Earlier this year, Image Comics debuted Free Planet. Written by Aubrey Sitterson and Jed Dougherty, the sci-fi series took readers to the planet Lutheria, the first completely free planet, and introduced the Freedom Guard tasked with keeping the wheels of total freedom moving and try to make the intellectual idea of total freedom something real. As one can guess, it turns out that it’s a huge challenge with questions about what total freedom really means as well as repercussions for the rest of the universe in which Lutheria exists. Now, Free Planet’s first major arc concludes with this week’s issue #6 and the comic is continuing to push the boundaries of what readers expect from a sci-fi comics while setting up what might be the most devastating development for Lutheria yet.
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Free Planet #6 finds the Freedom Guard responding to what might be the biggest threat yet as an Imperial Dreadnought bears down on Lutheria, complete with a legion of Screamers. If not stopped, this could mean the end of the freedom experiment so the stakes are higher than ever. Fortunately, the Freedom Guard has what is essentially a daring Hail Mary of a plan, but it comes with some interpersonal surprises for the various members of the guard.
Rating 4.5/5
| PROS | CONS |
| Major character development | Reader experience on digital not ideal |
| Thrilling action |
Free Planet #6 Is a Major Shift For Both the Characters and the Story
One of the great elements of Free Planet overall is that, for as much as this is a story of revolution, it’s also a story of characters. Each member of the Freedom Guard comes from their own backgrounds with their own ideologies and up until now we’ve seen them all working together, albeit with some tensions. Now, some of those tensions are starting to become far more obvious. Fweha makes the bold choice to reject some of the more strict and orthodox aspects of her Teomekhy religion and instead chooses to embrace love as her guiding force. It results in a stunning display of public affection, one that further deepens the rift between her and her sister, Hora.
Fweha’s bold declaration also causes ripples with the other members of Freedom Guard, as a relationship between members goes in the face of the rules, as it were. This causes a deeper rift to form in another clandestine relationship, with the not-so-subtle suggestion that the things holding the Guard together might be starting to come undone. That same idea — that something tenuous might be coming undone — is further made clear when Hora reaches out to her religious leader only to find out that things are about to get much, much worse and that the thing she has her most faith in may be a major reason why. With all of the high-octane action in the issue as the Freedom Guard seeks to save Lutheria, the idea of things coming apart on a much more intimate level makes for a major shift in the story, leaving things on a major cliffhanger that is somehow also very satisfying.
Free Planet #6 Continues to Push The Limits of Comics Storytelling
Outside of the drama and action unfolding in the story, Free Planet #6 continues the title’s boundary-challenging in terms of how the story is presented. Previous issues of Free Planet have been a very tactile experience, with battles that require readers to actively turn the book to different angles and directions physically in order to get the full scope of the action. That same technique is employed here and it’s very effective. There’s something a little disorienting and slightly disorganized about having to physically spin a comic book to get the whole picture, but it’ sharply mimics what is going on for the Freedom Guard as they seek to intercept their coming threat. The plan to stop the Imperial forces is itself a little dizzying and disorienting, and Dougherty’s art reflects that as the reader has to manipulate their own visual experience to take it all in.
Even beyond the clever use of space and direction, the art in the issue does an incredible job of pulling back some of the emotional layers of things as well. Particularly, the expression on various characters faces, during the counter attack as well as in the aftermath, say almost more than the words on the page — and oddly enough, that goes double for the robot, Talun. The only real drawback, both to the art and to the issue more broadly, is that if you aren’t reading Free Planet #6 with a physical copy, you’re missing out on some of the scope.
Overall, Free Planet #6 is an outstanding issue. The cliffhanger ending leaves the high stakes story in its most precarious place yet, all while giving readers even more emotional connection to the characters and the perhaps unexpected challenges that come with the seemingly impossible task of maintaining this grand experience of a completely free planet that they’ve embarked on. It’s clear this is a story that’s only getting started and issue #6 makes it very clear things aren’t slowing down any time soon.
Free Planet #6 is available now.
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