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Planetary #27 Review
- by Brian Cronin
- in Comic Reviews
Honestly, when I saw that we had two Ellis books, two Ennis books AND a Morrison book this week, I considered doing a bit of a theme week for reviews "Great Writer Week" - but then I saw all the other great writers who had books out today and since I really did not feel like differentiating between them all, I'll just leave be with looking at those five books without any sort of grand theme.
Planetary finally ends with today's issue, and it's really an excellent epilogue to the series that will undoubtedly read beautifully when read in a collected Planetary book, but still reads quite well as a one-off issue.
Besides some cute references to what has happened in the world now that the Four have been defeated (and their efforts to suppress the advancement of the human race have been quashed), writer Warren Ellis uses this last issue in a very interesting fashion - he both resolves one nagging plotline (from all the way back in Planetary #9 - 18 issues ago, but also NINE YEARS AGO) and pretty much expressly states that other unresolved plotlines will NOT be addressed. I thought that was clever - follow up one string, but make it clear that there are plenty of other strings that could be followed (of course, this basically serves to just make us miss Planetary even more, but what can you do?).
In any event, the string that is followed is the ultimate fate of Ambrose Chase, who we last saw seemingly dying in Planetary #9, but, of course, things are never quite that simple.
Ellis really brings the story to a slow boil in this one, as Elijah, Jakita and Drums theorize about how they could possibly save Chase's life.
There are a lot of pages like these three sample pages...
But as Ellis continues, the slow boil eventually comes to a head with the fabulous (awe-inspiring even) ending of the search for the hopefully still alive Chase.
It's great seeing Cassaday on interiors again, and really, with this issue, it makes you appreciate just how much Cassaday has grown as an artist from when this series began - the facial expressions of the characters are key to this issue, and Cassaday NAILS them all - I don't know if that would have been the case had this issue come out 10 years ago. And, of course, WOW! WHAT A COVER!!!
This truly was a delightful send-off to these characters, and I liked that while this was not exactly a story for Jakita, Ellis still managed to
A. Give her something important to do
and
B. Give her a nice character moment
Definitely Recommended.
- Posted on October 7, 2009 @ 11:02 PM
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10 Comments
Xian
October 8, 2009 at 1:44 am
i stopped so many titles in my pull over the years, and yet have kept up with certain previews and updates online.... i must still be a fanboy at heart, as i actually wept at the thought of this happening, and continued to weep as i read it. meta-fiction be damned, it is so respectful of fiction as a whole. while i wish it hadn't taken so long, i look forward to the complete/absolute edition that's sure to come, and i'll purchase it gladly long after i've abandoned so many other volumes of titles.... mssr. ellis and cassady; i thank you. oxoxoxo
Crash-Man
October 8, 2009 at 4:32 am
Planetary 27??
Surely the apocalypse is upon us!!
dhole
October 8, 2009 at 5:32 am
I hear so many great things about this series. Does it get better after the first trade (which I guess would be issues 1-6)? I got that one and have read it through twice and both times it just faded from my mind.
I really like Ellis's writing, but I found that despite great concepts, dialogue and set-ups, the endings of individual issues really didn't satisfy much. Maybe 'cause they were just planting seeds that pay off later?
I'm sure I'll get these trades someday, but it doesn't feel like a high priority now. Although it's always nice to know he's written something that has an ending (wish I could say the same for Fell and Desolation Jones, two series I'd love to be able to collect again...)
Mizike
October 8, 2009 at 7:03 am
@dhole: You should definitely check out the second trade. The first few issues are (more or less) stand alone and generally serve to introduce the characters and define the world they live in (a place of secret histories and things hidden just below the surface). It's in the second trade that you start to see the bigger picture; "The Four" (the villans of the series) are introduced and gradually you see how the work done by Planetary is a direct counterpoint to the actions of The Four. Ellis does a beautiful job of laying down subtle hints which are picked up on several issues later, and generally manages to tie everything up by the end (I love how in issue 27 he explicitly states that there are things that will never be tied up or explained, but that's what keeps the world "strange" - one of the central themes of the book). The artwork by Cassidey is, of course, fantastic. Clearly I'm a huge fan of the book, I'm a huge fan of Ellis in general and Planetary is, in my opinion, the best work he's done in the "superhero" paradigm.
That being said, I can see how some people wouldn't like it. There is very little "action" in the traditional sense. Jakita gets to punch things every so often, but the plot is generally kept going through dialogue heavy pages explaining sci-fi concepts, and of course, the laying of plans. It's certainly not for everyone, but those who like it, really like it.
Jeff
October 8, 2009 at 7:42 am
My only exposure to Planetary is the Planetary: Crossing Worlds collection. I thought those were excellent stories and I look forward to picking up a Planetary book when it comes out.
WildStorm: The Bleed » Blog Archive » Planetary #27 - The Reviews
October 8, 2009 at 11:36 am
[...] “The slow boil eventually comes to a head with the fabulous (awe-inspiring even) ending… This truly was a delightful send-off to these characters… Definitely recommended.” - Comic Book Resources [...]
Radlum
October 8, 2009 at 12:13 pm
This was one of the best comic series I've read; Ellis is now one of my favorite writer, though I admit that I started reading planetary a couple of weeks ago, so I didn't have to suffer through the constant delays. Also, I love Cassaday's art and the cover for this issue was simply amazing.
Shawn Hill
October 9, 2009 at 2:53 pm
Brian, so happy to hear your thoughts on this. They echo mine. Sure, it's Ellis with his favorite trope of alternate reality overload, but so well done, so many nice touches, and the characters so wonderfully, fully themselves.
Did Planetary ever have a bad or weak issue? I can't think of one.
Kamino Neko
October 9, 2009 at 3:50 pm
That scene there is my favourite in the whole issue. Just such a creepy thought.
Blackjak
October 12, 2009 at 6:35 am
I picked this up on Saturday. I then stared at it for ages, unable to bring myself to read it. After waiting so long, and hyping it up in my head over the months (years?) since #26, I didn't want to end it...
That night, I opened the bag and read it. Cover to cover, in about 25 minutes.
I acheived closure.
It felt good.
Now to wait for Absolute Planetary Vol. 2...
And the final Trade...