Rating: 
Summary: just plain fun
Review: (re: cameron from 'ferris buellers day off') elijah snow you're my hero.
It is just plain fun. but some of the stories, like the inter dimensional ship story, will hopefully be resolved soon. C'mon warre. you're a smart cookie.
Rating:
Summary: Warren Ellis combines Superhero's with the X-Files
Review: As a long standing and diehard Transmet and X-Files fan, when this comic arrived on the market I emediately picked it up and I was immediately impressed by the fabulous storytelling that I have come to expect from Warren Ellis. Great Stuff.
Rating:
Summary: Warren Ellis just gets better
Review: As a long time reader of Mr. Ellis' work I have to say this is a great example of his imigination at work. His stories give you another point of thinking that you've never been to. The "Monster Island" story was a gift to all Godzilla fans, they will get the gist of the story better then anyone. His running accounts of Doc Brass and crew are a treat for fans of Doc Savage,Tarzan, and the Shadow. To get these wonderfull stories in one place instead of collecting all the hard to find, low print comicbooks makes this all the more special. And don't think of this as a collection of "funnybook stories" ,thier worthy of any novella when in this collected form.
Rating: 
Summary: Great stuff, but prior knowledge required.
Review: Continuing the trend of revisionist tales based on comic book company universes that was begun with Alan Moore's Miracleman and the Watchmen, and Frank Miller's Batman: Dark Knight Returns; Warren Ellis and John Cassaday's Planetary gives the trend an interesting X-File-ish spin. While I enjoy the series and recommend it to any long-time comic book fan, I have to say that, like Mark Waid and Alex Ross' Kingdom Come, you really have to have been reading comics for some time to get the most out of the book. How many people would know that the ghost of the police officer damned to act as a spirit of vengence in Planetary #3 is both a homage to John Woo's Hong Kong action films as well as a update of DC Comic's Spectre? I must say Ellis recasting the Fantastic Four in such a sinister light is really refreshing. Includes the very hard to find Planetary preview/revisionist view of Marvel Comic's the Hulk which appeared in Gen13 #33. People who enjoy this series should also check out Ellis and Bryan Hitch's excellent work on The Authority #1-12, (oft referred to as the JLA or Avengers, "finally done right")the first eight issues of which will soon be reprinted in The Authority: Relentless trade paperback.
Rating:
Summary: Great Read Especially for the older comic book fans.
Review: Did you ever read comics back in the 80's? The larger than life stories... the classic Hulk, Doc Savage, alternate worlds, monsters and aliens?Then you will truly appreciate and love this trade. Boy, did Ellis and Cassaday bring back memories. And yet with a fresh spin. It is one of those few trades you can read over and over again as it has quite a number of subtleties in the art and dialogue that you do not notice in story the first few times around.
Rating:
Summary: A great change of pace
Review: I have been thoroughly bored by super hero comics, with all of the costumes and dull slugfests. This is a great variation on a theme. Ellis takes the reader exploring through the pulp icons of the 20th century - analogues of Doc Savage, Tarzan and the Shadow; the Fantastic Four and the Hulk; Godzilla and Mothra; Hong Kong's ghost cop. We're accompanied by a Shavian curmudgeon (Snow), a mystery woman (Wagner) and a Gen X weirdo (The Drummer). Kudos on the art, too. It arrived yesterday - I've read it twice so far, and I'll read it again tonight.
Rating:
Summary: Didn't want to stop reading, didn't want it to end!
Review: I know I'm reading a great graphic novel when I'm torn between wanting to read it straight through to the end in one sitting and forcing myself to take it slowly to make it last as long as possible. This is one of the great ones. Planetary is sort of a cross between the X-files and Allen Moore's *League of Extraordinary Gentlemen*, retaining the "Truth is out there" paranoia of the former and the basic premise of the latter (extraordinary humans brought together by unknown "boss" to solve mysteries). Instead of drawing from 19th century Victorian literature (a la Moore in League), however, Warren Ellis instead delves into Nuclear Age comic book-mythos: 1940s Doc Savage-type supermen, Monster Island, a vengeful, supernatural ghost-cop and a lost, inter-dimensional spaceship requiring willing humans to pilot it back home, respectively. As a previous reviewer mentioned, Ellis re-casts alot of comic book characters into the mix, few of whom fare too well in this X-Files-esque world(Doc Savage doesn't age,sleep ,eat or presumably go to the bathroom for over 50 years; the Hulk is buried in a 5-mile deep hole till he dies 40 years later; Godzilla, Gidhra and Mothra are all worm food; and the meeting between heroes of 2 dimensions a la Justice League/Justice Society ends with all but one member dead.) Chapter One introduces us to Planetary's version of Mulder and Scully - one a surly, hundred yr old cold manipulating newbie to the group with a mysterious past; the other a butt-kicking, one-dimensional, A-typed personality whose in it soley because it keeps her from boredom. The group is rounded out by the crazed Drummer (who serves as the wacky yet technologically proficent "Lone Gunman")And it just keeps getting better! I look forward to more from this series!
Rating: 
Summary: Interesting idea flatly carried out
Review: I like the premise behind this book, which I won't get into since 22 other people have already fleshed that out, as I usually like Ellis' ideas. Yet plans and their executions are two different things entirely (think episode 1). Now I will admit that most of the classic characters encountered in "All over the world and other Stories" were lost to me and I had to look them up online after reading, but that doesn't change my opinion upon reading them with this knowledge. The fact remains that the dialogue is poor, character development ZERO (minus a bit by Elijah Snow), and stories only brushed over instead of developed. This treatment of the individual plots made them seem so cheap. As for the idea that Ellis has good ideas but poor(er) execution, check out Mek where the central idea is cool but it comes off as cheap and clich?. Also to be noted here is the fact that Planetary was already done by The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. The subjects differeent, basic idea the same though. Approach this book with a taste for fairly shallow, quick, entertainment, not a taste for high adventure, stellar writing, or deep character and other development.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting idea flatly carried out
Review: I like the premise behind this book, which I won't get into since 22 other people have already fleshed that out, as I usually like Ellis' ideas. Yet plans and their executions are two different things entirely (think episode 1). Now I will admit that most of the classic characters encountered in "All over the world and other Stories" were lost to me and I had to look them up online after reading, but that doesn't change my opinion upon reading them with this knowledge. The fact remains that the dialogue is poor, character development ZERO (minus a bit by Elijah Snow), and stories only brushed over instead of developed. This treatment of the individual plots made them seem so cheap. As for the idea that Ellis has good ideas but poor(er) execution, check out Mek where the central idea is cool but it comes off as cheap and cliché. Also to be noted here is the fact that Planetary was already done by The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. The subjects differeent, basic idea the same though. Approach this book with a taste for fairly shallow, quick, entertainment, not a taste for high adventure, stellar writing, or deep character and other development.
Rating: 
Summary: Amibitious, yet underdeveloped
Review: I'm a fan of Warren Ellis' Transmetropolitan series, so I thought I'd try out Planetary, based on some strong recommendations. The art and the plot are relatively strong: expansive and wildly imaginative. What seems to have been forgotten was character development. With the exception of the enigmatic Elijah Snow, the other two main characters are bland stick figures. I was unable to identify and uninterested in them. Because of this, Planetary comes off as somewhat pedestrian. I'm sure the character development progressed over the course of the series, but this book by itself just isn't all that intriguing. I suggest you try Transmetropolitan if you're looking for someting a bit more innovative.
|
