Planetary #7

Issue Details

Synopsis

Planetary goes to the funeral of Jack Carter, England's most mysterious magician. This issue seemed to cause a lot of controversy and was apparently the first one to get negative letters. This issue as would seem to be a "Tribute" or "Mockery" depending on your view to Vertigo's John Constantine . This cover for one looks similar to the style of covers Dave McKean has created for Hellblazer and Sandman #3. Many years later, Warren Ellis created the character of Dr John Constantine based within the Wildstorm universe & he seems to be based on the way Jack Carter looks like at the end of this issue Cover is a homage to Dave McKean's Sandman covers from the 1990s. Credits include "with thanks to Laura DePuy." The attendees at the funeral are homages to the 1980s DC Vertigo line. They include: the Sandman, Death, Black Orchid, Animal Man, The Writer (Grant Morrison), Swamp Thing, the Demon, the Doom Patrol, the Metal Men (not a Vertigo book), the Ragman, Shade, the Changing Man, and other unidentified mourners. The caped man that attempted to murder Jack Carter is presumably based on Miracleman. His rant that he should have been "clean, noble, single" and that he should not have become involved in deviant natures is an in-universe criticism of how traditional superhero comics were becoming too dark and mature in the 1980's and 1990's. Jack Carter's new identity bears a physical resemblance to Spider Jerusalem, the protagonist of Warren Ellis' Transmetropolitan.