Four criminals plan a heist against a powerful corporation on a planet that is most definitely uninhabited–what could go wrong?
Jared Throne’s Bridge Planet Nine from Top Shelf Productions brings us the story of four people thrown together by need, planning a heist of valuable minerals from a desolate bridge planet–an uninhabited, autonomous waystation meant to facilitate deep space travel. Far from civilization on a planet once decimated by conflict, it should be an easy payday. Instead, the crew finds a band of cultish strangers living in the ruins and corporate secrets dark enough to kill. Plans for revenge and fresh starts give way to a fight for survival as the crew has to uncover the truth they’ve stumbled into and find a way home with their lives–and maybe a payout as well.
Lots of people (including me) love a good heist story. Bridge Planet Nine has all the right pieces at play–a ragtag crew, greedy corporations, unexpected complications, and one last score on the way to freedom. Though it doesn’t do anything particularly fresh with the premise, the overarching concepts of this comic set the stage really well. Unfortunately, the scene-to-scene writing struggles to fulfill this potential. Characters start dumping backstory into dialogue almost immediately. The themes are explicitly stated and restated throughout. The villains and betrayals are over the top and so familiar in execution that it strips away most of the tension they would otherwise provide if they had been allowed to operate with a bit more subtlety.
The central character is Pearl, a pilot recruited into the scheme by her brother, enticed by the payday as a way to repair her life and get back to her son who she’s lost custody of. These family dynamics provide an effective emotional core, but even Pearl’s character struggles to be more than one dimensional–lacking the complexity that would make these figures truly interesting. When even the highest emotional moments come with dialogue that feels intended to accompany dramatic music, the result is a story that consistently breaks immersion and reminds the reader of what the book is attempting to be, rather than being able to enjoy what it actually is.
Whatever the flaws of the writing however, Throne’s art is one of the book’s key strengths and certainly elevates the experience. Delivered entirely in black and white, the heavy inks, minimal gradients, and dramatic contrasts are striking from the very start. With effective visual pacing and paneling, Bridge Planet Nine builds a tangible scifi universe before shuttling the reader off to a desolate planet full of decaying ruins half buried in the sands of troubled history. Each character is distinct and emotive, with some key details worked into an accessible but dynamic visual style. The world has depth, and the heavy use of inks delivers some cinematic moments well suited to the genre mashups of science fiction and heist (mis)adventure.
Top Shelf doesn’t assign an age rating to the book. There’s some language and substance use, along with dead bodies and plenty of violence–though the visuals never get so graphic as to push the content into mature territory. Some of the themes and character motivations are also geared a bit more adult, but there’s nothing here that would be objectionable to many teen readers either. Overall, I wanted to like Bridge Planet Nine, but the book’s vision never manages to overcome its weaknesses. It’s worth flipping through the pages to appreciate Throne’s visual style, and I’d happily take a look at future work from this creator. However, if you’re debating a purchase for your own collection, there are other titles working in these genres that will give you better value for your time and money. Which is a pity–becasue there’s always room for more stories about motley groups committing heists against evil corporations.
Bridge Planet Nine Vol.
By Jared Throne
Top Shelf, 2025
ISBN: 9781603095631
NFNT Age Recommendation: Adult (18+), Older Teen (16-18)
