- Planet Death #1
- Bad Idea
- Written by Derek Kolstad & Robert Venditti
- Art & Cover by Tomás Giorello
- Colors by Sunny Gho
- Letters by Tom Napolitano
- Available now
The explosive 64-page first issue of the record-breaking series premieres in a high end, deluxe prestige format!
From the minds of blockbuster screenwriter Derek Kolstad — creator and writer of the box office dominating motion picture franchise JOHN WICK — and New York Times best-selling writer Robert Venditti (Superman ‘78, Green Lantern), along with artistic visionary Tomás Giorello comes a groundbreaking new sci-fi epic.
Millions of miles from home, hundreds of ships descend into the stormy atmosphere of a hostile frozen world. On board, an army of resolute men and women brace for the coming assault.
They are an invasion force, on an impossible mission — destroy the devastating enemy weapon garrisoned below. Corporal Scott and his battalion are in the vanguard but the human forces are no match for their brutal alien adversaries. Scott’s battalion is dead within moments. He is its lone survivor. The landing force annihilated, the battle is lost.
Against overwhelming odds, Scott dares the unthinkable — cross behind enemy lines, survive the lethal landscape, evade capture by ruthless enemies, resist natural predators, face human deserters and finish the mission singlehandedly. Locked in his suit of full combat battle armor, sustained only by what he can carry, and driven by Earth’s wrath, Scott must do by himself what an entire army could not.
Destroy the weapon.
Return home.
Okay… I don’t wanna give anything away, but it ain’t looking great for Corporal Scott.
Also not to give too much away, I’m getting the impression that Planet Death isn’t going to be a light-hearted romp of a story. From the first page of issue 0, happily gifted to me as a tease by the owner/proprietor of Ken’s Comics & Collectibles in Palm Coast, Florida, the imagery is dystopic to the Nth degree. There is, however, a very familiar flavor to the book’s particular brand of chaos, and any fans of Warhammer40K who thought all the religious stuff was a little over the top should be pleased.
The first issue for Planet Death replays much of what came before it in the preview issue, told from a different perspective and fleshing out some of the tone to bring added depth. Writers Derek Kolstad & Robert Venditti each bring a specific flavor to their work. Venditti comes into the story having written for XO Manowar (Valiant Comics) and Hall Jordan & the Green Lantern Corps (DC), the former series carrying a primal approach to its protagonist and the latter a more organized “army of one” mindset. Kolstad has written some of the most driven, single-mindedly determined, and relentlessly violent character arcs seen in movies, with John Wick, Ballerina, and Nobody on his list of credits.
What that all means is that Planet Death carries itself just a little differently from other action-driven stories. By way of comparison, it kinda reminded me of Starship Troopers (the movie, not the book by Heinlein), with a little Saving Private Ryan blended in as the reader is given very little time to settle in before it all well and truly hits the fan. We’re introduced to Cpl. Scott as his re-gen bath is drained, he’s awakened for duty and welded into a suit of battle armor, surrounded by a battalion of his fellow soldiers. Their orders: “Destroy the weapon. Return home.” That’s it. That’s all they get and it’s the refrain that echoes through Scott’s mind throughout the slaughter that follows.
Tomas Giorello has one helluva a job ahead of him, rendering the frantic energy of combat into a series of panels on a series of pages. And damned if he isn’t taking that challenge and making it look easy. The heavy emotion Giorello packs in alongside the brutal action is a perfect balance for a comic with minimalist dialogue, showing Scott’s single-minded purpose… accomplish the mission, sure, but that’s the means to his true end: get home. The world is brought into focus, given weight and depth by the work of colorist Sunny Gho. Some of these pages, I could almost feel the grit in my teeth. Finally, the script is brought to life within the panel with the talents of letterer Tom Napolitano laying it down without interrupting or distracting from the intense action. In combination, Giorello, Gho, and Napolitano bring their powers together like a group of Shaolin Warriors from an old Shaw Brothers movie.
Planet Death snuck up on me. I hadn’t heard anything about it before I was handed that zero issue, and I’ve already thanked my local comic shop for pushing it into my hands. The mix of hardcore action and emotional weight is firing on all cylinders and has made this one a “gotta have”. Issue 2 isn’t out for a couple of months, so you’ve got time to catch up and get on board.
Final Score: 12/13
