DC Announces New Plastic Man Series From Gail Simone

Fresh off her well-received Wonder Woman/Conan series, Gail Simone is teaming up with her Birds of Prey collaborator Adriana Melo for Plastic Man.

The six-issue miniseries for DC Comics will chronicle the adventures of Patrick "Eel" O'Brian, a petty thief and con artist who ended up with his stretchy, rubber-like powers after being shot in the shoulder and doused with chemicals. Created by Jack Cole for Police Comics #1 back in 1941, Plastic Man was one of the first superheroes to incorporate humor into action stories.

"He's the jester, the joke, the stretchy weirdo," Simone said in statement. "He's not credible. He's not reliable. He's...well, he's Plastic Man. "He's like a stretchy Swamp Thing or the bouncy Batman; writing him is a goofy, snarky honor and I'm thrilled to be part of his rubber ribaldry."

The villain-turned-hero character has been a member of various Justice League teams over his comic book history and made his Rebirth return in Dark Nights: Metal. And while the character has never been a solo star in his own right, he's long been a favorite of creators such as Mark Waid, Frank Miller, and Grant Morrison with Simone referencing Morrison's run with Howard Porter as one of her favorite takes on the character and inspiration for her work as well.

"One of my favorite takes on Pas was from the classic Grant Morrison/Howard Porter run," Simone said. "We are definitely taking inspiration from that, and just pushing it even further for rudeness' sake. Plas is funny, happy, and has enough star power to hold his own against the big guns. He's not afraid of Batman, he's not afraid of Darkseid, he's only afraid of messing up, of going back to being the punk thug he used to be."

In addition to getting to write Plastic Man -- a character Simone described as not just being on her bucket list but "a character who could actually BE both the list AND the bucket" -- Simone will be joined by Melo on art and even Simone's Wonder Woman/Conan collaborator, Aaron Lopresti, is involved in the series with Lopresti doing the drawing for cover of the first issue, which you can check out below.

"I lucked out," Simone said. "Adriana's one of my favorite artists and she's fantastic with action and humor. Even though she's famous for drawing the hunkiest guys and the most gorgeous women, I had no idea she could draw the creeps and cruds of the DC Universe so well. It's just a feast to look at -- gorgeous and steamy and gritty in equal measure. And my Wonder Woman/Conan collaborator, Aaron Lopresti, is doing the cover for the first issue and just knocked it out of the park. I could not be happier."

Plastic Man from Gail Simone and Adriana Melo debuts from DC Comics in June.

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