Considering Transmet and Planetary, not paid for by Mr. Ellis

A while ago I thought about it and realized I would say Warren Ellis is my current favorite author. At the time this was replacing Heinlein, who I grew up reading and still enjoy, but I either grew out of it or my tastes changed, as happens. I really enjoyed Transmetropolitan, Planetary, Global Frequency, the start of "The Authority", Stormwatch's "Change or Die" series, Freakangels, and later Supergod and Black Summer.

Also Nextwave. Definitely enjoyed Nextwave.

Now, when considering which of those is my favorite, something interesting happens: my gut response is to say "Transmet is the best, but Planetary is my personal favorite". I'm saying it, so clearly I agree, but it sounds weird even to me. So I'm going to try to put it in a way that makes sense. (If you haven't read them, here are some summaries.)

I think the reason I make that distinction is that it feels like Transmet is richer and the story and themes have more impact, but I enjoy Planetary more. I like the feel of it, the way it reimagines and appreciates old stories, and all the way it is and is not a superhero story. And the motto resonates with me.

Anyone on the internet should know how true this is,
but people pretends its not all the time.

That seems to be the core of it; I evaluate Transmet as being higher quality in many ways, but I still enjoy Planetary more. Its that disconnect of a movie critic that can tell you the best made film they've seen, and the B-movie they always love to watch. Not that Planetary is bad, of course. Planetary's characters are great and compared to comics where "Reed Richards is useless" the impacts on the world here are so refreshing. But the way Transmet builds the world, develops the characters, and while it explores how truth, power,  society, and government relate is so well done.

I think you get what I'm saying.

So Transmet feels more significant, but I enjoy the rollercoaster of tones and subversions in Planetary. What about you? Any "favorites" where you're comparing apples and oranges  and don't have one answer?

photo credit: agilityfusion.com