An Ode to Plastic by M Dolan

Maybe it's the fanboy in me, but I'm utterly fascinated when a comic reader discovers a new character they were previously unaware of and really dives deep into the character's bibliography. I always enjoy hearing other people's perspectives on characters/titles/story lines and why they enjoyed them so much. 

-Justin

When I first heard the name 'Plastic Man' I assumed he was one of those overly campy superheroes from an outmoded print era. Over time, having heard a little more about him, I thought Plastic Man was nothing more than a jokester who was only ever written in team books as an easy way to inject comic relief. My overall initial impression of the character was that he was just some clown pulled from the Golden Age and shoved into modern books as a way to keep a legacy character relevant. I don’t think I’ve ever been so wrong when judging a character as I was when I judged Plastic Man. What instantly changed my perception of the character was when I heard about his origin story.

Plastic Man is your typical crime-fighting superhero with an atypical beginning. He was created by cartoonist Jack Cole and first appeared in 1941's Police Comics published by Quality Comics. What was so different about this superhero’s origin was that his real identity was a gangster. This character, who is predominantly known now for his physically comedy and joke telling, was a career criminal before he became a superhero. Before becoming Plastic Man he was known as “Eel” O’Brian, a name he earned by being too “slippery” to be caught by police. O’Brian’s specialty was safe-cracking. It was busting a safe to steal a chemical plant’s payroll that lead to O’Brian’s transformation from criminal to superhero. During the caper O’Brian ended up being shot through shoulder by a security guard and doused in experimental chemicals. Ditched by his cohorts, O’Brian managed to stumble away out of town before passing out. He woke up in a mountain retreat where he had his wound tended to by a monk. The monk revealed to O’Brian that he turned away police who had tracked him to the area because he believed that O’Brian was “a man who could become a valuable citizen if he only had the chance”. O’Brian, taken aback by the monk’s kindness, had his faith in humanity rekindled and he began to regret his life of organized crime.

panel from Secret Origins v2 #30 (1988). Art by Stephen DeStefano

While recovering, O’Brian discovered that he has acquired the ability to stretch and contort his body as a result of the acid which fell into his gunshot wound. Inspired by the monk, O’Brian resolved to end his career as a criminal and take it upon himself to put away people like his past gang members who had left him for dead in the chemical plant.

Plastic Man initially fights crime by infiltrating gangs with the aid of his alter ego’s connections and eventually begins formally working with FBI to help stop crime. Plastic Man also has an ex-thief of a sidekick named Woozy Winks who Plas helped go straight. Woozy is a hilarious character who helps give Plastic Man his unique brand of humour.

panel from Plastic Man #17 (1976). Art by Ramona Fradon.

While Plastic Man’s origin has its cheesy streak (i.e. monks being the ones who set O’Brian on the right path despite the story taking place in an urban setting), I insist that the core of the character is very relatable and remains relatable to the modern reader. He is someone who had done wrong in the past, is given the opportunity to do good, and uses that opportunity to make amends and become a better person. He forever has insecurities about his past wrongdoings and a fear of being rejected if anyone where to find out about his past. Plastic Man, for these reasons, is a flawed and developed character who leaves me with an optimistic outlook. His story tells us that there can be good found in people and that sometimes they just need the chance to show it.

panel from Police Comics #19 (1943). Art by Jack Cole.

I’ve comprised a reading list for anyone interested in reading Plastic Man. Something really fantastic about Golden Age Plastic Man comics (i.e. Quality Comics) is that the stories still hold up. I find myself going back and reading Plastic Man’s classic stories and still finding them absolutely delightful and hilarious. I generally consider myself a fan of early comic book characters and for almost every single one of them I think the later interpretations of the characters and their stories are stronger than the original tales. That’s not the case with Plastic Man at all. I really think Jack Cole was ahead of his time with this character and I think that his stories and his character really deserve to be remembered as they were. Roy Thomas, a past editor-in-chief for Marvel and huge Golden Age fan, called Plastic man “one of the great creations of the Golden Age of Comics”. (Secret Origins v2 #30)

Quality Comics:

-Police Comics (1941), in which Plastic Man has stories from issues #1-102
-Later Plastic Man was given his own book, Plastic Man (1943).


As it goes with any old character, they see change over the years through being passed on from writer to writer. Sometimes the soul of the original character gets lost in narrative changes and continuity shifts. The DC series and appearances I’ve chosen for this list are ones that I think stay true to the spirit of Jack Cole’s original work.

panel from Secret Origins v2 #30 (1988). Art by Stephen DeStefano

DC series:

-Plastic Man v2 (1976) (note: this series starts at issue #11 after a 10-year hiatus)
-Plastic Man v3 (1988)
-Plastic Man v4 (2004)
-Plastic Man (2018)


DC specials and appearances worth reading:

-Secret Origins #30 (1986)
-Plastic Man Special (1999)
-Adventure Comics #467-478 (1938)
-The Super Friends #36, #43, #45 (1976)
-The Brave and the Bold #148 (1955)
-The Power of SHAZAM! #21 (1995)
-Action Comics #661 (1938)  which ties into Superman #110 (1987)

panel from Adventure Comics #469 (1980). Art by Joe Staton.

If you’re a fan of light-hearted crime stories or satirical comics then I think you’ll find the comics listed above quite enjoyable. Thank you so much for reading and I hope you’ve discovered a new character to love.

-M

...and any comic fans on the hunt for a modern day appearance of Plas, you can find "Eel" O'Brian in Jeff Lemire's The Terrifics:

The Terrifics! art by Doc Shaner

Taking a look at The Ray six issue mini-series (1992)

This is another mini-series I overlooked the first time. I'm going to guess it's because it said "six-issue miniseries" right on the cover, and by that point in my young life I was already savvy enough to know that first issues in ongoing series' tend to climb in value (as opposed to first issues in miniseries'). Thanks, Wizard Magazine.

Mark Beachum cover

I was aware of the Ray when he first debuted, but I'm sure I merely brushed him off as just another clone of Marvel's Nova. I was a shameless fan of Marvel's New Warriors in the early 90s, and Nova was appearing a lot in that title. I didn't like Nova. I found him too dull of a character. Obviously, me dismissing the Ray was to my loss, because the title was picked up for an ongoing series in 1994 (which I didn't purchase). Coincidentally,  Marvel also released a Nova ongoing series in 1994, and I didn't pick that one up, either (gold foil variant cover be damned). The early 90s were a wild time in comics and it was so easy to get lost in a sea of "great" titles flooding the market, you really had to be choosy with the $10 or so you had in your pocket when visiting your local comic book shop.

The recent announcement that 1) the Ray will be appearing in a new CW Seed animated feature, and 2) he's being touted as CW Seed's "First Gay Superhero Lead", had my curiosity piqued about the character and suddenly made me want to dig out any back issues I owned (and then some) from his 1992 min-series. I don't remember the Ray being gay. And if he was, I totally blanked out on it.

Created by Lou Fine, the original Ray debuted in 1940 as a Quality Comics character in issue #14 of Smash Comics. During a hot air ballooning accident, Happy Terrill is simultaneously exposed to lightning and sunlight and gains super powers. Happy Terrill is most vividly remembered as a member of Uncle Sam's Freedom Fighters (who had their own 15 issue ongoing series in 1976 and then made sporadic appearances in Roy Thomas' All-Star Squadron during the early-to-mid 80s).

1940 origin of the The Ray (Happy Terrill)

The Ray mini-series from 1992 introduces a new character (it's his first appearance in comic book form), named Ray Terrill, who is the son of the original Ray. It's a really a well-written coming-of-age story in which the teen-aged Ray Terrill discovers that he, too, has powers. Edited by Jim Owsley (aka Christopher Priest) and written by Jack C. Harris, it's kind of difficult to determine who had more input into the story. In the letter column of issue #1, it is explained by Harris that the 1992 'Ray Revival' was heavily inspired by Harris' love of the Lou Fine version of the character (and the desire to revive the character for a new generation) as well as his time spent editing The Freedom Fighters ongoing title back in the mid-70s. In the same letter column, Jim Owsley explains that the new Ray (Ray Terrill) is based on an original concept of Owsley's called 'Avenger'. Avenger was an original character/story/concept that Owsley had brought with him to DC (presumably from Marvel), about a young man who inherits crazy super powers and needs guidance on how to use them. [Should probably be noted the Owsley edited Spider-Man for Marvel in the mid-80s. He'd have lots of experience overseeing a title about a young teenager suddenly gaining great power and responsibility.] So really, there's a bit of a discrepancy there. But why can't it be both? Owsley declares that it was Harris' idea to have the 'new' Ray be so heavily connected to the Golden Age Ray - so there's no question on who gets the credit for that.

The story is fast-paced and the art (Joe Quesada and Art Nichols) is really well done. [Joe Quesada was still relatively new to DC comics readers at this point in his career; prior to this he had illustrated a few issues of DC's Spelljammer and The Question Quarterly. Quesada's career would really take off after his work on 1992's Batman: Sword of Azrael mini-series.] There's plenty of mystery, intrigue, character development and humorous elements to keep the reader interested and wanting more. Dr. Polaris, a villain mainly associated with Green Lantern, is the lead antagonist of this mini-series and it feels 'natural' to the story. There's a bit of retconning to the origin of the 'Happy Terrill' Ray as well, but it's nothing too drastic and it doesn't tarnish the legacy of the original Golden Age character.

Humorous 'hip' dialogue courtesy of Jack C Harris

Sometimes, when a character is written as a gay character, the writer will make little subtle references without explicitly stating it but for whatever reason DC editorial will decide it may not be the best time for the character to 'come out' (due to political reasons or otherwise) and they will quickly re-write the character to cover up any hints that they are amorous towards the same sex. [I think we all secretly suspect that this is what really happened to Jericho in the New Teen Titans.] The Ray mini-series shows zero indication of this. As a matter of fact, throughout the series he's actively pursuing his childhood sweetheart - a female neighbor he grew up with.

Joe Quesada cover art

The Ray mini-series was kind of released as a 'soft launch'. More specifically, it was DC's first "un-advertised special" of 1992.  DC did not distribute any promotional flyers or posters to comic book shops advertising this mini-series - merely a few house ads scattered in random DC titles. Some retailers reported that this mini-series sold just as well as Batman and Detective Comics, and it sold out quickly because retailers ordered low numbers due to the relative obscurity of this title. This mini-series did ultimately lead to The Ray ongoing series in 1994, but with a much different creative team.

DC started to really amp up the hype around this character by having him appear in Justice League of America, The Adventures of Superman, Actions Comics, Bloodlines, Guy Gardner, Eclipso, and Justice League Quarterly in 1993. They even dedicated a card to him in their second Impel/SkyBox trading card set.

The Ray's 1993 SkyBox DC Cosmic Teams "rookie" card

If you get a chance to read this, either as single issues from a back issue bin or as the collected TPB (The Ray: In A Blaze of Power), I'd recommend that you pick it up as it's worth reading.  

Usenet Fandom - Crisis on Infinite Earths

Before we had the World Wide Web, we had UseNet. Developed in 1980, UseNet allowed a collection of computer users to interconnect via dial-up modems and post messages onto newsgroups (which resemble BBSes). Anywhere and anytime comic fans are able to congregate, you know they will be exchanging opinions and ideas about comic books - particularly DC comic books. In today's segment, Chris Sheehan examines what online comic fans were saying about Crisis on Infinite Earths. Please note: usernames have been removed for privacy reasons.



I still remember sitting in stunned silence on Memorial Day, 2011.  DC Comics was set to reboot their entire universe, not only relaunching each series at #1, but in effect restarting the universe from scratch.  To me, DC Comics’ heart and soul was their history, it was their "legacy heroes", it was their bloated and unwieldy continuity.  To imagine a DC Comics without its "baggage" was (unintentionally) intimidating.  The Flashpoint-to-New-52 corridor was successful in drawing new eyes to DC properties (in the short term, admittedly).  There was also a vocal contingent that was in opposition to the endeavor from the get-go.


A common response to the complaints that I observed from time to time online was "Imagine if the Internet was around during Crisis on Infinite Earths..."


Well, it kind of was... in the form of Usenet and Bulletin Board Services (BBS).


Usenet is credited as the first Internet peer-to-peer technology, where files can be shared and digital conversations can take place.  Among the items discussed on these relatively primitive forums was comic books.

Using various web-crawling avenues, I have been able to "track down" some Usenet/BBS comic book chatter dating as far back as 1983.  This afforded me something of a front-row seat to observe the initial first-hand reactions to such events as Alan Moore’s take on Swamp Thing, A Death in the Family, Watchmen, The Dark Knight Returns and the subject of today’s (and likely the first several) piece, Crisis on Infinite Earths.


This piece seeks to be part time capsule, part commentary and I hope it proves to be entertaining and insightful.


In the post "Who's gonna be left" dated December 21, 1984, “F” says:

When "F" sent this missive Crisis on Infinite Earths had not even shipped its first issue (Mike’s Amazing World of Comics lists January 3, 1985 as CotE #1’s release date), so this is as untainted a prediction/guesstimate as we’re likely to come across.


Let’s begin with the first prediction.  The "slaughter" of the Blue Beetle.  This one is interesting.  Charlton Comics (Blue Beetle's original publisher) had suspended publication in 1984 (with a brief attempt at revival in 1985), and many of their superhero properties were acquired by DC Comics in 1983.  Prior to the DC acquisition, The Blue Beetle’s last self-titled outing was in late 1968 (Blue Beetle vol.2 #5).

Blue Beetle appearing in his own Charlton Comics title (1967)

If we are to consider that the Charlton heroes that would be folded into the DC Universe along with Blue Beetle included Captain Atom, Nightshade, and the Question, I suppose if we had to "slaughter" one, Blue Beetle may be the most likely bet.  His character being that of a wealthy inventor may also prove his existence in a unified DC Universe as somewhat redundant to Batman.  Lucky for Beetle, the Crisis did not require a Charlton-flavored sacrifice.


Phantom Lady was a DC acquisition from Quality Comics.  As "F" stated, Phantom Lady inhabited Earth-X, fighting alongside Uncle Sam and the Freedom Fighters in a world where Nazi Germany won World War II.  DC Comics acquired the rights to the Quality Comics characters all the way back in 1956.  In the years leading up to the Crisis on Infinite Earths, the Phantom Lady was a citizen of Earth-2 and featured as a side-character in the All-Star Squadron (a title and team which had an indefinite future itself).

Phantom Lady, as she appears in Quality's Police Comics (1941)

Phantom Lady was a decent bet for not making it out the other end of the Crisis… however, she too would survive… albeit not unchanged.  Newly retconned as a member of the Knight (Starman) family, the Post-Crisis Phantom Lady first decided to don a costume in tribute to her cousin Ted "Starman" Knight.  She would marry Superman Analogue Iron Munro and give birth to a child.


In the years that followed the Crisis, a second Phantom Lady (Dee Tyler) was created, appearing as part of the Action Comics Weekly anthology run.  She would make several appearances before meeting her unfortunate end during Infinite Crisis (2005/2006).


Bulletgirl from Earth-S(hazam) was a Fawcett character with origins in the Golden Age of comics.  DC acquired the Fawcett character rights in 1972, and Bulletgirl along with the rest of the Fawcett heroes were set on Earth-S, where they formed Shazam’s Squadron of Justice.  Leading up to the Crisis, Bulletgirl (along with Bulletman) was retconned into having been members of the All-Star Squadron.  She ultimately survived the Crisis as well.

Bulletgirl from Fawcett's Master Comics #64 (1945)

Earths most likely to get trashed... Now there’s a loaded concept.  "F" believes that Earth’s X and S will not survive the Crisis… and, she's right.  She continues that many of the heroes on said Earths could easily be moved to Earth-2.  Of the characters discussed today, two of them were, for all intents and purposes moved to Earth-2 even before the Crisis.



Earths least likely to get trashed... Earths 1, 2, Prime, and the one the Legion inhabited.  Well, "F" is part right in this prediction.  Earth-1 did in fact survive… Earths 2 and Prime did not.  Two decades later, Infinite Crisis will show us that certain members of those Earths survived the Crisis… however, their Earths did not.


As for the Legion... I am not sure which Earth the Pre-Crisis team inhabited.  I do know that the Legion’s history was greatly affected by the fallout of the Crisis, as it was established that their inspiration for becoming heroes (Superboy) never existed.  I often get mixed up when discussing Post-Crisis Legion… suffice it to say, the Superboy that inspired them was from a pocket universe devised by the Time Trapper.


That’s all from "F", we will continue our exploration of Crisis-level predictions and reactions next time.  If you have any corrections or additions to the above, please feel free to contact me in care of this website.

-Chris


Can't wait for the next installment in this series of articles? For more of Chris Sheehan, check out his highly recommended Chris is on Infinite Earths blog. 

PLEASE NOTE: All words written on this page that aren't italicized were written by Chris Sheehan. If you want to attribute any of this work, please credit Chris Sheehan.

Review of 1987's Blackhawk: Blood and Iron mini-series (the one written and illustrated by Howard Chaykin)

Blackhawk was created by Chuck Cuidera, Will Eisner, and Bob Powell for Quality Comics.

Blackhawk was a title originally published by Quality Comics back in 1944. Blackhawk would continue to be published by Quality until 1956 (issue #107) in which, opting to withdraw from the comic book publishing business, Quality leased the characters to DC comics (then called National Periodical Publications). DC comics picked up where the series left off (at issue #108) and after a rocky publishing history managed to get the series as far as issue #273 before being cancelled for good in 1984.

The 1987 Blackhawk prestige format mini-series was the third revival of the title (revived in 1976 after a seven year hiatus and again in 1982 after a four year hiatus). For all intents and purposes, we can consider this the ‘post-Crisis’ Blackhawk reboot.

The premise of Blackhawk is pretty simple: it’s about an international squadron of WWII-era fighter pilots (led by a man named Blackhawk) who battle whatever the tyrannic force of the day was - so during the 1940s they mainly fought Germans. Of course, you’d never know this reading Chaykin’s Blackhawk revamp - as he pretty much expects the reader to already have some some of understanding of who or what Blackhawk is. My only knowledge of Blackhawk prior to this series were his few guest appearances in other DC titles during the late 70s/early 80s - so there was a bit of research needed to figure out what was going on.  

The big deal about this mini-series was that it was written and illustrated by Howard Chaykin. Chaykin had always been a somewhat controversial writer - trying to push the envelope in regards to adult themes as far as the Comics Code Authority would allow him to go. Most reviewers who have written articles about this mini-series always make a point of comparing it to Chaykin’s American Flagg! (published by First comics from 1983 to 1988). Keeping this in mind, I read the first 20 issues of American Flagg! just so I’d have some sort of context as to what reviewers were basing their comments on. I recognized quite a few similarities between these titles: both Reuben Flagg and Blackhawk are 'men of uniform’, both Reuben Flagg and Blackhawk have vivacious sexual appetities, both titles feature a lot of Russian ('Bojemoi’), both use frequent media interludes (news clippings, radio, tv, etc) to give the reader some background as to what’s going on, and both titles have lots of (implied) sex and political power struggles at play.

A major sub-plot in this mini-series is Blackhawk (a man of Polish decent) being under investigation by the United States for being a communist sympathizer. This was not a new change Chaykin had made: originally Blackhawk was introduced as a Polish citizen back in Military Comics #1 (1941). Since the invasion of Poland was still news, Blackhawk creator/artist Bob Powell suggested that Blackhawk should be a Pole (with the intention of making the story topical). During the course of the original ongoing series (I think by the time the title is picked up by DC comics), Blackhawk’s nationality is retconned to American and he becomes an All-American hero. 

Reactions to this mini-series were mixed: many fans applauded Chaykin for his innovative visual style and fresh breath of life into the character, while others criticized that Chaykin’s depiction of an 'all too human’ Blackhawk was a huge departure from the selfless and stoic Blackhawk they grew up with. Nevertheless, Chaykin’s Blackhawk mini-series was successful enough that Blackhawk received a weekly feature in 1988’s Action Comics. Later, Blackhawk would receive it’s own ongoing series in 1989.

On the surface, this seems to just be another World War II era adventure where the hero is racing against time to stop the atomic bomb from falling into the hands of the enemy. However, Brannon Costello’s brilliant essay on sub-themes in the mini-series exploring Chaykin’s views on Fascism and Mass Culture has encouraged me to go back and read over all of the subtleties I may have missed the first time. All in all, a very interesting book, but not the jumping on point I’d recommend for someone who wants to find out what Blackhawk’s all about.

This article originally published in March 2014.