Reviewed: PLOP #1- Millennium Edition by Sergio Aragones, Frank Robbins, George Evans, Sheldon Mayer, Alfredo Alcala, Steve Skeates, Berni Wrightson, and Paul Levitz. Published by DC Comics.
The plot: PLOP #1 consists of five short pieces, all falling in the broad category of macabre humor, perpetuated by a gang of legends in their prime.
I'm full ready to admit that a good deal of my fondness for this reprint of PLOP #1, which first rolled off the press in late 1973, is novelty and/or nostalgia. Of course, I was only one year old at the time so, unless Mom lined my crib with her old copy, I'm pretty sure I never read this series in particular. The vibe, however, is familiar, reminding me of a whole era of comic reading which existed for me before I was seduced into the superhero cult in my early teens. Though I had a passing interest in our costumed protectors before (can you say, Superfriends?), I mostly read things like Hot Stuff, Richie Rich, Disney, Archie, and issue after issue of Mad magazine. What do these books have in common with PLOP!, besides the obvious connection between Aragones' and MAD? They are all about having fun, kid style.
Forget continuity. Heck, forget the laws of physics because this is lunacy at its best. From the cover, featuring the instantly recognizable work of Basil Wolverton, to the excellent contributions from each of the featured writers and artists, PLOP! #1 hearkens back to a era when there was an audience for a vast array of genres within the comics field and, to their credit, DC was in one of its most experimental moods.
One of the helpful features of the Millennium Editions is the short text piece that is printed on the inside covers of each issue, offering context on the release and reaction of the title in its first incarnation. Armed with this, PLOP! #1 is both entertaining and instructive in the same breath, perhaps inspiring creators seeing it again (or, as in my case, for the first time) to push the boundaries on the stories and titles they envision in an effort to reach that elusive mainstream which has, for the time being, left the comics auditorium.
Highlights of the book include the utterly bizarre House of Mystery tie-in from Steve Skeates and Berni Wrightson, "The Gourmet" which, in addition to offering me a welcome dose of Wrightson's groundbreaking art, managed to gross me out (something that, I think, only Warren Ellis does with any consistency these days).
Aragones' stories are consistent with his work at MAD and beyond, carrying the reader first on the power of his well-known comedic illustration style through a deconstruction of the meaning of the title that sets the tone for the rest of the stories wonderfully, before giving us some good ol' prison humor to get the juices flowing. Of additional note to "fans" of DC publisher Paul Levitz, he also wrote an editorial page for this back in 1973, under the pen name "Cain", adding another layer of history for the future reader to peer through.
I'm not 100% convinced that if this same book was offered today that I would have had this degree of joy plowing through its pages. I am still trying to convince my younger guitar students that there is a lot of musical substance to John Denver if they can just listen past the corny exterior, but, of yet, no one is buying it. So it could just be that "Sunshine on my Shoulders" and PLOP! #1 do something special for me alone, reminding me of a time before the whole world got all "grim and gritty."
As it stands, I'd gladly shell out $2.50 for that any day.
