Hey guys - it looks like the DP may have a familiar face back in action in January (based on the cover)! Here's the preview:DOOM PATROL #18
Written by KEITH GIFFEN
Art by MATTHEW CLARK and RON RANDALL
Cover by MATTHEW CLARK
The Doom Patrol just met The Aristocrats, and how better to follow a punchline than with some actual punching? The world's strangest Super Heroes face off with the world's most horrific family - and they've never had a fight like this before!
Giffen has also mentioned online that these villains (The Aristocrats) are some of his favourites! It's great to see the comic will be continuing past #18 (which, based on 6-issue arcs can sometimes be a wind-up point). Hopefully it'll be guaranteed to #24, and preferably, much further!
I'm glad the Chief has been put on ice for awhile. I think Giffen squandered the chance to redeem this character. I know many have loved the new run, so I won't post the extensive list of gripes I have. But I do think there was a moment in time when the Chief could have been sorted out and been reshaped into a positive character. Since being brought back from the dead in the Kupperberg run, he's denied his marriage to Arani, been revealed as the cause of the accidents that created the original team, killed Joshua Clay, been beheaded, had his head strapped to a sex ghost (and at one point in Pollack's stories expressed remorse for what he'd become), resurfaced as a real cold fish in Byrne's crappy series, and had a *genuine* moment when he seemed to be an aged version of the original Arnold Drake character after the whole Superboy punch thing. I don't get why writers continue to want to make him this total bastard. What Morrison did was genius, but it didn't happen until the end of his issues as a real twist to the characters and their history. Since then I've never understood why writers continue to have the Chief be such a manipulator and a self-centered egomaniac with no real concern for his team. Moreso, I've never understood why the members of the DP stick around! It makes no sense. They're adults, not children stuck in an abusive home, and all of them have the smarts and the bravery to leave and stand on their own. But they've always stayed, like battered houswives. Not that I'm in any way trying to make light of any abusive relationship, I know there's a lot of psychology and headgames and fear and so many other variables involved in why people remain in those situations. But is that what the DP should be? I think Giffen had the chance to redeem the Chief, to really give the character a fresh start since very little had been done with the DP after Infinte Crisis or whatever the crossover was that brought them back from Byrne-land. I don't remember the original 1960s version of Niles Caulder being such a creep, and even Morrison's Chief was cold but still likable up until he shot Josh Clay. With all of the mumbojumbo about the DP's continuity still not entirely explained, Giffen could have done something different with this character. Instead, he's now even more of a madman and he's got superpowers to boot! For over a year he's been pushing around the heroes of this book, and it's really annoyed me. Cliff, of all people, the heart and soul of the DP and a real true blue hero, doesn't seem like he would continue to go along with all of this. I guess now, finally, he doesn't have to. And neither do the others. The stakes are higher, I guess, with no replacement bodies for Cliff (have to believe if worse comes to worse Will Magnus or some other scientist could help him out though) or Larry (of course, that's another gripe of mine - NegMan suddenly having all these host bodies), but its worth it to be rid of the Chief. Maybe now the characters can finally shine more, breathe a little bit. The book has felt so repressive and totalitarian under the Chief's command, so I'm happy to see it take a new turn.
ReplyDeleteCool that Bumblebee looks to be added into the mix. Will she get a shiny blue button on her costume? I think she needs the "puffballs" hairdo like on the Teen Titans cartoon. I'm guessing Ambush Bug will stick around, as Giggen seems to really enjoy using him. But what about Danny and Jane? I don't think it's been made known whether Jane has any powers, but she also hasn't had much of a role as of yet. What about the black hole faced guy? And Rocky the priest, I hope he sticks with the team in some capacity.
The "all new, all different" Doom Patrol?
ReplyDeleteI agree with Ty's comments - and yes there are more characters turning up but not a lot is being done with them. I'm still wondering why Ambush Bug is even in the book, when surely Danny would be a better "mode of transportation"? And why oh WHY isn't Jane back in action!
Still, this is my favourite DC book, and I'm hoping for a VERY long and healthy run!
I'd also like to see the other characters in action, but perhaps Giffen is setting all the pieces up for some future stories, without rushing into several additions at once.
ReplyDeleteIn some ways his run is reflecting Grant Morrison's with the regular team (Cliff/Rita/Larry vs Cliff/Rebis/Jane) accompanied by the supporting team (Chief/Jane/Ambush Bug/Bumblebee/Danny/Rocky vs Chief/Josh/Rhea/Dorothy/Flex). That way, the pieces are in place for the writer to call on the characters as needed. I'm only surmising, though.
@Negative Mike:
ReplyDeleteI was having a 'comment-tag' conversation with Ty on this very blog (August 21 of this year) about the upcoming Ted Bruder appearance when I started wandering off-topic and speculating about the Ambush Bug/Danny relationship. I think that the reason that they were brought back together was to prompt precisely the question you asked: why should we not see them as redundant? In other words, what exactly is the difference between them? I think Danny, who has spent the past decade and a half as a planet, is being used as a method of returning a space-based villain or their descendant. The company that nearly killed him (MSE) circulated a memo in issue #12 (p.4) signed by "E. Garguax"...
Irwin, on the other hand, believes (or knows?) that he is a DC comic book character. He also travels to critical points in DC history, moving in time as well as space which Danny cannot do. Obviously since Giffen has co-written and drawn his adventures for years and Danny is still healing, we're seeing more of Ambush Bug at the moment. I'm betting that when Danny moves to the forefront we'll see more of the 'broken fourth wall' aspects of Irwin's adventures.
Hey pblfsda - interesting points re Danny and AB. I've never really read anything with AB in before (though I was aware of him), whereas I've more knowledge of Danny. Also, you're right - Danny just survived the MSE, so maybe he's recuperating in bungalow form.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I recall the memo from "E.Garguax"...and now we've got the new art from Matthew of Immortus...so we look set for some big returns but I'd be surprised if Danny could/would be used to aid said return/s. Not that I've got anything against surprises in this book! (Hey, I'm still amazed at what happened to Niles...)
I always loved Garguax for some reason, so I'm really hoping the memo was more than just a tease (I noticed it as well). There are so many subplots going on right now that I sometimes feel like Giffen is stringing these things together but hopefully not forgetting about them. There has to be more to the Mr. Nobody/Somebody return, I still feel like the Mento/Rita stuff is unresolved... wasn't he a member of the team for like a second in the Teen Titans issues from a few years back? Now we have the Millicent mystery.
ReplyDeleteAs for the new poll, which secondary Doom Patroller is my favorite, I'm voting for Jane for old time's sake. I do want Giffen to do more with her. I'm still trying to figure out why she says "Clifford" instead of "Cliff." She always called him "Cliff" before. But yknow, I love all 5 of the secondary characters. Again, I want Bumblebee to have the puffball hairstyle. And where is Mal, is he officially gone from her life and the DP now? Ambush Bug has been surprisingly enjoyable, I like how he makes the core DPers appear "normal." Father Rocky provides a great sounding board to ground the team. And even Black Hole Phil is an interesting addition. I'd vote for all 5 if I could, but since Jane is the sentimental favorite and definitely the one I want to see much more of, I vote for her. I want the book to focus more on Cliff though. I feel like we've had lots of Larry's dumb jokes and Rita's moodiness, but Cliff needs a few issues to shine now. Maybe we need a few issues with him and Jane really reconnecting.
In regards to the Chief, I'm going to have to reread that last issue, but I got the impression that Giffen was doing something to redeem the character. I seem to remember the last page or two forced the reader to look at what the Chief has been said to have done over the years in a new light... I got the impression that maybe the Chief didn't really cause the accidents of the DP but let them believe that he did, or led them to believe that he did, in a misguided attempt to protect them. I dunno. Like I said, I'm gonna have to do a reread.
ReplyDelete