Reviewer: Mathan “I Want Dox” Erhardt
Story Title: Planet Heist
Written by: Andy Diggle
Penciled and Inked by: Pascal Ferry
Colored by: Dave McCaig
Lettered by: Rob Leigh
Editor: Stephen Wacker
Publisher: DC Comics
The issue opens with Adam hallucinating about his lost daughter and wife on Rann. When he comes out of it. He finds himself back in the Rann star system that has recently gone Nova. Unfortunately he’s literally lost in space. Fortunately a Thanagarian ship investigating what happened swoops in to his aid.
Once aboard Commander Sh’ri Valkyr begins to question Strange about his role in the destruction of Rann. Since Rann and Thanagar had disputes in the past, they have cause to investigate what caused Rann’s star to go Nova. Adam counters that he’s not responsible either but he’s just as curious.
Valkyr gives Adam’s Zeta device to a tinkerer to implant a tracking device in. Meanwhile Adam, using the ships technology thinks that he’s discovered what actually happened to Rann, it’s system has been switched with another. Valkyr looks at the evidence and agrees.
But when she reports the evidence to her superiors they threaten her; either give them Strange for an execution or lose command of her vessel. Thus guards are sent to apprehend Adam. Adam evades them, but he cannot escape Valkyr. Strange goes to Thanagar, where he stands “trial.” He’s then sentenced to execution. The issue ends with him about to be beheaded.
Diggle’s writing a fast-paced story here. It’s a bit too “sci-fi” for my tastes, but it’s still compelling. It’s nice to see different aspects of Thanagarian culture, and the exploration of the DC Universe is one of the main reasons for picking up the book. The story is moving along nicely, and Diggle certainly has a knack for those cliffhangers.
Ferry’s art looks amazing! Page two features some great images. He also plays with Thanagar’s “hawk look” and makes it work. The colors really compliment his style, giving it a very “spacey” appearance. This book is a joy to look at.
