DC COMICS
WRITER/ARTIST/COVER: Kyle Baker
Kyle Baker really stretches his comedic talents in this issue as Plastic Man's boss in the FBI orders him to take on a sexy, new female partner to track down suspected murderer, Eel O'Brien-- who, as reader are aware, is Plastic Man himself. Meanwhile, Plastic Man's erstwhile sidekick, Woozy decides that the only way to be taken seriously as a partner is to become a superhero.
The laughs come every panel and are surprisingly varied, from the slapstick to the subtle, from Plastic Man offering to serve as a woman's bicycle seat to the pictures in Eel O'Brien's wallet. Very few of the jokes require an extensive knowledge of comic-book history or of the industry, making this title a welcome relief from all those other comedy books on the stands that are mostly just parodies of other comic books. Hopefully, new readers will also be attracted by this originality.
Baker shows you don't have to churn out ultra-realistic, highly-detailed artwork to produce a gorgeous comic-book. The panels in this comic just scream to be transformed into a high-quality cartoon. If the quality of this title can be maintained, Plastic Man could indeed be one of the best books of the year.
DC COMICS
CARTOONIST: Kyle Baker
Plastic Man created by Jack Cole
32 pages, color, $2.95
PLASTIC MAN, DC’s revival of the very popular stretch character (the godfather of stretching heroes like Mr. Fantastic and The Elongated Man) is not a fluke. Issue two is fabulous, a virtuoso performance by a cartoonist who still hasn’t hit the peak of his talent – Kyle Baker. Scary, isn’t it?
#2 (entitled “Rubber the Wrong Way) introduces a feisty new character, and it’s a wonderful paring of Plastic Man and a fun female detective who surprises with her sense of humor.
Baker’s art is fantastic, and he certainly captures the true irreverent spirit of the character. His storytelling is sharp, and the dialogue is hilarious with nice flourishes of bawdy humor. What Plastic Man fan could hate this?
[DRECK, DULL, READABLE, VERY GOOD, EXCELLENT]
LJ DOURESSEAU
