Free Planet
Thanks to Paul Cornell, I was sent review copies of the first 6 issues of this comic. Paul thinks it will be of interest to the science fiction community, and I can see why.
Free Planet aims to tell the tale of a newly liberated planet, originally known as ‘Aides but now called Lutheria. It was formerly a colony of the Interplanetary Development Alliance, but after a lengthy war has won independence. The story revolves around the lives of the Freedom Guard, a group of elite soldiers formed to safeguard the planet’s fragile freedom, but this is to some extent a hook on which to hang the worldbuilding, and lengthy discussions of the nature and cost of freedom.
Our heroes are, as is to be expected, a ragtag bunch. They are led by Gloria Sunandez, a former IDA officer who led a mutiny on the IDA flagship. Also in the group is Victor MacLiu, the idealistic son of the commander of that flagship. There’s Talun, a military strategy robot whose analysis of the war led him to choose the rebel side, and a notorious terrorist responsible for several massacres of civilians. We have two mechanics from the Machinist Religion—apparently the always come in pairs—representing the orthodox and reform branches of that organisation.
Something that distinguishes Free Planet from a lot of comics is that it is very text heavy. There are panels that a festooned with worldbuilding asides, that sometimes seem to contradict what is happening in the panel. Each issue closes with a couple of pages that are largely dense prose, providing further background. These are often full of economic and political explanations of the situation facing the Lutherians. Clearly the comic’s creators want their readers to think a lot about what is happening.
The art takes some liberties with convention as well. Issue #3 is the best example. The story is about an attack on Lutheria by a Warhammer-like civilization called the Orouran Empire. Our heroes have to do the gutsy little fighter pilots taking on a vast dreadnought thing. In order to give a feel of the nature of space combat, some of the pages are drawn sideways or upside down. This makes them quite difficult to read on an iPad unless you lock the screen.
In addition to the politics and military action, there are some classic science fiction themes. Talun, being an AI, is the source of considerably suspicion. There are squid-like aliens who claim to be able to predict the future. The idea of a religion that worships the Great Machine of the cosmos is very science fiction. So there’s a lot there of interest.
What there isn’t, yet, is any sign of a conclusion. And given that this is a comic series there need not be. But the world of the comic is so vast, and so much in introduced in the first six issues, that they could go on for a very long time before any of the storylines are resolved. Fortunately there is more than enough in the first few issues to get me wanting to read more. I figure that a lot of you would find it interesting too.
As the Salon Futura website isn’t really set up to acknowledge all of the creators of a comics series, here is the credits list:
- Writer/Creator: Aubrey Sitterson
- Art/Creator: Jed Dougherty
- Colours: Vittoria Astone
- Letters: Taylor Esposito
Title: Free Planet
By: Aubrey Sitterson & Jed Dougherty
Publisher: Image
Purchase links:
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Bookshop.org UK
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