JOHN WICK Creator Launches All-New Sci-Fi Series PLANET DEATH

New sci-fi series Planet Death will be launching next year from Bad Idea Comics, coming from the creator of the John Wick franchise, Derek Kolstad. Taking place in the far future, the series will see the lone surviving soldier stranded on an enemy planet tasked with destroying a powerful weapon.

According to The Beat, Planet Death #1 is scheduled to come out in March 2025. The series will come from the creative team of Derek Kolstad, Robert Venditti and Tomás Giorello. Announced as a Prestige Format limited series, this will be the first comic written by co-writer Kolstad.

Planet Death #1
Release Date:	March 2024
Writers:	Derek Kolstad & Robert Venditti
Artist:	Tomás Giorello
Millions of miles from home, hundreds of ships descend into the stormy atmosphere of a hostile frozen world. On board, an army of resolute men and women brace for the coming assault. They are an invasion force, on an impossible mission – destroy the devastating enemy weapon garrisoned below. Corporal Scott and his battalion are in the vanguard but the human forces are no match for their brutal alien adversaries. Scott’s battalion is dead within moments. He is its lone survivor. The landing force annihilated, the battle is lost. Against overwhelming odds, Scott dares the unthinkable – cross behind enemy lines, survive the lethal landscape, evade capture by ruthless enemies, resist natural predators, face human deserters and finish the mission singlehandedly. Locked in his suit of full combat battle armor, sustained only by what he can carry, and driven by Earth’s wrath, Scott must do by himself what an entire army could not. Destroy the weapon. Return home.

While the official launch is still months away, fans attending SDCC this year will get an early look at the series, as Bad Idea will be giving away a free ashcan during their Saturday afternoon panel at 2:30pm in Room 24ABC.

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PLANET DEATH: The New Comic from John Wick Creator Derek Kolstad

A Lone Soldier Takes on an Entire Planet in This Sci-Fi Epic

The preview for the series looks like a classic sci-fi comic ripped from the pages of classic Heavy Metal or 2000AD, as Giorello’s artwork beautifully recalls the fevered renderings of Juan Giménez and Richard Corben. Kolstad highlights these influences and more, and the writer’s excitement is palpable:

Planet Death
is my love letter to all of the comics and books I read, movies I watched, and games I played – late into the night with a grin on my face… from
Hard Boiled
and Ronin by Frank Miller to the films of Alistair MacLean like
The Guns of Navarone
and
Where Eagles Dare
to Bradbury, Asimov, and Heinlein, to games like
Starcraft
and everything in between. Some of my favorite stories are the ones that blend science fiction with elements of the war genre. From
Starship Troopers
to
Aliens
and
Edge of Tomorrow
. With
Planet Death
we take this tradition and add all those things we love so much about comic books.

Co-writer Robert Venditti shares Kolstad’s enthusiasm for the project, saying, “I’ve written a lot of science fiction – but never from the perspective of a boots-on-the-ground, D-Day-style invasion.” The gritty approach to sci-fi warfare sounds novel, and it sounds like Planet Death will be a tense, edge-of-your-seat action thriller in the tradition of sci-fi masterpieces like Aliens and Starship Troopers. According to Venditti, it’s also the biggest challenge the writer has taken on throughout his career: “With every project, I want to push myself further. Planet Death is bigger in scale and scope than anything I’ve done before.”

Planet Death Continues Bad Idea’s Unorthodox Approach to Comics

Bad Idea has gotten a lot of press due to its unusual marketing and publishing strategies, which often sees its comics published in limited runs and fetching high prices on the aftermarket. As such, the upcoming Planet Death giveaway will likely become a hot collector’s item. SDCC attendees will also get to see the entire creative team talk about the new series during the panel. According to Bad Idea CEO and CCO Dinesh Shamdasani, the panel will also be followed by “a no-expense-spared live event in the book’s honor.” Given that this is the debut comic from John Wick creator Derek Kolstad, Planet Death sounds like a comic that can’t be missed.

Planet Death #1 will be available March 2025 from Bad Idea Comics

Source: The Beat