Writer-artist Kyle Baker opens with a cartoonish sequence involving Plas and a pair of thugs that seems taken from the storyboards of a 1940s animated short. He continues with madcap scenes showing some traces of Ralph Bakshi or John Kricfalusi. Then, the story suddenly takes a somber tone as we learn that the criminal persona of Eel O'Brien is still very much alive deep in Plas's rubberized soul. Baker mixes subtle humour with outrageous pictures, like Eel's eyeballs melting out of their sockets as he ponders how he has miraculously become "soft, pliable and easy to clean." Baker may be paying tribute to Jack Cole but the Plas and Woozy Winks we see in this story are distinctly his. Those expecting a Cole-copycat will be disappointed. While the work shows promise, it doesn't yet reach the heights of hilarity that Baker has achieved elsewhere.

There is no reference to recent JLA stories or the rest of the DC universe in this title so the continuity-cops might be better off learing to accept that or by simply skipping the book entirely.

At times, it is painfully obvious that issue was simply part of a longer book that was chopped into pieces. The flow of the story seems too languid at times but the cliffhanger at the end does introduce a crucial element of tension in the story. Hopefully, enough readers will stick around to see Plas and Baker finally hit their stride.


Koppy McFad

DC COMICS
WRITER/ ARTIST/ COVER: Kyle Baker

I bought this book because of its cover. While many feel a cartoony series about a super hero is an outrage, I wish there were more. Being an animator, Baker's slapstick style is the last of my worries. I heard that Baker would try some more realistic renderings to see what fans prefer. If he reads this, I say don't do it. Of course they'll prefer the regular super hero look.

Why do comic book fans insist on a series that's 100% referenced, within continuity, and drawn like every other book on the market? In but a few sentences and lots of exposition, Baker explained Plastic Man's history for new readers, returned the character to his detective roots and started a storyline that'll keep us hooked for long. Under the slapstick, there's much smart stuff.

Baker's Plastic Man's work, unlike many comic books, could be used straight up as a storyboard for a cartoon series without much changes. A story that flows so well with simple visuals is a storyteller's triumph. The slapstick look is enhanced with soft-traced lines and washed backgrounds. This series should seriously get animated. This is the way Plastic Man should be.


Hervé St-Louis

DC COMICS
CARTOONIST: Kyle Baker
Plastic Man created by Jack Cole
32 pages, color, $2.95

On some rare occasions, Direct Market mainstream comic companies manage to publish something special. DC Comics is usually the one to step forward with exceptional material, although many pundits consider DC’s management and editorial staff to be conservative and stuck-in-the-mud. DC’s latest coup is cartoonist Kyle Baker’s new comic PLASTIC MAN, the first comic based on the venerable character in well over a decade.

Plastic Man #1 is probably the best new comic of 2003, and it comes closest to capturing the manic and wildly inventive spirit of the Golden Age Plastic Man comics created by Jack Cole for Quality Comics. Baker has always been a writer of quality humor comics, and he has a knack for comedy that few cartoonists who draw comics have.

Most impressive is how visually similar Kyle’s art for this book is to Cole’s classic Plas art. He doesn’t just have the look down; he also has the imagination to test the limits of comic art, as if trying to see if there is something that he can’t draw Plas doing. The form stretched to its limits is a good way to describe Cole’s comics; it’s good to see another cartoonist really stretching.

[DRECK, DULL, READABLE, PRETTY GOOD, EXCELLENT]

LJ DOURESSEAU