Clayface Takes Hollywood by Storm in Latest One Bad Day Issue
By: Mithrandiel
The One Bad Day series has been a real treat over the last few months. For the uninitiated, the series essentially spotlights one of the many Rogues in Batman’s extensive Gallery - from Penguin and Two-Face, to the Riddler, Catwoman, Mr. Freeze, and now…Clayface.
Written by Collin Kelly and Jackson Lanzing, the story places Basil Karlo back where it all began: the movies. As the comic opens, we see “Clay” seems to have escaped his usual stomping ground of Gotham City and instead is pursuing the well-tread path of chasing down stardom in Los Angeles. He offers words of encouragement to other aspiring actors, and goes into an audition swinging for the fences.
Unfortunately, it’s not what the casting director wants.
Sickened by the state of Hollywood, Clay laments to his friend, who happens to get the role as the two are hanging out together.
You can imagine how that goes over.
Yeah. Clayface kills him and takes on his appearance.
This process rinses and repeats through nearly ten unfortunate victims before the whole thing falls apart and Batman squares off against his old enemy amidst a well-timed rainstorm.
Throughout the book, Kelly and Lanzing (aided by Xermanico’s amazing art) do a fantastic job of shifting between Basil Karlo and Clayface, and some delightful grays in between. At moments you can see the passionate actor, yearning for a genuine performance. It’s almost enough to detract from the fact that he’s a homicidal monster, until that side comes out.
I was also very impressed by the way the corruption and “good old boy” network in Hollywood was represented in the story. Clayface thinks it will be simple enough to just take the body of the recently cast actor and go from there. Instead, he’s greeted by resistance to his vision at every step of the way, and he can’t help but try and mold the movie into what he wants it to be.
He can change his body and face whenever he wants - it’s the fact that this power doesn’t extend into reality that really drives Clayface mad.
The aesthetic of the book is also well-executed: peppered throughout are the telltale typefont of a script, with blocking and direction for our main character as the story progresses. It was a great extension of the narrative that served to heighten the immersion in the story.
Also wanted to give a shout out to Tom Napolitano on lettering - conveying Clayface’s shifting vocal patterns between characters, as well as his “true” voice was all wonderfully executed within the panels.
Tom King’s installment of One Bad Day: The Riddler was my favorite single issue from last year.
This issue has claimed that top spot now.
Go out and get this book - it’s amazingly paced, with fantastic art and a spotlight on a villain that doesn’t get nearly enough attention, considering his powerset.
