''Bad Planet'' is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

six-issue

comic book A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...

limited series Limited series may refer to: *Limited series, individual storylines within an anthology series *Limited series, a particular run of collectables, usually individually numbered *Limited series (comics), a comics series with a predetermined number of ...

written by

Thomas Jane Thomas Jane (born Thomas Elliott III; February 22, 1969) is an American actor. He is known for appearing in the films Padamati Sandhya Ragam (1987), ''Boogie Nights'' (1997), ''Deep Blue Sea (1999 film), Deep Blue Sea'' (1999), ''The Punisher ...

and

Steve Niles Steve Niles (born June 21, 1965) is an American comic book author and novelist, known for works such as ''30 Days of Night'', '' Criminal Macabre: A Cal McDonald Mystery'', ''Simon Dark'', ''Mystery Society'', and '' Batman: Gotham County Line''. ...

that started in

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

. It was one of the first comics produced under the writers' own Raw Studios imprint for

Image Comics Image Comics is an American comic book publisher and is the third largest comic book and graphic novel publisher in the industry in both unit and market share. It was founded in 1992 by several high-profile illustrators as a venue for creator-ow ...

. The story is about an ancient meteorite containing destructive alien organisms crashing down on Earth in modern times. Another alien, a single warrior, appears on Earth to help prevent its destruction at the hands of the malevolent invaders.

Publication history

Co-creator/co-writer

was "hopped up on

Vicodin Hydrocodone/paracetamol (also known as hydrocodone/acetaminophen) is the combination of the pain medications hydrocodone and paracetamol (acetaminophen). It is used to treat moderate to severe pain. It is taken by mouth. Recreational use is co ...

" while recovering from a car accident when he had a series of fever dreams that contained "horrible alien deathspiders". From those dreams, he formed the idea for the comic book series, ''Bad Planet''. Jane befriended comic book artist

Tim Bradstreet Tim Bradstreet (born on February 16, 1967)is an American artist and illustrator, best known for his work on comic books, book covers, movie posters, roleplaying games and trading cards. Early life Tim Bradstreet was born February 16, 1967, in C ...

, while the latter was making the promotional posters for the ''Punisher'' film, and pitched the idea to him. Bradstreet suggested he approach Bradstreet's long-time friend,

Eisner Award The Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, commonly shortened to the Eisner Awards, are prizes given for creative achievement in American comic books, sometimes referred to as the comics industry's equivalent of the Academy Awards. They are named in ...

-nominated Steve Niles, with the ''Bad Planet'' concept. Eventually the three met at a 2004 comic convention in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. Niles, famous for his

vampire A vampire is a mythical creature that subsists by feeding on the Vitalism, vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead, undead creatures that often visited loved ones and caused mi ...

series '' 30 Days of Night'', quickly jumped on the idea and agreed to write. Concerned about the interior artwork in the comic, Jane again asked Bradstreet for advice. Bradstreet had been wanting an opportunity to work with Lewis LaRosa after seeing his work on the ''

Punisher The Punisher (Francis "Frank" Castle, born Castiglione) is an antihero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Gerry Conway and artists John Romita Sr. and Ross Andru. The Punisher made ...

Max Comics MAX Comics is an imprint of Marvel Comics specializing in comic book media aimed at adult-only readers. It was launched in 2001 after Marvel broke with the Comics Code Authority and established its own rating system. The MAX Comics imprint is ...

series, for which Bradstreet does the covers. LaRosa was planning to leave the comics industry, but was cajoled by Bradstreet and a signed headshot of Jane in the mail. The team had originally conceived the series as being twelve parts, but it was later changed to six parts. Jane explained that this was because they split the series in half so the team could have a break in the project. The second issue was cover-dated January 2006 but then the series stalled due to LaRosa's illness. The other creators waited for him to recover, but when he did, he finally decided to leave the industry. It wasn't until mid-2007 that the third issue was released. James Daly took over for issue 4 (November 2007). Issue 5 (April 2008) featured art from Daly, Bradstreet, and Dave Kendall. After a three-year break, issue 7 was released (June 2011), with Bruce Jones taking over as co-writer from Steve Niles. Issue 8 (February 2013) was released nearly two years after that. Issues 9-12 have been put on hold until Jane and Bradstreet can find more artists and funding to produce them.

Reception

The first issue received a "Must Read" rating from ''

IGN ''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...

''.Goldstein, Hilary
"''Bad Planet'' #1 Review"
''

''; December 16, 2005.

References

Interviews

"Actor Thomas Jane Talks ''Bad Planet'' and Other Comics Work"
''

Comic Book Resources ''Comic Book Resources'', also known by the initialism CBR, is a website dedicated to the coverage of comic book–related news and discussion. History Comic Book Resources was founded by Jonah Weiland in 1995 as a development of the Kingdom Co ...

''; November 22, 2004
"''Bad Planet'' Week: Talking with Thomas Jane & Steve Niles, Part 2"
''

''; October 18, 2005
"''Bad Planet'' Week: Penciller Lewis LaRosa on Bringing the Series to Life"
''

''; October 19, 2005
"''Bad Planet'' Week: Talking with Inker/Art Director Tim Bradstreet"
''

''; October 20, 2005
"''Bad Planet'' Week: ''Bad Planet'' Web Movie Exclusive, Art Gallery"
''

''; October 21, 2005

External links

''Bad Planet'' at the Raw Studios website
* *{{comicbookdb, type=title, id=2228, title=''Bad Planet'' 2005 comics debuts Comics by Steve Niles