Plastic Man: Rubber Bandits

Plastic Man: Rubber Bandits by Kyle Baker

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One of the cool things about the previous Plastic Man collection by Kyle Baker is that the cover is made of a stylish plastic/rubber designed to look like Plas’ outfit.  It really grabs your attention, and if you know anything about Plastic Man, then it’s a great illusion that Plas is actually the book, since he can take the form of anything he likes.   This collection is your standard graphic novel fare — glossy pages in a trade paperback format — so it doesn’t quite have the same shelf appeal.  When you open it, though … whoo, nelly!

I like Looney Tunes and the Animaniacs, so it’s really no surprise that I like what Kyle Baker has done with Plastic Man.  I mean, just look at that cover!  There’s Plas, Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman, and even Abraham Lincoln in there!  And they’re drawn like your favorite cartoons you watched as a kid!  Plastic Man begs to be lampooned, and Baker does so with a fine finesse.  Shoot, who else could lampoon Busiek’s Marvels, George W. Bush, and the whole superhero genre in one book and get away with it so successfully?

There’s a lot of zaniness in here, and to be honest, that’s about all there is here.  On the Lam had an overarching story, but Rubber Bandits is just a collection of funny stories.  They’re funny and all, with some great moments, but a lot of story is sacrificed for the funny.  This isn’t a bad thing, but I feel like I should forewarn any potential readers that this is not going to be like Moore, or Miller, or Gaiman.  Shoot, if I were going to compare this to another writer/comic, it would have to be Keith Giffen and Ambush Bug.

This collection probably isn’t for the “serious” reader of graphic novels, but if you like a little bit of comic relief in your comics, then this is for you.

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