Review: ‘Planet Death’ #0 Looks Great As It Sets The Stage
by Austin Gorton
Overview
Planet Death #0 is light on plot and character but heavy on tone and mood, a showcase for artist Tomás Giorello that ably sets the stage for the series to come.
Overall
8/10Equal parts Starship Troopers and Edge of Tomorrow, Planet Death #0 is a gorgeous amuse bouche of the upcoming series from Bad Idea.
Written by Derek Kolstad, the screenwriter of John Wick, and comics vet Robert Venditti, it provides a brief snapshot of the central conflict of the story: human space marines, fused into battle suits, are invading an alien world. But the story, especially in this brief #0 issue, plays second fiddle to the art from Tomás Giorello.
Giorello is the clear star of the issue, turning in rich, intricate linework. From the opening two pages — full splashes showing a captive and his captors from mirrored perspectives — to a series of double page splashes that depict each sides’ forces en masse, to the detailed design work of the ships, weapons, and uniforms, Planet Death #0 is a visual feast.
Colorist Dave Stewart does his part as well. Not only does he render the aliens in an eerie green, but he makes more subtle contributions as well, such as rendering the human soldiers in a sickly yellow under their helmets, quietly suggesting they have more in common with the violent aliens they’re attacking then it would seem.
While the plot of Planet Death #0 isn’t exactly complex, Kolstad and Venditti do have some fun with the simple setup, presenting, essentially, the same story twice. The first version is the captive human’s boast of what is going to happen to the aliens once the rest of his force arrives. The second version is the aliens’ response, arguing that thanks to the captive’s heads up, they’ll be able to easily overpower the invaders.
In the end, neither version is shown as “right”, as the story ends with the invasion force entering orbit above the alien world, leading into the first proper issue of the series. Thus it’s left to us to decide which account is more likely to happen — or, of course, we’ll have to pick up the next issue to find out.
It’s an engaging enough narrative approach to lend just enough support to the art to prevent the issue from feeling like a fancy sketchbook. Certainly, Planet Death #0 isn’t a rich, compelling text. None of the characters are named nor, I suspect, will we see any of them in the series proper. Even by going slowly to pour over the art, it’s a quick read.
But as a preview to whet the appetite for what’s to come, it’s a bang-on success.