Allred offers up a thoroughly accessible look at a small corner of Snap City. He pays tribute to Silver Age super-heroics -- and to the Plastic Man stories of yesteryear in particular -- and delivers a light romance story in the process. Adding to the charm of the book is J. Bone's wonderfully fanciful and bright-eyed artwork. His style suits the simple Mike Allred designs, but Bone doesn't bother to simply mimic the creator's style. He maintains his own simple but unique approach, and the title character's playful and twisted powers work quite well in that context.
Madman finds his Atomics teammate Mr. Gum begging for change in the street, completely unaware of who he is, what he can do or how he came to be in the shoddy state he's in. The problem is quickly tracked back to Mr. Gum's father's candy business, and with his memory restored, he sets out to get to the bottom of the mystery. Along the way, he's also hoping to patch up a couple of relationships. He and his father have been estranged for some time, and there's a special lady working at the company who's caught the stretchable hero's eye as well.
Han Allred's colors here really reinforce the light tone and the slightly off-kilter quality of Mike Allred's weird world of super-heroes. The colors are vibrant, but amid the primary shades are pastels that set this apart from the traditional approach we've come to expect from the super-hero comics of 20 or 30 years ago. Bone's thick-lined style captures the title character's pliable powers quite well, but there's also an innocent quality to his work that suits the cute tone of the script. I'm reminded here of the Darwyn Cooke/Bone art from the Spider-Man's Tangled Web stories they did together as well.
The strongest aspect of the book was in the opening sequence, when Mr. Gum realizes that he's somewhat alone in the world. His determination to change that was a welcome development, and I was particularly pleased to find that he didn't attribute the problem solely to a lack of romance in his life. His emphasis on the importance of other relationships made for an interesting split approach in the plot.
The story culminates in a chase scene that's exciting and fun. The script never takes on a grave tone, by any stretch of the imagination, but we're still convinced of Gum's anger. The subway sequence moves along quickly, offering a climax that's energetic and holds the reader's attention.
