A successful follow up, Planetoid #2 does a great job leading on from the first issues set-up. With fantastic art and heavy industrial style, Planetoid offers a fresh take on an old story trope.

The official description from Image:

After crash-landing in a vast heap of space junk, wayward space-pirate Silas now journeys on to an area of the planetoid, known as “The Slab”. It’s rumored that human tribes eke out a living on this endless surface of fabricated metal… BUT, so do gangs of sadistic robots! Silas will have to gather information and find allies in order to make a stand against the larger tyrannical forces that control the planetoid.

Of course, Planetoid #2 still follows Silas. With his military background, the character isn’t original, but enjoyable. His computer companion, Ricter, has little dialogue this time, yet he (it technically) still appears for plot and exposition purposes.

The real character here is the titular plentoid and the life on it. This issue focuses on “The Slab” as a prime example. The exquisite art work pushes this concept. Like alot of Planetoid, it is a large lump of grey colour. Yet the detailed art breaks up what would be a dull mono-coloured area, breaking it up into tiny little details. With the greater introduction of other characters, the world of Planetoid is starting to come to life.

From the hulking robotic life to the human tribes, the detail that has gone into defining the different forms of life gives a strong sense of character. Whilst some might be put off by the limited colour palette; its all grey apart from an occasional bright blue alien, others might find the detail and depth enough to overlook this saturation.

As for the plot, whilst it is entertaining, it also looks to be setting up the pieces for future story development. Yet the small samples of backstory also give the wider universe context, which helps give everything greater definition. All the people of Planetoid, after all, are stranded survivors, so its nice to know they came from somewhere. Its still an early title, so I’m not expecting sweeping story arcs.

Finally, alot of credit and respect has to go to Ken Garing. After two great opening issues, its impressive the amount of work that’s done by one person on a monthly title. Garing is the artist, story writer and letterer. In short, Planetoid is his work, and the benefits of a unified, single vision can easily be seen in Planetoid #2.

4/5