468 PLAYBOY, THE
other superhero titles in the early 1950s. Police Comics #102 (October 1950) was Plastic
Man’s last appearance, as it switched to a straight police procedural with the following
issue. Plastic Man itself continued for another six years, even becoming monthly with
#49 (November 1954).
For the last several years, however, both series had become Jack Cole creations in
name only. Beginning in the late 1940s, a succession of ghost writers and artists had
taken over. In 1956, after several years of lackluster sales, Quality Comics closed its
doors. Plastic Man was published until the very end, with a total of 64 issues. He
would soon fi nd a home at a new company, as DC Comics acquired the company’s
stable of superheroes. It wasn’t until 1966 that Plastic Man received a new solo series,
however. Written by Arnold Drake and drawn by various penciler included Gil Kane,
it ran for 10 issues, ending in 1968. In the years that followed, the character made
guest appearances in various series. A second attempt at a solo series was made in
1976, written by Steve Skeates with art by Ramona Fradon. It too lasted for 10 issues,
numbered 11 through 20. Despite these series, Plastic Man’s most prominent appear-
ances in his fi rst 30 years as a DC property were not in comic books at all. Th e Plastic
Man Comedy/Adventure Show aired on ABC Saturday mornings from 1979 through
1981.
Following his integration into the DC universe proper after Crisis on Infi nite Earths ,
the character got a major push with a four-issue miniseries (1988–89). Th is series,
written by Phil Foglio and drawn by Hilary Barta, added a dark edge as it revealed that
the chemical infected the hero’s brain to see everything in a cartoony way. He was no
longer simply light-hearted. Instead, he was brain-damaged.
Th e latter part of the next decade saw Plastic Man back to his old self as he joined
the Justice League of America. Grant Morrison and later writers mostly used the
character as comic relief. Some darkness remained, however. During his run, writer Joe
Kelly revealed that Plastic Man had a son from a brief relationship 10 years earlier. Th e
boy, named Luke, later took the name Off spring and began operating as a superhero in
his own right.
In 2004, DC debuted a new Plastic Man series written and drawn by Kyle Baker.
Unlike previous revival attempts, it was more in the vein of the Golden Age series.
Plastic Man was once again a lawman (now an FBI Agent) operating as a double agent
in his O’Brien identity, aided by the long-unseen Woozy Winks and the sensible Agent
Morgan. Th e focus was on wild antics, and the series featured exaggerated versions
of many other DC characters. It won the 2004 Eisner Award for Best New Series.
However, DC canceled it in 2006 after 20 issues. Since that time, Plastic Man has once
again been relegated to guest-star status.
Anthony Strand
PLAYBOY, THE. Th is collection of comics by Canadian cartoonist Chester Brown
reveals his adolescent misadventures in suburbia while discovering, obsessing over, and,
eventually, accepting his relationship to pornography. Originally serialized in the Vortex
