There will be many a smile upon recognition. Pulp fiction prose, British gothic fiction prose, American horror prose, Godzilla and other giant monster movies, the more iconic superhero comics (see a previous, precisely-worded paragraph for but one example) and even DC's Vertigo imprint are all referenced and warped to Ellis's own goals. Like THE LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN, half the fun is in spotting the sly references, though you will lose nothing whatsoever if they elude you. Warren Ellis proves himself to be something of an archaeologist himself, for as PLANETARY proceeds you'll begin to discover that he is digging up science fiction history too. Why, then, is he unaware that he has been a member of Planetary for years? Elijah Snow is terse, grouchy, suspicious but exceptionally experienced in the arcane and trained by the best in deductive reasoning. and they do not have our best interests at heart.Īs Planetary kicks off, its surviving field team members Jakita Wagner and The Drummer invite Elijah Snow to fill their recently 'vacated' third place. Unfortunately they find themselves up against The Four, astronauts secretly launched into space in 1961 using physics developed by Nazi physicists exported to America and led by a scientific genius in "disciplines as long as your arm". Though some of their discoveries prove breathtaking treasures, few are less than horrific, yet Planetary is determined to repurpose as much as they can disinter for the betterment of mankind. Funded by an unseen Fourth Man, they are archaeologists of the unknown, travelling the globe to unearth all the weird science which has been foisted upon the Earth from other dimensions, or which we have visited upon ourselves. Planetary is a covert, private organisation seeking its extraordinary secrets. The 20th Century is coming to a close, but it has left scars behind in its wake. It also boasts a mordant wit, with superb cadence in conversation as the three members of Planetary's field team play verbal sabres at each other's expense. Science fiction at its most wondrous, inclusive, mysterious and thrilling, it is meticulously composed, vast in scope, broad in appeal and spectacular to look at. "So that they had somewhere to store their weapons."įor me this is the work of Warren Ellis's career to date.
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