Planetary #1 is the type of issue that can surprise you on multiple fronts, from it’s strength of character work to the concise and powerful storytelling. This allows the creative team to explore a fundamental component of superhero comics within the pages of just one issue as we see the implications of multiversal manipulations come to light. The multiverse so often used in the superhero genre comes together in a remarkable way in Planetary #1 as the shape of reality is described through a theoretical snowflake containing the multiverse itself, now leveraged into computing power. However, it wasn’t until learning the story of Axel Brass and the Quantum Brain that I realized this was a sci-fi story unlike anything in comics. Their dynamics are quickly something that I was interested in, with Jakita’s general badassery, Elijah’s sternness and The Drummer’s strange addition, the team starts off strong. We’re quickly whisked away to the New York office of the organization known as Planetary and introduced to the new and uniquely eccentric third member of the team, The Drummer.

It’s a simple offer that get’s this series rolling, but at this point in Elijah’s life after over a hundred years, a job is something he just can’t pass on. Jakita Wagner and Elija Snow’s dialogue in the first few panels set a tone that is both mysterious and exciting. To start, despite the spectacle of being the “Archaeologists of the Impossible”, Planetary #1 finds it’s most important success in establishing the main characters in such an intriguing way. It might not look like it at first, but there were some riveting themes at play in Plantary #1, so let’s dive in. Wildstorm’s Planetary series was a high-concept sci-fi driven exploration of the superhero genre that quickly hit the ground running with a stellar cast of characters and a deeply engaging world that truly feels fully realized.

Planetary, Volume 1 by Warren Ellis