Planetary #10: The Light in Blackest Night

After the dramatic events in the last issue which saw the release of a fictional individual into our own reality thanks to the Four, Planetary #10 unsurprisingly takes the series in a new direction as the stakes and players become more clear with every issue. Elijah Snow has only just begun to unravel this incredibly expansive mystery, and while it is proving to be more dangerous than anyone thought, it’s certainly an exciting read!

This issue tells the story of an alien planet, on the verge of destruction due to societal ignorance, entrusting their final hope in one couple’s child cast into the stars. Sound familiar? Hold on, we aren’t done yet. As this is happening, we are also introduced to a lantern of reason (glowing “perfectly blue”), it’s power and space’s first policeman. An entire force of beings all around the galaxy wielding this power for true justice. Combined these, Superman and Green Lantern influenced stories help to bring the series into the superhero realm as well as explore a more cosmic approach to the story at hand.

There is also something important in the parallels of these particular stories. In the DC mythos the Blue Lanterns are wielders of a powerful emotion in the emotional spectrum, hope! The wielders we see in Planetary #10 may use the lantern of reason, but contrasted against the Superman-esque origin story from the other aliens there is a common thread that becomes clear. The “S” on Superman’s chest, the Kryptonian symbol for hope, immediately comes to mind. The impact of hope runs deep in this issue and while it may seem vague at first, everything comes together with brutal clarity at the end when we see its impact on Elijah Snow.

John Stone from S.T.O.R.M. looks to be making an appearance very soon with Elijah finally deciding it wasn’t up to Planetary to be proactive, it was up to him. This encapsulates the entire issue and once more shows this creative team is onto something special, ten issues into the series. Cassaday shows a lot of flexibility in this issue, tackling multiple aesthetics and pulling them off with seemingly ease thanks to solid colors and easy to read letters. The visuals carry significant weight in this issue and deserve praise for their ability to blend the established tone into this expansive vision.

This is the first issue of Planetary that I’ve felt it was more important to build up to the coming issues rather than falling into the one-shot vein. While it can absolutely still be enjoyed on its own, this one’s strongest attributes stem from the potential it has within the series, and bear with me, the hope it inspires. It’s a brilliant mixture of meta commentary and narrative prowess from everyone involved.

It’s honestly a treat to read with every issue and this one is no different! If you’ve been following these reviews and I haven’t convinced you yet to read this series, I can now recommend this series to any fan of DC Comics. With Wonder Woman’s mind-blowing introduction into Planetary, I simply couldn’t be more excited for what’s to come.