Minor planet

A minor planet is an astronomical object in direct orbit around the Sun that is neither a planet nor exclusively classified as a comet. Minor planets can be dwarf planets, asteroids, trojans, centaurs, Kuiper belt objects, and other trans-Neptunian objects. The orbits of 692,604 minor planets were archived at the Minor Planet Center by 2015. The first minor planet to be discovered was Ceres in 1801.

The term minor planet has been used since the 19th century to describe these objects. The term planetoid has also been used, especially for larger (planetary) objects such as those the International Astronomical Union (IAU) has called dwarf planets since 2006. Historically, the terms asteroid, minor planet, and planetoid have been more or less synonymous. This terminology has become more complicated by the discovery of numerous minor planets beyond the orbit of Jupiter, especially trans-Neptunian objects that are generally not considered asteroids. Minor planets seen releasing gas may be dually classified as a comet.

Planetoid (comics)

Planetoid is a comic first released in June 2012 by Image Comics, written and drawn by Ken Garing. The main character is Silas, a deserter turned space pirate who ends up the sole survivor of his crew and crashes on a planetoid in alien territory, where he must fight off various mechanical creatures, cyborg militias, and the alien military which has a bounty on him.

History

In an interview with Comic Book Resources, Garing stated that he spent years working at improvements on Planetoid, then at a convention showed it to Image, who agreed to publish it. The first story arc is a 5-issue mini-series. The story is intended to continue to unfold in further mini-series and one-shots.

It was originally a miniseries available digitally through Graphicly.

Reception

Ain't It Cool News calls it "richly and beautifully illustrated" and states that Garing can make "beautiful art and an engaging story". Multiversity Comics praised "Ken Garing’s excellent artistic style" and calls him an "excellent sequential storyteller."