I think this is about Jack Cole. He was the writer/creator of Plastic Man, who, at a young age (43), killed himself. No-one's quite sure why. Jack also wrote Mystery in Space comics (although not for the Daily Mail). However, he left comics behind when the industry faded, going off to work for Playboy (Leather Thighs?)
As for whether it's plastic or elastic, well...in the comics, petty villain Eel O'Brien falls into a vat of acid and becomes pliable ('you'll believe a man can ply'). He goes after his ex-criminal friends for abandoning him. This revenge act gets mistakenly interpreted as heroic by a reporter who asks what his superhero name is. Eel replies, "Elastic Man". However, the reporter runs off shouting Plastic Man, with Eel trying in vain to correct him.
I think this is about Jack Cole. He was the writer/creator of Plastic Man, who, at a young age (43), killed himself. No-one's quite sure why. Jack also wrote Mystery in Space comics (although not for the Daily Mail). However, he left comics behind when the industry faded, going off to work for Playboy (Leather Thighs?)
As for whether it's plastic or elastic, well...in the comics, petty villain Eel O'Brien falls into a vat of acid and becomes pliable ('you'll believe a man can ply'). He goes after his ex-criminal friends for abandoning him. This revenge act gets mistakenly interpreted as heroic by a reporter who asks what his superhero name is. Eel replies, "Elastic Man". However, the reporter runs off shouting Plastic Man, with Eel trying in vain to correct him.