Reviews

Planetary Vol. 4: Spacetime Archaeology by Warren Ellis, John Cassaday

ostrava's review against another edition

5.0

Terrific. Snow is the best "superhero" ever. Woah.

mjfmjfmjf's review against another edition

4.0

And back to the Fantastic Four knock-off. And I don't know, maybe this series did have a point. Or maybe I'd have to read The Authority to be sure. This did have kind of a solid ending. Oh and The Lone Ranger/Green Hornet. And more James Bond. And somewhere in this one I kind of started to care. Which made me wonder if this would get better on a re-read. 3.5 of 5.

darylnash's review against another edition

3.0

Having just gotten around to reading the Planetary series over the last month, I was ultimately disappointed. And I'm not sure that it was the book's fault but rather the overblown hyperbole that has surrounded it. In their introductions to the first two volumes, Alan (freakin') Moore and Josh ("my Master now") Whedon practically claim it's the second coming of comic books. Instead, at its best, it is a loving pastiche and tribute of and to the pulp fiction of the last century, with gorgeous artwork. At its worst, it's a strange plot-heavy conspiracy theory with a mysteriously malicious Fantastic Four that won't go away. So it basically combines Ellis' writing from Transmetropolitan and Stormwatch/Authority, the former of which I loved and the latter of which I found tiresome.

Planetary is certainly worth reading, and the artwork is beautiful, but I just don't get the hype.

nkives's review against another edition

4.0

If it wasn't for the book club, I'm not sure I would have read all of this in the end. Unlike some series, where a single volume can have an over arching story, almost every chapter/issue is "random" events. Nothing directly connected to the previous. They may drop a name in one issue and then many issues later, you will be seeing that person. It isn't until this final volume that all of those seemingly random events fully come together, and actually tell a complete story.

This is a series that should be read back to back, and it is mind boggling that when the single issues were coming out that it took all 28 a full decade to come out instead of the normal 28 months. I would have been so lost and annoyed. You would pretty much have to read all the previous issues to find and remember all of the connections and hints.

akrajkow87's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

inferiorwit's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious fast-paced

5.0

kaqueershi's review against another edition

5.0

holy shit holy shit hOLY SHIT

I'm crying as quietly as I can in a very public place.

I don't know what I expected when I first picked up Planetary but it sure as fuck wasn't hope.

neilfein's review against another edition

3.0

In 1998, Warren Ellis and John Cassady wrote “Nuclear Spring”, an underwhelming preview of the series that was soon to come. Planetary eventually spanned 27 issues and the story over a century, but more importantly, over a decade would pass until the final issue of story would be completed. No ending could live up to a decade of delays, certainly? I read the fourth and final volume of the story a few weeks ago; I’ve read it twice, and I think I have a handle on the ending. At the least, I may have a handle on how I feel about it. (Review continues here.)

theartolater's review

5.0

A surprising, different end for what will ultimately end up being one of my favorite comic runs. The tone and idea of the story takes a decisive turn in this trade, which was ultimately necessary but still kind of strange given the more whimsical nature of some of the earlier stories. With that said, I was absolutely keyed in until the very end, so there's absolutely something to be said for that. Excellent read.

escalla's review

5.0

lol read it all at once!
First all Stormwatch, followed by the first 12 Authoritys just so i could pick up Planetary from the start and read it all through!

This is still the comic that made me want to continue reading comics, it was only fitting that now that i'm going to be reading more comics i'd come and finish with it...

Damn WE for making us wait all this time, but he knew what he was doing...