If my calculations are correct, the creative team of Planetary produced only three issues in 2004. And the book, which had once been one of my favorites, had become so late that I just didn't care anymore, even though each issue was usually a good read. The sporadic schedule of the series is an embarrassment, but this issue, as Ellis, Cassaday and Martin take on the Lone Ranger and The Shadow, is a damn good read, and reminded me why the book was once one of my favorites. Clearly Ellis was born in the wrong era, and is really far more suited to the pulp sensibilities than to their descendants in superhero comic-books, as this story nails the essential core of both of these archetypes while offering up some intriguing new modernist insights, and Cassaday and Martin do lush, realistic work that makes the reader feel like they're right in the middle of these stories.
The framing device of this issue is the interrogation of William Leather, one of the "Four" who have plagued the Planetary team. These three pages, dealing with Snow's interrogation of Leather that starts the flashback that is the majority of the issue, are the ones that should theoretically suffer from the lateness of the series. Snow may remember what happened on the Nautilus, but I have only the vaguest recollection, and so I shouldn't really care about these pages. However, the brutality of Snow's torture methods and the obvious emotion from such a relatively emotionless man makes it clear what's going on even if the story specifics aren't there in the memory.
More importantly, while this story will impact the overall story of Planetary, like most of the issues, that structure is more or less there to provide Ellis a reason to ruminate on wild ideas. Ellis's characters are always recognizable as their archetypes, to the extent that you could almost accuse him of just re-telling familiar tales, but there's always enough originality in the execution to dodge that complaint. Little things like tying the "Dead Ranger" into the reality snowflake, or giving a scientific rationale for why his bullets had wounded men "dying of shame" make for an interesting story. And making the Lone Ranger the father of the Shadow is an idea worthy of Alan Moore's League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.
The real selling point of this issue, though, is in the action sequences. Cassaday and Martin have a lot to be proud of, as they bring a modern, Hong Kong-influenced action style to stories of a western hero blasting away through outlaws or a '30s pulp hero defending a lawman and his family against four deadly crooks. Cassaday is amazing at giving a sense of motion to still panels, and while some may claim that modern CGI in Hollywood has gotten to the point that it can best the unlimited budgets of comics, my answer would be that Cassaday can evoke the same magic as the best CGI with just his pencil, pen and the aid of Laura Martin on colors. Bret Leather's transformation into a wall of spiders is a chilling and powerful visual, to give only one example.
I'm still not likely to start picking up Planetary in single issues again, because the long delays and the way the series is structured make it seem like a fool's game. However, this issue reminded me of the pure pop power that Planetary has, and of just how good this creative team is together, and if all the issues continue to be this strong, I'll definitely be picking up the next trade paperback. Probably in 2008, at this rate. 8/10
