What if the pop culture of the 20th century were actually history? That's the question Planetary tries to answer by following a group of archaeologists whose goal is to explore all the strange goings-on in their world, all of which just happen to bear an uncanny resemblance toward popular entertainment in our own.

Each issue of Planetary focuses on a particular pop cultural touchstone, whether they be superheros, pulp adventurers, or kaiju monsters, and reinterprets them through a new, and weird, lens. Though each issue is basically it's own self contained mini-movie, together they form an overarching story about conspiracy, discovery, and the strange landscape that is our shared nerd heritage.

Basically, the bigger geek you are, the more you'll appreciate Planetary. Many of pop culture's biggest names are represented here, albeit in a distorted (though still easily identifiable) manner. Planetary works not just as entertainment, but as a metatexutal exploration of that entertainment. Recommended for anyone who loves geeky things. ( )

Series Info/Source: This is the complete Planetary Omnibus in one stand alone novel. I got this book as a gift for my birthday.

Thoughts: This was absolutely fantastic! I loved the story and illustration throughout this whole omnibus. I loved having this all in one omnibus to read as well. I didn't enjoy the bonus issues quite as much as the main story. However, that didn't mar my enjoyment of the rest of this series.

This follows the story of Elijah Snow, a hundred year old man who looks much younger than that (who is missing a lot of memories). Along with Jakita and The Drummer he joins a peace-keeping force known as Planetary. Planetary are inter-dimensional archaeologists that track down mysteries and evidence of super human activity in order to defuse the situation and save humanity.

I greatly enjoyed all of our superhero-esque characters. This is a superhero graphic novel series with a twist to it. The story goes across dimensions and involves a lot more sleuthing and putting together complex mysteries than flat out strength. Watching Snow unravel his memories and reveal the secrets of his past was fascinating.

The story is top-notch but does get fairly complex at points. I did find myself paging back and forth between issues to figure out what was going on here. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it did take some effort to read. The illustration was equally well done; it fit the style of story perfectly, was easy to follow, and incredibly detailed. I adored everything about this series.

My Summary (5/5): Overall this was an amazing collection and an amazing graphic novel series. I would highly recommend it if you are even remotely interested in the superhero trope (but with some twists). This was the complete package; awesome characters, complex and intriguing story, and fantastic illustration. Highly recommended! ( )

The complete series and the Planetary/JLA/Batman/The Authority are all collected together in this large format book. The larger size for the 27 Planetary single issues could be found in Absolute Planetary volumes 1 and 2. Seeing those and the other all together made re-reading all of them in the larger size makes me have more love for Planetary than I already had. It's in the same category as MiracleMan, Watchmen, Batman: Year One and Akira in my opinion. Its not something that I think someone should read in a digital format. You don't have the same sense of size and weight to this book. And yes, it is a large book but its worth its weight in gold. I can't recommend this enough to anyone who enjoys pop culture or a good mystery. ( )

Warren Ellis puts a dark X-Files spin on a century of pop culture heroes. The three members of the Planetary field team pry into the secret history of their world with eerie and disturbing short stories that pay homage and cruelly tweak pastiche versions of classic characters like Sherlock Holmes, Tarzan, Doc Savage, and the Lone Ranger as well as superheroes like the Hulk, Fantastic Four, Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman. Everything slowly threads together into an epic showdown.

Ellis at his best.

Unfortunately and coincidentally, the morning after I finished reading this monster, Twitter was all abuzz about Ellis at his worst, with allegations of him being a sexual predator flying about. A hero with a dark side? Talk about irony. ( )

Classic Ellis. Quite the challenge spotting all the various homages to other comics figures. ( )