Planetary Vol. 4: Spacetime Archaeology

took a bit long to receive

They say write what you know so Warren has already broken the rules with this, the latest and the last collection of his stunning exploration of the very nature of imagination itself through the media of the fantastic, the detritus of the divine and the cast-off scribblings of his more than bulging ideas folders. Or has he? If it's a case of keeping it familiar so as to promote verisimilitude or conventional reality, then he should have failed. But despite being set in an alternate universe stuffed full to the gills with familiar looking characters and events, Planetary is kept grounded and appealing by the central cast of heroes (Planetary Foundation) and the most wonderfully loathsome villains one could ever ask for (The Four). The real kicker is how rich and original Warren makes this volume of his archaelogy of the fantastic, as though ideas like these had never been seen before. The beauty and tragedy of what the Four have done in this reality is finally matched by the Planetary Foundation's intricate moves against them coming to a head, plot ends are tied up beautifully and all with the spectacular art of John Cassady toa ccompany it, one of the most versatile artists in comics today. Obviously, you'll be reading this as part of a series- but, as part of that series, this more than just completes the overall picture, rather displaying some amazing flourishes and pulling out some new and unexpected tricks right at the last minute. We're living in a new Golden age of quality in comics when series like this can come out and show up the complacent stuttering series for the unimaginative sloppy works they are.

Four volumes. So was the journey worth the effort? Nope. Based on the Amazon reviews for this book, which average a perfect five stars, I am clearly in the minority so I will carefully make my case.Warren Ellis seems to be trying to create a comic story that is revolutionary; possibly transcendent but to me it feels more like the Matrix movies, a whole lot of sound and fury signifying nothing. There was a period of my life where I was really into cutting edge theoretical science but it can be a challenging read particularly since many of the concepts are so divorced from our everyday perception of the world. Apparently Ellis must have been reading the same books I was and just pulled out phrases and concepts to throw in a story. Writers have successfully integrated theoretical science into stories but you can't just throw piles of incomprehensible jargon at the reader with no lead in and expect anyone to know what the hell is going on. One of two things is happening here. Based on the glowing reviews either Ellis has stupefied readers into assuming they're reading something profound OR I'm simply too dimwitted to follow when Ellis talks about "orthodox space vigilance system" or "informational Superobjects existing outside history".Generally a storyteller wants the reader to root for the protagonist and root against the antagonist. The problem here is I really didn't like Elijah Snow. My assumption is that Ellis was trying to create a character perceived as clever and confident. He did, after all, study under the greatest deductive mind of all time, Sherlock Holmes. As far as I'm concerned Snow just comes off as smug and pompous, never more so than in his final confrontation with the villains of the story. At the end of the series Snow risks the entire world and perhaps all of reality to resurrect a friend. He takes Spock's, `The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the one' and turns it on its head in a monumentally stupid and self-serving move. At one point an entire enormous building is obliterated above Planetary's head killing hundreds if not thousands of people and their concern barely registers. They are so wrapped up in their own s*** they hardly seem to care. And the villains? Just as I feel no investment in the main protagonists I feel nothing towards the villains. I barely know anything about them and at the final dull climax I tried to recall if I'd even seen them previously in the series.As for the art, it has moments of brilliance and others that aren't so brilliant. In the introduction of Jacob Greene (The Four's version of The Thing) we see only small glimpses of him leading up to a full page spread where he looks.... special. Like someone who might travel on a short bus and I really don't think that was the effect John Cassaday was going for. When Planetary was being produced Cassaday was a pretty big thing winning the Eisner award for best penciller three years in a row from 2004 to 2006 but I'm really not seeing it. He's not a bad artist but the BEST for three years straight? I can think of at least a dozen or more current artists I prefer but maybe there was a serious drought during those years.As far as I'm concerned Watchmen is the template for comic miniseries. It's twelve issues long and tight as a drum. Everything in the story is intended to advance the main storyline. Planetary, by contrast, is a meandering mess. It's bad enough that Ellis throws in a dense wall of pseudoscientific mumbo jumbo but by including piles of storylines and characters that go nowhere it all becomes a confusing mess.

Volume four wraps up Warren Ellis excellent series, too soon in my opinion. This volume pulls back from the genre and character pastiches a bit (though they still exist) to focus on wrapping up the plot between planetary and the 4.Yes, this is the end, and to be honest, I was a bit disappointed by the final fight. Warren Ellis wanted to end this comic early, and as a result, Randall Dowling is dispatched far too easily given the build up. Additionally, I'm a bit disappointed in how the series stopped paying attention to Jakita and Drummer (though he did get a backstory issue, to be fair), focusing exclusively on Elijah. That said, a bunch of minor characters do get brought back for the climax, which was nice. And the artwork and dialogue are just as good as they ever were, keeping this series at the 4-star mark.Remember, there's still a collection of crossovers with Justice League and the Authority to read.

This was a Xmas gift for my brother but he was very excited and happy to receive it, it finished a collection for him. The quality of the item was very nice, though used there were no tears or damage. This book, according to him, is hard to find so I recommend buying it when you first see it and not waiting. I lost it twice because I waited to buy.

Fourth volume of paperbacks in the series which collects issues of the comic Planetary. Which is about a special team who deal with weird events. And their battle against the four. A group of superpowered individuals who are controlling the destiny of the human race to their own ends.This collects issues nineteen to twenty seven of the series. And brings the whole ongoing story to a close [volume five collects special stories featuring the three main characters, and stands independent of the main narrative].This is not a volume you will have any chance of understanding if you haven't read the first three, so new readers should start with  Planetary TP Vol 01 All Over The World And Other Stories (Planetary (Windstorm)) .Previous volumes contained individual parts which were largely self contained stories - often in the style of a particular comic or other piece of popular fiction of days gone past. This ones forms a more continuous narrative. The first part ending on a cliffhanger that leads into part two. Whilst they do keep the style of before, the homages to other fictions and the like, plus the superb artwork and colouring, it's all about how Snow takes the fight against the four directly to them. And how he comes to understand his place in the world.Some very fascinating physics comes into play.Some characters do get their origins filled in.And as mentioned, the whole ongoing storyline is brought to a conclusion.The sheer amount of detail in the art and the writing means this is something you can read many times and find new things or things you'd forgotten on each occasion.The volume ends with short biographies of the writer and artist and colourist, plus a cover reprint, and a listing of other works by the writer.An excellent end to a very good series. Planetary TP Vol 01 All Over The World And Other Stories (Planetary (Windstorm))

I must be a little on the thick side to not have realised that the foes in Planetary were a riff on the Fantastic four. Surprising as it was obvious throughout the 27-issue run that writer Warren Ellis was offering his take on the alt-history of literature and comics history that Alan Moore had long ploughed through Moore's "League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" and "Top 10" comics. No matter.What we have in book 4 is a satisfying closure to the story that has been foreshadowed (with the benefit of hindsight) in earlier editions. Readers will enjoy Ellis's sharp writing and dialogue, the globe-trotting adventure, the reverent treatment of superhero and literature characters and tropes, ultimately feasting their eyes on the gorgeous art from Cassaday and DePuy.There is no question that Ellis is one of the top-tier writers in the industry.

I love the tales of the Planetary crew! Not only in this Vol 4, but also in the previous Vols 1-3.It really is the " secret history of the 20th century ", as uncovered, fought for, and preserved by Elijah Snow and his team.The backdrop to Elijah Snow's VERY long life, and that of his friends and enemies, is resonant with Warren Ellis's talent for weaving so many great stories into one interlocking narrative.While drawing on so many classic and modern genres to create something quite unique.I recently re-read it, to remind myself how much the world can still surprise you...

This book is more of the same enthralling planetary world from the previous three books. It ties the overall story arc up nicely and is a very good ending to the series.You should certainly read the previous three planetary volumes before this one; the crossing worlds book is good, but not part of the arc and so not necessary.

Best series I’ve read. And that’s saying a lot. The plot, pacing, art, mixing our collective 20th century favorite myths and popular science in a new package, connecting all in new age view of earth and the universe is just mind blowing.