It’s PLASTIC MAN NO MORE! in new DC Black Label series from Cantwell, Lins, & Edgar

Not all plastics are forever. DC has announced Plastic Man No More!, a new Black Label series that mixes hard-boiled noir with intense body horror for a story that finds Eel O’Brian’s time seemingly running out. The four-issue series comes from the creative team of writer Christopher Cantwell, artists Alex Lins and Jacob Edgar, colorist Marcelo Maiolo, and letterer Becca Carey. 

Here’s how DC describes the series:

Eel O’Brian might be a superhero now—but before he was anything else, he was a crook. Until the accident that turned him into the pliable Plastic Man, Eel was bad to the bone…and just because he no longer has bones doesn’t mean that’s not still true. When an incident on a Justice League mission leads to catastrophic cellular damage, Plastic Man discovers he just might be out of time to make amends for the past he’s tried hard to outrun—or to save the soul of his son, who (unfortunately for him) might have inherited more from dear old Dad than just his superpowers…

Plastic Man No More! is the latest DC work for writer Christopher Cantwell, who previously penned a three-part Superman story with artist Javier Rodriguez in the pages of Batman: The Brave and the Bold. It’s a reteaming for Cantwell and Alex Lins, who worked together on the Hellcat miniseries for Marvel. The series marks the first DC work for Lins and for Jacob Edgar, whose previous work includes The Ones with Brian Michael Bendis at Dark Horse.

In a statement, Cantwell described how he conceptualized the series:

“I don’t know about you, but when I think about Plastic Man, I immediately think of David Cronenberg,” said Cantwell. “There is an element of body horror to his story that I have always found fascinating. And I also found myself wondering recently—How would Plastic Man actually die? What would that look like? Is he immortal? And then I thought of the long and particularly nasty way real plastics and petroleum products break down when and if they finally do. That’s how I learned about depolymerization and the chemical process of ‘unzipping,’—from a particularly morose afternoon on the ol’ Internet, picturing what might happen to Eel if his entire cellular structure started to give way.”

“There are many superhero stories that play with the metaphor of our own inability to control our physical bodies,” continued Cantwell. “Plastic Man provided a way to take that allegory even deeper. How we look in the mirror and see one thing, then see a photo of ourselves and don’t recognize the person at all. How we all break down over time. What’s this strange itch? Why is this sagging? Why does this hurt now? Is my face permanently going to look like this? Or get even worse? With all these questions in the story comes a real and profound fear of aging, and yes, what lies beyond that—dying. And when someone like Plastic Man is suddenly looking at the end of the road, and now reflecting on his legacy, he begins to wonder: was he ever taken seriously by anyone? Did he even take himself seriously? The character also has a history of neglect and failure when it comes to personal relationships. So quite catastrophically, Patrick O’Brien suddenly finds himself desperate, asking WHAT NOW? HOW DO I FIX THIS? “THIS” being his very body, his very cells, as well his connections to the people he loves. And just WAIT until you see how horrifically and hilariously Alex Lins and Jacob Edgar have rendered this referendum on our vanguard ultra-bendable former-criminal-turned-hero-guy.”

Plastic Man No More! #1 will feature a main cover by Lins, and variant covers by Chris Samnee (open-to-order), Michael Allred (open-to-order), and Tyler Boss (1:25 incentive). Additional variant covers for the series will come from Riley Rossmo and Cantwell’s She Could Fly collaborator Martin Morazzo. 

Check out more previous pages and variant covers for the series below. Look for Plastic Man No More! #1 (of 4) to arrive in stores and digitally on Wednesday, September 4th.