Planetary/The Authority #1
THE GREATEST COMICS OF THE 21st CENTURY
By WALT STILES
Planetary/The Authority #1
Warren Ellis An eccentric British comic book writer, he created Transmetropolitan, Nextwave, The Authority and Planetary. Noted for new ideas took a contemporary comic world and shook it up with titles like the Authority and Planetary.
Planetary began with Planetary #0 – This story appeared as a flip-book in the back of Gen 13 Vol 2 #33 in September of 1998 under the Image label. Planetary #1 – All Over the World came out in April of 1999 under the Wildstorm label and it soon became a hit. It is about 3 remarkable people who are called Archaeologist of the Impossible. They investigate the impossible stories and find the universe is not as they thought. Planetary’s field team travels the world investigating strange phenomena: monsters and other beings, unusual relics, other superhumans, and powerful secrets which certain individuals are trying to keep hidden from the rest of the world. Their purpose in doing this is partly curiosity, and partly to use what they learn for the betterment of mankind. There are, however, groups who oppose their goals, and the organization has a substantial history which is gradually revealed during the series.
The Authority was introduced in Stormwatch: P.H.D. #5, It was created by Warren Ellis and Bryan Hitch, and follows the adventures of a superhero team mainly composed of Ellis-created characters taken from Stormwatch—a title Ellis had previously written. It is notable for its intense graphic violence, grand scale and visual flair (often described as “widescreen” comics”), and the uncompromising attitudes of its characters. In 1999, Warren Ellis and Bryan Hitch introduced the Authority as a team of superheroes who promised to get the job done by whatever means necessary.
The teams meet in this title entitled: Ruling The World. A horrible monster in Judgement, Rhode Island, brings the two teams together to save the world. Elijah Snow and his teammates attempt to get information on The Authority, while Jenny Sparks tries to figure out who Planetary is. Together, they save the world from an invasion of soldiers from another Earth. It was a prestige-format one-shot published between Planetary #10 and #11
Warren Ellis is a mystery writer because for every question he answers he leaves you a mystery about something else. You can’t wait for more clarification of what is really going on. Captivating the reader his stories really stretch the imagination. His stories are fresh with a different perspective and understanding of reality. Nothing is off bounds everything fits together eventually. In this issue, the unique appeal of each team did shine through, so fans of one series surely discovered the other one. Definitely not a story you would see written in early comics. Hard hitting no-nonsense bottom line comics.
The stories portrayed a modern view of what super-powered individuals would do if given the chance in today’s world. Warren Ellis became ill in the early 2000’s and it interfered with the release of stories and left his fans without his great talent during the run of Planetary. So Planetary had been notoriously plagued with delays over the course of its run, finally concluding in October 2009 with the release of issue #27.
Did you know…
Warren Ellis started his career working on titles such as Judge Dredd and Deadline. He got his first break writing for Marvel with Hellstorm and the Marvel 2099 line. He has written for Marvel, DC, Wildstorm, Image, and others. He is a very well-known artist, starting with Thunderbolts #110 which is a regrouping of the Thunderbolts with all new stories written by Ellis.
The reach of this incredible talent is now extending into other media. Ellis’s first novel, Crooked Little Vein, was released on July 24th, 2007 by Harper Collins. He is also the sole writer of a new show on AMC, Dead Channel, to premiere later this year.
Ellis is said to have more trade paperbacks currently in print than any other writer in comics.
His most famous creations are Transmetropolitan, Planetary, and The Authority.