Doom Patrol #1 review

Posted on by martingray1

Those who sigh that comic cover images today bear little resemblance to the interior stories should like this comic. Because that’s a very sombre Robotman, Elasti-Girl, Negative Man and the Chief on Niko Henrichon’s cover of this latest Doom Patrol series, and that’s a fair reflection of the contents. The World’s Strangest Heroes have become the World’s Saddest Heroes, reduced to finding missing cats for money.

What’s brought them to this point, we aren’t told. Having found the cat of one Mrs Green in less than pristine condition – see carrier bag – Rita suggests they try to swap in a living replacement. That way, the near-blind old lady swerves the sadness, and they get paid. An unimpressed Larry is tasked with delivering the new ‘Milo’.

Concerned by how long Larry is taking in the house, Cliff heads for the modest home, leaving Rita to answer a call from the Chief.

Did I mention Ms Green was convinced Milo had been taken by space aliens?

I liked this comic a lot. The full-colour art by Niko Henrichon gives it a distinct visual identity. Robotman suits being drawn a tad larger than usual, former starlet Rita has a cute Louise Brooks bob, and Larry’s Negative Spirit gets an upgrade… maybe. The scenery is first rate, this is a world I can believe in. There’s an interesting space where the gritty urban milieu meets the melancholy of our heroes as laid down in Darcy Van Poelgeest’s script.

I don’t know if Henrichon and Van Poelgeest have worked together previously, but in these pages, they gel. There’s an omniscient narrator, something rare at DC these days, and I like the tone. As for the character voices, they sound like the heroes I know. And it’s a bit of a relief that the creators aren’t trying to emulate the Grant Morrison atmosphere, which too often results in self-conscious random wackiness.

The simplicity of the team’s mission clears space for the heroes to be introduced to newcomers.

The moment with Larry and Ms Green gave me a lump in my throat; he’s been stuck in bandages for decades, taking them off only in private or when adventure calls, and I guess he wants to be seen.

Rita’s suggestion they dupe Ms Green about her cat’s status disappoints, but we don’t know how desperate the Patrol is – I always thought Niles Caulder had bags of money.

Cliff is Cliff – stoic, sympathetic, mildly grumpy, the spine of the team.

As for the Chief, he’s dealing with a woman in black.

How does this story fit with current DC continuity, which would have the Doom Patrol members of Justice League Unlimited? Where are the various members seen in the most recent series? Honestly, I don’t care. Just give me a good Doom Patrol story, and I’ll tell myself it fits somewhere.

And so far, this looks to be a good Doom Patrol story, acknowledging their history on the way to somewhere different.

I’d be remiss not to note Lucas Gattoni’s lettering, it’s understated, perfectly suited to the world Van Poelgeest and Henrichon are creating.

The issue ends on a quietly dramatic note, one that doesn’t bode well for DC’s original hard-luck heroes. I don’t doubt the Doom Patrol will rise to the occasion.

27 thoughts on “Doom Patrol #1 review”

  1. I’m glad you enjoyed it, but I found this issue to be a big step down from where we’d last seen the team. I would have been happy if the series had picked up where the last series had left off. But given that we were getting a new creative team I was hoping for something… different.

    This book is dark. Dark in tone and dark in colouring. Bleagh! Half of the characters are behaving wildly out of character. Rita has never been grim. And in this book she’s not only grim, but she’s mean and cranky. No thanks.
    Larry has gone back to being the cryptic weirdo who speaks like a fortune cookie instead of the sarcastic hothead that I prefer.
    The Chief and Cliff are mostly as I would expect them, but they’re also pretty morose. There’s one flavour for this book, and that flavour is sour.

    I’ve missed the Doom Patrol and I really wanted to enjoy this book. Fingers crossed that the upcoming issues are more what I’m looking for.

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    1. But Murray, didn’t Unstoppable stop with the Batman Who Laughs… do you really want this?

      I wonder if this new series will lighten up after the first storyline, maybe it’s a case of ‘it’s always darkest’.

      I wish Geoff Johns’ Doom Patrol had been given a chance, it was introduced in Titans or somewhere but never given its own spotlight strip.

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      1. Hahahahaha omg NO! Obviously, we would jump right over the Batwoman Who Laughs and move on to whatever story was supposed to come after that.

        I mean… I hope you’re right with regards to things getting lighter after the next story.. But as it is, we’ve got the unstoppable team flashing back to a graveyard scene. So who’s been bumped off? Beast Girl? Surely not Crazy Jane. Either way… that’s a lot of dark to sort through before we come out the other side.

        I do agree that Geoff Johns version of the team was an interesting take that deserved to be explored. It was similar in tone to Waid’s version of the team that appeared in the Brave and the Bold. But I don’t remember which version came first. And I don’t remember whether those versions came before or after Giffen’s take (which is honestly, one of the best takes on the team outside of the silver age).

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  2. I love the Doom Patrol but have become less enthusiastic over the years about revivals.

    Silver Age run is wonderful. Morrison’s mind-blowing. I thought Byrne’s reboot was refreshing – absolutely bland compared with Morrison, but sometimes I just want something classic and comforting, plus Byrne used Metamorpho and drew the whole thing. And Giffen’s take was a masterful merging of all the then-eras.

    I tried Gerard Way’s and initially enjoyed it but after a while it felt like it was trying too hard. I think for me that’s the problem. Not to sound like a complete Morrison fanboy, but in the case of these characters, I really feel like he set an amazingly high bar and any other attempt afterward by other creators to go weird and dark just makes me want to re-read Morrison’s.

    That said I did initially avoid the last miniseries from a few years back, then bought the back issues and really enjoyed it. For me it managed the right combo of honoring the past, being a little different from regular superhero books, yet still embracing superheroics and the wider DCU. Art was great, too.

    I’ll keep watching your reviews Martin to see what you think as this latest series continues. – Brian

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    1. Thanks Brian, I enjoyed your rundown of reactions, especially the positivity towards the Byrne run. My favourites after the original stories are the Kupperberg/Staton/Lightle/Larsen and Giffen/Clark/Randall series.

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      1. What was it about the Kupperberg run that you liked? I met him over the summer at a convention. Real nice guy. Bought an autographed book of interviews he did with various comics pros in the late 80s/90s. I had a chance to buy his run for $1 an issue from a dealer (maybe could have negotiated even less), wrestled with it and ultimately passed. But gotta admit I do feel some regret… Some if it was practical – I’m trying not to start any new comic storage boxes and this would likely have forced me to do so. I do like Larsen’s early artwork.- Brian

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  3. I wanted to hate this book. I only got it after seeing you’d reviewed it so I could enjoy the review more. Original DP was great. So was Kupperburg’s. Morrison set a high bar early and by the end failed to reach it consistently. I missed Byrne’s. (insert fake tears here) Giffen’s was up there with Morrison and the last one lost me in two issues.

    So Imagine my surprise that I loved this. No evil Caulder despite figures like him have gone from hero to villain in the zeitgeist. No reimagined Cliff, Larry, or Rita. Heck, no reimagined purpose! Yes, they’re broke and selling their efforts but the same classic people are the ones reacting to this situation in every bit of art and writing. I couldn’t ask for much more and I look forward to where this goes.

    (Okay, I could ask that key characters from the last volume show up, be revealed as secretly evil all along, and killed horrifically.)

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    1. Thanks for the lovely compliment Steve, I look forward to your – and everyone else’s – comments too, it keeps my typing.

      It’s great to hear you enjoyed this issue, let’s hope it keeps entertaining us.

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  4. rian here, I love the Doom Patrol but it’s really Grant Morrison’s era that remains the stand-out (and I even liked the Kupperberg run that preceded it). Keith Giffen’s was spectacular but cut short by the advent of the New 52 (and it’s a run I only picked up thanks to this very blog’s enthusiastic reviews, so thanks to you, Mart!). Brian forgets there was another series by John Arcudi and Tan En Huat which was best left forgotten. It was pain on the page.

    Byrne’s run was fine. I love John Byrne’s work, and this was clearly a passion project, but it never quite amassed to anything memorable. (Are you picking up his X-Men Elsewhen series, Mart?)

    The Doom Patrol TV show was wildly hit and miss, but the first season and any moment where they adapted the Morrison stories was really good.

    I think I’m kind of burned out on people trying to be—not weird—but “mature” with the Doom Patrol. They seem so sombre these days. One thing that characterised Morrison’s era was its sense of fun.

    —Your pal, Rik Hoskin

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    2. I’m with you on too much weirdness for weirdness’ sake, Rik. I’m not surprised Brian forgot the Arcudi and co series, it was pretty unintelligible.

      I now remember I didn’t finish the DP TV show, I got tired of all the little bottoms running around.

      The Elsewhen series is on my Christmas list, it feels that much of a treat – I loved Byrne’s Hidden Years.

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    1. And in full…

      /////
      Like Anoymous Brian here, I love the Doom Patrol but it’s really Grant Morrison’s era that remains the stand-out (and I even liked the Kupperberg run that preceded it). Keith Giffen’s was spectacular but cut short by the advent of the New 52 (and it’s a run I only picked up thanks to this very blog’s enthusiastic reviews, so thanks to you, Mart!). Brian forgets there was another series by John Arcudi and Tan En Huat which was best left forgotten. It was pain on the page.
      Byrne’s run was fine. I love John Byrne’s work, and this was clearly a passion project, but it never quite amassed to anything memorable. (Are you picking up his X-Men Elsewhen series, Mart?)

      The Doom Patrol TV show was wildly hit and miss, but the first season and any moment where they adapted the Morrison stories was really good.

      I think I’m kind of burned out on people trying to be—not weird—but “mature” with the Doom Patrol. They seem so sombre these days. One thing that characterised Morrison’s era was its sense of fun.

      Your pal, Rik Hoskin

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  6. For a first issue, this one felt thin to me. Especially when it was released the same day as two other team books’ #1 (Legion and Teen Titans). Don’t get me wrong, there was enough here to pique my interest, so I’m in for the duration. Maybe it was the least exciting because it wasn’t a complete shake up of the status quo? This issue was firm in making sure the Doom Patrol is more-or-less where it’s always been: outside looking in.

    I can easily see this series co-existing alongside the Patrol we see in Justice League and elsewhere. People code switch all the time when they are at their job. No reason these three would be any different. This is their private lives. It’s just that their particular private lives are really weird.

    But I do hope Beast Girl, Jane, and other Patrollers from the past are ok and just elsewhere (perhaps with the League?). I don’t want to find out that is someone being buried next to Dorothy….

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    1. Interesting that you preferred Teen Titans as a first issue to this, I found TT wafer thin so far as getting enough of the new characters to want it come back is concerned. I did mean to do a review… I should sort that out.

      Interesting point about code switching, to me this doesn’t feel like something that would be happening during the JLU period. Surely, with all the billionaire members, the League would be giving members a stipend?

      Yes to older members comic back, I’d love to see more of the Kupperberg bunch.

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      1. I wonder how many on the team know the wealth behind the masks. Ollie may be more flippant, but Bruce protects his privacy especially with the villain amnesty. Batman said the League was close to 100 members, but my running count puts it well above 200. I sincerely doubt more than 25 on the team know its Bruce under the cowl.

        Plus, how many would refuse a stipend? Assuming they are as ethical as they are heroic, there are probably more than a few who could see being paid to work with the League as a conflict of interest – especially if it’s tied to billionaires.

        As for the code switching, everyone does it – consciously or not. It may be subtle, but it happens all the time.

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  7. I liked this issue, and am looking forward to seeing where it goes (probably via DCUI, but that’s no knock on its quality).

    I’m glad we’re getting a back-to-basics approach with the characters without dialing them all back to the start. Cliff, Rita, Larry, and the Chief. Let’s see where they go from here, and then bring some newcomers (and some returnees) into the mix later.

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  8. Very belated response to a couple of your points, Mart.

    1. The Doom Patrol TV show “sentient butts” thing was irritating. It stank of TV writers trying too hard to capture the effortless surrealism of Grant Morrison’s run.
    2. Arani, AKA Celsius, is a character I would also love to see given more spotlight. She was a fascinating but somewhat blank slate in New Doom Patrol, circa 1978, with an awesome costume design (presumably) by Joe Staton. I felt like I waited my whole comic reading life to see her do *something*, and when Doom Patrol got their own title in 1987/88 with the Steve Lightle art, it felt like it was about to happen … and then it didn’t. Her position as the Chief’s forgotten wife or just-a-fake was always an intriguing and unique premise.

    — Your pal, Rik Hoskin

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    1. And Arani needn’t be a fake wife any longer, considering how comics have reflected the drop in society’s esteem for characters like the Chief. He’s already been established as a lying liar anyways.

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  10. Have now read this, and I enjoyed it, though I do agree with folks that this seems to take a lot of cues from the TV show, which I enjoyed mostly but as a television take on something, particularly in the characterisation of Rita (has she ever called Cliff Clifford outside the TV show?) and in Cliff’s design.

    I think weird is now the thing that makes Doom Patrol Doom Patrol so I enjoyed the weird alien. I didn’t mind unstoppable but it wasn’t quite weird enough to stand out from other super books. Not sure how I feel about the implication that other members of that team died though! And I agree with Rik, Morrison’s DP was always fun alongside weird. The Gerard Way version got some of that. I hope they don’t go too dour – that feels like the Arnold Drake influence!

    Stu

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Published by martingray1

Journalist, comic reviewer, theatre critic, film lover, biscuit fan, cat indulger