So I Read Planetary

A 250 Word (or less) Review of Planetary

By Warren Ellis and John Cassaday, Wildstorm Productions

Planetary is a comic about comics. In it, the Planetary organization, made of the three person team of Elijah Snow, Jakita Wagner, and The Drummer, travel the world to uncover the incredible and to document and preserve it. They race against The Four, an unscrupulous group of superhumans, who seek to horde the incredible for themselves. It’s a very, very good comic. But that only scratches the surface of this work. Planetary is also a veritable doctoral thesis on genre fiction and comics. Nearly every issue of the comic is simultaneously celebrating and discussing some important work of comics and fiction, from Japanese Monster movies to Hong Kong action films to Steranko’s Nick Fury to Thatcher era British Comics to Pulp Adventure comics. In a sense, Planetary is itself a work of cultural archaeology that displays a rich seam of landmark genre fiction and an examination of how they all fit together. If you know enough to kind of understand the commentary it’s deeply fascinating. But the close reading doesn’t end there: Ellis is also responding to the bankruptcy crisis comics were contending with in the 90s and on certain contributing aspects of Marvel Comics. Also, I’m convinced that the three members of Planetary are meant to stand in for different aspects of Ellis: Ellis the romantic lover of old comics, Ellis the contemporary mainstream comics writer, and Ellis the mad-brained futurist and dreamer. It’s the kind of book that begs for annotation. It is absolutely a must read comic.

Word count: 250

Atoll Comics Round 8 (and 6!)

Or Changes to My Top-Ten Comics

Due to poverty and an urge to buy better comics, I have decided to be super-selective about which superhero comics I read. Harnessing the Awesome Power of Maths, I have determined that I can afford to read 10 ongoing titles. So I get to read 10, and only 10, titles published by either Marvel or DC as well as one trade paperback a week of my choosing.

A complication of this is that I am forced to drop an on-going title if I want to try reading a new on-going title, an act of very tough love. Being financially responsible is the worst.

In Atoll Comics Round 6 I decided to pit The Indestructible Hulk and FF head-to-head in a trial basis to see which one would get incorporated into my top-ten reading list. Trouble is, I really enjoyed both comics immensely and still haven't quite decided which one I like best. But in a twist ending, I have decided that I like both titles more than one of my current top ten comics. So without further preamble:

I will be adding both The Indestructible Hulk AND FF and dropping Uncanny Avengers.

Why Indestructible Hulk? Essentially because it's a Hulk book that's good. I've always had trouble with the Hulk when he isn't in an ensemble because he feels a tad one-note. (I mean, it's a good note, but Hulk Smash only gets a narrative so far on its own.) The central hook of the comic: Banner is trying to maximise the good he can do as Banner while offering the Hulk as a weapon for SHIELD is brilliant.  I am also pretty excited about the Banner centric world Waid and Yu are building: I am genuinely interested in learning more about the supporting cast and Banner and where all of this part of the story is going. The only reason this comic hasn't completely grabbed me is that the super fascinating Banner narrative keeps getting tossed aside for the Hulk to go smash something unrelated to this developing storyline. I'm not entirely sure this isn't intentionally a meta-commentary on what it's like to be Banner. It might also just be a practical story logistic thing that allows Waid and Yu to slowly build up and develop the main story of the series while still dishing out big scoops of Hulk smashing. Hopefully as the series progresses The Indestructible Hulk can add some drama to the smashing, but for the moment I am on board.

Why FF? This is a series that is finally delivering what it promised. A comic with Matt Fraction and Mike Allred should be, at least in theory, something I very much want to read. But balanced against this is the fact that I really like walking away from long, finished feeling comic runs: I feel like Hickman's Fantastic Four and FF are reading experiences that need to be savoured. So, despite the incredible creative team I was a bit hesitant to jump into this new FF. But now that it has some time to establish itself and grow into its identity, well, I needn't have worried. This comic is completely its own glorious, weird, funny comic that is completely distinct from the high concept Science Fiction opera of the previous iteration of the FF. It took a while to get there, but the most recent issues: where Thing mask wearing Yancy Street hoodlums accost Ms. Thing and where the Moloid kids try to ruin a date between She-Hulk and Wyatt Wingfoot are just so wacky and off-beat and great. If this is the comic FF is going to be going forward, I'm fully on board for the duration.

Why not Uncanny Avengers? I still think Uncanny Avengers is a pretty great comic: mixing X-men and Avengers is a great idea and the execution of art and writing is top notch. It's without a doubt a very good comic. Then why am I dropping it? Well, part of it is competition with other Avengers books. In a world where I am reading only ten comics I don't really need to read three similar team books with overlapping casts. When contrasted against fun, punchy, and continuity light Avengers Assemble (Kelly Sue DeConnick) and serious, elaborate, and high concept Avengers (Jonathan Hickman), Uncanny Avengers suffers a bit by being, compared to these polar extremes, middle of the road. It's not as fun as Avengers Assemble and not as high stakes and thinky as Avengers... it's somewhere in between. And in a limited reading list, something that doesn't stand out is at a disadvantage. Another issue I have with Uncanny Avengers is that it just. Keeps. Getting. WEIRDER. After a very balanced first issue Uncanny Avengers nailed the accelerator to the floor and just starting throwing crazier and crazier action at the reader without leaving any space to breath or sort out what was happening. And the cliffhanger at the end of the first story arch promises to be EVEN CRAZIER YET!! I understand that this kind of all-action-all-the-time style of writing is popular with some people, but the fact is I really like the quiet character driven moments in comics. Without these moments comics are just so much fighting, which, at least for me, lacks the dramatic weight of conflicts rooted in character or thematic context. (That said, I don't think this is a flaw in the book so much as it's just not being written for me... the fact that I can choose between Crazy Action Avengers, Fun Character-driven Avengers, and Elaborately-Plotted Expansive Avengers is probably a strength of Marvel's current lineup: there are different things for different folks.) So basically, I am dropping this book because, while it is very good, it's just not quiet what I like in comics. 

Going Rogue

Or how Rick Remender may have jut solved one of the most perplexing continuity problems in comics.

Alright, Rogue's sex life has always bothered me because it makes no sense.

Let me explain...

Actually, before I get going, for those of you unfamiliar with rogue of the X-men (why are reading this?) here is her deal. She was a mutant terrorist with the power to temporarily borrow another mutant or superheroes powers by initiating skin-to-skin contact. This has the added effect (or at least classically had) of stealing their life force. A little touch renders people unconscious and prolonged contact can put someone in a coma or even kill them. This Rogue's power is also her curse and the realm of physical intimacy has been something she could never have.

(In fact, her power first manifested when she kissed her high school sweetheart which put him in a coma.)

All of this is a great metaphor about puberty... but it also makes zero sense.

Like most kids of the Internet generation I'm aware that there is a wide spectrum of glorious perversions and alternate approaches to physical intimacy. Not being able to engage in skin-to-skin contact is, at least by the standards of today, a pretty easy problem to solve. It's well established that Rogue, in her soul-stealing-sucubus days, could safely touch someone while wearing gloves, which means that she simply needs a way to prevent skin to skin contact to allow intimacy. Today there are dozens of companies that leverage cutting edge material science to produce skintight, pliable, touch sensitive full body garments for people with certain sets of sexual interests. Pair one of these bodysuits with judicious use of male and female prophylactics and Rogue could easily and safely have a sex life. She'd jut need to be a bit creative and kinky.

And really, it's the only situation that's believable.

Now, in uncanny avengers #2 this happens:

This would seem to indicate that at the very least Rogue and Gambit, during one of their on again, off again romances had gotten into bondage. While this doesn't speak directly to rubber or latex fetishes, I don't think it's too muh of a stretch to assign that link to them as well. And now thanks to Rick Remender it's very nearly canon.

Which I appreciate.

Atoll Comics: Round 3

Or Changes to My Top-Ten Comics

Due to poverty and an urge to buy better comics, I have decided to be super-selective about which superhero comics I read. Harnessing the Awesome Power of Maths, I have determined that I can afford to read 10 ongoing titles. So I get to read 10, and only 10, titles published by either Marvel or DC as well as one trade paperback a week of my choosing.

A complication of this is that I am forced to drop an on-going title if I want to try reading a new on-going title, an act of very tough love. Being financially responsible is the worst.

I will be adding Uncanny Avengers to my ten comic list and dropping Ultimate Spider-Man.

Why after the cut: