The issue wrapped up what I'll probably look back on as my favourite Doom Patrol run ever. It had the original characters, humour, characterisation, action, weirdness and all the other things that have developed from Arnold Drake's original vision.
It also had the laugh-out-loud moment of the year, with Ambush Bug having a private conversation with Veronica Cale/Mr Somebody about Flash-something........ I honestly can't think of a funnier moment from Giffen's run.
I won't say much in the way of spoilers - but check the issue out for yourself. And based on that rather open ending, it looks like Doom Patrol may not be that far away in the future. Here's hoping.
Congratulations to all involved, for a wonderful, interesting, hilarious and entertaining comic series!
(And don't forget to check out Mart's review at Too Dangerous For A Girl!).
As usual, I'm the critical voice on all of this.
ReplyDeleteFor me, this issue was a total dud. I don't want to give away any spoilers to those who haven't read it yet either. And while Giffen does get his digs in about the fate of his Doom Patrol comic, I just thought it was the dumbest way to go out... I keep saying this isn't the JLI, so I don't understand all the bwa-ha-ha-ness. But I guess Giffen will be Giffen. Maybe I'm just not as brilliant as he is, but here's what I would have done...
Since the DP are retaking Oolong Island (no spoilers there, it's in the solicit), I would have gone out with a BANG... it's an ISLAND... anyone else get where I'm going with this? They're already ostricized from the superhero community and the world at large, now considered hostile and untrustworthy if not complete terrorists. So why not give them a heroes' ending? With a nod to the original DP book's ending, I would have blown the team up on Oolong Island. Of course, I wouldn't have left it with that kind of a cliffhanger. But let the world think they're dead, and then on the final pages reveal that Ambush Bug or Danny or even that Black Hole guy (where was he at?) teleported them to safety, giving them yet again another chance for a new start. (Without Veronica Cale as a main character please... I really just didn't get the fascination with Oolong Island and it's weird president and female military for the entire run.) Just seems like Giffen gave up, wrapped nothing up, and went out with a snicker. Sigh... Even Matthew Clark was MIA. Sad that he couldn't finish up since his artwork was one of the biggest imprints this run will leave on me.
While I was happy that Jane returned for the ending, and the bit with Danny did make me smile, ultimately I was left thinking "What a stinker..."
I never really did warm up to what Giffen was doing though, and I'd rank this edition of the DP just ahead of John Byrne's on my list of favorites... way behind Kupperberg and Pollack and Arcudi, and certainly behind Morrison and Drake's versions.
I do hope this is just a short hiatus and that the DP comes back stronger and stranger than ever.
I won't say much in the way of spoilers - but check the issue out for yourself. And based on that rather open ending, it looks like Doom Patrol may not be that far away in the future. Here's hoping.
ReplyDeleteI'd like to think that you're right...that it won't be long before we see the Doom Patrol again... but I don't think that we can look to the ending as any kind of indicator. Freedom Fighters (which also ended its run yesterday) ended with a similar type of cliff hanger ending designed to get people to look for more stories. I suspect that REBELS will be doing the same thing shortly. I get the sense that it's more of a plea from the creative team than any sort of indication of a long term plan.
But fingers crossed, let's hope that I'm wrong.
I think the story probably wrapped up about as well as could be expected, given all the plates that Keith Giffen was spinning. His run certainly had some of the best character work the team has ever seen. Not only was each of the three leads given a chance to shine in a spotlight issue; but there was a real sense that they cared for eachother. I'll miss it.
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to the inevitable relaunch that will come in five to ten years ...