Plastic Man (2003 Series) #4

February 28, 2004

Quick Rating: Great
Title: It Was the Best of Times, It Was the Worst of Times

Plastic Man is out to discover who framed Eel O’Brian, but Woody Winks has lost faith in his hero.

Writer/Artist: Kyle Baker
Editor: Joey Cavalieri
Cover Art: Kyle Baker
Publisher: DC Comics

Kyle Baker is absolutely amazing. I think of anybody else in the comic book industry who could take equal parts Chuck Jones and Charles Dickens, mix them into a comic book together and make them work so well. For those who came in late, Plastic Man used to be the crook named Eel O’Brian before he got his powers. Since then he has maintained his criminal identity to infiltrate the underworld, making his career as a superhero much more effective. At least, until the first issue of this series, when someone framed the Eel for murder. Plas is on the run now, his secret blown, and he’s got to prove the innocence of both his identities.

Plas’s efforts at detective work are shone off this issue, but what really got to me was the pain we see in Plas’s goofy sidekick, Woozy Winks. Woozy has always been a silly, often superfluous character. In this book you really start to feel for this broken man who thinks his hero has turned out to be a crook. Baker makes Woozy really tug at your heartstrings, and I was genuinely upset at the last page of this issue, because it was done that well.

We also get a glimpse of the big villain of this story arc. I have my suspicions as to who it may turn out to be, but I’m hesitant to mention the name of this longstanding DCU villain because, first of all, I can’t think of any reason he’d have a grudge against Plastic Man, and second, I can’t quite remember if he’s alive or not at the moment.

Baker’s artwork continues to shine in this book. He has a very lively, animated style, and he makes use of Plastic Man’s incredibly versatile powers better than anyone since Jack Cole himself. This is easily the funniest superhero comic currently published by either of the Big Two publishers, and one of the funniest superhero comics of all time. If you’re not reading and loving this comic book, you mustn’t have a funny bone in your entire body.

Rating: 9/10

Plastic Man (2004 Series) #3

February 2, 2004

Quick Rating: Very Good
Title: Rubber Banned

Plastic Man is on the run… and everyone is after him!

Writer/Artist: Kyle Baker
Editor: Joey Cavalieri
Cover Art: Kyle Baker
Publisher: DC Comics

Baker is quickly making this one of my favorite titles on the racks. As Plastic Man’s bosses learn his true identity, wanted criminal Eel’ O’Brian, he’s forced to try to break out of headquarters from under their very noses.

This issue also proves me wrong in my prediction that there wouldn’t be any guest stars in the first arc of this title – we have a brief cameo appearance by the entire Justice League in this issue. Baker shows them in a very silly, yet still respectful light. He also shifts his art style for those pages, using a style not quite as cartoony but not as strict as most superhero comics… a suitable middle ground that allows these heroes to exist in Plastic Man’s universe and still feel appropriate.

Plastic Man’s sidekick, Woozy Winks is really one of the bigger stars of this issue. They’ve got him tracking down his mentor and his best friend, plying him with his dreams of becoming a hero. He actually gets good character moments here, something that will surprise a lot of people.

There isn’t too much more to say about the artwork that hasn’t been said already – Baker draws some of the funniest comic book pages you’ve ever seen, packing each panel with jokes and gags, both visual and verbal. There are plenty of one-liners to go around, and he shows a lot of respect for classic comedy bits and for Plastic Man’s origins in Jack Cole’s strip. He gives us a last panel that borders on the grotesque while still situated firmly in the goofy.

Overall, this is one of the most consistently enjoyable, lighthearted and just plain fun comic books on the market these days, something that will crack you up again and again. In a day and age where things seem to get more and more serious, more and more bleak, it’s wonderful to find a comic that doesn’t take itself or anything else seriously. This book is only for readers who want to enjoy themselves.

Rating: 8/10

Deadpool MAX #1

November 9, 2010

Title: Heads

Writer: David Lapham
Art: Kyle Baker
Letterer: Clayton Cowles
Cover: Kyle Baker
Editor: Axel Alonso
Publisher: Marvel Comics/MAX

Because there weren’t enough Deadpool comics yet, Marvel has added his newest ongoing series, this adults-only entry into their Mature Readers line, MAX. On the surface, it seems like Deadpool would be the perfect character to put into this imprint. Deadpool is an inherently violent character whose stories invite rampant innuendo and exaggerated amounts of gore even in the Marvel Universe titles. Giving him a chance to cut loose should be a great thing, right?

Not so much, as it seems.

In this issue, Deadpool has been hired to take down one of Marvel’s many, many gangland lords, Hammerhead. Rather than going through Deadpool’s truly insane perspective, as most of his comics do,the story is instead told through an undercover officer who witnessed the events, after some rather brutal treatment at the hands of one of Hammerhead’s flunkies. That in and of itself rather hurt the comic book – Deadpool is never as strong a character when viewed through somebody else’s eyes. That was just the beginning of the problems I had with this issue, though. This is a Deadpool comic, so I wasn’t expecting any sort of great literature. With the freedom of the MAX imprint, though, I was hoping for the already exaggerated storylines to be turned up to eleven.  Instead, though, we got a tepid storyline with violence that really wouldn’t be that out of place in any of Deadpool’s usual titles. To justify the MAX label, instead, we’ve got a series of stale gay jokes, a few profanities that wouldn’t fly in a title merely rated “Parental Advisory,” and feces. Yes, feces. I don’t care what rating a comic book has, I never need to see that.

It’s a shame. David Lapham and Kyle Baker are both fantastic comic book creators, capable of much better than we get out of this comic book. And, to be sure, Baker’s artwork is very strong. He handles everything from the linework to the colors himself in a style that’s very suited for Deadpool. But there’s no thought here, no real effort to justify the title except that now we can curse more, and for me at least that’s just not enough. There’s no meat, no soul to this comic.

Rating: 6/10

Bart Simpson’s Treehouse of Horror #12

October 3, 2006

Quick Rating: Good
Title: Homer’s Ark and other stories

Another trio of Halloween tales from the Simpsons!

Homer’s Ark by: Terry Moore
Blood Curse by: Kyle Baker
Willie by: Eric Powell
Letters: Karen Bates
Editor: Bill Morrison
Cover Art: Bill Morrison
Publisher: Bongo Comics

It’s almost impossible to believe that The Simpsons has been on television for 17 seasons. It’s even harder to believe their annual Halloween comic book – a spin-off of their TV specials – is on its 12th issue. The thing that makes these Treehouse of Horror annuals fun is the chance to see other creators’ takes on the TV show’s characters, and this issue is no exception.

“Homer’s Ark” is first, a story by Strangers in Paradise creator Terry Moore. In the middle of a drunken stupor, Homer gets blasted by a bolt of lightning. In a near-death experience, God tells him He wants him to build an ark to save the world from a much-needed spraying for cockroaches. Homer, of course, goes overboard, leading up to a suitably bizarre Kafka-esque ending. I’ve been a fan of Moore’s for a very long time, and overbites and bizarre skin tones aside, this story is clearly one of his. If you ignore the skin tone and the Simpsons heads, the bodies and backgrounds would look perfectly in place in an issue of SiP. The story, however, is all Simpsons – goofy and fun.

“Blood Curse of the Evil Fairies!” is next, contributed by Kyle Baker. Bart (against his will) sits down to read a fairy tale to Maggie, but when the omnipresent bully Nelson overhears him, Bart twists the tale into a gory tale of death and retribution. The way Baker plays the characters – Homer in particular – is absolutely flawless.

“Willie: Portrait of a Groundskeeper” closes out this year’s helping of the macabre. Eric Powell (whose style is completely unmistakable, even with the Simpsons characters starring) tells a grotesque tale of Groundskeeper Willie, who falls in love with… well, to say any more would be spoiling it. But suffice it to say that this is without a doubt the most horrific of the trilogy in this issue. Some of the gore is a little over-the-top, but it’s not gratuitous – it gives the story just the right touch of classic EC horror, blended with the comedy of the Simpsons.

Overall, this is a better-than average Treehouse. We’ve got three great creators lending their unique voices to the characters, and we get three strong, original tales. It’s well worth the read for folks looking for some Halloween offerings.

Rating: 7/10

Deadpool: Merc With a Mouth #13

August 1, 2010

Writer: Victor Gishler
Penciler (Chapters 1 & 4): Bong Dazo
Inker (Chapters 1 & 4): Jose Pimeltel
Colorist (Chapters 1, 3 & 4): Matt Milla
Artist (Chapter 2): Kyle Baker
Artist (Chapter 3): Matteo Scalera
Letterer: Jeff Eckleberry
Cover: Arthur Suydam
Editor: Axel Alonso
Publisher: Marvel Comics

This issue ends both Deadpool’s adventures in the zombie dimension and this series that was a miniseries, then it wasn’t, then it was again. Deadpool and Headpool (the disembodied head of Zombie Deadpool), along with a few scientists they’ve picked up along the way, are planning to make their run for the portal that will get them out of the zombie dimension and back to good ol’ Marvel Earth-616. Which won’t be easy, considering that there’s an entire universe full of zombies hungry for living flesh out to track them down.

This is the book that made me a fan of writer Victor Gishler. The man manages to mix horror and comedy in a way that’s really only suitable for the likes of Deadpool. Some of the stuff we get in this issue gets into the realm of the grotesque, but still in a wonderfully amusing way. Mixing in some time travel stuff, guest appearances by Brother Voodoo and the Man-Thing, and a deliciously crazy gambit that Deadpool pulls off like nobody else, we get a really fantastic adventure that leads into the current Deadpool Corps series pretty neatly.

One thing that does hurt the book a little, though, is the terribly inconsistent art. Matteo Scalera’s third chapter fits with the Bong Dazo art on chapters one and four pretty well, but Kyle Baker’s chapter two feels like it belongs in a different book entirely. The art isn’t bad, far from it. Baker is an excellent artist and visual storyteller. But his style is so different from the other two artists that it wrenches you completely out of the story as soon as his chapter begins, then does it again when you transition from his work to Scalera’s.

I’m a bit sad to see this series go. It’s been very entertaining, a bit more than the Deadpool Corps book which has already replaced it, but it’s given us a year of amusement. I’ll take what I can get.

Rating: 7/10

Plastic Man (2003 Series) #1

December 1, 2003

Quick Rating: Good
Title: Rebound

Plastic Man drifts through a recap of his origin and is called in on a murder case

Writer: Kyle Baker
Art: Kyle Baker
Editor: Joey Cavalieri
Cover Art: Kyle Baker
Publisher: DC Comics

It’s worth noting that this book was originally intended to be published as an original graphic novel before the powers that be at DC decided to bump it up to an ongoing series, so what you’re reading in this issue is essentially the first section of that graphic novel. As such, we don’t get a lot of new material, but what we get is pretty good.

In the opening sequence we see Plas and his partner, Woozy Winks, as they track down bad guys, live the good life, and essentially enjoy their lot. But then we see a different side of our malleable hero – Plas uses his powers to put up a good front even as his real consciousness is left alone, brooding over how lonely he is. We then get a dream sequence where Baker recap’s Plas’s origin sequence from the classic Police Comics #1, even including some of the original dialogue and imagery that creator Jack Cole used. He puts the whole thing through a manic filter, though, using the sort of imagery Chuck Jones put into the greatest Looney Tunes cartoons – wild takes, irreverent comedy, snappy one-liners that are clearly intended for the adults in the audience rather than any children who might be reading.

Baker is the perfect choice for this title – his goofy, zany style works for Plas flawlessly. This issue is a bit sparse, as I said, but I’m willing to give it until the second issue to grab me, because the mystery that gets introduced in the last few pages of the issue has some great comedic potential.

I’d be lying if I said I had no concerns, though. The crazy, Looney Tunes comedy style, while responsible for some of the greatest cartoons ever made, has never been one that translated that well to the comic book page. Also, I’m left wondering if Baker intends to address recent developments in Plas’s character, such as the young son he has in JLA. Things like that have fleshed out the character and made him popular enough to take a chance on publishing a solo series for him in the first place, and while they shouldn’t dominate this title, it would be a shame to dismiss them entirely.

Rating: 7/10