Plastic Man VOL 01: On the Lam

I wanted to like this but it just isn't that good. I'm shocked that it won an Eisner really. I love Plastic Man but... this is just a mess.

Plastic Man: On the Lam!: written and illustrated by Kyle Baker (2004/ Collected 2004): Kyle Baker's brilliant, hilarious run on Plastic Man begins here. He won the comics industry Eisner Award for best new series back in 2004 for his take on the Golden Age's stretchable FBI agent. That didn't keep the book from being cancelled after 20 issues despite it getting a rave review from Entertainment Weekly as well.But you should buy this. Really, you should buy anything by Baker. He's a swell writer-artist, never sweller than when he's writing his own stuff. He can draw pretty much any way he wants to, though the fallback on Plastic Man is anarchic cartooning that pays homage to Plastic Man creator Jack Cole's zany work even as it also nods to a host of other influences, including Warner Brothers cartoons.One of the ten or 15 greatest things DC Comics has published in the 21st century, it even manages to make its metacriticism of superhero tropes and stereotypes and oddities specific without being an in-joke inaccessible to non-expert comic-book readers. The Baker Plastic Man deserves an Absolute hardcover edition, stat! Highly recommended.

When I saw "Plastic Man: On the Lam" I originally passed it over because the cover is absolutely horrible. The cover is supposed to look as if it's composed of Plastic Man's stretched body. It's even literally made of plastic but it looks really bad which is a shame because the contents are terrific. The reason I purchased the book was because the series won the Eisner award for best new series and I've tended to do well with Eisner award winners.On the Lam is a compilation of the first six issues of the recent Plastic Man series, written and drawn by Kyle Baker. My first and only experience with Kyle Baker's talent was a pair of short pieces done for the Bizarro books. Kyle has a very clean, bright artistic style that more resembles animation cells than comic panels. His only weakness is when he tries to draw realistic looking characters like in the brief appearance of the JLA.One of the problems with writing Plastic Man is trying to keep Plas sufficiently goofy without turning him into a goofball. Some of the Justice League writers allowed him to descend deep into ridiculousness. Plastic Man, like Captain Marvel, really needs to be placed into his own separate world. Kyle does a great job of establishing the classic Plastic Man universe, balancing cartooniness with a bit of an edge. Poor Plas ends up taking quite a beating in this adventure. He's stretched with hooks, frozen, nearly suffocated, eaten by an alligator and has his rear end melted with acetate. There was always a certain darkness behind the colorful plastic wrapping, after all Plastic Man is one of the few heroes who started his career as a criminal. Seeing a dead man's head flattened or Woozy Winky bleeding after a severe beating is jarring but that's the way Plastic Man comics are and why he's such a unique character.Kyle Baker's interpretation is one of the best I've seen. It's filled with legitimate humor and terrific art. I may be dense but somehow I didn't see the twist ending coming. Kudos to Kyle Baker for reinvigorating my interest in Plastic Man and kudos to DC Comics for releasing a truly unique and creative series.

At first the Cartoony art might throw you, but it has a real heart, lot of laughs for sure, but a few real touching moments, i always loved plastic man but this trade showed me another side to him.it's a great comic for kids as well as adults, the kids will love the humor, the art and the strange thinsg plastic man does, adults will love all that plus the jokes that may go over most kids heads, the mystery story, the few but well written sad moments, plastic man really is deep, he was a crook before he become a hero, all of that comes back to haunt him, and we find out why he acts liek he does.and the cover to it is stunning, it's plastic, unlike all the other trades thta are paper covers, this is really plastic, it's kind of a gimmick, but it's liek the book, light hearted, fun and funny all in one.I only hope we get a second trade collecting 7-12.

This book is insanely fun -- the old, original Plastic Man series by Jack Cole had its ups and downs, but at its best, the wacky visual and creative genius was absolutely unique. Kyle Baker, whose own style tends towards the exaggerated and elastic to begin with, is a perfect artist to take this character on, and this first set of stories is a real doozy. Each panel bursts with kooky ideas and great visual gags; the book is filled with sly pop culture references, and hilarious inside jokes about the comic book subculture. It's a lot of fun. Plus, that new FBI agent is a total babe. (Joe Sixpack, ReadThatAgain books reviews)

I just can't agree with the rave reviews of this book. I loved Plastic Man in the old Batman comics and in his own books, and Plastic Sam was unique in that it was one of the funniest Mad parodies yet still remained true to the original in a way that Mad's other victims couldn't claim. But the art here is simply pathetic! Yes, it packs a good laugh or two, but I find the lack of care put into backgrounds and lettering (apparently done by a computer program) to be unacceptable. Most backgrounds seem to be a simple color wash that could be anywhere.

Very odd