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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