“They are coming. And they’re bringing war with them.” Declares the opening splash image of Planet Death #0 by writers Derek Kolstad and Robert Venditti, artist Tomás Giorello, colorist Dave Stewart, and letterer Tom Napolitano. And while it is a salvo for the issue, I can’t help but think of it as a salvo from Bad Idea as a whole.
Planet Death is the first of a new era for Bad Idea, and while this preview issue has sold well and they’ve paraded the suit of armor around at cons, cynical comic fans are no doubt debating whether this comic is worth the hype.
I don’t count myself among those, though I will admit I did tweet at Bad Idea when they revealed the book and wanted to read it in black and white. Why do we have to color Giorello? After reading this issue, I can tell you this is probably Dave Stewart’s finest hour, and I can’t wait to see what this looks like printed!
I’ve flipped through this issue several times, just soaking in the colors alone, and I can say now that no, I don’t want this in black and white. Stewart is vital here. There’s so much depth and vibrancy here. It’s clear that this wasn’t a rush job, as often colors can be. I love the usage of greens here, it just jumps off the page and breathes a tremendous amount of life into the piece. There’s a ton of work done to create truly alien skies in this and I really appreciate it.
Planet Death is a sci-fi epic from the accomplished writing team of Derek Kolstad (John Wick, Nobody) and Robert Venditti (X-O Manowar, Green Lantern), along with the visionary artist Tomás Giorello (X-O Manowar, The Finder). It’s truly a stacked creative team (even before we get to colors or letters). Perhaps the weakest element on display in this issue is Napolitano on letters, but I’m sure he’ll be able to flex once the war really gets going in the series proper. This is a zero issue, a teaser, but it’s not shallow like these things usually are.
We are shown a fair bit of setup, a POW is threatening his alien captors with what is coming for them; a battalion of human soldiers in mech armor. Things take a turn, as things often do in war. Here it felt like real depth — I should have known — because Venditti is a writer who often sneaks up on me. Here he does it again.
This could have easily been a quick tease of an issue that just leaned on Giorello’s art, instead it’s a multi-cannon strike from a creative team that is taking no prisoners. Giorello often creates worlds that live in my head, there are sequences in The Finder (also from Bad Idea) that live up there rent free. Visionary is often thrown around, but Giorello is one of the few who have earned that descriptor, which I do not use lightly.
I often step away from Free Comic Book Day releases a little underwhelmed because they are usually FOMO driven artifacts. Planet Death #0 is a speeding train, not only for the rest of the series, but also for the rest of what Bad Idea is doing this year. All aboard!
