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RETURN OF THE KING

Wait a second. That's not right. Just let me dust off my handy Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ formatting manual...

RETURN OF THE KING

Much better.

So I haven't done one of these in awhile but this book crossed my mind while I was taking a shower and I've got a few things to say about it.

So Crossing Worlds is a collection of the three crossovers Planetary had with other books during its twenty-seven issue run, and they all range from pretty good to really good.

WARREN ELLIS LIKED LOVECRAFT BEFORE IT WAS COOL

First up is Planetary/Authority, two books written by Warren Ellis and two books near and dear to my heart. (Listen, I know Mr. Ellis is a total d-bag. It's a shame that he wrote such awesome comics :/) It's got some good bits. You get to see fucked-up Cthulhu versions of the Justice League and the Authority. H.P. Lovecraft is a minor character in this ish and his pigheaded racism actually saves the world.

I think my one quarrel with Planetary/Authority is that I'm pretty sure the two teams never actually team-up. They bump into one another when they're both called in to evacuate a city and there's a flashback to Elijah Snow and Jenny Sparks smoking cigarettes after having gotten it on but you never get to see, say, The Drummer and The Engineer talking shop about computers, or Jakita and Midnighter arguing about who's cooler. Phil Jimenez draws this one though and that's pretty cool.

DOES THIS EVEN COUNT

The next ish is Planetary/Justice League and, though it's a dope book, I'm not sure if it technically counts as a crossover. See, neither team featured is from the main continuity. It's evil Planetary vs. a civilian clothes Justice League that never had the opportunity to be costumed heroes. It does do some cool stuff, though. I mean, it is a Warren Ellis book. Even if it's an alternate universe I always have a lot of fun seeing Batman put on the whole "out-of-touch playboy megabillionaire" act. Clark, Diana, and Bruce hanging out is always a treat. And, corny as it may be, I thought it was clever when Elijah Snow was revealed to be Joe Chill (the man who murdered Bruce Wayne's parents!!)

Clark gets totally chumped though. He gets teleported out of the Planetary satellite and dies in the vacuum of space. I guess it depends on what version of Superman we're supposed to be reading, though. Like, sometimes he can breathe in space. And other times, like in Kingdom Come, he has to wear a respirator. Whatevs.

NIGHT ON EARTH

But this issue... this issue is a crowning achievement. Planetary/Batman is one of my all-time favorite Batman stories. It's a visual showcase for John Cassaday (who tries on the styles of Neal Adams, Frank Miller, and an Adam West TV show Batman) AND Warren Ellis proves that he's got a pretty good understanding of who Batman is supposed to be. Ellis balances Batman's never-ending battle for justice against his empathy for victims of violence. I can't really describe this issue with words. You've gotta see it for yourself.

Shame on Chip Zdarsky for cribbing that "Batman '66 has a repellent for every scenario" joke. That's right guys. It was here first. Adam West Batman maces Jakita in the face with "Bat-Female-Villain-Repellent" spray. I bet Warren Ellis is pissed.

Needless to say... 5/5