Thursday, January 7, 2010

Doom Patrol #6 review


*Mild spoilers ahead*

Another excellent issue - Giffen and Clark clearly love these characters. And any comic that starts off with General Immortus, the Animal-Vegetable-Mineral Man, and the Brotherhood of Dada, HAS to be good, doesn't it?

The issue starts off recapping, and embellishing the origin of Negative Man. I hope that we have opportunities to see Cliff and Rita's viewpoints of this pre-Doom Patrol era, as Larry's experience adds to the development of his character and of the Chief.

We soon move into full-page looks at different eras of the Doom Patrol. But these splash pages are not your regular 5-second flicks - there is enough text and characters in these pages to keep you engrossed for a while, harking back to different Doom Patrol issues over the decades. Matthew Clark's artwork is a particularly fine tribute to Richard Case's style, when drawing any characters from the Morrison era.

This issue has everyone and everything associated with the Doom Patrol. You will see Immortus, Mento, Beast Boy and Mallah on one page, and soon come across Dorothy Spinner, the Beard Hunter and Spider-Cliff (Morrison fans will know that reference!) Suitable mention is made of Rebis, and the Thayer Jost Doom Patrol, before Clark's style adjusts to that of the Byrne era, for another look at Vortex, Grunt and Nudge alongside the originals.

Keith Giffen juggles all the different facets and aspects of Larry's personality so well, and his recaps are well-supported by Matthew Clark's ever-changing styles. The only information I was unfamiliar with was that of the "clone" issue - had Thomas Munroe or Phillip Sloan been part of the history before? If not, these additions add to the history, and I wonder if Giffen plans to return to some of these elements in the future.

"My best gal pal knows size matters."

Larry - you're a riot.

4.5/5

Petar

2 comments:

  1. This has become my favorite comic currently being published and this issue is a great example of why. Keith Giffen has interpreted these fifty-year-old characters in such a way that I can enjoy an issue where one of them is just sitting on a couch, talking to himself.

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  2. Spot on, Michael. I was looking forward to the new series, but didn't think I'd enjoy it anywhere near as much as I have.

    I really hope we get similar spotlights on Cliff and Rita....

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