BAD PLANET begins when a couple of slacker alien truckers (or the space equivalent thereof) lose the bulbous mass they're hauling through the cold reaches of space, only to be blown upon colliding with it. Fast-forward about 400 years to Earth in the present. As that bulbous mass careens towards our planet, scientists at the Department of Planetary Defense argue about the danger of this particular Near Earth Object. Before it can land, two gelatinous flying saucers eject, one landing in Washington, D.C., but the other in Bloedriver, South Africa. Needless to say, all hell breaks loose when a race of arachnid aliens emerge from the pods. The eating begins next month, presumably.
BAD PLANET reads like the twisted offspring of a premarital union between E.C. Comics' science fiction titles from the 1950s and HEAVY METAL in the 1970s. The opening feels kitschy (trucker aliens watching porn), but it's clearly intentional and the book strikes an ideal balance between nostalgia camp and serious sci-fi horror. I don't like irony, and BAD PLANET never condescends or mocks its source material. It's nothing but love from Jane and Niles.
My only real criticism with this issue are the obvious swipes taken at our current president. Lest anyone think me a sensitive Republican or anything, I'm not (nor am I really thrilled with Dubya these days). However, the couple of references to Bush come across as snide and distract more than anything. It's not a huge deal, but it's a good way to set some readers at odds with a mostly apolitical story.
Let me sing the praises of Lewis Larosa and Tim Bradstreet. The art on this first issue blew me away not only with its character designs, but for its movie-style shots and outstanding sense of depth and motion. Before this, only the Wachowski Brothers' Burlyman titles have created that sense of a film on paper. BAD PLANET just looks amazing.
Thus far, Raw Entertainment has a winner on its hands. Niles and Jane play to each other's strengths and write with a unique, compelling voice.
Questions? Comments? Let us know what you think at comicscape@cinescape.com.
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