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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