Adam Graham's Blog: Christians and Superheroes - Posts Tagged "doom-patrol"

The Doom Patrol Archives, Vol. 1 by Arnold Drake

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


In the 1960s, Marvel was creating more realistic and human characters. Arnold Drake got a chance to follow suit as DC with the creation of the Doom Patrol. Three people whose lives have been transformed due to tragic accidents become the Doom Patrol: Elasti-girl, Negative Man, and Robotman. All three have become recluses after accident, but a wheel chair bound genius doctor know as the Chief spurs them into action. Thus they set out saving the world and become the Doom Patrol.

Robotman is a man stuck in a robot's body with a human brain, Negative Man has the power to have a negatively charged being of energy leave his body. The highlight of the book is Elastigirl who hasability to shrink and expand from inch-size to skyscraper size. Her power exceeded that of DC's Atom or the more comparable Marvel Ant Man. Plus, she has the most distinct personality in the book.

The stories are pure sci fi fun. It's not quite the Fantastic Four, but the stories work even though the only major villain is General Immortus who doesn't quite have the star power of Lex Luthor or Dr. Doom. There are some good fun action stories, a few very emotional stories such as Elastigirl's Private War which has her trying to reunite a war oprhan with his adopted father. There's also a solo Robotman story that's so humorous it has to be read to be believed. I can't help but think Monty Python read this before writing the black knight sketch.

Overall, this collection stands up pretty well despite some annoying "ha ha's" thanks to Elastigirl. I'll look forward to the next Archive.



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The Doom Patrol Archives, Vol. 2 by Arnold Drake

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


The original Doom Patrol, DC's team comic book that looks like a Marvel magazine continues in this 2nd archive edition, collecting Doom Patrol Issues 90-97 for September 1964-August of 1965.

If anything, writer Arnold Drake stepped up in these eight stories. The Doom Patrol universe expands with the introduction of a Mento, a superhero with designs on Elasti-girl. Both Robotoman and Larry Trainor resent him. Though his amazing mental powers lead to an offer to join the Doom Patrol that one member votes down. Who is a bit of a surprise.

Elasti-girl continues to be the most interesting character in the book though Robotman has a few interesting stories as well.

The stories are very well-developed. Unlike most other DC books, of the era, seven of the eight issues had book length tales, which means that most stories are about five pages longer than the typical Marvel story of the same era. As such, there's great fight scenes, great plot twists, and some good character moments.

Through the first six issues, I was prepared to give this collection four stars for the simple reason that the villains were quirky and fun, but nothing really special or epic, however Issues 96 and 97 have a fantastic story with the Doom Patrol taking on its most dangerous challenge ever.

Overall, the Doom Patrol is action packed, thrilling, and with great characters that are just fun to read. This collection is highly recommended.



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The Doom Patrol Archives, Vol. 3 by Arnold Drake

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


This third collection of Doom Patrol stories is the best yet, collecting Issues 98-105 of Doom Patrol along with Issue 48 of Challengers of the Unknown.

The first two collections were superb but this one topped them. There are a number of reasons why.

First and foremost was the introduction of Beast Boy, a spunky orphan with the amazing Superpower to change himself into any animal and a smart aleck attitude that was second to none. The character also had a compelling personal story as his guardian is stealing his money. The character is a great addition. My only complaint is that his first appearance in Doom Patrol #99 is a bit of a ripoff. While I don't usually lend credence to such allegations. In his first appearance, Beast Boy tries to gain admittance to the Doom Patrol by breaking into their headquarters and fighting them, a plot that sounds familiar if you've ever read Amazing Spider-man #1. Despite the ripoff introduction, the character makes a great addition to the mix and a fantastic foil to Robotman.

I also loved the introduction of Mr. 103, a villain who could change himself into any of the then-103 known elements. Meteor Man was mindless but fun, particularly with the idea of the man who had been changed into Meteor Man trying to send subliminal messages.

The book's crossover story between the Challengers of the Unknown and the Doom Patrol was a highlight as the four challengers, the members of the Doom Patrol, Beast Boy, and Mento took on four of the Challengers' greatest foes led by multi-man. Truly, an epic story.

The book's ongoing characters continued to be enjoyable except perhaps for Larry. Rita continues to be my favorite Silver Age Superheroine. These books written before feminism became a thing in comics, which is good. Rita doesn't come off like Marvel and DC's attempts to appease the womens' lib movement, rather she comes as a very real character who knows what she wants and isn't afraid to say it. She stands up to both her own team and Mentos when she feels she's being disrespected. The book features the story, "Bride of the Doom Patrol," which features a superhero wedding story like no other with cameos by Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, and the Teen Titans. Not quite the cast that would go to Aquaman's wedding but still pretty snazzy.

Robotman actually stands out better in this book. He clashes frequently with Beast Boy. In addition, Arnold Drake decided to tell his backstory in a series of 8 page back up stories. It's unusual because usually these back up stories are somewhat shallow one-shot stories with a little bit of humor. However, Drake told a 38-page story over the course of four issues with boy the Challenger Team Up and Bridge of the Doom Patrol demanding the longer tale. The story was as close to a realistic look at how a man would feel to wake up to find his brain in a robot body. It's not grim and gritty but it's got some emotional power.

Overall, this is just a great book. The Doom Patrol are fantastic as well as very human. The comics in this book are as good as any comics published in the Silver Age and better than many. This is a must-read for fans of vintage comics.



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The Doom Patrol Archives, Vol. 4 by Arnold Drake

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


This book of D.C.'s most off-beat and Marvel-like Superhero team continues with its fourth volume which collects Issues 106-113.

The main adventures center around several key plot points. First, is the Doom Patrol's efforts to free Beast Boy from his unscrupulous guardian, who in term is hiring supervillains to kill Beast Boy before it can be discovered that he's been embezzling funds. (Because what else would an evil guardian do.) There's also a plot involving their archenemies, "The Brotherhood of Evil," who actually team up with the Doom Patrol to stop an alien invasion. And then there's something going on between the Chief and Madam Rogue of the Brotherhood of Evil.

Overall, the Doom Patrol at this point was hitting on all cylinders. There's a good balance between action and plot. In addition, the back up features telling the stories of Larry Trainor's origin as the source of Negative Man and Beast Boy's origin are both compelling. The balance between plot and action is right and it's probably better written the Fantastic Four stories of the same era, in part because of its limits interaction with the rest of the DC universe and the way writer Arnold Drake is able to just do his own thing. The book also includes a very charming self-deprecating intro by Paul Kupperberg whose Doom Patrol revival didn't measure up in the eyes of many (including Kupperberg and Drake.)

Overall, the penultimate Doom Patrol Archive is another great entry in one of the great underrated series of the Silver Age



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The Doom Patrol Archives, Vol. 5 by Arnold Drake

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


This book collects the last eight issue of the epic Doom Patrol run from issues 114-121 and there's so much to commend the book.

The Madam Rogue storyline where the Chief reforms her briefly by removing the evil from her is a great story arc, with some unusual psychological imagery that really does build pathos leading right up to the book's ending.

The book finishes up Beast Boy's origin story and we get to see Elastigirl and Mento as adopted parents for Beast Boy, and how they try to help that very different boy survive in a difficult world. While there are some scenes that make modern reader. wince a bit, the family moments feel real and are quite touching.

The villains are mostly pure silver age. They're all okay but aren't quite as memorable as earlier villains like General Immortus, but they're still fun to read. A couple are quite relevant to 1960s life. One is a guru with suspect motives in a time when gurus were popular, even being followed by celebrities. The Wrecker in Issue 120 was a lot like many of the anarchists of the day. My favorite part of that story is that we get to see Robomen in a lot of robot stories.

And then there's the ending...It's gutsy, brave, and heroic. It's the end of the Doom Patrol and they do it in a way that feels true the team and the heroes they've become. It's a believable end to the journey that that began back in My Secret Adventure #80 from embittered outcasts to truly noble heroes. The end hurts because the writing was so good and the characters truly felt real. The only problem I had with the issue was the intro and exit lobbying for kids to buy comics to save the Doom Patrol. It was probably meant to soften the blow for young fans who originally read it, but it feels a little distracting all these years later.

Overall, Drake's Doom Patrol is an all-time classic Comics run. For Silver Age greatness, it's as solid as Stan Lee's work on Spider-man and Fantastic Four runs. Really a must-read for any comics fan.



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