Deron Generally
Deron Generally
Plastic Man #2
DC Comics
Written by Gail Simone
Art by Adriana Melo
Color by Kelly Fitzpatrick
Letters by Simon Bowland
Eel O’Brien is on the hunt for the kid he met in the first issue. For some reason, he thinks the kid might know more than he’s telling and Plastic Man is going to find out what it is. Unfortunately, Plas is not the greatest detective and most of his hunt consists of going to random people on the street and asking them if they’ve seen the kids. The up-side is that the interactions are hilarious, especially when you sprinkle in characters like Batwoman.
The issue progresses to take a little time for a budding romance, a Where’s Waldo style search page, inappropriate humor and Plastic Man caught in a hail of bullets from the police. It’s a lot for one pseudo-hero to take in one night and his reunion with the kid he’s looking for might be short lived when a certain winged denizen of the night arrives to take the kid.
Gail Simone continues a funny premise with another fun and funny issue. I like the direction that she is taking the character and how it all seems directionless on the surface. As interesting as it is to see Plastic Man struggle, it is equally interesting to see that there is the spark of an actual hero inside him. Something that people can see in him that he doesn’t see in himself yet. I also enjoyed the fact that she still has Eel struggle with the sins of his past and I think that element was something that I missed from this second issue. There was a part of me that thought this was the direction the series was going, but it takes a back seat in this issue.
Adriana Melo’s art is really exciting. I love the panels are framed and the brilliant use of shadows in many of them. There is a great film noir quality to the look of this book and it works well with the old school style of mystery that this story is telling. The art also does a great job of rendering Plastic Man’s powers in a fun way with some great over the top movements. Definitely interested in seeing where the story goes, but I want Plastic Man’s past to be a bigger plot point.
