Battle of the Planets is acomic book series, based on the television seriesof the same name. As of 2024[update] two series have been produced - the first was published byGold Key Comics between 1979 and 1981; the second was published byTop Cow Productions between 2002 and 2003.
| Battle of the Planets | |
|---|---|
 Cover toGold Key Comics'Battle of the Planets #4, art byWinslow Mortimer | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Gold Key Comics |
| Schedule | Bi-monthly |
| Formats | Original material for the series has been published as a set ofongoing series. |
| Genre | |
| Publication date | June 1979 - February 1981 |
| Number of issues | 10 |
| Main character(s) | G-Force |
| Creative team | |
| Writer(s) | Gary Poole Bob Langhans Charlie Seeger |
| Artist(s) | Winslow Mortimer |
Sandy Frank had imported theanime seriesScience Ninja Team Gatchaman to America in 1978, retooling it as the syndicatedBattle of the Planets with instant success. Wanting to exploit the licence, he linked up withWestern Publishing, who put out a bi-monthly title via theirGold Key Comics subsidiary.[1] At the time formerDC Comics artistWinslow Mortimer was on the Gold Key staff and was assigned to draw the book. Initially each issue contained two stories of between 10 and 12 pages and were generally self-contained, formulaic affairs. The final two issues contained book-length 22-page stories.[2]
The comic was hampered by distribution problems, as Western Publishing had recently been taken over byMattel. The new owners wanted Gold Key to move away from single issue newsstand sales and towards their successful bagged comics series, whereby three issues were packed in a single bag and sold on a non-returnable basis to chains that didn't deal with returnable monthly comics; these were issued under Western's Whitman brand.[3] As a result, the series suffered poor distribution, and was cancelled after 10 issues. Gold Key had planned storylines for at least another three issues, and art from the unpublishedBattle of the Planets #11 has surfaced at auction.[2]
In 2003, the Gold Key comics were compiled in the collectionBattle of the Planets - The Classics, published byDynamic Forces. This trade paperback removed the colour from the strips.[4]
| Title | ISBN | Release date | Issues |
|---|---|---|---|
| Battle of the Planets Classic Issues Volume 1 | [ISBN missing] | 2003 | Battle of the Planets #1-10 |
A differentBattle of the Planets strip was published in the UK weekly inTV Comic from 1981 to 1983, illustrated byKeith Watson.[5]
Due to the lack of reference material passed on to the creative staff, the artwork was often variable, colouring errors were frequent and the plots were often considered lightweight.[2]
| Battle of the Planets | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Cover toTop Cow Productions'Battle of the Planets #12, art byAlex Ross | |||
| Publication information | |||
| |||
| Formats | Ongoing Limited Series One-shots | ||
| Genre | |||
| Publication date | August 2002 - May 2005 | ||
| Main character(s) | G-Force | ||
| Creative team | |||
| Writer(s) | Munier Sharrieff David Wohl | ||
| Artist(s) | Wilson Tortosa Edwin David | ||
WhileBattle of the Planets was largely dormant in North America after ending in 1981, the show developed a cult following. In 2001 a boom in1980s nostalgia in the comics industry followed the successful revivals ofG.I. Joe byDevil's Due Publishing andTransformers byDreamwave Productions, with independent comics publishers scrambling to license similar properties.[6]Top Cow Productions acquired the rights to make newBattle of the Planets comics, and were able to engage painterAlex Ross - a fan of the series growing up, and one of the most popular artists working in comics at the time followingEarth X - as the series' art director.[7] To build anticipation, a sketchbook of Ross' redesigns was printed in the pages ofWizard Magazine.[8] Ross contributed designs and cover artwork; the series itself was written by Munier Sharrieff and featured art fromWilson Tortosa. Due to growing knowledge of the show's origins asGatchaman and the desire to find a more adult audience for the book saw several of the elements added by Sandy Frank, such as the robot 7-Zark-7, omitted.[7]
Initial sales were strong; Top Cow reported the first issue of the ongoing sold 150,000 copies,[9] and the company swiftly planned a number of spin-offone-shots.[10] These included individual comics focusing on the characters Mark, Jason and Princess. The latter was also a crossover with Top Cow's successfulWitchblade, with art fromJo Chen.[11][12] Another crossover was withWildStorm'sThunderCats revival; this saw Top Cow publish aBattle of the Planets/ThunderCats one-shot, with WildStorm reciprocating withThunderCats/Battle of the Planets.[13][14]
However, sales dropped off; the ongoing series was rebranded as a 'maxi series' but ended on a cliffhanger after twelve issues.[15] A relaunch was planned for November 2003 with a six-issueG-Force mini-series[16] but the title never appeared. Top Cow attempted another approach with the black-and-whiteBattle of the Planets - Manga, written byDavid Wohl and drawn by Edwin David, which ran for three issues. Wohl and Tortosa then produced a six-issue mini-series focusing on Princess. To resolve the cliffhanger from the regular title a two-issue mini-series, solicited first asCoup De Gras and thenEndgame, was planned but never made it into print. The licences of both Top Cow and Sandy Frank for the property subsequently lapsed.[15]
| Title | ISBN | Release date | Contents |
|---|---|---|---|
| Battle of the Planets: Trial by Fire | 9781840236071 | 26 March 2003 | Battle of the Planets #1-3 |
| Battle of the Planets: Blood Red Sky | 9781582403236 | 21 December 2003 | Battle of the Planets #4-9 |
| Battle of the Planets: Destroy All Monsters | 9781582403328 | 5 January 2004 | Battle of the Planets #10-12,Battle of the Planets: Mark,Battle of the Planets: Jason andBattle of the Planets/Witchblade |
The revival received mostly positive reviews from contemporary critics.[17][18][19] However, in a 2022 retrospective article forComic Book Resources, Gene Kendall questioned the series' willingness to shock fans, but praised Alex Ross' covers.[20]
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