Review: Plastic #1 (of 5)
Ah young love. That time in a relationship where it’s all just fun, games and doughnuts. Those heady days of romance where nothing is too much trouble for your other half. When your other half is the better part of you; when they help to quell the darkness that can nibble at the edges of your soul as it lurks, looks for a way to devour it whole. So what if your other half is a sex doll?
Edwyn Stoffgruppen is a retired serial killer, content to travel the back roads of America with Virginia, his girlfriend who happens to be the aforementioned doll. Now, if having a sex doll girlfriend wasn’t a big enough clue to Edwyn’s mental state he also talks to his never present mother. After one of the couples trysts, Edwyn protects his lady-love from some rough hands in his almost berserk yet practical way. Unfortunately for him, one of the injured is connected and before you know it, both he and Virginia have been captured. Still, there is a way out; all Edwyn has to do to free himself and his girl from the bad guys is to kill who he is told to kill. What wouldn’t you do for the girl you love?
Doug “potty mouth” Wagner is the scribe and co-creator in charge of all this chaos. The hook of the story is well laid, with Edwyn getting more than the lion share of the stage. This is to be expected as he is the only animate character during the first part of the book. Wagner somehow manages to mix in the normal dialogue with the creepy, which does engender a level of likeability in Edwyn. Further along in the story, we get to see the darkness of Edwyn, both in the violence and the observations he makes.  Regarding Virginia, she is his world, his focal point regardless of her plastic nature. It is an interesting juxtaposition that something as unnatural as a sex doll can bring out the most natural of feelings in Edwyn.
Co-creator Daniel “scribbles” Hillyard provides interior art and two (B & C) of the variant covers. I didn’t know what to expect from the art and at first, the almost caricature-esque look of Edwyn kind of threw me. But sticking with it, Hillyard was able to use that style to show the flexibility of Edwyn’s face as he goes through the various stages and emotions in the story. Under Hillyard’s pencils, there is at times, a manic glee to Edwyn. Panel structure is pretty basic, which is what you would expect from this type of story. However, this doesn’t detract from the storytelling or the overall pace of the story. Laura “cat-lady” Martin provides the colors going for a more a more subtle blend of colors which helps give the book an odd, almost perpetual night sort of vibe. Back to the covers, Andrew Robinson absolutely rocks the A cover, with heavy colors on a black background hinting at either the violence that was or the violence that is yet to come.
Plastic is a book about love, the things that someone would do for love mixed with a little bit of crazy and some over the top bad guys. What’s not to like?
Writing -5 Stars
Art – 4 Stars
Colors – 4 Stars
Cover (A) – 5 Stars
[yasr_overall_rating size=”large”]
Story: Doug Wagner
Art: Daniel Hillyard, Laura Martin
Cover A: Andrew Robinson
Cover B: Daniel Hillyard
Author Profile
- I am a long time comic book fan, being first introduced to Batman in the mid to late 70's. This led to a appreciation of classic artists like Neal Adams and Jim Aparo. Moving through the decades that followed, I have a working knowledge of a huge raft of characters with a fondness for old school characters like JSA and The Shadow
Currently reading a slew of Bat Books, enjoying a mini Marvel revival, and the host of The Definative Crusade and Outside the Panels whilst also appearing on No-Prize Podcast on the Undercover Capes Podcast Network
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