From the twisted and endlessly innovative mind of fan favourite writer Warren Ellis (The Authority, Transmetropolitan) comes an all-new foray into other worlds, altered realities and warped planes of existence, courtesy of Elijah Snow, Jakita Wagner and The Drummer: Planetary! Their charter is vague, their existence a secret buried under riddles and conspiracies, their sponsor an utter mystery (even to them), and their mission as diverse, complex and chimerical as the universe itself. Who better then to investigate theoretical snowflakes containing entire realities, lost islands where monsters thrive, ghost police detectives and 100-year old superheroes?
Planetary Vol. 1: All Over the World and Other Stories
and over 1.5 million other books are available for Amazon Kindle . Learn more
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Trade In this Item for up to £0.40
Trade in Planetary : All Over the World and Other Stories for an Amazon.co.uk gift card of up to £0.40, which you can then spend on millions of items across the site. Trade-in values may vary (terms apply). Learn more
|
Book Description
Product details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
More About the Authors
Discover books, learn about writers, and more.
Product Description
About the Author
WARREN ELLIS is the acclaimed writer of Transmetropolitan, The Authority and Code of Silence. His work has included memorable runs on Hellblazer and Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight, and he's currently helping to revamp the X-Men for Marvel. JOHN CASSADAY is a relative newcomer to comics and first came to prominence on his Union Jack series for Marvel.
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Set in the same reality as Stormwatch and The Authority, this book sees Warren Ellis exploring the convoluted limits of his imaginative universe. Planetary are a trio of superhuman 'mystery archaeologists' involved in mapping the secret history of the twentieth century. The book begins with the recruitment of Elijah Snow to the group, and , if this book has a hero, it's him. Like the fabulous Jenny Sparks, he's as old as the twentieth century, but his memory has mysterious gaps and he's somewhat of a reluctant convert, complaining and questioning continually. What sets this concept apart is that it isn't a superhero book like Stormwatch or The Authority - saving the world is incidental rather than integral to their agenda, and as such we're treated to delightful stories, featuring ghosts, mutant monsters, secret cadres of superhumans from World War II and so on (and the occasional plug for Stormwatch and The Authority). To emphasise the anthological nature of the book, the original individual covers are included, and each Planetary logo is different. Its one weakness is that at times the complexity of the overarching plot, and the episodic nature of the early stories can leave you wishing for a conclusion - imagine Mulder and Scully with superpowers, then double the weirdness, triple the paranoia and square the scale they operate on, and you come somewhere close. Alone, it's a masterful, if slightly unsatisfying, feast for those who appreciate Ellis' work, illuminated throughout by John Cassaday's art. In conjunction with the sequel volume, when the mists clear slightly, it's a cracking piece of work that throws the distinction between comics and graphic novels into stark relief.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
They are Planetary, their job on earth is to investigate all those folk laws and myths, and keep them out of the public eye, ranging from a Monster Island in Asia to an American space mission gone wrong. Collecting the first six issues of the comic book and the hard to find preview, Planetary is what the X-Files would be like if they existed in a world filled with superheroes. Both the heroes and villains add to the atmosphere of the comic, from the mentally unstable Drummer to the worlds greatest hero Doc Brass, each of them has something to do to further or twist the plot of the tale, and with each story set in a different part of the world there's no chance of getting bored. Ellis & Cassady do amazing work providing a comic book that will appeal to adults the same way the now classic Watchmen does, so go on add it to your shopping basket now!
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By Noel
TOP 50 REVIEWER
Format:Hardcover
Planetary has always seemed to me to be a less than substantial series of Warren Ellis'. They're a group that fit in between The Authority and Stormwatch and act as a sort of Vector-13 but with superpowers. Also, Ellis really lets go of any subtlety of concept here, he just goes for it.
So there are stories of a group in the 40s who built a machine that created the world or can create the world and brought about the end of the world but the man who learned to not age survived and guarded the portal without food or water for decades... huh? There's an island of Godzilla monsters, a live spaceship that wants to get back into the Bleed (the space between space), and more zaniness. All of which to say, imaginative in concept, seen through the prism of the characters, not so impressive.
Because while Elijah Snow is an intriguing character dressed all in white like Tom Wolfe, his powers are never explicitly stated nor why he was chosen or who he really is. He remains the consummate interesting character but for all intents and purposes is little more than a cipher here. Jakita and the Drummer are very poor characters.
There's an interesting story that parodies the Fantastic Four's creation albeit much, much darker, that had potential, but like all the stories presented here was all too brief.
The story concepts save the book from becoming unreadable but ultimately Planetary, as a group of archaeologists with superpowers, failed to make much of an impression and I was left feeling that it was more of an outline than a fully fleshed-out series.
So there are stories of a group in the 40s who built a machine that created the world or can create the world and brought about the end of the world but the man who learned to not age survived and guarded the portal without food or water for decades... huh? There's an island of Godzilla monsters, a live spaceship that wants to get back into the Bleed (the space between space), and more zaniness. All of which to say, imaginative in concept, seen through the prism of the characters, not so impressive.
Because while Elijah Snow is an intriguing character dressed all in white like Tom Wolfe, his powers are never explicitly stated nor why he was chosen or who he really is. He remains the consummate interesting character but for all intents and purposes is little more than a cipher here. Jakita and the Drummer are very poor characters.
There's an interesting story that parodies the Fantastic Four's creation albeit much, much darker, that had potential, but like all the stories presented here was all too brief.
The story concepts save the book from becoming unreadable but ultimately Planetary, as a group of archaeologists with superpowers, failed to make much of an impression and I was left feeling that it was more of an outline than a fully fleshed-out series.
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
›
Go to Amazon.com to see all 50 reviews
4.5 out of 5 stars
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Short sharp shocls
I chose this title of interest as a trial of reading graphic novels on the Kindle Fire HD. That was my main objective in buying the F-HD in order to conserve space. Read more
Published 1 month ago by M. Bragg
5.0 out of 5 stars
Archaeologists of the mysterious
A paperback collection of the first six issues of the comic series Planetary. This involves three people: White haired and white suited Elijah Snow, a man as old as the century. Read more
Published 21 months ago by Paul Tapner
4.0 out of 5 stars
Planetary
At just under 30 issues this series did well to create the impression of multiple one-off storylines whilst actually building towards a single integrated plot. Read more
Published on 14 April 2011 by David Brookes
2.0 out of 5 stars
Lukewarm - yet Ellis' best
Warren Ellis is regarded with Godlike awe in comics circle right now, but to be honest I don't think he is all that. Read more
Published on 5 Sep 2009 by Moonchief
5.0 out of 5 stars
The first of a brilliant series
Planetary is FANTASTIC!! The ideas that Cassidy and Ellis have come up with are amazing and their ability to use older ideas in new ways is almost better. Read more
Published on 16 Nov 2005 by "corinft"
5.0 out of 5 stars
Best warren Ellis writing I've seen so far
I'm not one to easily over-praise something I like. I mostly look at the things I enjoy as critical as possible to come to as much of an honest opinion as possible, so that my... Read more
Published on 2 Aug 2001 by Ron Tothleben (tothleben@hotmail.com)
5.0 out of 5 stars
A modern day masterpiece showing the secrets of the World
Quite frankly this is one of the best comics in recent years. It deals with an organisation called Planetary - "Three people who walk the world in search of strangeness and... Read more
Published on 25 July 2001 by "tasdo"
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
