Best comics of 2016

Another rare update that proves that I have not given up on the blog and comics themselves, despite the lack of activity here. I have changed some of the categories to better express the things in comics that I actually enjoyed reading this year. The entries are provided with general commentary regarding the makeup of the specific parts of the industry they are born of.

Best Writer - Nick Spencer

The year started by my getting better acquainted with Nick Spencer's work, which I rediscovered spurred by Marvel's promotion around his stint on "Captain America". The lackluster "Standoff" event notwithstanding, his stylish and meticulous work has finally managed to marry the potential shown in "The Superior Foes of Spider-Man" with some of the company's longest running characters resulting in controversial stories read by the largest audience he has enjoyed to date.

Despite his "Ant Man" run fizzling out before reaching its full potential, the maniacal glee of his early work can still be encountered unfiltered in "The Fix", an even more organic follow up to his and Steve Lieber's celebrated collaboration.

Best Artist - John Romita Jr.

With the bulk of the promotion of DC's newest makeover going to other titles, the "All Star Batman" book has still managed to carve a large place for itself. Primarily designed to feature the former hit "Batman" scribe Scott Snyder's exploration of the Dark Knight's villains, the comic has debuted as a fun high octane book that balances the gritty themes with colorful action.

The primary reason for the title's warm welcome has had to do with the strong storytelling brought on by penciler John Romita jr. The veteran artist approached the title with a highly accomplished sense of craftsmanship, honed by decades working on Marvel's top superheroes. In doing so, he has managed to temper some of the writer's overpowering literary tendencies into a very visual story that keeps the reader on the lookout for the next well realized action set piece.

Best Ongoing Title - Injection

When it comes to highly publicized Image titles, Warren Ellis and Declan Shalvey's "Injection" is the first one that comes to mind that hasn't been hurt either by delays or the general lack of direction that has plagued much of their line. The writer's other ongoing series "Trees" has been the victim of many of the problems suffered by the publisher's hit titles after their initial wave of excitement had worn off.

Having completed its second storyline, "Injection" remains every bit as sharp and enigmatic. Wisely choosing to focus on a single member of the scientific team that introduced the titular Injection to the larger world, the writer brandishes his modern day Sherlock Holmes with his typical kinky flourishes. Shalvey on the other hand continues to live up to his reputation as a powerhouse new creator, with a sharp line that is both expressive and wonderfully conductive to partner Jordan Bellaire's wonderful coloring.

Hopefully, the series will continue with a strong sense of its own identity, providing both creators the chance to play in their world while finding interesting ways to bring the innovative science fictional concepts to their eager audience.

Best Mini-Series - Vision

Initially designed as an ongoing series, "Vision" was forced to confirm to the maxi-series model once it's star writer had signed an exclusive agreement with DC comics. Still, it can be said that this approach forced the story Tom King was telling with Gabriel Hernandez Walta into a more compact yet still powerful parable.

The genre of robot science fiction still remains popular thanks to "Westworld" tv-series and the upcoming "Blade Runner" sequel, but where this series differed was in the way it managed to blend the idiosyncrasies of "American Beauty" with a story of a Marvel mainstay that has long since lost his appeal as an edgy new superhero character.

Introduced as a tragedy with a wide scope of destruction in Washington DC, the eventual series has notably endured a somewhat paired down conclusion, that has still managed to bring its plot to a memorable close. Marvel would do well not to shy away from commissioning critically acclaimed work along these lines, titles that will stand the test of time and live on past the continual renumberings and shifts in the house style.

Best Collected Edition - Last Look

Having encountered only the first part of Charles Burns' latest trilogy when it was released, I have delayed returning to it well past the the series conclusion. With the publicized debut of the long awaited collected edition, I have finally returned to the accomplished storyteller's latest opus and given it another try.

Read as a three-part story, "Last Look" functions on multiple levels along the lines of a David Lynch movie, with a surreal parallel running next to the relatively mundane plot involving a teenage romance gone wrong. Some of the phantasmagorical images fuel the the nightmarish feeling of love lost, but most of the time the book works just as well when it deals directly with the wasted potential of it's protagonist.

Burns' full color work in "Last Look", styled in homage to an Herge album works in an experimental way that shows the complex makeup of his character's tortured psyche. By utilizing all of his talent to bend the form to suit his story, the veteran writer/artist proves still capable of producing work of the highest caliber.

Best Reprint - Blue Monday

When Image decided to reissue Chynna Clugston Flores's signature series, an interview with the writer/artist lead me to try some of her most famous work produced at various times during the last 10-15 years. Debuting as an Oni series predating "Scott Pilgrim", "Blue Monday" has unfortunately since been largely overshadowed by Bryan Lee O'Malley's popular series covering some of the similar thematic ground.

Yet, despite Flores' series starting out as a largely manga-inspired work, it slowly morphs into a look that shares almost as much with the "Archie" titles. Covering a similar high school themed territory, her stories start as very dense with a manic fanzine-like energy, which gradually becoming better paced.

Gone is the all too familiar angst typical of the self-published autobiographical titles. In the writer/artist's telling, these are young people who despite their dramatic bursts still like one another and interact as a true group of peers.

With the long teased follow-up to these initial stories officially scheduled to debut the next year, the readers will finally be able to see what these characters have been up to as well as how their creator sees them from a viewpoint a decade removed from her initial start in the industry.

Project Superpowers: Blackcross #1-6

Long hailed as a genre innovator, Warren Ellis has recently been chosen to spearhead another superhero universe relaunch, this time concerning Dynamite's "Project Superpowers". The Golden Age characters, long since in public domain, have already enjoyed a revival, having been chosen by Diamond for a more conventional return in the previous decade. "Blackcross" comes on the heels of the writer's rejiggering of the "Supreme" mythos and in many ways acts as a companion piece to this earlier effort.

Finding a way to recast an odd assortment of characters in a setting that is decidedly not a major metropolitan city once again leads to a small-town mystery concerning ordinary citizens coming into contact with existing superhero lore. Their subsequent transformation is threatened by a serial killer trying to dispose of the group before they form a rag tag superhero unit.

Tasked with bringing Ellis' scripts to life is Colton Worley, a Dynamite mainstay that has yet to make a name for himself in the broader superhero industry. The relative novice has been fitted with the unenviable task of redesigning the characters placed in a gloomy forest setting, as well as animating a decompressed script that asks a lot of its artist.

Foregoing the captions, Ellis has crafted a fast paced story with frequent wordless action scenes followed by long conversations featuring the bedazzled characters trying to come to grips with a mystery involving a parallel universe and a hidden superhero community. Coupled with colorist Morgan Hickman's earthy crayon colors, the artist mostly succeeds in arriving at a view of Blackcross as a dark and hostile place, brimming with secrets and deep seated aggression. His work is raw and powerful, presenting an atmospheric tone that sometimes comes at the cost of clarity. 

The art certainly fits the story, whose ever expanding cast could have threatened to overwhelm the plot. Ellis wisely presupposes that the reader is unaware about much of anything regarding these old superheroes, past maybe the nicknames and assorted visuals. Instead, he focuses on bringing their weird characteristics to the fore, crafting a horror story more in the vein of Alan Moore's "Swamp Thing" than "The Avengers". 

The mystery regarding the transference of superhero personas past the boundaries of space and time is quickly subsumed within the conflict involving the superhero serial killer. In this way, the startled characters are dragged, snarking and bickering, into the fight with the antagonist before really getting to known each other. Their impromptu team-up presents a desperate skirmish where the cast gets to demonstrate the powers hinted at throughout the story.

The focus stays stays firm throughout, with Black Terror and Lady Satana providing a strong core for the series. It's hard to say that the other characters leave much of an impression, having largely been represented by their special abilities. Even then, they are designed realistically with only the barest hint of their original costumes.

If the company chooses to use the mini-series as a new start of their Project Superpowers universe, the hypothetical individual titles will still be tasked with having to provide character development and major world-building. Taken on its own, "Blackcross" is a professional work that tries to provide a compelling origin story for the disparate Golden Age superheroes that have yet to endure a complete overhaul which would enable them to be presentable for a potential TV series adaptation.

Warren Ellis and Jason Howard's "Scatterlands"

Starting in February, Warren ("Planetary", "Authority") Ellis and Jason ("Amazing Wolf-Man", "Super Dinosaur") Howard started a daily webcomic, styled after newspaper strips. Updating every workday, "Scatterland" released one panel at a time until it reached the end of its first storyline in June.

The limited palette restricts itself by focusing on stark red and grey, with subdued black and white giving a duo-tone look. Styled after the classic newspaper strips like "Prince Valiant", the panels are captioned in an engaging style, giving more depth to the futurescape and providing the title character with a clear motivation for her journey in a hostile land.

The story concerns Amira, who left the Western Court to journey to Bioscape, searching for a Songline. Before the reader is able to parse this information, the story unfolds in a string of well told action sequences, forcing the reader to return for another read, providing a better context for the dynamic adventure that they've just been taken on. The writer's love of science fiction and technology shines both in the world building and the gadgets given to the characters, all of which are used in the service of the story and don't detract from the rushed pace given to Amira's actions in Bioming.

It stands as a testament to the creators' strengths that the journey of the reckless, yet highly competent character stays gripping the whole time, with the each challenge in the new land presented in a visually arresting way. The inventiveness used by Ellis and Howard stems from the angles the panels are presented in, as well as the artist's clear definition of the characters. The use of red is particularly noteworthy in that it helps the elements of the composition stand out from the crosshatching and anchor the scenes in an urgent manner, befitting the tone of the script.

The creators present the protagonist fully clothed, with the long cloak presenting the character's defining visual element. The addition of the pouches to her belt completes the design in a way that feels practical as she proceeds to her objective, despite the threats from the local sect and her Western court pursuers. The webcomic dispenses with dialogue bubbles and sound effects, relying completely on the captions and visuals in presenting her mission.

Interestingly, the story ends a definite progression, as Amira leaves the Bioming and the book dispenses with the color scheme to signify the change. What little the reader sees of the new location supplements red for the blue, with the final panel containing the story's sole dialogue bubble. This is enough to pique the readers' interest in the upcoming developments, and given that the story has reportedly been plotted on the day to day basis, its remarkable how well it stands on its own.

As of now, no further work has been presented online or in print, despite the announcement that the story will be continued from Warren Ellis' website to its own domain. Image has released the first volume of the story as a webcomic in July, billed as their initial digital-first comic book. Despite the announcement, the story has yet to be released in the print edition.

Hopefully, with the Warren Ellis' return to writing the serial superhero stories for Marvel will mean that he will find a place in his schedule to continue the collaboration with Jason Howard.

Vampirella Lives #1-3

In 1996, Harris comics, then-current owner of the Vampirella licence, commissioned another in a series of mini-series starring the former Warren publishing phenomenon. The publisher was apparently happy to continue working with Amanda Conner, who had become a go to artist for all things Vampirella, sporting a very appealing cartoonish style, that nevertheless succeeded in capturing the darker edge of the property. At that point, she had already collaborated with the up and comer writer Warren Ellis on a short story that ultimately served as a prelude to their "Vampirella Lives" mini-series.

And while Ellis went on to write a couple of other, crossover-related Vampirella stories, it was the three-parter that served as the central attraction of Dynamite's 2010 "Vampirella Masters" series. The property's current owner was wise to market the story on his name (even if it's no excuse for leaving Conner out of the title), as it certainly helps orient the uninitiated reader to an entertaining piece of entertainment starring the character.

In recent years, Vampirella has proved a hard character to update, but what this series proves is that she can work just as well the mainstream publishers' darker titles, if given proper attention. This is not to say that the mini-series is a completely stand alone entry, as it follows up directly from the previous work with the property, but the creative team try their best to limit the number of references and stick to the premise as established in the opening pages.

Following her defeat at the hands of a villainess, and her brief sojourn in the afterlife, Vampirella returns to Earth with a new purpose and outlook on life. In order to ground the story in a semblance of reality, and provide a reader identification figure, the creative team offers Sam Feaveryear, a paranormal investigator of Whitechapel, a US town with a dark secret of its own. The veteran detective serves as Vampirella's guide to her new surroundings, but Ellis and Conner never let his quirks detract from the fact that this is Vampirella's story.

The title character, on the other hand, is far too caught up in the mythological struggles of her own kind to serve as a typical relatable protagonist, but her larger than life persona still serves to effect sympathy from the reader. This is no mean feat when it comes to a property that is defined by her sexuality, sporting a sensuous costume and body language designed to constantly provoke the audience. The mini-series certainly doesn't go as far as subverting the title's main appeal, with Conner continually depicting the voluptulous anti-heroine in a way that emphasizes her physicality, even in scenes where she's overcome with heartbreak and tragedy.

This kind of artificiality has become so traditional with American superhero comics, that it's hard to single out the Warren original as being at fault. The character was always marketed as a seductress and her sexuality is a much firmer part of her appeal than her always shifting origin story. The creators accept this and proceed to make a dark and sexual story of their own, which is the primary draw of the mini-series. Simply put, no matter the excess, and the obscure mid 1990s continuity, Warren Ellis and Amanda Conner make sure that the story is first and foremost.

Their three issues are nothing like the badly paced, aggressive juvenalia that characterized so much of the 1990s superhero output, switching from one subplot to another and generally forming a very unsatisfying whole. "Vampirella Lives" is instead a revenge story, a story of a town beset by vampires, which largely succeeds on the strength of its central mechanism. Ellis and Conner set up a lot of the story in an expertly paced manner and continue to entertain until resolving all of the plot threads in the explosive finish.

Their story is a testament to the best of the genre comics, a complicated narrative which fulfills all of its many requirements, while remaining thoroughly fair to the reader. Ellis doesn't begrudge his audience for their aesthetic choices, he doesn't talk down to them, instead offering a smart and very functional collage that is neither too campy, nor too scary to be actively repulsing. Conner likewise understands that she is illustrating a horror thriller, one that continually fetishizes its protagonist, but she is at least as concerned with panel layouts, clarity of storytelling, and keeping a sense of humor about the whole thing.

These are comics featuring a vampire resurrection, psychokinetic assassins, and above all, a town called Whitechapel. Yet, the storytelling is so strong that it manages to be much more than a sum of its parts, and ultimately ends up making a real story. The protagonist's return is contrasted with her brethern trying to bring another of their own kind back to life, while Vampirella's selfless actions are continually compared to that of Nyx, her self-serving nemesis. This kind of thematic resonance is typically instinctive in the material of this kind, but it is anything but accidental when it comes to Ellis and Conner.

Both of them were at an early stage of their careers when they collaborated on Vampirella, but they still demonstrate a high level of craft in every aspect of the book's production. Ellis' dialogue is highly idiosyncratic and functional, the characters finely chosen genre archetypes serving to accentuate every part of the protagonist's unique nature. Conner  visualizes them in her own animated style, placing them in a seedy, cynical world which she makes sensual and inviting.

Despite both creators' subsequent ventures in the world of mainstream publishing, their early collaboration still remains one of their most potent genre offerings, avoiding the headier concerns of their more ambitious material to provide what Dynamite has rightly recognized as highly commercial material selling on the strength of its creator(s).

Secret Avengers #19 "Aniana"

Marvel has already revealed that they won't be extending their collaboration with Warren ("Authority", "Transmetropolitan") Ellis on Secret Avengers, having announced the new creative team for February's #22. Meanwhile, the celebrated writer's six issue stint still has two issues awaiting publication, with solicitations listing Alex Maleev as the illustrator.

This week debuted "Aniana", the writer's fourth consecutive issue, done using Michael ("Gotham Central", "Daredevil") Lark's layouts, finished by Stefano Gaudiano and Brian Thies, previously responsible for Secret Avengers #5, a done in one story by the series original writer Ed Brubaker. Lark is a strong stylist whose work has somewhat fell under the radar due to his commitment on Marvel's "Dark Tower" adaptations, making his return to the superhero mainstream a welcome one. The penciller'r neo noir stylings have benefited both Batman and Daredevil families of books, lending a sense of reality to the crime/superhero genre hybrids, in turn making him a very solid choice for the spy fiction inspired "Secret Avengers".

The troubled title has come a long way from being a colorful companion to Brubaker's "Captain America" work, with the company's decision to keep on extending their support based primarily on the fan's continued support to the tertiary "Avengers" series. After Nick Spencer's short run, and Warren Ellis' decision not to stick with the series following the six oneshots, it's up to Rick ("Fear Agent", "Uncanny X-Force") Remender to try and retool Secret Avengers in a hopefully more cohesive and appealing title, but before he attempts what may well be the last shake up before Marvel dismisses with the title, Ellis has a few more chances to exploit Brubaker's line up to the full effect.

For the use in their East European mission, the writer uses Steve Rogers, Black Widow, Sharon Carter and Moon Knight, once again dismissing with Valkyre and War Machine, the extravagant heavy ordnance superheroes that have proven such ill fits to the book. When the full line up including the Beast and Ant-Man was announced, it was expected that Brubaker would somehow bring the disparate characters together, but in reality he felt more interested in teasing new members such as Nova and Shang Chi, then actually integrating the main cast into a believable fighting unit.

And while a lack of subplots might have been abridged by more strongly defined personalities, what appeared on a page was a strange hybrid of Avengers and GI Joe, where the Captain America served as a commander of anti terrorist unit, tasked with fighting Shadow Council, a secret society flirting with the occult. Ultimately, the writer left the book after the initial two story arcs, leaving the follow up to newcomer Nick ("Morning Glories", "Jimmy Olsen") Spencer, who ended up sticking around only for the "Fear Itself" crossover tie in. Once Ellis debuted with the first of his six short stories, it was clear that any kind of series continuity was largely abandoned to make for at least serviceable storytelling, while the company makes sense of where next to take the franchise.

In "Aniana", Ellis returns to wringing out spy action out of Eastern European conflicts, but decides to substitute #17's Serbia for fictional Symkaria (located on Marvel's map so as to take up a portion of northern Serbia territory). And while still tangently related to the battle against Shadow Council, the story is a classic example of stand alone fiction. Designed to have a band of Marvel's grittier characters team up to take down a narcotics cartel in a former political hotspot, it purposefully ignores any references to current continuity, offering accessible spy action, done without the company's typical reliance on overwriting and garish superhero costumes.

Starting with a scene that has Black Widow and Sharon Carter trying to infiltrate the building by posing as a couple of dim witted party girls, Ellis calls to attention the series debut. And while under Mike Deodato jr.'s pencils, Black Widow and Valkyre's masquerade quickly turned into a full blown superhero melee, Ellis prefers the subtlety of moving the characters to the restroom where they plan their next move. Captain America, who had flamboyantly dropped in to save his team mates Brubaker's series opening, proceeds to secure the back entrance dressed in plain clothes, fitting the bleakness of the crime stricken old country capital.

Recalling the first issue of his run, and moreover the "Global Frequency" creator owned maxi-series that serves as the blueprint for Ellis' take on "Secret Avengers", most of the action is centered around a single locale, that the cast has to pass through, recalling a typical video game level. The resemblance is further reinforced by the uniform design of the antagonists, that starting with the enforcer Captain America fights in a couple of pages utilizing the nine panel grid, before opening up to the double pager revealing the larger then life element justifying the fantastical backdrop of Marvel universe.

Namely, each of the bodyguards recalls the stereotypical biker thug, coupled with sideburns, long hair and leather clothes, much like the Shadow Council ninjas in Ellis' first issue all designed the same way, almost recalling "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" foes Foot-Soldiers. The hostility of the cold, unforgiving Symkarian climate is illustrated by Jose Villarubia's, who chooses the different hues of yellow, gray, brown and green, so that the occasional splash of red has the desired effect of standing out from such a drab lifeless backdrop.

Fittingly, Ellis calls for a costume redesign that dismisses with most of the costumes, boiling them down to realistic gear that maintains by preserving the color scheme. Thereby, Captain America's costume ends up represented on a T-shirt with his symbol on it, while Moon Knight spends most of the story in a white suit. By time Marc Spector puts the mask on, the story beat seems right out of a crime film, not a typical super hero slugfest.

Posing as millionaire Steven Grant, Moon Knight gains admittance to the brothel level of the boss' den, completing Ellis' positioning each of the primary players. Starting out in different parts of the building, they coordinate their attack by steadily climbing higher through the legion of thugs, until they get to Shadow Council's contact, and Symkarian arms dealer. The video-game level set-up serves the story well, enforcing clear goals that Lark and Gaudiano proceed to illustrate with clarity and the requisite dynamic. Moreover, Lark's layouts and figurework is impeccable, enabling the fights to exibit the requisite body weight of combatants needed to get over their running through the corridors and bumping into each other. Lark's work is precise and typically a bit stiff, but the layering Gaudiano and Thies add helps solidify the figures in finely composed panels, leading to a very satisfying reading experience.

On the other hand, Ellis purposefully introduces the supernatural element to liven up the dynamic of the fight with the bikers, foregoing the banality of the staircase as the backdrop, and adding a touch of mystique to the proceedings. The build up benefits the showdown with the head criminal, making the power hungry thug somewhat more interesting due to his dabbling with mysticism, while also making him a credible threat to the four veteran superheroes.

In order to make the story more believable, Ellis frequently casts one off antagonists in such a role that they seem somewhat forgettable following the fight's conclusion, and Symkarian crime lord certainly fits into that category. The self perpetuating cycle of episodic storytelling frequently leads to tales designed merely to carry over the property until a more memorable commercial period, and "Aniana" certainly fits the bill. Of course, Ellis is completely aware of conditions involved with working in pulp entertainment, with good reviews following his "Secret Avengers" stories precisely due to his commitment in making each story a complete unit that maximizes the entertainment.

Working in superhero industry, Ellis has to stay within certain bounds, hence the addition of flachette guns replacing the live ammunition as a way of dispensing with the countless generic goons. This is what separates Moon Knight's James Bond approach from either the movies or the Ian Fleming original, as the Secret Avengers' tactics hew more closely to the non lethal strategy of GI Joe then that of an actual black ops squad. Ellis was contracted to simply breathe some life into an already unworkable premise, which is exactly what he set out to do with the help of a cadre of strong genre artists. Issue 19 is a fine example of creators working their professional best, in the process creating a piece of solid entertainment that has already proven popular with the jaded readers of "Secret Avengers".

Planetary #27

Back story

Today saw the release of the long-awaited last issue of Warren Ellis and John Cassaday's "Planetary", for DC's Wildstorm imprint. "Planetary" was first published in 1999, and shipped on an irregular schedule for more than two years, before the publisher decided to give it another push in late 2002, choosing to with a bi-monthly schedule. By then, both it's writer and artist have found success in the more traditional DC and Marvel superhero comics, thus the series once again started to come out infrequently.

The second to last issue of "Planetary" was published three whole years ago, with Wildstorm openly declaring that the finale will be some time in coming, due to the creators' commitments. In the time since, the news about the eagerly awaited #27 were rare, but what was finally established was that Ellis had turned in a script a couple of years ago, leaving the series to wait until Cassaday found the time in his schedule to commit to pencilling the issue.

For it's fans, "Planetary" was in many ways a special series. Debuting side-by-side with Ellis' more commercial "the Authority", the Cassaday-drawn series was something of a cult favorite. Nominally utilizing the premise of inventing new superheroes to explore the Wildstorm universe Cold war continuity, the creators were quick to establish the series as it's own thing. Thus, every issue of "Planetary" worked as a self-contained chapter, featuring a very lush and expertly-paced mix of superhero homages as seen through it's pulp origins. The special care used to develop the project manifested itself through memorable covers, and every adventure having a somewhat different feel, while slowly creating the book's mythology.

More than that, Ellis managed to inject his stories with his own commentary on the pop culture referenced, but never in the way that would slow the book down, or encumber it with unnecessary references. Cassaday's distinctive artwork saw fit to integrate all of the pieces into a unique whole, that was still very accessible and stylish. Basically, "Planetary" never stopped being a post-superhero book that targeted a more mature reader bending toward science-fiction with a lot of character, but it was remarkably successful in what it set out to do. It stands to it's creators strengths that in the 10 years since it debuted, there has been so few of the books that managed to come close to it's level of craft and entertainment.

Last issue

"Planetary" was always designed to be a finite book, though, and over the course of it's run, a clear pattern slowly and naturally emerges. Thus, the later issues in the series focus firmly on the team's mission, which is trying to eliminate their opposite numbers. Interestingly, "the Four" that the protagonists set out against, turn out to be a more cynical version of Marvel's Silver Age pioneers, "the Fantastic Four". Yet, the anti-climatic final confrontation with the malevolent scientists took place in the issue preceding #27, enabling Ellis and Cassaday to focus on showing the difference between the two groups. The last issue of the series is thus completely devoted to a benign act of trying to save the long thought dead fourth member of the main Planetary cell, Ambrose Chase.

In order to accomplish this, the book's central character, Elijah Snow uses not only the strength of his own team, but all of "the Four"'s resources that the team's come into possession. Contrary to Marvel analogues, the Planetary organization utilizes all of the knowledge available to benefit the humanity, gained by following their motto of preserving "a strange world". Due to the nature of Ambrose's predicament, the issue serves to spotlight the group's mutant scientist, and artist John Cassaday's self-portrait, "the Drummer".

As with some of the later "Planetary" issues, #27 doesn't exist as a concrete parallel to a particular piece of pop-culture, but it still comes with a heavy does of science-fiction. Warren Ellis makes all of the pseudo-science convincing on the plot level, even if some of it seems dense at first. This is very important considering that the operation Elijah and his team partake on makes up the whole of the 32-page story. If some of it seems heavy, thankfully, the comics format enables the reader to go back and reread the confusing section in order to obtain a clearer understanding of the proceedings. Even then, just continuing on with the story may prove a better option, as the construction of the life-saving machine and it's function is adequately explained at every turn.

Ellis is careful not to sideline the team's powerhouse, and provides enough space for Jakita Wagner. The team's female member with a scandalously low boredom threshold ends up not merely commenting on the plan for Ambrose's rescue, but plays the integral, and very much in character, role in the finishing stages. Likewise, Ellis finds enough space to feature some of the series' more colorful supporting characters, showing the reader their role in the next step of the Planetary organization, but never at the expense of plot.

Because, if nothing else, the reader could have expected the series' send-off to be a retrospective, providing another look at some of the hinted-at lore behind Planetary's world filled with decades of superhero history. Ellis and Cassaday forgo such sentimentality and keep true to form, by concentrating on a single science fiction idea, and making it work in the larger context of the series. This makes for a much more cohesive and wholesome experience, that actually stands up as a story on it's own. Considering that the issue was three whole years in the making, it's remarkable how clear it is in reminding the reader of the characters and the situations, providing just enough of a reminder so as not to intrude in the complexities of the plot at hand.

Strangely, for all the drama regarding such a time-oriented rescue operation, the question of Elijah Snow's own mortality never comes up. It's interesting in itself, because as set up by Ellis, "century babies" end up perishing at the end of 1999, or at least undergoing a transformation into another incarnation of the planet's immune system. This particular bit of trivia seems incidental only when considering that a simple line of text could have justified the protagonist's continued existence. Still, the seeming anomaly points out to a hazy sense of time that surrounds the events featured in the issue. Ambrose's incident, previously clearly shown to take place in 1997, is referred to as happening "a few years ago", while it was previously clear that all of the Planetary's twenty seven issues, including the specials, take place in a relatively short amount of time. Considering this being the last episode of the series, it seems unlikely that the editorial would push to blur the timing of events, so as not to confuse the readers.

Sadly, this plays out in concert with the promise that the closing pages of the issue make. Ever optimistic, "the Planetary" just begs to be continued upon, but it's creators once again prove right in their decision. Taking into account that all of their series has been one wider arc, it's a relief to see it come to it's natural conclusion without further spin-offs, no matter how interesting the glimpses at Ellis and Cassaday's superhero world may have been. The many interesting concepts and new versions of pulp phenomena, no matter how colorful, were always employed with a precise goal, of getting across the idea of a fully functional fictional reality. And, looking objectively, having beaten their rivals, the Planetary team have achieved a kind of superhero utopia that is by it's nature devoid of the kind of drama that has characterized the series, the question of Elijah Snow's lifespan excluded.

Perhaps this is a reason why Ellis and Cassaday chose not to feature Ambrose Chase's family, declining to give them even a cameo in the last issue's pages. They are simply not integral to the wider plot, no more than the several other Planetary cells glimpsed throughout the series' run. "Planetary" ends up being a story of Elijah Snow, a nearly hundred years old superhuman that resurfaces to try and adapt to new times, while figuring out how to deliver a final blow to the enemies of humanity that have arose in his absence. Having unlocked "the Four"'s secrets from the world at large, the Planetary organization has introduced their reality to the 21st century, which largely brings the plot to it's conclusion. Thus, the series' last issue acts as nothing more than a personal coda to the difference saving one life makes to the team, and in turn the humanity they are indebted to saving.

In the end, "Planetary" remains a superhero series at heart, once again proving that the decades old concepts can be refreshing even now, if utilized with intelligence and flourish. Hopefully, it will have a long life in collected form, showing the result that the difference the skill and knowledge of Warren Ellis and John Cassaday have made in the over-crowded comic book market, that regularly struggles when it comes to similar ideas.

Aetheric mechanics

"Aetheric mecahnics" is the latest graphic novel from Avatar, published as part of their "Apparat" imprint, devoted solely to leaving the industry's premiere SF writer, Warren Ellis, to spotlight his own creations, based on the familiar genre archetypes. This time around, it's steampunk's turn, but Ellis, aided by the artist Gianluca Pagliarani brings a lot more to the table than that.

The story starts out as a fully-functional steampunk piece, brining familiar Victorian-era fiction together with the SF tropes developed much later. Once the atmosphere is fully established, the tale shifts it's center around being a Sherlock Holmes pastiche, though not without some cumbersome exposition. It proceeds along, carefully building the mystery, all the while taking the characters out of their iconic status quo and actually developing them in a way that is both spontaneous and logical. Upon reaching the climax, Ellis shifts gears again, ambitiously bringing the science angle to the fore, before wrapping the whole plot by bringing in the metafictional elements! The story ends, revealed in it's post-modern bent, and leaving the reader satisfied, yet sad to see the fully developed setting and it's implications come to a halt.

In presenting the story full of lengthy conversation, Warren Ellis has wisely chosen an artist capable of depicting a wide-range of facial expressions. Despite a rushed look of the crime-scene segment of the book, Pagliarani does not disappoint, brining to life both the distinctive character designs, as well as richly detailed backgrounds. The story suffers only from the lack of space, which has robbed a piece so devoted to the pulp late 19th century fiction of at least one more action sequence, inadequately substituted by a single page flashback.

It's amazing how much ground Ellis has managed to cover, starting out with a tale that feels familiar to his Planetary homages. Judging by his recent work, Ellis is very aware that he is living in the present. His "Doctor Sleepless" ongoing clearly shows nothing of the Hunter Thompson influence that characterized the science-fictional setting of his "Transmetropolitan". Writing "Aetheric mechanics", he has actually put the subject of inspiration to the forefront, ending his story by concentrating on the effect the genre classics have had on today's writers.

"Aetheric mechanics" has ended up being a short, but deeply multi layered work, by a continually improving author not afraid to discuss his influences on the very pages of the comic book. By doing so, Ellis actually touches upon the same ground Alan Moore did in the seminal League of Extraordinary Gentlemen's latest outing, the controversial "Black dossier", yet in a way that still keeps it's feet firmly in the place of it's adventure-fiction origins, providing the readers with the compelling characters and drama on which the deeper metafictional themes hang upon.

It is an effort that surpasses "Apparat"'s previous "Frank Ironwine" one-shot, an inventive comics on it's own, promising even greater creative challenges in the imprint's future.