Almost Doom Patrol!

This week gives us a little nugget of Doom Patrol goodness- er, well, Doom Patrol evilness, in the form of General Immortus as the bad guy in the latest issue of Batman: The Brave and the Bold.

Issue #6, penned by J. Torres and drawn by Andy Suriano with Dan Davis on inks sees the "Forever Soldier" trying to cobble together a commandable army of warriors from times past. Torres spins Immortus into an amusing character, as Immortus recounts his failings in summoning his army from yesteryear. Twelve viking raiders, six knights, four old west outlaws and three spartans come to the present day and pose a bit of a problem for the Dark Knight detective.

Batman draws up his own recruit in the form of Kid Eternity, which of course leads to a few more guest stars, as revealed on the cover.

A wacky adventure, befitting the tone of the television series, but unlimited in character usage.

The DP themselves do not make an appearance in this issue, save for Batman mentioning them in his monologue exposition that helps introduce the readers to General Immortus. I could almost hear Diedrich Bader's voice speaking to me through this issue.

Four (out of five) stars!

I'll add some images later this evening.

It's evening. I'll just leave the images here and we can discuss a little later:

. . . and now for something completely different. . .

I know, I know, I know. This is supposed to be a Doom Patrol blog. It is, was, and will be. Give me one click of your time and you can thank me later.

Why?

Well, while you're waiting for me to type on and on about the next big thing for the DP, or give you some snippet of the DP I found, I thought I'd share something I like with you. Here's the sweet part: it's free.

You may have heard of Agents of Atlas from Marvel comics. Or maybe you haven't. Click here and you can read about them for free. That's right, Marvel is giving you a free sneak peek.

Why do you care? It's a sweet comic, that's why. It features a robot, a talking gorilla and a few other characters worth checking out. Give it a go, come back and let me know what you think.

Besides, it'll help fill some of that time you wish you could be spending reading new Doom Patrol adventures. Sorry, I can't share any of those with you, but this is a darn close second.

Tomorrow we'll return to DP chitchat. I swear.

Negative Monday 10

Here's the splash page from the digest reprinting of Mento's first appearance.

Conveniently enough, the issue this is a reprinting of is also the first appearance of Garguax in Doom Patrol (first volume) #91.
I figured this was a great choice for Negative Monday, as Larry and Mento are both struggling for Rita's attention. I'll be posting more about this issue and these characters in the next few days this week. Heck, maybe I'll try something new and make this week all about one issue.

Tune in and find out.

Elasti-Girl Friday 11

Friday! Friday! Friiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiday!

I don't know about the rest of you, but I wasn't so sure this week would have a Friday. I started off under the weather (and the weather has been craptacular here in Michigan lately) on Monday and the week only got yuckier from there.

But I made it!

Anyhoo, I'm cheating my way through this week's Elasti-Girl Friday and hopefully expanding the knowledge of a reader or two at the same time. Rita's on the image below, so it counts, right?

The Source - specifically Alex Segura - dropped another Doom Patrol related sneak peek on us today. Take a lookie:
Nice, huh?
He also gave us Giffen's original thumbnail sketch:

So what is it? I dunno. I'm going to guess it's either:
a: an advertisement for the upcoming DP series (although Giffen's note of "cover" shoots that theory in the bum)
b: a variant cover to issue #1
or
c. the cover to issue #4.

Wait, did I say the cover to #4? Yes I did. Yes, yes indeed, I did. But DC has only solicited Doom Patrol #1 and Doom Patrol #2. Yes, Rob Kelly, they have only solicited those two, but I can assure you this is NOT the cover to Doom Patrol #3. At least not the MAIN cover.Let's just say I've seen visions.

Speaking of visions, this week has two - TWO - comic cons going on! There's certain to be some Doom Patrol-ish announcements made and as soon as I'm aware of them, I'll post links and images and news.

Oh yeah! It's also Father's Day. Happy Father's Day to all you groovy daddy-os out there.

UPDATE:

Finished ink image from the Source.

September Comics

Geez. Nothing like wishing away the summer, huh?

Sometimes I like looking ahead, but with the summer just settling in, it's kinda sad to think this far down the road to September. Of course, fall is my favorite season, but I'm also rather partial to summer as that's when I tend to take the most time for my family.

You didn't come here to read this drivel though, did you? No, you want Doom Patrol news! Or reviews. Or tidbits. Snippets. Or other information.

Well, look no further. Courtesy of my fine friends over at Comic Book Resources, here's the covers and solicit text for Doom Patrolish comics in September:

Lets start with a comic related to the Doom Patrol via writer. Here's Magog #1. I must admit, I'm at a loss that this character has his own series, but with Giffen and Porter on board, I'm game. MAGOG #1
Written by Keith Giffen
Art and variant cover by Howard Porter & John Dell
Cover by Glenn Fabry
Introducing the latest member of the Justice Society of America to break out into his own monthly series!
Tired of chafing at the restraints that being a member of the JSA put upon him, Magog decides to take justice into his own hands and track down who’s behind the dealing of high-tech arms to lowlife scum around the DC Universe! Be here as the hunt starts Magog on the path to discovering his own unavoidable destiny thanks to writer Keith Giffen (JUSTICE LEAGUE INTERNATIONAL, DOOM PATROL) and artists Howard Porter and John Dell, the acclaimed team behind JLA! Retailers please note: This issue will ship with two covers. For every 10 copies of the Standard Edition (with a cover by Glenn Fabry), retailers may order one copy of the Variant Edition (with a cover by Howard Porter & John Dell). Please see the Previews Order Form for more information.
On sale September 2 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US

Beast Boy's having some loneliness issue in the September issue of Titans.
TITANS #17
Written by Pat McCallum
Art by Angel Unzueta & Wayne Faucher
Cover by Angel Unzueta
Spotlight on Beast Boy! Gar Logan grows tired of not being taken seriously by his Titans teammates. And what he plans on doing about it will shock you!
On sale September 9 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US

Beast Boy's appearances in Titans have not been great. He's been there, but he hasn't been a scene stealer by any means. Throughout the whole "Deathtrap" storyline he was mopey and whiney, and judging by the cover for Titans #17, things won't be changing any too quickly.

Not to mention Beast Boy's issues in Blackest Night: Titans.

BLACKEST NIGHT: TITANS #2
Written by J.T. Krul
Art and cover by Ed Benes & Rob Hunter
Variant cover by Brian Haberlin
Titan-on-Titan violence! Black Lantern Hawk has his talons set for the female Hawk and Dove! Meanwhile, Red Star faces a frightful family reunion with Black Lanterns Pantha and Wildebeest, and Donna Troy faces her worst possible nightmare! Plus, Black Lantern Terra terrorizes Beast Boy! Continuing the 3-issue miniseries from writer J.T. Krul (JSA CLASSIFIED, Fathom) and superstar artist Ed Benes (JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA)!
Retailers please note: This issue will ship with two covers. For every 25 copies of the Standard Edition (with a cover by Ed Benes & Rob Hunter), retailers may order one copy of the Variant Edition (with a cover by Brian Haberlin). Please see the Previews Order Form for more information.
On sale September 30 • 2 of 3 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US

That is one creepy zombie baby. Can there possibly be anything creepier than zombie babies? I, for one, wouldn't dare think about changing a zombie baby's diaper. Ewwwwwww.

Sorry. Tangents happen all the time around these parts.

Finally, there's Doom Patrol #2.
DOOM PATROL #2
Written by Keith Giffen;
co-feature written by Keith Giffen and J.M. DeMatteis
Art by Matthew Clark & John Livesay;
co-feature art by Kevin Maguire
Cover by Matthew Clark
Variant cover by Matthew Clark and Kevin Maguire
It's a black hole, but it's not a black hole. If you're a Doom Patrol fan, that made perfect sense. And even if not, then you're in for one hell of a ride as the Doom Patrol face off against the most annoying alien this side of G'nort. Who's G'nort? What, do we have to spoon-feed this stuff to you?
Oh, and we send the Metal Men into space. Just because.
Retailers please note: This issue will ship with two covers. For every 10 copies of the Standard Edition (with a cover by Matthew Clark), retailers may order one copy of the Variant Edition (with a cover by Matthew Clark and Kevin Maguire). Please see the Previews Order Form for more information.
On sale September 9 • 40 pg, FC, $3.99 US

I had not seen this cover - nor any of the stages it went through - until now, so I must say, it's surprisingly cool. Clark's knack for detail wows me every time. Not only that, but his enthusiasm for this book shines through in every piece of art I see for this title. I like the color of Rita's jumpsuit (which, I gotta admit, if you're going to grow taller than most people, a jumpsuit is so much more practical than a skirt). In Matthew Clark (and Keith Giffen with Livesay) I trust.

So what do you all think of these September offerings? Any other books catch your eye?

DP Action Figures?!?!

As some of you know we were supposed to get some Doom Patrol action figures with the Bandai Teen Titans set a few years back. As a matter of fact, at least protoypes were made. Their only knwn appearance was at the 2006 Toy Fair. Here's a shot from Superhero Times:

The news of the day, back in 2006, was from Superhero Times. Action Figure Insider also had some news on the figs in 2006.

Check it out! There was gonna be a Brain figure! Action might not have been the key word there, but it would have been a figure. Some inroads are being made towards a Brain figure, as there are anticpated Brain and Mallah figures coming up in Mattel's Infinite Heroes line in a special six-pack of figures flying under the banner of "Mallah's Revenge". Here's a link to the Big Bad Toy Store, but it appears they've sold out. Some more info about this six-pack can be found on Toy News International. Looks like you'll be able to get your paws on a Brain and Mallah (complete with beret) in the near future, but why they're pitted against Cyborg, Raven, Arsenal, and Robin escapes me. Seems like a perfect opportunity to introduce the Doom Patrol to this figure line.


BUT THE REAL NEWS (in my opinion) comes to us from the blog: The Amazing Justice League of Julius Marx. For those of you who aren't familiar with "Julius Marx" in regards to the toy scene, he's THE GUY in the know. Daniel Pickett (aka Julius Marx) is the equivalent of Joan Rivers on the red carpet, except Daniel's red carpet involves action figures. Bad analogy for you? OK, he's like John Madden, but instead of getting worked up about football or Brett Favre, Max/Pickett delivers scoops on the toy world.
That's right, he's the action figure world's very own "Scoops" Cunningham. He gets scoops and previews and insider info on most of the superhero (and other licensed) action figures out there. Between his blog and the main Action Figure Insider site, there's never a lack of information about what's new, what's coming up and what might be.

Looks like we're in for some Doom Patrol figures from Mattel to fit in with the JLU line.
Here's a shot:

From Marx's aforementioned blog.

And some more information can be found at the Hall of Justice (where else?!?). These figures look legitimate to me, but they have yet to show up on the Matty Collector site.

Rest assured, friends, as soon as I know more, I'll be sharing it right here!

Since it IS a Negative Monday, here's a closer shot of the 2006 Bandai Negative Man figure that never materialized for collectors, courtesy of Action Figure Insider's 2006 Toy Fair coverage.


To make up for not giving you an Elasti-Girl Friday this past week, here's the Bandai version of Rita Farr, also from AFI's 2006 coverage.

More Giffen

Keith Giffen writes a column for CBR with almost as much frequency as I manage to update this blog lately, but he's got a new entry today. He lists 50 reasons why he's glad to be writing comics.

#21. Doom Patrol, Doom Patrol, Doom
Patrol.

In addition to his list, he drops off his thoughts on Talent Deserving of Greater Recognition. He elects to disqualify the folks he is currently working with.

Check out the rest list here.