This week, Dark Horse releases book one of Planetes, the first epic from the acclaimed creator of Vinland Saga, Makoto Yukimura. It’s the late 21st century, and the human adventure in space is now truly underway, with settlements on the Moon, Mars, and asteroids. But that’s the glamorous side of things! Stuck a few hundred miles above Earth are people like our main characters—the crew of the sanitation ship DS-12 “Toy Box,” going round and round in the endless yet vital task of cleaning up dangerous orbital debris. Hachimaki wants to join an exploration mission to Jupiter and someday have his own ship. Yuri is still recovering from the death of his wife in an accident caused by drifting space junk. And Fee just needs to find a place to smoke…in space! But these regular working-class astronauts are full of hopes, dreams, and more than ordinary courage—all of which they’ll need in a future where ecological problems, terrorism, and simply making a living are still a challenge. 
Dark Horse’s Planetes omnibus is more than just a collection of previously published material. The entire series has been re-lettered for the Dark Horse edition using new, high-quality raws from Kodansha, the original Japanese publisher, and is printed on larger, brighter paper to show off Makoto Yukimura's linework and screentones at their best. Book one is out this week; book two will complete the story. If you’re a fan of recent space ventures such as Elon Musk’s SpaceX or Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin, or if you’re looking for hard SF stories in manga, you can’t do better than Planetes, which looks at the real issues ahead in the next few decades as humanity pushes into space, and (as always) brings with its fears and weaknesses, as well as the will to journey forward regardless. 
This week, Dark Horse releases book one of Planetes, the first epic from the acclaimed creator of Vinland Saga, Makoto Yukimura.
 
It’s the late 21st century, and the human adventure in space is now truly underway, with settlements on the Moon, Mars, and asteroids. But that’s the glamorous side of things! Stuck a few hundred miles above Earth are people like our main characters—the crew of the sanitation ship DS-12 “Toy Box,” going round and round in the endless yet vital task of cleaning up dangerous orbital debris. Hachimaki wants to join an exploration mission to Jupiter and someday have his own ship. Yuri is still recovering from the death of his wife in an accident caused by drifting space junk. And Fee just needs to find a place to smoke…in space! But these regular working-class astronauts are full of hopes, dreams, and more than ordinary courage—all of which they’ll need in a future where ecological problems, terrorism, and simply making a living are still a challenge. 
Dark Horse’s Planetes omnibus is more than just a collection of previously published material. The entire series has been re-lettered for the Dark Horse edition using new, high-quality raws from Kodansha, the original Japanese publisher, and is printed on larger, brighter paper to show off Makoto Yukimura's linework and screentones at their best. Book one is out this week; book two will complete the story. If you’re a fan of recent space ventures such as Elon Musk’s SpaceX or Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin, or if you’re looking for hard SF stories in manga, you can’t do better than Planetes, which looks at the real issues ahead in the next few decades as humanity pushes into space, and (as always) brings with its fears and weaknesses, as well as the will to journey forward regardless.