Captain Planet Returns
The eco-friendly superhero Captain Planet returns this week in Captain Planet #1 from Dynamite Entertainment. Captain Planet and the Planeteers debuted in 1990 as an animated series from Turner Entertainment that aimed to share environmental lessons. Writer David Pepose chatted with CSN about how Captain Planet and his Planeteers are a dream assignment!
What is your experience with the Captain Planet character?
Like most kids of the ‘90s, I grew up watching the original Captain Planet cartoon. I remember being struck by the Planeteers in particular — how they were such an eclectic group of kids who came from such different backgrounds but who were able to find common ground and establish such deep and loyal friendships. Combine that with the amazing assortment of powers and the unforgettable villains, and I was hooked.
Why is now a good time for a revival?
I’ve been championing a Captain Planet series for literally a decade, and nobody is more struck than me that I finally get to write him. I really think the character is a hero for our times. We live in a world where climate change is running rampant, with real-world consequences ranging from Hurricane Sandy in New York to the wildfires in Los Angeles to record freezing temperatures in the Midwest — and we also live in a world of unchecked greed, where billionaires are asserting unchecked power across every facet of our lives.
Tell me about your collaborators on the series.
Eman Casallos is the most talented and dedicated artist you haven’t heard of yet, and I sincerely hope to change that with Captain Planet. I hadn’t been familiar with his work until our editor Joe Rybandt recruited him to the book, but Eman has come out swinging with every single page — the way he’s redesigned and recontextualized the cast is nothing short of sensational, and the acting he gives his characters is unlike anything I’ve ever experienced in the industry.
What are your hopes for the Captain Planet series?
Honestly, I just want readers to feel as excited about Captain Planet as I am — this is a character that has been long overlooked, but he’s a character that is inherently timely, with a globe-spanning cast tackling environmental catastrophe and the corrupt businessmen who are causing it. I’ve said for a decade that Captain Planet was my white whale, a concept that has every ingredient to be an A-lister — and I can’t wait to show our readers why.
