Review: ‘Plastic: Death & Dolls’ #2 Reveals More About Edwyn’s Childhood

If pop culture has taught me anything it’s that dolls are creepy. And it’s something young Edwyn realises too in Plastic: Death & Dolls #2 by Doug Wagner and Daniel Hillyard as he hangs out with his mother, who clearly has her hang-ups to work through, just like her son. Seems the rotten apple core doesn’t land too far away from the tree in this family. And it’s a scene that goes a long way to explaining some of adult Edwin’s predilections and practices, just as this series is aiming to do by revealing the secrets to Edwin’s upbringing.

And speaking about adult Edwyn, we catch up with him and his newfound friend, Booker, in a diner discussing the discovery of a severed head. And another excuse arises for Edwyn’s to mete out his own brand of bloody vigilantism before doing his best impression of Norman Bates once again too. 

Noticeably, Hillyard’s artwork has subtly developed into a somewhat more restrained style. His depiction of Edwyn’s mother’s dll collection leans more into the realms of realism, to better capture their fear-tures and their underplayed creepiness. But, fear not, folks. There’s still plenty of less reserved moments, usually when Edwyn succumbs to his urges.

The narrative is well-paced, swinging from the past to the present making much use of transitional panels to seamlessly move through time, with two very distinct colour palettes to better distinguish the two. Interestingly, when you take the time to consider the colours used by colourist Michelle Madsen to illustrate the past you notice that rather than it being sepia it’s rather an off-putting sickly green colour palette, suggesting Edwin’s childhood was a traumatic one. A great visual conceit that foreshadows what is already a growingly disturbing story, but one in which – yet again – you can’t help but rooting for Edwyn and his twisted sense of justice. 

Plastic: Death & Dolls #2 is out now from Image Comics