"It's a strange world... Let's keep it that way."

Currently rereading Planetary. It's hard to shake the feeling that Warren Ellis suffered a six-month pop-culture-overload-induced epileptic seizure and wrote the whole thing in a week-long meth-fueled diapered binge. It's terrific.

It's easy to miss a lot on the first time through, but not in the "LOST"-ish "Oh, I didn't see that symbol tattooed on his inner thigh" or "Oh, I should have examined that panel upside-down and through red filter lens" way that is so popular these days. I'm finding out I missed quite a lot.

It is just, like Watchmen was, a big complicated jigsaw puzzle. However, unlike Watchmen, some of the puzzle pieces don't fit. Some are the wrong size. A lot are from a different puzzle entirely, and are discarded. Not everything is wrapped in a neat package by series end, and it's okay. Some of those discarded pieces make up the most heart-wrenching stories in the tale. They're casualties.

Oh, and the puzzle is completed at the end of the run, something that certain television shows (and certain comic books) will never claim to offer.

You really need to read this, not only if you love superhero comics, but especially if you hate superhero comics.