Rating: 
Summary: A Loving Homage to a Great Artist
Review: Art Spiegelman and Chip Kidd have produced a unique tome to the one-of-a-kind comics and illustrations of near-forgotten artist Jack Cole. In the schizo spirit of Cole's greatest creation, PLASTIC MAN, the book is a blend of complete strips, historical text, and magnified collage, an unorthodox method that is at once eye-catching and odd. As one might expect, the reprinted comics portions are diligently reproduced, down to the paper quality, which is juxtaposed against the glossy text pages.
For the longest time, I only knew PLASTIC MAN from that wretched late-1970's Saturday morning cartoon (the one which made Plas a harried, domesticated father figure to a cutesy child, Baby Plas[!]), so my discovery of Cole's comics was a revelation that puts other, far more conservative (and often derivative) comics of the same era to shame.
Of course this book is way too brief, yet it's a fitting tribute, one that, in an ideal world, would open the eyes of a lot of comics fans unfamiliar with this neglected master.
Rating:
Summary: Plastic, Powerful, and Perspicacious
Review: As did Jack Cole 'stretch' the boundaries of the modern comic book form, Art Spieglman and the stalwart Chip Kidd succeed in echoing Cole's innovations with this all-too-brief biopic slice of comic heaven.From the title, to the wonderfully laid-out collages, right down to the inclusion of the now-immortal "Murder, Morphine, and Me", Spiegalman's love of Cole's contribution to the artform is hard to ignore. The underspoken description of Cole's untimely demise is spoken more powerfully by the form under which he toiled, and the impact is all the more acute. One is left with the feeling of a story half-told, a story with no ending as the main character tragically wasn't around for the closing acts. Personally, I felt Kidd's artwork couldn't have been better-suited for the job; the quasi-prophetic panels from decades-old Plastic Man episodes blown up to highlight one-line anthologies are a morbid delight, and the cover design is dead-on in its appeal. For one who never drew the line between Jack Cole, creator of Plastic Man, and Jack Cole, Playboy artist, this was an unexpected treat. For one who never knew just how hard Cole had worked to sustain the artform, this was something of a revelation. And for someone who never knew who Jack Cole really was, Speigalman can only be thanked for this book and the love that went into it. Five stars are five too few.
Rating:
Summary: Jack Cole the real Plastic Man
Review: Biographies of comic creators are few and far apart. This by a short reach is the best of the lot. It contains all the stories we have heard about Cole (his bike trip across America, his Playboy years, his mysterous suicide). Interlaced through are reprints of some of his best works. What I liked was that the comics within seem to be reproduced from the originals, yellowing and all. If anything it added to my pleasure instead of took away from it. For fans of comic history or tragic artists this is the one book that must be on your shelf. See Jack Cole stretch his mind as far as Plastic Man stretched his body.
Rating: 
Summary: Lightweight overview, poor presentation
Review: I have no doubt that Art Spiegelman loves Jack Cole and his classic creation, Plastic Man; however, I don't think that this book does a good job of explaining to readers why THEY should love them, too. Granted, Cole was one of the pioneers of comics, and his place in their history is cemented, but Spiegelman's praise of Cole and his visual style/storytelling could easily be used for any number of other comic creators (Will Eisner, Harvey Kurtzman, Bob Kane, etc.). The text is very generic in trying to explain Cole's genius, and I, a comics history buff, was quickly bored by it. As for Chip Kidd's book design... thumbs up for the plastic cover, but the intentionally poor reproduction quality (for nostaligic purposes, I assume) only hinders the appeal of the art and makes for a very ugly book. Kidd's design style caught my attention when it first hit the scene, but after numerous retrospective hardcovers for DC Comics and a Peanuts collection, it just gives me a headache. If you want a real lesson on the talent of Jack Cole and wish to revel in the adventures of Plastic Man, pick up any volume of the Plastic Man Archives, available from Amazon at a very reasonable price.
Rating:
Summary: Hard to read, kinda disappointing
Review: I was all excited for this, and then it wasn't so good. The writing of the Jack Cole story was ok, but actually I think Plastic Man is kinda bogus. (JC is no Jack Kirby.) And I didn't need to see a reproduction of his note to Hugh Heffner. The reviewer who said the layout of this book was hard to read was right on. Yuck. You're probably better off getting something like Wonder Woman archives (although it's not necessarily better drawn). Sometimes you try new stuff and it doesn't work out. Oh well.
Rating:
Summary: I had hoped for a lot more.
Review: I was surprisingly disappointed by this book, not, mind you, by the art and writing of Jack Cole, but by the book itself. I found this book to be one of those productions that is to clever by half. Neither fish nor fowl, Mr. Spiegelman's writing is to skimpy to be considered a complete biography and the art design by Mr. Kidd is so "artistically" (re)produced that it distracts from the person who should be the real star of this book, Jack Cole. This is the type of book that book reviewers who have no knowledge of sequential art call "daring" and "cutting edge". While Mr. Spiegelman's writing is basic and informative, it almost causes one pain to look at the bountiful list of comic book legends that he had access to and yet still failed to produce a more gripping and insightful look into Cole's life. And while Mr. Kidd's flair for artistic direction and experimentation is unassailable, a much lighter touch was called for as to not distract from the original artist and his work. If you are looking for a quick read with an interesting layout, you might enjoy this book. If you are looking for an in-depth biography of Jack Cole, I would suggest looking elsewhere. And, if you are looking for real Jack Cole storytelling, I would recommend that you check out Plastic Man Archives, Vol. 1 (also sold by Amazon).
Rating:
Summary: Not to stretch a point, but...
Review: I've bought and read many, many books dealing with comics history, and this volume is one that proudly sits with the rest of the collection! If you have even the slightest interest in the Golden Age of Comics, Jack Cole or Plastic Man, you definitely owe it to yourself to get this book (and Amazon's offering it cheaper than I got my copy!). There are several complete Plas stories included in this book, making it worth the price by itself, but the retrospective of Jack Cole's career also makes for fascinating reading. I couldn't put it down, read the thing in one sitting!
Rating:
Summary: Not to stretch a point, but...
Review: I've bought and read many, many books dealing with comics history, and this volume is one that proudly sits with the rest of the collection! If you have even the slightest interest in the Golden Age of Comics, Jack Cole or Plastic Man, you definitely owe it to yourself to get this book (and Amazon's offering it cheaper than I got my copy!). There are several complete Plas stories included in this book, making it worth the price by itself, but the retrospective of Jack Cole's career also makes for fascinating reading. I couldn't put it down, read the thing in one sitting!
Rating:
Summary: Plastic Fantastic!
Review: I've never seen a book quite like this one. The text by Art Spiegelman is one of the best examples of comic book history I've read (it's entertaining and informative) and at the same time it's a fascinating biography of one of the comic book industry's least recognized (and most troubled) geniuses: Jack Cole. There are dozens of examples of Cole's greatest work, including the incomporably weird and funny Plastic Man, along with several examples of his Playboy work, which I instantly recognized but never knew were by Cole. Finally, there's this book's incredible design work by Chip Kidd, who did that great book on Batman toys. This book even comes with a very cool plastic cover. I wasn't all that familiar with Jack Cole's career before I read this book, but now I want to read everything he ever did. This might be my favorite book of the year.
Rating: 
Summary: Cole Mine
Review: Jack Cole is better served by this fairly strange book than many other great cartoonists of the golden age of the medium have been in print. Spiegelman's somewhat sparse text is full of useful information and valid critique, but he wisely lets the material speak for itself, and that's the main attraction here, though those words and the book's design seem to have distracted some readers. This is not an anthology of "Plastic Man"- that can be found elsewhere, fortunately- nor is it an in-depth biography of Jack Cole. It's more like a large catalogue for an exhibition, covering all aspects of his varied career. Material seems to be reproduced from original art in a few cases- mainly his Playboy stuff- but the comic book stories are shot from original issues, with four-color separation and page-yellowing quite evident- and speaking as a sometimes-comic artist, that's close to the way I think they should be seen (I HATE modern re-coloring, and especially airbrushes!). And as for the book's unconventional design.....I like it. (Would've preferred a hardcover, though!)
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