I watched this while my gf was reading. Half way during the video she looks at me and says, “ wow that sounds really sophisticated, that’s a comic book?”. I responded, “ Woman! This is Strange Parts. You better ask somebody.
That's a reaction I've heard personally for many, many years. Comics are sophisticated? Yeah. Yeah, they can be. Not everything, obviously. But there's more than one might expect.
I have a friend who is an English teacher named Dan. Very intelligent and funny, too. He told me years ago that comics have as much merit as books. He and I read an insane amount.
Planetary is now live for all! I would also like to add: If you could signal boost this video to make up for The Authority video being shadow banned I would greatly appreciate it. Like and comment and watch the entire video to the end. That would help a lot. Thank you!
And I actually cried with the ending with how great it made me feel. how they managed to build the suspense, and almost lead you to a nihilistic place only to get your leg pulled and being happy. Wow. Just wow. The work of the three creators is just brilliant together
It gave me shivers. It’s absolutely brilliant how well they build up the arcs. Truly made me feel deeply reading this. One of the few times comics have affected me like this. Planetary is a masterpiece
I love that Ellis mixes historical elements with the pop culture - Wernher Von Braun inspires the Reed Richards figure of The Four, Yukio Mishima inspires the cult leader on Monster Island, the Cold War Red Hunt become Science City's victims, and so on. Ellis is showing how our actual history informs our pop culture, and vice versa.
My favorite issue was the one where we find Snow being taught by Sherlock Holmes and his encounter with Dracula. Being a fan of late Victorian fiction I found it quite charming to see Ellis paying homage to the precursors of the pulp and comic book heroes
Have you seen "Buckaroo Banzai across the Eighth Dimension" such a fantastic modern interpretation of golden age heroes like Doc Savage and the genius hero type.
Planetary is one of those comics that, at least for me, is just as enjoyable at a simple level as well as at a cerebral one. All the metatextual references, characters and the incredible art by Cassaday join together to create something greater than just the sum of the individual parts. As for my favourite issue, I couldn't choose just one. The one with the Kaiju monsters is one I remember fondly, but number 5 with "Doc Savage" is another great one and, of course, the last issue is the culmination of everything that came before. Great video, Overlord. Let's break the algorithm. ✌🏻
If I had to pick a favorite part about Planetary it'd be... the one with the "angel" aliens as they voyaged through that satellite. It gives the feeling of exploration and voyaging through new and exciting worlds. As well as the angels being thankful for having a chance to stay there despite being bait for the Thing stand-in.
The enormous ship is a analog for Arthur C Clark's Rendezvous nwith Rama I believe. Clark was also a huge influence on the literary shape of the 20th Century like so many others in the superb Planetary.
4:55 -- Not sure if this was intentional homage by Warren Ellis or not, but there was an episode of CHALLNGE OF THE SUPERFRIENDS where the Legion of Doom time traveled, removing the most powerful super-heroes -- Superman, Wonder Woman, and Green Lantern -- from history, albeit not as lethally as their analogues are by the Four.
The Absolute Planetary is amazing as well. John Cassady's art is beautifully showcased in the larger format, making it much more cinematic as he intended it to be. I have the omni as well, but when the Absolute was on sale, I couldn't pass it up.
Thanks for this. Now I need to go back and reread the entire series. 🙂 My favorite issue? The finale. It is very rare for a comic book series to have an ending at all, let alone such a satisfying one, and after such a long wait.
I was hooked from issue one. Being introduced to a society made up of analogues of real world 20th century pulp characters was so cool. At the same time the issue was serving as commentary on the death of the pulp genre with the advent of the superhero genre. I couldn’t wait to read more. Not going to lie, I got lost with a lot of the scientific concepts that were thrown in but I loved the world. Also the Terra Occulta JLA crossover is worth checking out.
My personal favorite is the crossover with Batman. It is really silly but full of energy and momentum. Altough it doesn't influence the story, but it is really fun. On the series itself, I love the moment they discover who the forth man is, and how it changes dramatically the rest of the series. Top notch development.
It's been a while since I last read Planetary, but I think I recall the issue set in Hong Kong with the ghost vigilante being one of my favorites once I had finished reading the omnibus.
I'm surprised you didn't cover the JLA/Planetary crossover. Snow was actually the villain(?) in that one instead of the hero - literally making the JLA redundant. Using their powers and abilities to "make finer worlds". Making man important instead of the pantheon worship that superheroes have in place. Good stuff.
I loved the whole series and am glad you covered it. I was hoping to hear your take. Hope you do Transmetropolitan at some point as well. I can't limit my favorite issue to just one. As a Doc Samson fan, the Snow/Brass issue was a fave, but i also loved a lot of the battle against the Four.
its been years since I read the series, but one of the things that still resonates with me is the final issues concept about the limits of time travel. you can't go past the moment time travel was achieved! really clever.
I can never get enough of reading Planetary and hearing other people's analyses. It took me years to read it, mostly because I tend to avoid comics with erratic schedules. But how happy I was when I finally did it! This is by far Ellis' best work, and one of the best American comics ever made. It's truly a love letter to comics and pulps. There's also a topic that I love in creative arts, which is the creative use of genealogy. So the family tree of William Leather, the Human Torch analog, is not only a key element for his petty motivations, but it ties the unofficial (or is it official now? I never know) family tree of the Lone Ranger/Green Hornet. I also like that the Lone Ranger is mixed with Zorro because in Brazil for decades the Lone Ranger was translated as Zorro. So the message of that family tree is that while there was a legacy of radio heroes becoming also serial (rather movie or TV), and having their characteristics of pulp while being wholesome, comic book heroes could've been their heirs when they are truly not, especially with marvel. While the Lone Ranger and the Green Hornet were wholesome and flawless, Marvel superheroes might look that way, but the Marvel revolution was about imperfect people become heroes. In fact, one might say that the Fantastic Four is a representation of a disfunctional family from the start, and that's why the could never be the true heirs to the Lone Ranger.
That's an interesting take, i saw the descendant as a sort of message about striding for greatness, and how it can separate us from playing a role in our lives, further preventing our works to trascend. Even tough Doc Savage's team was on top, they didn't transform into the following generation. In that issue they're violently defetead by the capes.
A personal favorite issue was #16 which showed Hark's ancestor in a clear homage to the Wuxia genre. Western exposure to Wuxia stuff is a very recent phenomenon. When it comes to media from "China", most people think of Hong Kong martial arts and action films but Wuxia is also very popular and culturally important in the East. It's pretty cool to see acknowledgement that similar kinds of fiction existed outside of just the US and Europe.
The issue you pick out is entitled "To be in England, in the Summertime"; as you allude to, it's an elegy to the 'British Invasion' and the heyday of Vertigo, which was long over by the time this issue was published. It's also a lyric from a song from the 80's English synth-pop/industrial group Art of Noise... and a song from the Red Hot Chilli Peppers... being pre-packaged American alt-rock or whatever. The issue pokes fun at the oh so serious, tortured "I'm different and adult and ART" attitude of Vertigo comics, which was thrilling at the time, but... did not age well. (Sandman, I'm looking at you). And then, as Constantine morphs to Spider... well, Constantine was first a DC comics character, produced as work-for-hire by Moore but really defined by Delano and Ennis; having collected all the issues of Hellblazer and stopped in disgust at his re-assimilation in the mainstream, as a character he certainly encapsulates the ups and downs of the pre-Vertigo/Vertigo era. Spider, though- he was creator-owned, as, I believe, were the characters created for Planetary. It's a rallying call- if you want to recapture that early Vertigo era, you need comics that are creator-owned or at least creator-led, rather than the regurgitated formula that Vertigo became as DC tried to eke out it's cash cows over the years (still looking at you, Sandman).
@@StrangeBrainParts once I get my hands on this book I might adapt the entire thing Depending on how I feel about it🤷♂️ But I’ve got people asking me to adapt this for 7 years now🤣
Issue 7, the Vertigo tribute is my favourite. From a personal perspective the line about London glowing orange at night, because of the sodium streetlights and pale yellow London clay of the predominant brick work still resonates, evoking memories of visiting my grand parents in Bethnal Green, we'd travel from Birmingham on a Friday after school and it would be dark by the time we got there. Also the different logo design for every issue.
This series is so wonderful. As you state rereads ALWAYS offer up new details and connective tissues to existing comics and other 20th century fiction. So gorgeous.
I WAS A MAJOR DOC SAVAGE fan from around age 9 when I got the 33rd book in the Doc Savage series (this was around 1969). I was so hooked on Doc Savage and I still re-read the novels ( I have them all)... "Doc Brass" showing up in PLANETARY was so cool to me. I love this series and bought the big OMNIBUS book, I have most of the individual issues as well. It is time for a re-reading of this treasure. Thanks for another great video.
Gonna keep saying it, these are SO good !!! We are very lucky to have such a comics channel they isn’t just all Biff! Pow! Bang! This is well done intelligent stuff. I’d pay to see these as lectures or even collected as a book. Thank-you SBP. (Sorry, I’ve genuinely run out of people to recommend you to, I’ve been raving about you yo everyone)
Planetary as a fin de siecle story about the pulps is in my mind the best work that's come out of the second british wave of 2000 AD grads. It's also probably the only Ellis work that has a complete ending that doesn't just run outta steam like Transmetropolitan or his various later one shots and mini series. It also has a fine balance between episodic takes and long running plotting that should be a good case study for a long running series next to Alex Ross's first run on Astro City and how to not get bogged down in your long running plots at the same time.
Planetary is one of the Great series, IMO. One of my favorites. Just a beautiful piece of imaginative storytelling. I know Ellis is persona non grata these days, but he’s a really brilliant writer.
No. And no. Planetary doesn't deconstruct anything. It merely references and reimagines a collection of pop cultural "greatest hits". Ellis does the same thing with Transmetropolitan... and a bunch of other things. Also, Planetary doesn't "operate on" or even "dissect" anything. It is a collage of pop culture artifacts and a "homage" (to put it politely) of Philip Jose Farmer's Wold Newton family. None of which detracts from its quality. It is if nothing else fun to read. Frankly, it is a lot more fun than comparably superior The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, built on the same Wold Newton template. But... it falters near the end due to Ellis losing interest and will to write it any longer. His father died around that time and he generally doesn't remember the writing of Planetary in positive light. Thus the whole series was on hiatus for years, ending on a bit of a whimper.
Glad to see you cover this after you gave it a highlight in one of your shorts. I’d heard about this series before but you piqued my interest after you mentioned their villains are basically an analogy for the Fantastic Four. I’ll check this out! Great video!
You're welcome! I think you'll enjoy the series. The video is very spoiler-y, so...sorry for that. But I think I left enough out that if you watched this first there are parts that aren't ruined for you.
@@StrangeBrainParts no worries! Spoilers never affect me :) I’d love to see you tackle Astro City next! I know that one might be a little more involved considering the amount of material but it’d fit with your recent coverage of “comics that deconstruct other comics”. You’ve got a nice theme going!
Good to hear I've not ruined it for you. :) I also agree that I should do Astro City pretty soon. I'm going to load the trades onto my iPad tonight and put them down as something to re-read ASAP.
This comic is insane. One of my favorites. Issue 21 with the tea was awesome. I love those conversations and seeing Snow having to get real with himself. Every issue was just so amazing though!
Love this series, and choosing any single issue as your favorite has no wrong answer, but I'd say issue #3 really sticks out to me as it really exemplifies how weird and entertaining the whole series is going to be with a Hong Kong Ghost Cop and multidimensional container of souls. Great video.
Fun Fact from Me, an artist at the Studio back then... The early cover that's all black...DC didn't want to approve it. They didn't think it would work. They didn't know enough about printing. The editor kept fighting them for it, and eventually he won. The cover turned out cool, and was cheaper than paying for a "5th Plate", which is the normal method of making a black on black print.
I may have commented before but here it goes again. When the equivalent of Yukio Mishima leads an expedition to basically Monster Island. This is backed up by Mishima's fantastic elements in some of his novels. Now that was grin inducing.
One of my major blind spots - need to read it eventually. I was a bit reluctant after not enjoying Transmetropolitan very much. That was a series that seemed so up my alley, but I found Spider Jerusalem so obnoxiously cringey that I didn't enjoy it very much. I've been reluctant to check out Ellis' work since then, and after the news of him came out, it seemed like a lessening priority. All that said, I consistently hear praise for Planetary and so plan to check it out in time. Great video as always!
I also found Transmetropolitan a bit edgy at times. It also had some heart, but I think Ellis' instincts weren't as pure (? - struggling for the right term) as they are in Planetary. And I think the news of his activities being further incentive to avoid the material is fair. It was a concern of mine before posting the video. That being said, it is a work of merit.
Ellis wrote all this with such care and detail that it's unquestionable as a masterpiece, even if the author is cancelled. BTW, I love how cassaday associates the 4 symbol with the n4zis
Since you ask, I’ve always really loved the Captain Marvel issue where the wizard is replaced by an alien spaceship. Not going to look up the issue number, but I think it’s called “Strange Harbours.” Something about the vibe of that one really captured the whole “archaeologists of the impossible” tagline that drew me to the series in the first place.
Loved it. Going out to buy it now. I hope this is popular enough to aid in your ascension to TH-cam loyalty and yet modest enough to stay off their enemies list.
I've been holding off checking out planetary for a few years(no major reason just read other stuff). this video has inspired me to finally check it out. Always love your erudite analysis.
I just pulled the series out, ready to read it for the first time. I'm super excited to enjoy this series. I've had it basically since the series ended, just never pulled it out to enjoy. I'm almost sad to do it because just knowing it's great and waiting to read it has been a bit of a thrill.
It has been awhile since I have read Planetary but my favorite issue is when the team finds a group of pulp heroes and discover they were taken out by a group resembling the Justice League.
Which issue? I'd agree with #5. Individual moments include the issue where Snow remembers having a night with Jenny Sparks, the Drummer watching alien porn, the homages to Kaiju and the 50's giant insect flics... Lord I could go on all night. A great video which is forcing me to go get my TPB's and read one more time.
Thanks so much for covering this comic, absolutely one of my all time favorites. Very sorry about what happened to your authority video. It was a great essay, really, but I hope this video can make up for the issues you had.
I really loved doc savage growing up. So all of that stuff was great. For me though I really liked issue 18 with the American Gun Club. The one where they shot the guy into space with a jumbo long gun.
“Strange Harbours “, paired with the story of Anna Hark, present the emotional heart and wonder of PLANETARY: Learning about and protecting this Strange ,Wonderful World. Long May it wave! Thanks for the overview; people cannot be allowed to be denied exquisite storytelling because of human foibles. Keep it coming, Sir! 🖖♾⚪️
Great video! Planetary wasn't for me I never put much thought into understanding why, but it just didn't grab me. There is a mountain of comics that do grab me. I do like pulps though and writers such as Haggard and Talbot Mundy who are a large inspiration on the 50s comics.
excellent video. my favourite issue would be the same as yours but I feel issue 3 is worth mentioning as its a very faithful homage director john woo and his four critically praised movies. while it does miss out on a couple points of the execution of woo's famous style (i:e in the last two pages the gun should be pointed at the neck to emulate the idea of the gunfighter being a modern swordman) it still captures the core idea of what woo pioneered as the "heroic bloodshred" series while throwing a supernatural twist that later issues can call back too such as the number 196,833 which pops up again and again
I don’t have enough lore knowledge to know all the references in the series (no clue who doc savage is ), but I could tell when Ellis was channeling/ homaging character. The issue that went through the sequence of the 4 snuffing out the super powered beings was pretty brutal and stuck out to me.
One of my absolute favorite comics of all time. I'd re-read it more than anything else I own. I can't corroborate this story, but I swore that I once read an interview w/ Ellis saying that John Constantine character was not supposed to transform into Spider Jerusalem, but in the script was to end up looking more of a Grant Morrison/King Mob by the end, and it was Cassaday who added the Spider tattoos. I can't corroborate this because I've searched for that interview and I cannot find it anymore! So take that as you will. I'd also read Jakita's last name the same as you pronounced it in your video, but also read her first name w/ a soft J. And my favorite issue... that's a tough one! Probably #11, as I find my self thinking about that one more often. It's a story that sticks with me more than the rest.
A bit of info about Constantine transforming into Spider Jerusalem in the Vertigo issue. I've heard that, apparently, in the original script, Ellis wanted him to turn into Morrison's King Mob, but for whatever reason, Cassaday decided to give him Jerusalem's tattoos. I don't know how true that is, though.
There were several references to Alan Moore, i think that the comic as a Whole was partially inspired by the interminable pitch. Twilight of the Superheores. Specially the golden age team. Tough i think Elllis has a noticeable dislike for the Batman which is the longer lasting night crusaders of the Golden Age.
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I watched this while my gf was reading. Half way during the video she looks at me and says, “ wow that sounds really sophisticated, that’s a comic book?”. I responded, “ Woman! This is Strange Parts. You better ask somebody.
That's a reaction I've heard personally for many, many years. Comics are sophisticated? Yeah. Yeah, they can be. Not everything, obviously. But there's more than one might expect.
I have a friend who is an English teacher named Dan. Very intelligent and funny, too. He told me years ago that comics have as much merit as books. He and I read an insane amount.
Planetary is everything I love about comic books. I can take that series on a deserted island and be happy.
John Cassaday's art was exquisite.
Planetary is now live for all! I would also like to add: If you could signal boost this video to make up for The Authority video being shadow banned I would greatly appreciate it. Like and comment and watch the entire video to the end. That would help a lot. Thank you!
Excellent video
Thank you!
I’ve not read Planetary, but I will do everything you said because you make such great videos. :)
Thank you very much!
@@StrangeBrainParts Thank you for all of the great vids!✌️
And I actually cried with the ending with how great it made me feel. how they managed to build the suspense, and almost lead you to a nihilistic place only to get your leg pulled and being happy. Wow. Just wow. The work of the three creators is just brilliant together
They saved Ambrose! In a spectacular way that openned up the world. What i like tha most about planetary is that ultimately is utopian.
It gave me shivers. It’s absolutely brilliant how well they build up the arcs. Truly made me feel deeply reading this. One of the few times comics have affected me like this. Planetary is a masterpiece
I love that Ellis mixes historical elements with the pop culture - Wernher Von Braun inspires the Reed Richards figure of The Four, Yukio Mishima inspires the cult leader on Monster Island, the Cold War Red Hunt become Science City's victims, and so on. Ellis is showing how our actual history informs our pop culture, and vice versa.
I wanted to say pretty much the same thing but I think you put it much more succinctly than I would have.
My favorite issue was the one where we find Snow being taught by Sherlock Holmes and his encounter with Dracula. Being a fan of late Victorian fiction I found it quite charming to see Ellis paying homage to the precursors of the pulp and comic book heroes
That issue also had Frankenstein and a bunch of monsters, too. Which I realized I probably should have mentioned.
And John Cassidy always remember to credit the artist
The moment where he kicks dracula's crotch out is so funny to me. The Vanhelsings have been avenged
That's a good one
Have you seen "Buckaroo Banzai across the Eighth Dimension" such a fantastic modern interpretation of golden age heroes like Doc Savage and the genius hero type.
Planetary is one of those comics that, at least for me, is just as enjoyable at a simple level as well as at a cerebral one.
All the metatextual references, characters and the incredible art by Cassaday join together to create something greater than just the sum of the individual parts.
As for my favourite issue, I couldn't choose just one. The one with the Kaiju monsters is one I remember fondly, but number 5 with "Doc Savage" is another great one and, of course, the last issue is the culmination of everything that came before.
Great video, Overlord. Let's break the algorithm. ✌🏻
Here's hoping the algorithm breaks. In my favour, that is. :)
Arguably THE best comic book focused creator on TH-cam?!
Yes, anyone who searched planetary should get this video as a first result
If I had to pick a favorite part about Planetary it'd be... the one with the "angel" aliens as they voyaged through that satellite. It gives the feeling of exploration and voyaging through new and exciting worlds. As well as the angels being thankful for having a chance to stay there despite being bait for the Thing stand-in.
It is a tough choice! And yours is certainly a good one.
The enormous ship is a analog for Arthur C Clark's Rendezvous nwith Rama I believe. Clark was also a huge influence on the literary shape of the 20th Century like so many others in the superb Planetary.
I have been comics book collector for more than 40 years, Planetary is one of the best, no regret getting it, highly recmmended 👍
4:55 -- Not sure if this was intentional homage by Warren Ellis or not, but there was an episode of CHALLNGE OF THE SUPERFRIENDS where the Legion of Doom time traveled, removing the most powerful super-heroes -- Superman, Wonder Woman, and Green Lantern -- from history, albeit not as lethally as their analogues are by the Four.
Would love to see a video on Global Frequency from Ellis as well.
Of all the books I have ever bought - The Planetary Omni is by far the best bang-for-your-buck value.
A heck of a lot cheaper than buying individual issues at five bucks a pop....
The Absolute Planetary is amazing as well. John Cassady's art is beautifully showcased in the larger format, making it much more cinematic as he intended it to be. I have the omni as well, but when the Absolute was on sale, I couldn't pass it up.
Thanks for this. Now I need to go back and reread the entire series. 🙂
My favorite issue? The finale. It is very rare for a comic book series to have an ending at all, let alone such a satisfying one, and after such a long wait.
Also, a total tear jerker of an issue. God I loved that series and wish it could somehow come back though I know it would ruin it.
I was hooked from issue one. Being introduced to a society made up of analogues of real world 20th century pulp characters was so cool. At the same time the issue was serving as commentary on the death of the pulp genre with the advent of the superhero genre. I couldn’t wait to read more. Not going to lie, I got lost with a lot of the scientific concepts that were thrown in but I loved the world. Also the Terra Occulta JLA crossover is worth checking out.
”Uncovering all the misteries, get all the answers”
I love the storytelling and plot of the number when they confront Greene
Hehe Greene like Grim
My personal favorite is the crossover with Batman. It is really silly but full of energy and momentum. Altough it doesn't influence the story, but it is really fun.
On the series itself, I love the moment they discover who the forth man is, and how it changes dramatically the rest of the series. Top notch development.
Strange Brain Parts out here always teaching the children about them comics
It's been a while since I last read Planetary, but I think I recall the issue set in Hong Kong with the ghost vigilante being one of my favorites once I had finished reading the omnibus.
I'm surprised you didn't cover the JLA/Planetary crossover. Snow was actually the villain(?) in that one instead of the hero - literally making the JLA redundant. Using their powers and abilities to "make finer worlds". Making man important instead of the pantheon worship that superheroes have in place. Good stuff.
Mine was the one where they go to the 1950s science city facility guarded by giant ants.
I loved the whole series and am glad you covered it. I was hoping to hear your take.
Hope you do Transmetropolitan at some point as well.
I can't limit my favorite issue to just one. As a Doc Samson fan, the Snow/Brass issue was a fave, but i also loved a lot of the battle against the Four.
its been years since I read the series, but one of the things that still resonates with me is the final issues concept about the limits of time travel. you can't go past the moment time travel was achieved! really clever.
I can never get enough of reading Planetary and hearing other people's analyses. It took me years to read it, mostly because I tend to avoid comics with erratic schedules. But how happy I was when I finally did it! This is by far Ellis' best work, and one of the best American comics ever made. It's truly a love letter to comics and pulps. There's also a topic that I love in creative arts, which is the creative use of genealogy. So the family tree of William Leather, the Human Torch analog, is not only a key element for his petty motivations, but it ties the unofficial (or is it official now? I never know) family tree of the Lone Ranger/Green Hornet. I also like that the Lone Ranger is mixed with Zorro because in Brazil for decades the Lone Ranger was translated as Zorro. So the message of that family tree is that while there was a legacy of radio heroes becoming also serial (rather movie or TV), and having their characteristics of pulp while being wholesome, comic book heroes could've been their heirs when they are truly not, especially with marvel. While the Lone Ranger and the Green Hornet were wholesome and flawless, Marvel superheroes might look that way, but the Marvel revolution was about imperfect people become heroes. In fact, one might say that the Fantastic Four is a representation of a disfunctional family from the start, and that's why the could never be the true heirs to the Lone Ranger.
That's an interesting take, i saw the descendant as a sort of message about striding for greatness, and how it can separate us from playing a role in our lives, further preventing our works to trascend. Even tough Doc Savage's team was on top, they didn't transform into the following generation. In that issue they're violently defetead by the capes.
Have you read Philip Jose Farmer? It might be an interesting read for you.
A personal favorite issue was #16 which showed Hark's ancestor in a clear homage to the Wuxia genre. Western exposure to Wuxia stuff is a very recent phenomenon. When it comes to media from "China", most people think of Hong Kong martial arts and action films but Wuxia is also very popular and culturally important in the East. It's pretty cool to see acknowledgement that similar kinds of fiction existed outside of just the US and Europe.
The issue you pick out is entitled "To be in England, in the Summertime"; as you allude to, it's an elegy to the 'British Invasion' and the heyday of Vertigo, which was long over by the time this issue was published. It's also a lyric from a song from the 80's English synth-pop/industrial group Art of Noise... and a song from the Red Hot Chilli Peppers... being pre-packaged American alt-rock or whatever. The issue pokes fun at the oh so serious, tortured "I'm different and adult and ART" attitude of Vertigo comics, which was thrilling at the time, but... did not age well. (Sandman, I'm looking at you).
And then, as Constantine morphs to Spider... well, Constantine was first a DC comics character, produced as work-for-hire by Moore but really defined by Delano and Ennis; having collected all the issues of Hellblazer and stopped in disgust at his re-assimilation in the mainstream, as a character he certainly encapsulates the ups and downs of the pre-Vertigo/Vertigo era. Spider, though- he was creator-owned, as, I believe, were the characters created for Planetary. It's a rallying call- if you want to recapture that early Vertigo era, you need comics that are creator-owned or at least creator-led, rather than the regurgitated formula that Vertigo became as DC tried to eke out it's cash cows over the years (still looking at you, Sandman).
Planetary looks like a perfect book as an adaptation
Oh...I think that's something you should try. Like the first issue or something. Although, issue number six might be fun, too.
@@StrangeBrainParts once I get my hands on this book I might adapt the entire thing
Depending on how I feel about it🤷♂️ But I’ve got people asking me to adapt this for 7 years now🤣
You should listen to them and finally do it.
Issue 7, the Vertigo tribute is my favourite. From a personal perspective the line about London glowing orange at night, because of the sodium streetlights and pale yellow London clay of the predominant brick work still resonates, evoking memories of visiting my grand parents in Bethnal Green, we'd travel from Birmingham on a Friday after school and it would be dark by the time we got there.
Also the different logo design for every issue.
This series is so wonderful. As you state rereads ALWAYS offer up new details and connective tissues to existing comics and other 20th century fiction.
So gorgeous.
I WAS A MAJOR DOC SAVAGE fan from around age 9 when I got the 33rd book in the Doc Savage series (this was around 1969). I was so hooked on Doc Savage and I still re-read the novels ( I have them all)... "Doc Brass" showing up in PLANETARY was so cool to me. I love this series and bought the big OMNIBUS book, I have most of the individual issues as well. It is time for a re-reading of this treasure. Thanks for another great video.
Gonna keep saying it, these are SO good !!!
We are very lucky to have such a comics channel they isn’t just all Biff! Pow! Bang!
This is well done intelligent stuff.
I’d pay to see these as lectures or even collected as a book.
Thank-you SBP.
(Sorry, I’ve genuinely run out of people to recommend you to, I’ve been raving about you yo everyone)
Thank you very much! I just discuss the material. It's the creators that deserve all the credit.
This is the only Ellis work I revisit anymore. It feels so much more full and uplifting than anything else he has done.
Planetary as a fin de siecle story about the pulps is in my mind the best work that's come out of the second british wave of 2000 AD grads. It's also probably the only Ellis work that has a complete ending that doesn't just run outta steam like Transmetropolitan or his various later one shots and mini series. It also has a fine balance between episodic takes and long running plotting that should be a good case study for a long running series next to Alex Ross's first run on Astro City and how to not get bogged down in your long running plots at the same time.
Planetary is one of the Great series, IMO. One of my favorites. Just a beautiful piece of imaginative storytelling.
I know Ellis is persona non grata these days, but he’s a really brilliant writer.
These old comic pointers are invaluable. Thank you very much.
One of the best deconstrctions of all time in comics. Planetary is the operating table of pop culture
No. And no.
Planetary doesn't deconstruct anything. It merely references and reimagines a collection of pop cultural "greatest hits". Ellis does the same thing with Transmetropolitan... and a bunch of other things.
Also, Planetary doesn't "operate on" or even "dissect" anything. It is a collage of pop culture artifacts and a "homage" (to put it politely) of Philip Jose Farmer's Wold Newton family.
None of which detracts from its quality. It is if nothing else fun to read. Frankly, it is a lot more fun than comparably superior The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, built on the same Wold Newton template.
But... it falters near the end due to Ellis losing interest and will to write it any longer. His father died around that time and he generally doesn't remember the writing of Planetary in positive light.
Thus the whole series was on hiatus for years, ending on a bit of a whimper.
Thank you for still making these. Your work is great and puts some onto classic or underrated works and more then just cape books.
Glad to see you cover this after you gave it a highlight in one of your shorts. I’d heard about this series before but you piqued my interest after you mentioned their villains are basically an analogy for the Fantastic Four. I’ll check this out! Great video!
You're welcome! I think you'll enjoy the series. The video is very spoiler-y, so...sorry for that. But I think I left enough out that if you watched this first there are parts that aren't ruined for you.
@@StrangeBrainParts no worries! Spoilers never affect me :) I’d love to see you tackle Astro City next! I know that one might be a little more involved considering the amount of material but it’d fit with your recent coverage of “comics that deconstruct other comics”. You’ve got a nice theme going!
Good to hear I've not ruined it for you. :) I also agree that I should do Astro City pretty soon. I'm going to load the trades onto my iPad tonight and put them down as something to re-read ASAP.
I love that first issue just because it started off the whole thing so well.
This comic is insane. One of my favorites. Issue 21 with the tea was awesome. I love those conversations and seeing Snow having to get real with himself. Every issue was just so amazing though!
Love this series, and choosing any single issue as your favorite has no wrong answer, but I'd say issue #3 really sticks out to me as it really exemplifies how weird and entertaining the whole series is going to be with a Hong Kong Ghost Cop and multidimensional container of souls. Great video.
Fun Fact from Me, an artist at the Studio back then...
The early cover that's all black...DC didn't want to approve it. They didn't think it would work. They didn't know enough about printing. The editor kept fighting them for it, and eventually he won. The cover turned out cool, and was cheaper than paying for a "5th Plate", which is the normal method of making a black on black print.
The Monster Island issue. It packs a condensed jolt of the sense of wonder present in Planetary.
I may have commented before but here it goes again. When the equivalent of Yukio Mishima leads an expedition to basically Monster Island. This is backed up by Mishima's fantastic elements in some of his novels. Now that was grin inducing.
My favorite issue has to be number one. Ellis's update to the Hulk's origin is still one of the most brilliant ideas I've ever read.
I think that might have been the teaser issue before #1, but of course you're right that that update was great
One of my major blind spots - need to read it eventually. I was a bit reluctant after not enjoying Transmetropolitan very much. That was a series that seemed so up my alley, but I found Spider Jerusalem so obnoxiously cringey that I didn't enjoy it very much. I've been reluctant to check out Ellis' work since then, and after the news of him came out, it seemed like a lessening priority. All that said, I consistently hear praise for Planetary and so plan to check it out in time. Great video as always!
I also found Transmetropolitan a bit edgy at times. It also had some heart, but I think Ellis' instincts weren't as pure (? - struggling for the right term) as they are in Planetary. And I think the news of his activities being further incentive to avoid the material is fair. It was a concern of mine before posting the video.
That being said, it is a work of merit.
Ellis wrote all this with such care and detail that it's unquestionable as a masterpiece, even if the author is cancelled. BTW, I love how cassaday associates the 4 symbol with the n4zis
The Monster Island issue is my favorite. The Kaiju have all died, but even not seen their history is uncovered.
Genuinely one of my favourite comics. Particularly fond of the twist and how that plays out.
I've seen this series around. I never knew anything about it. After watching this video I am definitely going to get it one way or another.
This series introduced me to doc savage and im thankful for that
Thanks for doing this video without addressing the controversy around Warren Ellis; there are other videos that go into detail about that.
Great video. I've been meaning to check out Planetary for some time now, and your analysis only makes me want to read it more.
Thank you.
You're welcome! Thanks for watching.
@@StrangeBrainParts PS My favorite issue was that Doc Savage one. Absolutely loved it ✌️
Good stuff, gotta get my hands on the omnibus asap
That question is too hard. Anytime I think I think I have a favorite issue, five or six others come to mind.
I absolutely love issue #9. Planet Fiction is such a cool issue and the ending involving the fictional character getting loose feels so creepy
Favourite issue? Yes, that's tough one. It's a toss between 17 & 18. The Gun Club issue and the City of Opak-Re issue.
Since you ask, I’ve always really loved the Captain Marvel issue where the wizard is replaced by an alien spaceship. Not going to look up the issue number, but I think it’s called “Strange Harbours.” Something about the vibe of that one really captured the whole “archaeologists of the impossible” tagline that drew me to the series in the first place.
I can't pick a favorite I just love it as a whole work. It gets better every time you read it as you mature.🤗😎
The one that stuck with me the most was the Hong Kong detective ghost.
Oh and the Kiju story.
Damn now I have to reread these
Loved it. Going out to buy it now. I hope this is popular enough to aid in your ascension to TH-cam loyalty and yet modest enough to stay off their enemies list.
One of my favorite series of all time, thanks for the review. Now I'm off to read it again.
I read the entire thing in a day a few years ago. I remember nothing of it. I need to go back and read it again now.
Great analysis! Planetary was the first omnibus I ever bought.
I've been holding off checking out planetary for a few years(no major reason just read other stuff). this video has inspired me to finally check it out. Always love your erudite analysis.
I just pulled the series out, ready to read it for the first time. I'm super excited to enjoy this series. I've had it basically since the series ended, just never pulled it out to enjoy. I'm almost sad to do it because just knowing it's great and waiting to read it has been a bit of a thrill.
The Planetary/Batman is one of the best Batman stories ever.
I agree with you concerning issue five.
Love the Nextwave shout out!
Great take on Planetary. I love this book.
It has been awhile since I have read Planetary but my favorite issue is when the team finds a group of pulp heroes and discover they were taken out by a group resembling the Justice League.
Which issue? I'd agree with #5. Individual moments include the issue where Snow remembers having a night with Jenny Sparks, the Drummer watching alien porn, the homages to Kaiju and the 50's giant insect flics... Lord I could go on all night. A great video which is forcing me to go get my TPB's and read one more time.
Awesome. I hope it holds up to your memory of it. I think it will.
Thanks so much for covering this comic, absolutely one of my all time favorites.
Very sorry about what happened to your authority video. It was a great essay, really, but I hope this video can make up for the issues you had.
The jla\planatery crossover was really thoughtfully played out.
I really loved doc savage growing up. So all of that stuff was great.
For me though I really liked issue 18 with the American Gun Club. The one where they shot the guy into space with a jumbo long gun.
¡Gracias!
Thank you very much!
The only thing more awesome that this amazing series -- is this channel! 😀
“Strange Harbours “, paired with the story of Anna Hark, present the emotional heart and wonder of PLANETARY: Learning about and protecting this Strange ,Wonderful World.
Long May it wave!
Thanks for the overview; people cannot be allowed to be denied exquisite storytelling because of human foibles. Keep it coming, Sir! 🖖♾⚪️
8:23 "In other words" of this week's episode
Excited to start hunting them down from now on!
Great essay. Thanks for doing it and sharing it with us.
Alright, going in for a re-re-read. You inspired me.
Issue 5 is particularly memorable, but the whole series is top shelf.
I’m going with issue # 5 myself. Best homage to Doc Savage.
Great video! Planetary wasn't for me I never put much thought into understanding why, but it just didn't grab me. There is a mountain of comics that do grab me. I do like pulps though and writers such as Haggard and Talbot Mundy who are a large inspiration on the 50s comics.
Thank you🥲😁
My favorite comic ever. Great essay!
excellent video. my favourite issue would be the same as yours but I feel issue 3 is worth mentioning as its a very faithful homage director john woo and his four critically praised movies. while it does miss out on a couple points of the execution of woo's famous style (i:e in the last two pages the gun should be pointed at the neck to emulate the idea of the gunfighter being a modern swordman) it still captures the core idea of what woo pioneered as the "heroic bloodshred" series while throwing a supernatural twist that later issues can call back too such as the number 196,833 which pops up again and again
Pretty interesting sounding series, thanks for sharing your thoughts.
I don’t have enough lore knowledge to know all the references in the series (no clue who doc savage is ), but I could tell when Ellis was channeling/ homaging character. The issue that went through the sequence of the 4 snuffing out the super powered beings was pretty brutal and stuck out to me.
One of my absolute favorite comics of all time. I'd re-read it more than anything else I own.
I can't corroborate this story, but I swore that I once read an interview w/ Ellis saying that John Constantine character was not supposed to transform into Spider Jerusalem, but in the script was to end up looking more of a Grant Morrison/King Mob by the end, and it was Cassaday who added the Spider tattoos. I can't corroborate this because I've searched for that interview and I cannot find it anymore! So take that as you will.
I'd also read Jakita's last name the same as you pronounced it in your video, but also read her first name w/ a soft J.
And my favorite issue... that's a tough one! Probably #11, as I find my self thinking about that one more often. It's a story that sticks with me more than the rest.
Excellent video. Planetary is my favorite series of all time.
Excelent review. I'll have to check it out!
A bit of info about Constantine transforming into Spider Jerusalem in the Vertigo issue. I've heard that, apparently, in the original script, Ellis wanted him to turn into Morrison's King Mob, but for whatever reason, Cassaday decided to give him Jerusalem's tattoos. I don't know how true that is, though.
Always find something new in Planetary. I missed the 4 symbol n4zi connection.
There were several references to Alan Moore, i think that the comic as a Whole was partially inspired by the interminable pitch. Twilight of the Superheores. Specially the golden age team. Tough i think Elllis has a noticeable dislike for the Batman which is the longer lasting night crusaders of the Golden Age.
I love this book so much.
I’m gonna need to pick this up.