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Planetary was previewed in the September 1998 issues of Gen13 (#33) and C-23 (#6), and issue #1 was cover-dated April 1999. It was originally intended to be a 24-issue bi-monthly series. However due to illness (Ellis) and other commitments (Cassaday) the series was put on hiatus for over a year in 2003, it has since restarted but Ellis has spoken of extening the number of issues to as many as 27.
Planetary are an organization billing themselves as "Archaeologists of the Impossible", tracking down the world's secret history. Funded by the mysterious Fourth Man, who it is said could be anyone from Bill Gates to Adolf Hitler, the field team consists of three superhumans: Jakita Wagner, who is strong, fast and tough to hurt; The DrummerThe Drummer is a fictional character from the comic book Planetary by Warren Ellis and John Cassaday. The Drummer posesses superhuman abilities that relate to computer systems. He can read and manipulate information without a conventional computer interfa, who can talk to computers; and the new recruit Elijah SnowElijah Snow is a fictional character from the comic book Planetary by Warren Ellis and John Cassaday. His super-human abilities have been described by team mate Jakita Wagner as "heat-subtraction". What this means is that he can affect the tempreture arou.
The series occurs in the Wildstorm Universe, along with other titles such as Stormwatch, The AuthorityFor The Authority in the trilogy His Dark Materials see The Authority (His Dark Materials). The Authority is a superhero comic book. It was created by Warren Ellis and Bryan Hitch, published by Wildstorm and follows the adventures of The Authority, a supe and Gen13. For instance, Snow was born on January 1, 19001900 is the common year starting on Monday. see link for calendar) For the film, see 1900 (film). Events January January 1 Nigeria becomes British protectorate January 2 John Hay announces the Open Door Policy to promote trade with China. January 2 Chicag, as was Jenny SparksJenny Sparks also known as "The Spirit of the 20th century", is a fictional character in the Wildstorm comic book universe created by Warren Ellis during his 1997 revamp of the dwindling Stormwatch series. Her first appearance was in issue #37 (Ellis's st of The Authority, and the two know each other. Despite this, Planetary intersects only a little with other Wildstorm series.
Planetary's field team travels the world investigating strange phenomena: Monsters and other beings, unusual relics, other superhumans, and powerful secrets which certain individuals are trying to keep hidden from the rest of the world. Their purpose in doing this is partly curiosity, and partly to use what they learn for the betterment of mankind. There are, however, groups who oppose their goals, and the organization has a substantial history which is gradually revealed during the series.
In later issues the plot becomes increasingly related to The Four , Analogues of Marvel's Fantastic FourThe Fantastic Four is a team of comic book superheroes in the Marvel Comics universe. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, they first appeared in Fantastic Four #1 ( November 1961). One of the most important comics of the Silver Age of comic books, this is who's goals run in direct contrast to that of the Planetary team.