after the previous issue, on Wednesday, 27 August 2003 | 1 |
without titles or indicia
Larger Version Available |
Planetary #17 | "Opak-Re"; in 1933, Elijah Snow visits Opak-re, a secret utopia, and meets Kevin Sack, Lord Blackstock; inter-racial sex with outsiders is prohibited, and the revered Blackstock is actually racist, but Elijah has an affair with Anaykah, his first great love; Elijah leaves and returns, 18 months to the day, only to recover Anaykah's baby had with Blackstock as the city seals itself up; Elijah tells us that he gave the child to the Wagners in Germany and that she was named Jakita; published on Wednesday, 22 October 2003 | 1 |
without titles or indicia
Larger Version Available |
Planetary #18 | "The Gun Club"; in the present day, the team commandeers a sphere shot into space in 1851 by a club of people, including Jules Verne; Jone Stone appears in the opening; cover-dated February 2004 | 1 |
without indicia
Larger Version Available |
Planetary #19 | | 0 |
