Number 1541: Plastic Men

This is the final entry for our Week of Quality, showcasing characters from Quality Comics.

I showed you this cover a few weeks ago as part of my ongoing search for “injury-to-the-eye”* motifs in Jack Cole’s work:

It’s the cover for this entertaining story of Plastic Man robots being made out of recycled tires. (It was published during World War II; tires were rationed and at a premium.) The sequence of Woozy as a Plastic Man is inspired. The Grand Comics Database credits Jack Cole for writing, pencils and inks. From Police Comics #24 (1943):

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Number 1515: Little brain, big body

A week ago I showed the Jack Cole story, “Murder, Morphine and Me” from True Crime #2. It featured the “injury to the eye motif” panel in Fredric Wertham’s anti-comics screed, Seduction of the Innocent. A week later I’m showing you more Jack Cole, and one other injury to the eye panel.

Above is the cover of Police Comics #24, which is yet another example. Kids saw this sort of thing every time they saw a Three Stooges film short. Did Jack Cole have a thing about attacking eyeballs? I don’t know, but if you know of any similar panels in other stories of his let me know.

Eyeball attacks notwithstanding, this is a totally screwball story, which has to be read to be appreciated. You know you’re in the middle of something bizarre when you see a panel where the top of a man’s head is blown off and on the ground nearby lies a waiting brain.

From Police Comics #11 (1942):

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Number 1469: Plastic Man...not who he appears to be

We’re beginning a theme week. I’m calling it Week of Quality, because the comics featuring during my four postings will all be from the Quality Comics line of the 1940s.

Our first story from Police Comics #19 (1943). We are reminded that Plastic Man is more than a secret identity for public enemy Eel O’Brian. While appearing as Plastic Man Eel has a whole other face. It’s only when he relaxes his facial muscles that it returns to Eel’s face. Most Plastic Man stories don’t involve anything about Plas’ secret identity, so unlike some superdoers who are constantly having to protect their secret identity, Plas apparently doesn't worry about it all that much.

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Number 1305: “The Plague of Plastic People!”

Two months ago in Pappy's #1268 I showed a Plastic Man story that in my comments I said reminded me of my childhood, when I saw the character as belonging in the same league as Mad comic books. So, okay, then, “Plague of Plastic People!” belongs right alongside that earlier story. I'd call this incredible, joke-in-every-panel story zaniacal...a cross between zany and maniacal. This one pulls out all the stops, the best of what Plastic Man could deliver, and that's saying something.

Also, if you read through the story you'll actually get to see Plastic Man in one panel without his goggles covering his eyes. I don't know if that happened any other time.

From Plastic Man #22 (1950):

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