Unstoppable Doom Patrol #4 review

How freaky is Chris Burnham’s cover? The lady with the notepad – and extra heads – is the Doom Patrol’s resident psychiatrist Dr Syncho, earthly avatar of five ‘Fifth Dimension Entities’ collectively known as… well, let’s hear from the lady herself.

The off-panel voice belongs to Degenerate, the first member of the Patrol’s field team to open up to Jerry. He’s not terribly keen, but is given some insights into his personality and place with the Doom Patrol. The newest Patrol member is followed by the veteran Rita Farr, Elasti-Woman.

Rita’s story is a fine example of what Dennis Culver is doing with Breakthrough Breakdowns, an extra instalment added to the initially advertised six issues. He’s reconciling Rita’s long, confusing comics history with the character as she is in 2023. It’s fascinating, clever comic bookery.

Negative Man Larry’s background is added to, with the bisexuality of the TV version layered into the comics original, and the melding works marvellously. We also learn what happened to Negative Spirit Keeg from the last series. Similarly, the business of Robotman returning to cyber-adulthood, having becoming a Robotbaby, is put to bed.

I like the idea of Cliff’s possible super power. It’s Marvel Handbook-level madness but makes a certain sense. We don’t need to know for sure whether The (Original) Chief is right or not, but it’s a fascinating theory.

Where the characters are new – as well as Degenerate, Beast Girl debuted recently – Culver is taking the opportunity to properly introduce them. Beast Girl, for example, turns out to be more than an adorably cute young woman, she’s a survivor, with a background not a million miles from that of Crazy Jane.

Introductions. Explanations. Reconciliations. Culver’s ambition here is massive but his elegant script pulls it off, producing my favourite Unstoppable Doom Patrol issue to date. He ever gives us a final page full of foreboding.

Culver’s partner in crime is guest artist David Lafuente, who does a magnificent job, getting across the scope of DP history without making the weight of it overwhelming to the reader. The weirdness of the Patrol’s work is fully on display, especially in the spread layouts which make up most of the book.

And there’s no one weirder than Dr Syncho, with her multi-faceted-head comprising beings from the same race as Mr Mxyzptlk. There’s no reason to believe Jerry isn’t the benevolent presence they present as, but still, I would be a lot more nervous than Rita and co in the face of all those faces.

Lafuentes’ approach fits nicely with the work of series artist Chris Burnham; the finishes are a little smoother but the character attitudes are the same. There’s a terrific intensity to the flashbacks, a mix of high drama and pure melancholy.

The multi-dimension aspect of the issues allows Brian Reber free rein to go bonkers with the colours, and boy, does he. The vibrant choices suit the story. And Pat Brosseau’s lettering choices ensure we know who’s speaking as word balloons give way to narrative voices.

Ideally, the character information we get here would be worked into the storyline over several issues, but Unstoppable Doom Patrol is planned as a series of mini-series, with each subsequent one dependent on sales of the last, so there’s no guarantee Culver would ever get to everyone. This standalone issue is a smart way to surmount the problem, and it’s a triumph that should help make the second run a dead cert.