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Canini, Brian – Plastic People #9

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Plastic People #9

If you’re wondering why it’s taken me this long to get back to reviewing the series, I’d somehow managed to lose a few review issues that Brian sent me, so the plan was to take stock and then buy those issues the next time I saw him at a con. But lo, what was lost is now found! In a drawer. In the kitchen. <cough> Not much of a dramatic reveal, I guess, but I can at least get the reviews back on track now, and after this one I’ll be switching to a “multiple issues reviewed at once” format, because that’s probably the best way to read this series. Boy howdy, that was a whole lot of gibberish. Anyway, if you need a refresher, go back to the old reviews (or issues, obviously), but this one starts with our first long look into a… plastic surgery church? I’m not sure that it was ever named, unless it’s in one of the older issues and I’ve forgotten it. We get a deeply creepy sermon (and call and response) from the pulpit, then the detectives take the “priest” aside to ask him some questions about the murdered girl. We get a lot of information in this issue, although it’s tough to say if we’re any closer to solving the mystery, and things end up with a major update on the celebrity who was attacked at the end of the last issue. It’s still compelling as a story, and he’s up to #20 as of this writing with no signs of slowing down. Grab yourself a few of the compendiums to catch up, why don’t you? Or the single issues are $2 if you just want to dip a toe in.

Canini, Brian – Plastic People #8

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Plastic People #8

It’s an eventful issue of Plastic People! As always, if you haven’t been reading this then number eight is an odd place to get started, but maybe your thing is to read reviews out of order of books you haven’t read. Who am I to judge? This time around we get an interview with the ex of the murdered woman and a better sense of what exactly was going on in her life when she was killed. The back half of the comic deals with a big old movie star going about his daily business, ending on one heck of a cliffhanger. Is Brian building up to something or is he making it up as he goes along? My money is on the first option, based on his past series like Ruffians. And based on the fact that he’s up to #15 of this series on his website, so he might actually be done with it for all I know. Check out one of those beefier 3 issue compilations, that’ll give you a chance to read a chunk of the story at once. Or get the single issues like this one for $2. You do you!

Canini, Brian – Plastic People #7

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Plastic People #7

(I’m going to assume that everybody reading has at least a passing familiarity with the events of the previous issues)

This time around we finally get to spend some time with the family of the murdered woman, and can I just say that this format is finally growing on me as a way to tell this story? Sure, you’re only getting a fragment of the big picture each time, but it’s a self-contained fragment, and it’s clearly building towards something. This one starts off with an ad for a new action movie (called Terror Stopper, and I’m astounded that nobody has used that title until now. It tells the whole story!), and then we briefly meet the family who’s waiting to identify the body. They meet the detectives, but even when they see the body they’re not sure. One of the drawbacks of living in a society full of people who all get the same plastic surgery, I guess. Once again it’s tough to review one of these shorties without giving too much away, so I’ll just say that what does identify the body (and how the mother instantly recognized it) was not what I would have guessed, and her brother has a one track mind with what’s really important. With this issue I’m halfway caught up to what’s out there already (I just saw #14 listed on his website) and thoroughly hooked. I’ll also point out that the compendiums put together three issues at a time if this pace is just too slow for you, so maybe consider going that route? $2

Canini, Brian – Plastic People #6

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Plastic People #6

Would it be cheating if I started reviewing these issues two at a time. It feels like cheating. But what would I be cheating, exactly? Ah, the deep questions that go on in the mind of a reviewer who’s several issues behind of a series that comes out faster than I can review. In this issue we see a few folks waiting outside to get into a club, and while they’re waiting we get a few more bits of insight into what’s going on in this beauty-obsessed world. It’s all so that they can have a fun night out dancing, while a few interpersonal dramas play out along the way. We get a definite sense of the importance of plastic surgeons in this world and, as you can see by the sample image, nudists. That seems like that something that’ll pop up again in the future, but we just get a few hints this time around. It’s another solid issue, and there are relatively cheap ways for you to get caught up on Brian’s website if you’re so inclined. Meanwhile, I might check in with the comics elders to see about that double reviewing thing… $2

Canini, Brian – Plastic People #5

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Plastic People #5

Some good news for those of you who like their comics in bigger installments: Brian has been selling compendiums of three issues each on his website. So instead of an 8 page installment, you get a 24 page installment and even save a buck! Wow, did that ever sound like a commercial. But hey, I’m enjoying this, and we live in an age of instant gratification, so I get it if reading this story in 8 page bites isn’t enough. Wasn’t there a comic here to review? This time around we see the reaction of the big corporation to the news of the murder of their model. It’s about as awful and soulless as you might expect: they need to be reminded of who this person was, desperately cast around for some reason why it might not be murder (because they thought they had that issue solved decades ago), and of course the best possible way to spin it. It’s gross, but it’s also a thoroughly realistic imagining of how this world would handle a problem like this. Somehow Brian is managing to stay roughly 10 issues ahead of me, as he’s up to #14 as of this review, but there’s only one of me over here! Maybe if that benevolent billionaire ever comes around and hands me a sack of cash I could hire somebody just to review his books… $2

Canini, Brian – Plastic People #4

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Plastic People #4

Murder! Remember, that’s how the last issue ended, so naturally that’s where this one is going to start. Honestly, it’s like you’re not reading the issues in order. Anyway, we learned in previous issues that murder was rare, but we learn exactly how rare in this issue: it’s been decades since they’ve had one to investigate. And since everybody looks more or less the same (and perfect, according to their societal norms), any woman this doctor sees reminds him of the victim he has to autopsy. We also get couple of tantalizing hints as to what might be happening, but they’re only hints for now. As I’ve been saying, the man has at least 10 issues done already and this is only #4, so clearly there’s more of the mystery to be discovered. $2

Canini, Brian – Plastic People #3

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Plastic People #3

We dig a bit more into the overall world with the third issue, even if the main characters seem to be missing this time around. That’s OK, especially since Brian already has at least 10 issues of this series done. Two big (probably? I don’t know Brian’s master plan) pieces are introduced this time around: getting tattoos and how they’re illegal body modifications, and a popular online dating website that guarantees you’ll be matched with an equally perfect person. It also ends in a murder, which is about when things tend to pick up in a story, right? I also wonder if the particular tattoo style has any larger meaning in the story but, again, that’ll probably be revealed in the other comics that already exist. The series seems like a winner so far, so maybe you should buy a few issues and see for yourself. $2

Canini, Brian – Plastic People #2

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Plastic People #2

Is it cheating if I review these comics two at a time? Because I’m enjoying the setup of the story so far, but at 8 pages each there just isn’t a whole lot of space for story progression. Oh, the problems of running a small press comics review website. Since I’m sticking with the single issues for now, what happens this time around? We get to learn a bit more about our hero, and while he may not be an asshole, he’s at least asshole-adjacent. We also learn that his job is to go to the perfect people around the city (which, if you didn’t read the first issue, seems to be everybody) and deal with their problems. The problem, this time around anyway, is that a lady fell down the stairs and broke her nose. The punchline is that she fell because she was distracted from another personal problem, and each of them would fall into very minor categories for humanity today. Like I said, I’m intrigued to see where this is going, which is a pretty good place to be for the second issue of a (so far) ten issue series. $2

Canini, Brian – Plastic People #1

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Plastic People #1

Is Brian the most prolific comic artist going today? Is there a contest for that sort of thing? There’s not (that I know of), but he’d have to be high up the list. Brian sent me a few new comics recently, as I’ve somehow missed him at the last couple of local comic conventions. He sent a few issues of this comic along, and when I went to link to his website I saw that he already has ten issues done. 10! Granted, these are 8 page minis, but that’s still a better pace than a lot of artists, and he’s also always working on other comics. Does it seem like I’m stalling a bit on the actual review? Yeah, that’s probably because I am. This one starts off with a perfume ad that morphs into two people having sex. They get interrupted when our hero (I’m assuming) has to leave because his ride for work has arrived. They get into a brief argument, as the woman thinks that his female ride was hitting on him, and that’s that. If that makes it seem like everything is simple and straightforward, it’s really not. Everybody in this town has gotten plastic surgery, meaning all the women look the same and so do all the men. I’m curious to dig into this and see where it goes from here, as I already have a lot of questions. Which means that a first issue did its job, and this is one of those rare first issues where you already know there’s plenty out that’s already completed. I’m assuming this one will have significantly less punching than his Ruffians series, but who knows? Check it out, maybe buy a few issues while you’re at it to see where this is headed. $2