I have given DC Comics a great deal of credit over time for their loyalty and patience with their titles. Sometimes it seems like it would take an act by a higher power to get DC to drop a title, which I have generally felt was a good attitude to take.

However, once they do decide to let a title go, they tend to do so with a whisper. When DC announced the cancellation of HERO, I was shocked, and I am sure I was not alone. When the whispers of Monolith’s cancellation were heard, I barely caught it, and I was equally surprised.

When I first started this column, I spent a good deal of time writing about outstanding Marvel books that were on the cusp of cancellation. The thing was, though Marvel tended to cancel a lot of titles that deserved more of an effort, who can really say that they didn’t give fans more than enough time to launch “Save ___” campaigns? How long were fans of Captain Marvel fighting before that book finally ended? Sadly, it is probably too late for HERO and Monolith.

I did hear a rumor today that disturbed me a great deal – that DC was about to cancel Plastic Man. I was floored. Is the rumor true? Who can say. I sure hope not. But I am not about to sit on my hands and wait for the official announcement. Plastic Man is a title that should not, under any circumstances, ever be cancelled because of all things – low sales. Yes, I feel that strongly about it. Hopefully I can make that case to you. I may have missed my chance with HERO, but maybe things can be different for Plastic Man.

Cast of Characters

Eel O’Brian was a gangster who was caught while attempting to rob a chemical factory. Fleeing down a flight of stairs, Eel is shot in the arm, and covered in acid from a tipped vat. Eel makes his escape, despite being abandoned by the rest of his gang, and passes out on his way up a mountain. Eel later awakens in a monastery to find that a monk took him in, and hid him from the police. He later finds that his body can “change shape,” like rubber. Seeing his change in fortune as either a sign or a miracle, Eel decides that it might be a good idea to change his ways. Plastic Man begins working with the FBI, using his new powers to catch people who he used to be like – criminals.

Plastic Man has the ability to contort his body into any shape he can imagine. He cannot change color, however. Regardless of the form he takes, he will always remain the same combination of flesh, red, and yellow.

Woozy Winks thinks of himself as Plastic Man’s sidekick. In many ways, he is. Woozy is a lovable sort and a bit absent minded. He wanders around, mostly, usually following Plastic Man around, and almost always ends up right in the middle of the action. At one time, Woozy had attained “invulnerability,” but at this point in Baker’s version, he has not demonstrated that power.

Agent Nora Morgan was brought in by Chief Branner to help Plastic Man track down “Eel O’Brian,” who was the chief suspect in a murder case. Since Plastic Man (quite naturally), seemed so unable to capture O’Brian in the past, it seemed logical that he bring in another person to work the case. Morgan is very self confident and capable, and seemed to be the idea person to handle the Eel O’Brian case. However, the story wouldn’t be as interesting if she was all she seemed.

Thoughts

As many of you know, Kyle Baker was originally brought on to do a Plastic Man graphic novel. However, as the story came in, DC quite wisely decided that the concept might make for a good ongoing series. So, the initial story was broken up into a six issue story arc, and the series began on a monthly basis.

So what is so special about this comic? I don’t know if this will make much sense to you, but Baker’s Plastic Man succeeds in being both “retro” and innovative at the same time.

One thing that has changed about comics, at least when comparing the product of today to the product 50 years ago, is the lightness of the stories and the down-to-Earth nature of the heroes. One of the first major complaints I heard about this series was about the “power level” of Plastic Man. After all, how could someone who had accomplished all we have seen him do in JLA be handled so easily by a couple of FBI agents with a pistol, some duct tape, and a bucket of acetone? The answer is simple – it doesn’t matter. And it shouldn’t. Baker succeeded quite well at bringing Plastic Man back down to Earth, which made for a much more interesting story. Instead of being one of countless individuals with super-powers, not special in any way, Plastic Man is a unique being in a universe of normal people. He is a reformed criminal trying to live a new life, and has a very real reason to keep his past identity a secret. After all, why should Plastic Man care if the FBI knew he was Eel O’Brien, if there was really very little the FBI could do about it? Baker turns back the clock in this superhero story, making Plastic Man less the untouchable god that most heroes seem to have become these days, and succeeds in giving the comic a refreshing feel.

One look at the art is all you need to see why I think Plastic Man is at the same time innovative. Baker took a member of the JLA, the elite superhero team in the DC Universe, and drew him in a cartoonish style. Instead of the hyper-realistic, deep art one would expect to see in a JLA member’s solo-book, the characters are flat and undefined (except when Plastic Man’s current shape requires more definition). The panel layout is simplistic by today’s standards. They stories are simplistic and narrowly focused, instead of grand, sweeping, and uber-serious. And they are told more by the art than the dialogue. Continuity issues are frowned upon – in fact, Baker goes so far as to ridicule some of the more heavy continuity aspects of the JLA. Basically, Baker took everything that is considered “standard” for a successful superhero comic and did the opposite. And it works, because it is a Plastic Man comic.

Granted, it doesn’t work for everyone, I have heard more than my fair share of people who simply hate this book because it is nothing like they think it is supposed to be. If you are one of those people who take comics extremely seriously, and expect realistic art and heavy, deeply involved stories, then I wouldn’t bother with Plastic Man. And to be honest, I kind of feel sorry for you. It is a treat for me to read Plastic Man each month. Not that I don’t enjoy some of the more serious comics, but comics were always supposed to be fun to read, and Baker has captured that perfectly.

Bottom Line

Do yourself a favor, and pick up a copy of Plastic Man. The next issue is due out next Wednesday, November 10th, in comic stores. I wouldn’t be too worried about “a good place to start.” Unlike a lot of comics on the market today, even if it is in the middle of a story arc, it really isn’t that difficult to get a grip on what is going on. Each issue is written so that you can enjoy it on its own, without stressing too much about what happened in the previous issue. Man, what a rare and refreshing treat that is. If you really must read from the beginning, the first trade, On the Lamb, collecting the first six issues, is due out on November 17th, the following week. As this arc was originally intended to be a graphic novel anyway, it should read particularly well in the trade format.

So is the cancellation rumor going to be true? I couldn’t tell you, but numbers wise, Plastic Man isn’t selling that well. If it were a Marvel title, it would be long gone by now. So we should all pitch in and Save Plastic Man, even if it doesn’t really need saving. The comic industry NEEDS titles like this one, and it shouldn’t even be at the point where cancellation rumors are possible. And let me tell you, I hope a year from now, I can laugh at how much I over reacted here, because that will mean Plastic Man is still around. Read it.

Credit Where Credit is Due

Plastic Man is
Cartooned by Kyle Baker (issue 7 by Scott Morse),
Edited by Joey Cavalieri,
Created by Jack Cole, and
Published by DC Comics.

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