Peter Craig (1) (1969–)

The most tonally faithful live action adaptation yet of the type of Batman comics I personally prefer -- the gritty, morally complex detective noir stories -- but it unfortunately has a weak third act and a pacing throughout more fitting for a miniseries than a three hour film, both of which hinders it from standing completely toe to toe with the very best Batman films of past decades. Still, it's in the upper echelon of the second tier in my book.

Seemed like I'd never finish another book, but I finally did and what a romp it was. Hot Plastic is the story of an odd family -- a father, his teen son, and the young woman taken on as a partner -- of grifters, mostly dealing in credit card fraud.

The book is told mostly in flashback, and starts with Collette, the young woman, frantically driving a shot Kevin, the now grown teen, to a hospital after a scam gone wrong. The bulk of the book is set in the past, telling how they got to this show more point, before moving forward.

Craig's got a nice, breezy style that captures not only the lives of people living on the edge or the wrong side of it, but the awkwardness of adolescence as Kevin lusts after Collette who's shacking up with his father while trying to compete with dad in every way possible as he tries to prove he's as good at grifting as his father or Collette are.

These characters lie, steal, cheat. They hurt people and they hurt each other. And yet, they are oddly appealing for those flaws. I can't wait to read more by this author. show less

This was my first Peter Craig and it will absolutely not be my last. The blurb was not all that enticing but my brother read it and didn't hate it so what the heck. From the first pages to the last, the story and its telling grabbed me and would not let go. The characters are as flawed as you are going to find and yet, many are more sympathetic than most and interesting.

It was one of the most unusual stories I've read in a long time and one of the best.

I honestly enjoyed this version of the Batman and am eager to see what becomes of the villains introduced in this film.