Hey guys! I hope you all got some time off for Labor Day, and enjoyed it! As you may have seen, we didn’t get one of our shipments in until Wednesday… which made for a pretty rocky week. The books were both on sale and on the delivery truck, which key-eyed readers will notice is kind of an issue.
But! The bright side is that comics came, I read them, and it was a great week! So without further ado, our Lighthouse this week:
Plastic Man No More!
I try to start each one of these with a clever one-liner, something that you’ll see from your wall of emails and make you excited to click on the one about comics. But for this, “Plastic Man No More!” is kind of the perfect description. Through-and-through this book is Plas, and... he’s on the journey of being No More. But, through all of that, he’s still his “!” self.
I have been really, really impressed with all of the Black Label character studies DC has been doing lately (Zatanna: Bring Down the House and Jenny Sparks are both amazing), and they continue the trend with this one.
Tripper is going to make fun of me for typing this, but this is Plastic Man’s Dark Knight Returns. I’m NOT saying it’s DKR quality--because what is?--or that it will have the same impact, but it has its similarities. Four oversized issues that take the character in a bold, new direction and shake him down to his core, bring him to death’s door, and show you what it means to be a hero and a human. This is Eel like you’ve always known him in a situation you never would’ve seen coming.
The elevator pitch for this book is one of those ideas where I curse myself for not having had it: Plastic Man’s plastic starts degrading, which leads to a melty body horror new way of living for Eel. This is the story of a dying father willing to do anything for the son he failed. It’s told through a combination of horror and humor and all of the defense mechanisms that come with that, and it’s done so well.
And, don’t worry if you’re wondering why there’s a long-sleeved speedo man on your screen: the book opens with his origin story and explains everything you need to know along the way. If you’ve never even heard of Plas, you’re good to go.
This is an incredibly touching story presented in a super fun light that’ll make you root for a guy named Eel. Christopher Cantwell (Doctor Doom, Iron Man) pens a script that really draws out the complexities of our criminal-turned-hero. Alex Lins, the artist of the present-day story, perfectly mixes the superhero with the body horror required by this book--seriously, I was unfamiliar with their work until now but it is made for this book! Jacob Edgar handles the Justice League portions of the book and really captures that classic, Super Friends feel. Marcelo Maiolo’s colors perfectly pop and recede when they need to, and letterer Becca Carey does some really fun, playful things in the underappreciated category of comicdom. I think this is one of those times where the perfect band came together and had just the right idea for a great song.
If you can’t tell, it’s no stretch to say I enjoyed this book a lot and I’d recommend checking it out. It’s 32 pages of story for $4.99, the first of four issues, worth every penny, and on sale now!
Because we’re late this week, I’ll also throw in that you can text/call/email/app us and we’ll set aside a copy for you, just in case you can’t make a second stop down.
If you love Plas, genre-mixing, or good comics, check this one out!
Thanks for reading!
-Lukas
P.S. Even if he is right about TDKR and this book... Yeah, I'm still gonna make fun of him. - Tripper
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