OddHat Posted September 9, 2004 Report Share Posted September 9, 2004 Just finished reading the first trade paperback. Wow. An incredible campaign setting. Is anyone running anything based on it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KawangaKid Posted September 10, 2004 Report Share Posted September 10, 2004 Re: Ellis' Planetary HERO? I'm running Champions adventures that are similar... but not exact since many of the players have read the series. I'm basically trying to capture that sense of "secret history" in a superhero universe (Planetary is set in the Wildstorm continuity - for those who haven't read it) and trying to turn things on their ears, and hopefully attaining that "sense of wonder" Ellis manages to capture... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SirViss Posted September 10, 2004 Report Share Posted September 10, 2004 Re: Ellis' Planetary HERO? What author? I want to look this up... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chimpira Posted September 10, 2004 Report Share Posted September 10, 2004 Re: Ellis' Planetary HERO? Warren Ellis. The series has been taking quite a while to finish but if you buy it in trade you can get a whole lot of Planetary goodness for your buck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OddHat Posted September 10, 2004 Author Report Share Posted September 10, 2004 Re: Ellis' Planetary HERO? (Planetary is set in the Wildstorm continuity - for those who haven't read it) and trying to turn things on their ears' date=' and hopefully attaining that "sense of wonder" Ellis manages to capture...[/quote'] Would you happen to know what else is in the "Wildstorm" continuity? Thanks for any info. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psm Posted September 10, 2004 Report Share Posted September 10, 2004 Re: Ellis' Planetary HERO? The biggest title from Wildstorm besides Planetary is the Authority. Personally, I think the comic has continually gone down hill ever since Millar left the series but a lot of people still enjoy it. Personally, my favorite from Wildstorm is Sleepers. Its very different from Planetary so I don't know if you would enjoy it. Although still heavy on the conspiracy themes its has alot more moral ambiguity, and espionage to it. Wildstorm also includes all the ABC titles by Alan Moore too. If you like Planetary I think you would definitely like Top Ten. Its been discontinued for awhile now but you shouldn't have too much trouble picking up the tpb. Also other notable mentions include WILDCats volume 3, Promethea, Stormwatch. I've also heard Ex Machina is good but I've never read it. Hope this helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chimpira Posted September 10, 2004 Report Share Posted September 10, 2004 Re: Ellis' Planetary HERO? Would you happen to know what else is in the "Wildstorm" continuity? Thanks for any info. StormWatch (Ellis took over by issue 37), The Authority, The Establishment, Gen-13, Wildcats, Sleeper, to name a few. I liked Joe Casey's Wildcats a lot but it has been canceled. I, currently read Sleeper and Planetary. The rest have either been canceled or I have gotten a strong distaste for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KawangaKid Posted September 10, 2004 Report Share Posted September 10, 2004 Re: Ellis' Planetary HERO? Would you happen to know what else is in the "Wildstorm" continuity? Thanks for any info. Um... WildC.A.T.S. was one. The pre-"I'm now in the DC Universe" Majestic series. Gen13. Dv8. Of course, Stormwatch... especially the issues that Warren Ellis wrote. Stormwatch: Achilles... but I only collected the 1st 2 or 3 issues and dropped it... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OddHat Posted September 10, 2004 Author Report Share Posted September 10, 2004 Re: Ellis' Planetary HERO? Thanks. Checked out the Stormwatch "A Finer World" trade paperback but didn't care much for it; I'll try the Ellis Authority books. I think the Planetary Conspiracy-Supers setting has great potential. I'd say one major issue would be keeping supers rare enough that you could believeably keep them secret. It looks like Ellis is using something like a 1 in 10,000,000 demographic for supers, which places around 29 in the USA. I can see that small a number being hidden from the general public, especially if most don't want to be seen. China and India on the other hand would be problems. Best to go with the "Supers already control those countries and their media as well" option? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMcL63 Posted September 10, 2004 Report Share Posted September 10, 2004 Re: Ellis' Planetary HERO? I'm a fan of Planetary and The Authority. I would also recommend Stormwatch: Team Achilles. This takes an interesting look at the activities of supers (the Authority in particular) from the viewpoint of normal agents. The early Stormwatch and The Authority TPB's are also well worth getting hold of if you like the current stuff. The characters and the background underwent a lot of development in those stories, and there is stuff in the current series that is more comprehensible if you've read the early stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chimpira Posted September 10, 2004 Report Share Posted September 10, 2004 Re: Ellis' Planetary HERO? I'm a fan of Planetary and The Authority. I would also recommend Stormwatch: Team Achilles. This takes an interesting look at the activities of supers (the Authority in particular) from the viewpoint of normal agents. The early Stormwatch and The Authority TPB's are also well worth getting hold of if you like the current stuff. The characters and the background underwent a lot of development in those stories' date=' and there is stuff in the current series that is more comprehensible if you've read the early stuff. [/quote'] I used to read those as well. I thought they were pretty good but having met the author and having him lie full in my face I could not bring myself to continue the series. But putting personal issues aside, I would say that it is a decent read. Since the cancellation of Wildcats (Joe Casey was doing great things in that series but it just didn't catch on.) I mainly read Sleeper. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMcL63 Posted September 10, 2004 Report Share Posted September 10, 2004 Re: Ellis' Planetary HERO? I used to read those as well. I thought they were pretty good but having met the author and having him lie full in my face I could not bring myself to continue the series. But putting personal issues aside' date=' I would say that it is a decent read. Since the cancellation of Wildcats (Joe Casey was doing great things in that series but it just didn't catch on.) I mainly read Sleeper.[/quote']Come on Chimpira, you've really got to enlarge upon this one! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
proditor Posted September 10, 2004 Report Share Posted September 10, 2004 Re: Ellis' Planetary HERO? Minor sideline endorsement: Top Ten is great. I highly recommend it. It's different to be sure, but the writing is top notch (I liked it a lot more than LXG and for differing reasons, as much as Watchmen) and the art...whooo-doggy, the art! The style is solid, but it's the cameos that make that series artwise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chimpira Posted September 10, 2004 Report Share Posted September 10, 2004 Re: Ellis' Planetary HERO? Come on Chimpira' date=' you've really got to enlarge upon this one! [/quote'] Not much to enlarge. Micah Ian Wright was the author and I had the opportunity to share some drinks with him. He talked about his military service and what not. The problem being that he was never in the military. The closest he got was ROTC. He had a book of old propaganda pictures published and he changed the wording on them all to reflect how he felt about the current adminstration. The thing was they (the publishers) would hype the fact that he was an Ex-Ranger and he sold quite a few books. He would write forewords to other peoples work and speak proudly of what he had done in the Rangers. I grew up surrounded by the military and although I never enlisted, it had a major influence on my life. I liked his StormWatch series but I just could not let what happen slide. (The funny thing was that I have problems with the current administration but lying about your background to push books was something I could not condone.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susano Posted September 10, 2004 Report Share Posted September 10, 2004 Re: Ellis' Planetary HERO? I really like PLANETARY and hope to do some HERO adaptations of the cast at some time (Elijah Snow and Jakata Wanger are easy. The Drummer is a problem.). I also really like TOP TEN and have some HERO character sheets here: http://surbrook.devermore.net/adaptionscomic/comicchar.html#TEN I also recommend TOM STRONG. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chimpira Posted September 10, 2004 Report Share Posted September 10, 2004 Re: Ellis' Planetary HERO? I also recommend TOP STRONG. You mean Tom Strong? Alan Moore on ABC is pretty good. Top Ten is great, almost like a mix of Hill Street Blues and Justice League Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susano Posted September 10, 2004 Report Share Posted September 10, 2004 Re: Ellis' Planetary HERO? You mean Tom Strong? Yes. Fixed the error. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OddHat Posted September 10, 2004 Author Report Share Posted September 10, 2004 Re: Ellis' Planetary HERO? Just found a site that is fantastic for anyone planning or considering this type of game: http://www.pjfarmer.com/secret/secret.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chimpira Posted September 10, 2004 Report Share Posted September 10, 2004 Re: Ellis' Planetary HERO? Oh yeah. I found that site some time ago. It is pretty cool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OddHat Posted September 11, 2004 Author Report Share Posted September 11, 2004 Re: Ellis' Planetary HERO? Oh yeah. I found that site some time ago. It is pretty cool. I've been a fan of Farmer's pastiche worlds for many years, but for some reason I hadn't thought to search for related sites. You couldn't ask for a better background for a Weird Supers world. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chimpira Posted September 11, 2004 Report Share Posted September 11, 2004 Re: Ellis' Planetary HERO? Yeah. I think I found it when I was during research on Tesla for a story I was writing about a year ago. Farmer is great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Funksaw Posted September 12, 2004 Report Share Posted September 12, 2004 Re: Ellis' Planetary HERO? I actually used Planetary as a model for an Exalted campaign. Went to s***. Players were more interested in gathering gold and weapons than in unlocking the secret mysteries of the universe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chimpira Posted September 12, 2004 Report Share Posted September 12, 2004 Re: Ellis' Planetary HERO? I actually used Planetary as a model for an Exalted campaign. Went to s***. Players were more interested in gathering gold and weapons than in unlocking the secret mysteries of the universe. LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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