Advance Review — Edwyn Makes A Welcome But Bloody Return In ‘Plastic: Death & Dolls #1’

Writer Doug Wagner, and artist Daniel Hillyard return to the scene of the crime with Plastic: Death & Dolls #1 from Image Comics and catch us up with serial killer and plastic enthusiast, Edwyn Stoffgrupen.

Since last we saw him in Wagner and Hillyard’s Plastic he has managed to keep his head down and now works in a diner somewhere in Charleston. But this time we’re delving deeper into Edwin’s psyche as we get a glimpse into his troubled childhood. It’s here we will begin to understand the boy he was and the man he became. And it’s not good. Even as a young boy, it’s clear Edwyn harboured dark desires. And it hasn’t gone unnoticed.

Meanwhile, in the present, he may be laying low but that doesn’t mean he’s given up his favourite pastime. Wagner once again balances a good story with gory details, which in Hillyard’s hands never look too ugly or horrific. If anything his clean and smooth style is perfectly suited to the black comedy at the heart of this book. These guys know their stuff and where to draw the line. Throughout the issue there the creators cleverly utilise close-ups and cut aways to merely suggest a lot of the horrors. It’s always more effective to leave it to the mind than to try and truly capture such violent scenes. Hitchcock knew it, Tarantino knew it and Wagner and Hillyard know it too. And it makes for a more tense reading experience.

Colourist Michelle Madsen helps delineate the past from the present with a sepia tone that while not novel is effective, and she certainly makes those reds pop as the blood spills. The letterer, Ed Dukeshire, helps accentuate the action and the flowing fluids with well-designed and placed sound fx. It all makes for a great and entertaining issue where we once again perversely root for the bad guy. But, often because those around him are far worse. 

Plastic: Death & Dolls #1 is out Wednesday 12th June from Image Comics.