I’ve mentioned on occasion how much I appreciate it when I hear from a publicist, a publisher, or a creator about a comic that otherwise wasn’t on my radar at all. It’s one of the great privileges of reviewing that people sometimes reach out to me and ask me to read and share my thoughts on their work here.
But there’s another side to that, right? There’s that worry: What I just don’t vibe with this comic? What if, on balance, the weaknesses I perceive in a graphic novel outweigh the good, and the honest thing to do is point that out, and acknowledge that I can’t recommend it?
That happens, from time to time, and I’ve written about some of those works. So every time someone reaches out to me, along with the delight, I get just a bit nervous.
But in truth, I get sent graphic novels that are worthwhile and have merit far more often than I get sent ones that I need to pan. And sometimes, in a really happy surprise, I get to talk about something that’s new to me, exciting, and genuinely worthy of your attention.
Let’s talk one of those happy surprises. Let’s talk about Free Planet, Volume 1. (Note: This review contains spoilers!)
Free Planet, Volume 1
Writer: Aubrey Sitterson
Artist: Jed Dougherty
Colorist: Vittorio Astone
Letterer: Taylor Esposito
Designer: Mark Kaufman
Designer/Production: Drew Gill
Published by Image Comics
The epic worldbuilding of Dune meets the romance and drama of Saga in this complex, action-packed space opera about the first completely free planet in human history.
In the wake of a grueling war of independence, a team of revolutionary heroes is tasked with defending their home and its uniquely potent energy source from multiple intergalactic superpowers intent on domination. But though they are each deeply committed to the dream of a free planet, they all have completely different ideas about what complete freedom actually entails. Faced with separatist movements, counterrevolutionaries, political deadlock, famine, equipment shortages, a looming trade war, violent attacks and wildly divergent ideas of how to handle each, can true freedom endure?
Informed by real-world research and extensive design work, Aubrey Sitterson (The Comic Book Story of Professional Wrestling, No One Left to Fight) and Jed Dougherty (Savage Hearts, Worlds’ Finest) have created a comic that functions as both literature and art object, a rumination on freedom, the sacrifices it demands, the discipline it requires and the authority that must arise in its absence.
Free Planet Volume 1 opens with a brief prose introduction. That didn’t immediately strike me as worthy of comment. I’m old enough to remember when graphic novels, especially ones collecting runs of serialized comics, were sufficiently novel that creators routinely included introductions from other authors and luminaries as front matter. They served as extended blurbs, classed the proceedings up, and tried to convince undecided potential readers that comics could be literature too.
Then I realized that the prose introduction to Free Planet is an in-universe essay, a document that exists within the story’s fictional world. One that’s framed as an introduction to the in-universe Free Planet graphic novel, and that serves to justify using the comics medium to recount this important work of history.
That’s a not-insignificant amount of narrative real estate to devote to philosophical world building, especially as the first part of the story someone will read. That’s a pretty big freaking swing for the first two pages of a new, creator-owned graphic novel. That was bold.
But this is a book of big swings. The visual design is another one; virtually every page includes not just the ongoing action and dialogue of the story, but also narration, and sometimes maps and even infographics — all integrated into the narrative, serving to more deeply establish the setting, and all of which, remember, are framed as in-universe material included in the historical narrative of post-Revolutionary Lutheria.
Character design is another highlight, although this is also a case where the visuals are less of a novelty; the approach is almost retro. Jed Dougherty’s character work, especially when combined with Vittorio Astone’s colors, remind me of nothing so much as classic 80s comics like Larry Hama’s take on G. I. Joe, and even moreso, José Luis García-López’s run on Atari Force.
This is most of the core cast.
That being said, what’s all this a future history of? What’s the book about? Who are these well-designed characters?
That’s another big swing. In a genre known for depicting heroic revolutionaries battling evil empires far more frequently than it explores what happens after they win, Free Planet takes a bracingly realistic (and quite clearly painstakingly researched) focus on the painful aftermath of revolution.
The story opens immediately following the successful revolution to free the planet newly-renamed Lutheria from the exploitive, hypercapitalistic Interplanetary Development Alliance. The makers of the revolution have declared that Lutheria will be the first truly free planet in human history, only to immediately founder on the fact that no one can agree what that should mean, that there are counter-revolutionary factions and secessionist movements constantly up in arms, the economy is tanking because the Alliance is blockading Lutheria, and their defences are on the ropes because the exploitive, militaristic Orourans are constantly attacking to steal vital resources. In response, the father of the revolution establishes the Freedom Guard, an elite team of soldiers to protect the free people of the free planet.
We follow the members of the Freedom Guard as the try to carry out this duty. Vicious interpersonal conflicts, horrifying political compromises, and terrible bloodshed all ensue. What freedom means, what the price of freedom is, and whether others should be forced to pay that price for someone else’s idea of freedom are recurring questions, for the Freedom Guard, for the people of Lutheria, and for the reader.
If it wasn’t clear by now, in addition to being very good comics, this is very good science fiction. There are many ways to approach science fiction in the comics form, but this might be the most genuinely speculative, the most deeply considered and textured, the most well-thought-out future history of any comic I’ve read since my old friend Carla Speed McNeil’s Finder — and Finder was one of my favorite comics of all time. There are no SFFnal elements that feel extraneous, tacked-on, or like they’re there just for Rule of Cool.
This isn’t to criticize other popular science-fictional comics or their approaches; there’s a reason everyone loves Saga! But Saga doesn’t prioritize, for instance, rigorous extrapolation based on an historically-rooted theory of revolutions examined through a prism constructed of consistent world-building.
Now, I’ve talked a lot about Free Planet’s big swings, but big swings don’t always connect. There are some drawbacks to going bold at every opportunity, and, certainly in this first collected volume, Free Planet lands on some of them.
The biggest is simply the absolute surfeit of information, textual and visual. Between a sprawling cast, a complex plot, flashbacks and flashforwards, a ton of references to both real-world history and other science fiction, and a bunch of world-building and fictional history that writer Sitterson clearly wants to showcase, there’s so much detail that the actual story can be hard to follow. After reading the entire six issues’ worth of material, I still couldn’t remember half of the characters’ names, or their histories and relationships — I had to keep flipping back to the big introductory splash page that introduced most of them. It would have been even more challenging if I’d been reading single issues and hadn’t had that part of the book to hand!
Similarly, from a visual standpoint, the pages are dynamic and full of detail, sometimes to the degree that it challenges readability. I don’t object to putting a bit of work into my comics reading, and I can decode a more complex approach to visual storytelling, but I do wonder if readers used to more linear panel layouts might be pushed out of the story.
I suppose what I’m saying is that it may not be an entry-level comic and you can’t be a passive reader of Free Planet. But for those willing to make that commitment, the rewards are considerable.
(Huh. Is the reading experience itself an explication of the comic’s themes?! Or is that a reach?)
Free Planet Volume 1 collects the first six issues of the ongoing, serialized comic book series as is available now from your preferred comics provider now; issue #10 will be published on March 11, 2026, with #11 and #12 following in April and May.
You should seek it out.
This is an auspicious first volume of a genuinely excellent series. It’s one of the most unabashedly science-fictional comics I’ve read in years. It’s well worth your time, and if you’re willing to take that time and engage with Free Planet as a thoughtful, committed reader, then I most definitely recommend it.
I mean, it has a recommended reading list at the end! How can you not love that?!
Disclosures: I have no personal or professional relationships with the creators or publisher. The creator provided a complimentary physical copy of the graphic novel for review.
