Merry Christmas!

Doom Patrolers have a very Merry Christmas! Keep warm, enjoy any time off from work you get and thanks for checking in.

I'll be back hopefully over the weekend for a post or two.

Until then, here's some pencils (and inks!) from Matthew Clark for the last page of the last issue.

Enjoy:

Yeah, it kinda is a re-gift (Thanks Matthew!!!), but would you have seen it elsewhere? Only here, Patrolers, only here.

Negative Monday 24

Two dozen Negative Mondays already? Sheesh. Imagine where we'd be if I actually kept a regular schedule!

Negative Monday, today, is going to focus on the Negative being(s?) in the most recent issue - Doom Patrol #5. Giffen could have gone in so many different directions with the Black Lantern DP going against the living, but he decided to put the seemingly logical connections together. In this case, Larry Trainor was challenged by the reanimated Val Vostok, who, somehow, brought along a semblance of the negative being with her.

The static between Vostok and Trainor is nothing new - Kupperberg touched on this in his take way back in Volume 2 - but here, Larry exerts his control of the negative energy in a surprising manner, especially considering "Vostok" took Larry out in a hurry in the last issue.

Rather than blather on, I'm going to share the confrontation with you. Read on to see what happens when two Negatives enter into the equation.


Larry maintains his personality all the way through, even as Black Lantern Vostok seems to have the upper hand.
A few of you have wondered aloud in the comments section why Cliff was referring to Rebis. Honestly, I don't know. the best I can hypothesize is because the two negative beings have seemingly merged, but I truly suppose we'll only find out more next month with the return of Matthew Clark when the spotlight shines heavily on Larry in

I quite enjoyed the Blackest Night issues. Sure, it is a little disappointing that the DP couldn't wrap up the challenge in these pages, but it appears as though the Patrollers - with Cliff not really registering in the Black Lanterns emotion spectrum vision and Larry single-handedly defeating one of the Lanterns - might help turn the tide and win the war against the Black Lanterns.

I guess we'll find out more about the DP and their involvement in this struggle on December 30 with the release of Blackest Night #6.

Blackest Night Doomed

So the second issue of the Blackest Night crossover is here and gone. I reviewed it for Comic Book Resources, so here's a link for that. I didn't say so in my review, but to me, this issue is worth the price of admission for the cover alone. Of course, next issue's Maguire-inspired, Matthew Clark-drawn cover is just as worthy.

If you're not feeling linky, well, here's a small excerpt.

Giffen handles the "Blackest Night" crossover delicately. In these pages, the encounters with the Black Lanterns are loud and gory, but the conclusion to the Black Lantern story doesn't happen here. Apparently it'll happen back in the main pages of "Blackest Night." To be sure, some readers will cry foul over that decision, but in doing so, Giffen focuses on the Doom Patrol and their dead demons and closet-based skeletons. Rounding out the Doom Patrol part of this title is a teaser page that is handled like a movie poster. A nice fun way to wrap up this issue and entice temporary Doom Patrol readers into coming back next issue.

Tomorrow will be another Negative Monday (which won't be negative for me at all, as I'm taking a day off from work!) and Tuesday I've got another nice little surprise for you. Beyond that, well, let's just see what happens together.

Holiday Gift Idea for Your Favorite Doom Patrol Fan

You guys are so kind and patient. I'm recovering nicely, work is getting back on track, housework is shaping up, so I've got a bit of spare time to dedicate to this blog. Spare time and something cool to share.

You may have seen, you may not have, but here's a link to Popfunk.com, an online store with only the most uber-cool apparel. Including a Robotman t-shirt. Aw, yeah, Robotman!

The art looks like an extremely enlarged image (that was enlarged so much it lost all of the Pérez-panache) from George Pérez's Teen Titans run to me. What do you guys think?

At any rate, there's a wonderful idea for your favorite DP fan, who just may happen to be yourself.

Four on the Eighth with Matthew Clark

Hey all!
I promised it a bit ago, and here it is: four more questions - complete with answers! - from Matthew Clark. Well, the questions are from me, then answers are from Mr. Clark.

Without further ado, read on, Freak Fans, read on.

MGA: What was the first order of business once you came onto the title? Was it character designs? Talking to Giffen about who should and shouldn't be in the book? Running around the house, screaming in sheer joy?

MC: My first thought was to just do some sketches not with the intention of re-designing them just start drawing them and let them come about organically. Then a chat with Keith about his intentions, along with general ideas. Then back to the drawing board, I knew after the chat and meeting with DC during a con about the approach. I asked to tweak the core group. Robotman I wanted to get closer to the BP [Bruno Premiani] look but still add a bit of my flavor. Negative Man I ditched the trench coat I wanted him to stand out more, and Rita, after the talk she needed a full body suit. More on that later. From my opinion the new designs need to reflect their origins and personalities/vocations of who the were. So when I did Cliff's new look I needed something that said "sportsman" and the biker shorts did just that. Larry was a test pilot so he need to look like a flyer. Rita was a bit tougher because she was a actress so her look when I was doing the inital sketches were that of a silent film star. But after a bit I couldn't make it work, then I was watching The Avengers with Emma Peele and it just clicked for me.

MGA: We've seen some of the character designs and sketches on your MySpace, what is your creative process surrounding coming up with a character's look? Any more concepts you want to share (I'm thinking additional designs of characters John Q. Public has already seen, not any spoilers, unless you prefer it)?

MC: Nothing I can share at the moment. First thing is I established a sense of past with the look of the book. All the characters designed for the book are from different periods in time. Cliff, if you look at the concept of the piping design on his face and chest, is very much in the 50s style Rita is loosely the 60s female spy. Larry is a 1914 RAF pilot. Dusty, the pilot for the team, is the Red Baron. The Chief is turn of the century Edwardian/Steampunkesque. Cale's main Body guard, Colt - seen in issue #2 - is a French Soldier from 1812. So on and like that so when I get the script or when Keith and I talk about someone new I try to come up with an era to base the look on. Once that is decided then I check for reference and begin the research. I'll start to send off designs to Keith and Liz [Gehrlein] to get comments. I'd send a image of a returning character [ to me - DZ] but that would spoil things.

MGA: If you were completely in charge of this title, what Doom Patrollers would be on your team? Anyone you would add who hasn't been a Patroller before?

MC: I have all the Patrollers' I've been wanting to draw. I'd add Beast Boy, but I understand why we don't have him. He was a part timer in the original series along with Mento and that's what he'd be in our book and he's a Titan now, so let him shine there. I'm sure he'll be in our book soon.

MGA: How has working with Keith Giffen on this title been? Does he give you room to breathe a bit?

MC: It's been a complete pleasure working with Keith on DP. I'm not just blowing smoke. This has been a dream come true for me. I'm a fan of his from way before I wanted to draw comics. I have a similar sense of humor and he's very open to my ideas. He wants the artists that work with him to give him suggestions and input. Heck, I sent him a design and the next thing I know she's [the character Clark designed] front and center and he added a bit to who she is and her background. He didn't have to, but Keith saw something in the design that worked for him. The character is Porcelain Doll and she makes a cameo in issue #5. We went so far as to have Keith do layouts like the old JL book with J.M. [DeMatteis] and Kevin [Maguire]. I want DP to have a Giffen flavor. He loves these characters and I want that to reflect in the book.

We love these characters too! Thanks again, Matthew, for more fabulous insight!

Negative Mondays 23

OK, so this one's gonna be short and sweet.

I was sick. I'm getting better. More later.

What? Not good enough? OK.

November 9 was the start of the busiest week I've worked at my current job. Throughout the week, I was wearing thin, and by Friday I was done. I cashed out and hit the hay by 8:00 Friday night. Went to the doctor the next day and was diagnoased with the flu.

Turns out it was H1N1, as the "seasonal" flu has yet to hit Michigan.

From there, I spent Saturday, Sunday, and Monday in bed. Woke up long enough Tuesday to know something wasn't right and my lovely wife decided to take me to the hospital. Three IV bags, one antibiotic bag, and a painkiller that could have stopped an elephant's toothache, I went home, with a new diagnosis - pneumonia.

So I've been a little under the weather, which has been unseasonably mild for Michigan - and should be back in action soon.

In the meantime, I'd like to mention that the Blackest Night issue of DP sold out and a second printing should be hitting shops this week.

Also worthy of a mention, Mattycollector.com has the Justice League Unlimited style DP figures for sale. Haven't ordered mine yet, but soon. I'll track the process here for everyone's edification.

Also to keep you coming back, I've got the second part of my chat with Matthew Clark coming up.

Glad to see you all got along nicely while I was gone. Some advice was asked, given, and appreciated. Good times.

This may not be the most frequently updated blog out there, but the folks here are nice and friendly-like. Makes me happy.

Negative Monday 22

From The Fwoosh, here's some images of the Negative Man figure from the yet-to-be-formally-announced DC Universe Classics line. The Fwoosh, in my opinion, tends to be a little out front of the announcements as the happen. Action Figure Insider is my preferred site of choice for news on all things plastic, but this is some great news for Doom Patrol fans.

This set will include:
Wondergirl - the Donna Troy version
Superboy - the Conner Kent version as he originally appeared
Cheetah - two versions, the classic Super Friends version and the more modern - but not current appearance - George Pérez version
Cyclotron
Blue Devil - the original look for Mr. Cassidy
Blue Beetle - Jaime Reyes
and our very own Negative Man.

From what I gather, Larry is going to be the variant, with his "negative face" showing.

The collect-and-connect figure here will be Trigon. After all, they have to string us a long a little farther before they give us Rita, right?

I'm a little puzzled by Mattel's choice to go retro with the appearance of Larry Trainor, as I think Matthew Clark's design is top notch and would make a more dramatic action figure. Who am I to complain? At least we'll be getting a Negative Man action figure!

Sharing the Doom Patrol Love

Hey all!

This one's going to be quick. I just wanted to share a link to another lovely Doom Patrol blog out here on the interwebs.

If you've read any f the comments that are wonderfully added onto the blog posts here, you've undoubtedly seen - and most likely been enlightened by - posts from a kind soul who goes by "pblfsda". Rather than try and pronounce that one, I've jumped to the conclusion that "we're all friends here" and referred to this kind soul as "PB". At any rate, PB has a blog of his (her? sorry PB, we've never clarified) own that discusses the Doom Patrol in significantly more detail than some of my blurbs. PB has broken the history of the DP into eras and discusses each ont he site. I've found this to be greatly informative and defintely worth more of my time.

No doubt about it, PB has a passion for this band of freaks.

Here's a link to that site and I'll also tuck a link over there ------>

Negative Monday 21

Twenty-one! I win!

Twenty-one is one of those trigger words for me. Every time I hear it, I think about the Bugs Bunny cartoon where he's playing Blaque Jaque Shellaque. Of course, this post has nothing to do with Blaque Jaque, but the next post does have something to do with Blackest Night. (horrible, horrible transition, I know, but what do you want for free?)

Anyway, I've slipped once more. To make that to you, today I'm going to share the pencils for the cover from last week's January solicits. I'm still not sure HOW I got this beautiful image (and even if I was sure, I'm sworn to secrecy), but I think it is safe to share the pencils now that the actual cover has been shared.

Just to be 100% certain I don't blow anything, here's the cover and solicit from October 19:

DOOM PATROL #6
Written by Keith Giffen; co-feature written by Keith Giffen and J.M. DeMatteis
Art by Matthew Clark; co-feature art by Kevin Maguire
Cover by Matthew Clark
This month, we spotlight Negative Man, who’s going to knit the history of The Doom Patrol into one cohesive whole. Cohesive to him, anyway.
Plus, The Metal Men find another gag that those three old geezers doing the feature can run into the ground.
On sale January 6 • 40 pg, FC, $3.99 US

Full January 2010 solicits for DC Comics can be found at Comic Book Resources, among other places, but CBR is near and dear to my heart.

And now for those pencils I promised:

It amazes me how comfortably Matthew Clark renders all of these characters, and quite frankly, it disappoints me a little bit that we can't have Rebis and Val on the team alongside Larry.

Next up, I'll be linking the DP pages from The Source. Sure, you could just click on over there, but my witty banter will still be right here.

Robotman on Batman: Brave & Bold

A little shoutout where shoutout's due: Thank you Dan Woodward, of Dan of Steel blogspot over there - - - >

He tipped me off to this and I only now "found" his tip because, well, let's just say it was a clerical oversight.

At any rate, according to Comics Continuum, Henry Rollins is on deck for the voice of Robotman when the Doom patrol appears on Batman: the Brave and the Bold.

BATMAN: THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD: HENRY ROLLINS

Henry Rollins is providing the voice of Robotman in the next season of Batman: The Brave and the Bold, The Continuum has learned.

Robotman will appear along with the Doom Patrol in the Cartoon Network series.

Rollins has worked with Warner Bros. Animation before, providing the voice of Johnny Rancid in Teen Titans and Mad Stan in Batman Beyond.

In addition to his musical career, Rollins has numerous acting credits. He most recently has appeared in FX's Sons of Anarchy.

Look for more on Batman: The Brave and the Bold soon here in The Continuum.

As for the rest of the cast, looks like we'll have to wait and see. More as I know it. . .

Negative Monday 20

Here's some negativity for you. Just a little slice.

Val needed to make another appearance here. . .
I'm sure there will be a little more than this in the solicits later today.

Negative Monday 19

Larry Trainor from Doom Patrol #3, being, well, negative.

Embrace your inner Trainor today and be negative. Just for a moment.

Elasti-WOMAN Friday 17

Here's my favorite image of the lovely Rita Farr from Doom Patrol #3.

Yes, this is the last page. No it doesn't spoil the story.

Yes, someone is in deep trouble once Rita gets her hands on him.

Even though Rita is more than a little roughed up, Clark manages to make her distinctly Rita, with more than a little hint of Diana Rigg. Hopefully Rita's got some brighter days ahead. Especially after Blackest Night. . .

Doom Patrol #3

A little curveball and we're back! Just a day late, but back nonetheless.

Doom Patrol #3, for me, was the moment things start really clicking. Cliff is getting more than a little fed up with Larry, Mento makes the scene and establishes himself as the ultimate supercreep, and the team takes down a menace in a new and unusual way.

Giffen drops a vast amount of technobabble on us, but with a re-read, that techie talk will seem just as fresh as the first.

Seeing as these pages were previewed over at the source, here's just a snippet of Steve Dayton's creepiness.
Later on in the issue, we learn a little more - a little TOO much about Dayton's vicarious living. Uber-creepy as I told Matthew Clark.
This issue really seemed to bring it all to the table for me. Doom Patrol is not occurring in a vacuum, and the characters interact with purpose. On occasion, that purpose may be perverted and disturbing, but the Doom Patrol has never been a happy sunny comic to share with kindergartners. To this point, Giffen has done a solid job of establishing this iteration as a more complex take on the heroes, with a large amount of graytones in morality.

I am a little put off by the ending and the team's decisions in returning to base, but I figure Giffen has his reasons.

Matthew Clark's art is solid and steady here. A large amount of the characters in this issue are faceless - or rather star-faced, which I am certain presented some challenges uncommon to a traditional comic. Clark's work in this issue is spiced with some additional design elements, such as a recurring target-like circular frame. Carried through the issue, this element is simple, but effective. Clark is doing a great job of making this HIS book.

Concerns I have about this series to this point are pretty specific: the story has a lot of depth. With that depth, Giffen jams a massive amount of information onto each page. I like the journal peeks, the character notes and the email snippets, but I'd like to see them treated a little more substantially in terms of graphic design. For now, they seem like ancillary pieces of the story, but when read add a considerable amount of depth to this tale.
My second concern is the pacing. Right now, it seems as though Giffen is throwing things into the book to accommodate a checklist of sorts. While this expands the universe around Caulder's strikeforce, it also feels hurried in spots. The second to last page is a perfect example of this. I don't see Cliff stepping aside for this, but there it is.

This issue wraps up the first arc, and clears the decks for Blackest Night. It almost feels as though this issue wrapped itself up quickly solely to make room for Blackest Night. With that, Matthew Clark will take a hiatus from the art chores for two issues, set to return with issue #6. Hard to imagine that the next time we see Matthew Clark Doom Patrol art, the title will be hitting the half-year mark.

Fan Expo Toronto 2009 Sketches!

Long promised, but just now actually being delivered.

Each year, my lovely wife allows me to get my geek on and disappear for a weekend to hit a comic convention. The past couple years, I've gone to Baltimore, before that Chicago. This year, I decided to hit Toronto. Armed with some good ol' US cash ready to be changed to Canadian bucks, I hit the border, set to flex the power of the new enhanced Michigan Driver's License. The enhanced license allows Michigan residents to cross into Canada without a passport. Kinda handy to have, since the passports take a while to get and all. Also, the Michigan Enhanced license is only $15 more than a normal license, which is roughly half the cost of a passport.

Of course, you didn't come out here today for a lecture on the Michigan enhanced driver's license. No sir. You're here for this:
The Chief, lovingly -and most unexpectedly - drawn by Karl Kerschl, of Wednesday Comics Flash and the Abominable Charles Christopher fame.

In the past, I've collected (is it truly collecting if you only get one or two here and there?) sketches with a common theme or character. In Chicago back in 2006, I compiled a sketchbook with the members of the Justice League- Detroit era. I've got more than a few Animal Man drawings. I scored a high-watermark (with watercolors) Barry Kitson Firestorm from Mid-Ohio in 2007.

On this trip, however, I decided to bring a new sketchbook and collect up some DP sketches. I found Karl, with a very short list - he was the first person I pushed the sketchbook towards on Saturday - and he graciously pulled this together. I gave him free reign, any Doom Patroller he wanted to draw. Needless to say, I wasn't expecting Niles Caulder to be the first member of the Doom Patrol to hit the sketchbook.

After picking up my book from Karl, I decided to hit his Transmission X teammate, Ramón Pérez. Ramón has done a number of things, all over the board, from Star Wars: the Clone Wars stuff to some issues of JSA Classified to his own webcomics Butternut Squash and Kukuburi. I cannot recommend Kukuburi enough, as it is easily the most beautifully drawn webcomic I've come across (sorry, Karl, yours is flat-out great, but Ramón's is eye-popping).

I was kinda hoping Ramón might give me the first Rita Farr to grace the pages of this sketchbook, but alas, he chose to draw:

a truly AWESOME Robotman!

Sure, a pair of sketches may not be earth-shattering, but to start off a sketchbook with pieces this fun is more than I hoped for as I drove over to Toronto for the weekend.

Exclusive Interview with Matthew Clark!

That's right peoples! Matthew Clark has been even more generous with his time than ever before! A while back, I sent Matthew a set of questions and he's been kind enough to send me some answers. There is more where this came from, but for now, read on and enjoy!

My Greatest Adventure: First of all, how is your health nowadays [for those of you not in the know, Matthew suffered a heart attack over three years ago]? Have you had any setbacks from your heart attack?

Matthew Clark: I have good days and bad day, more good ones for stretches. No major setbacks [but] I had a bad reaction to some new medications that messed me up several months back. Something that happens from time to time, which is not fun but it's what happens when you add new medications into the system, sometimes they don't work well together.

MGA: When and how did you find out you would be working on the Doom Patrol?

MC: I actively sought out the project years ago I asked to draw the book when I was working on Teen Titans for a few issues. At that time there was the John Byrne version of the book starting up, after it was cancelled I asked again if it should ever start up again I'd like it. I was working on Reign in Hell ( but had to bow out due to aforementioned health problems) and they let me know that after my work on RIH I would be doing Doom Patrol.

MGA: You've made no secret of the fact that you are a big Doom Patrol fan. What iteration brought you in - the original? Morrison? Arcudi? Which is your favorite?

MC: I discovered the Doom Patrol after reading Teen Titans where Wolfman and Perez brought in Robotman. After that issue I hunted down the Showcase issues with the new team. A year later I was at a local show in Eugene [Oregon] and one of the dealers had MGA #80 for 20 bucks (this was in the Mid to late 80s). I have since bought all the original run and for the most part and most, if not all, of their appearances. I also enjoyed Steve Lightle's brief run on the book, Those few issues made me want to really draw the book. Then several years later I got to hold a original Bruno page. I like quirky characters.

MGA: They weren't clear [to me - not a gamer] in the issue [being issue #1 of the current series], but it appears as though Larry has some "tattoos" on his wrappings. Anything in particular?

MC: Larry doesn't have "post-it notes" so he draws on himself and leaves notes such as gaming codes or just doodles. Each character will have little touches that if you look closely at the pages you'll find Easter eggs. Larry with the scribbles, Rita with movie posters, Cliff's t-shirts, I'm trying to give them more story. Plus it's fun to drop things in there and have people wonder. Most has a specific purpose, some is just a neat little tip of the hat.

MGA: Solicits just recently popped up for issue #4, and you're not there. Will you be returning for #5? Will this be a regular rotation?

MC: No I'm taking the Blackest Night issues off, the original plan was 4 [issues] on 1 off, but with Blackest Night, and the fact I wanted to draw issues #6 and #7 I opted to pass on BN. Plus, I dipped my beak in Final Crisis and that was enough for me. Crossover books like that are difficult and my hat goes off to those that do it. It's difficult and sometimes punishing to coordinate. Plus I want to concentrate on the main core group and the return of a few favorites (Keith has given hints on other board about this).

That's the start of Matthew's exclusive interview with My Greatest Adventure 80. There's more to come soon.

Negative Monday 18

Hey all!
It's been such a long while since i posted anything I almost forgot that I had a Doom Patrol blog!

Seriously, however, I do apologize. I've let you guys down before, and I know how that feels. I'm going to try to make it up to you, at least for a week or so.

Here's what you can expect for the week:
Today, well, this one's in the books. It's a Negative Monday. Enjoy. Or don't.

Tuesday:
Exclusive interview with. . . well, you'll have to check back Tuesday. Let's just say, it IS an exclusive interview. The person I interviewed is currently working on Doom Patrol.

Wednesday:
Sketches from the Fan Expo in Toronto. I promised them a while back, but I'll be posting them for your viewing pleasure.

Thursday:
A review of Doom Patrol issue #3, due out this Wednesday. This review will not be connected to my regular reviews over at CBR.

Friday:
The return of Elasti-Woman Fridays, featuring the best (in my opinion) Rita Farr panel from this week's release.

Sound like fun? If you said, "No." then you're taking this Negative Monday thing a little too seriously.

Speaking of Negative Monday, here's a completely random Negative image to share with you:

This panel is from the first page of Doom Patrol (volume 1) #104. Elasti-Girl and Mento tie the knot in this issue, with some guest stars such as Wonder Woman, Superman, and the Flash. I'm going to have to post more from that issue some day.

There you go, some Negativity for you. Have a great Monday! Be sur eto stop back next Monday for some more negative energy!

Giffen Dooms Blackest Night!

Wanted to pop this up here. The real story is over at Newsarama, but I know you all rely on me for DP news and links, so click away.

We'll talk about it later.

Doom Patrol #2 This Week!

Hey all!

The Source has a nice little sneak peek inside the second issue of Doom Patrol. Unfortunately, the Source also says the book will be out on September 9th, which won't be true here in the States, due to the Labor Day holiday. Look for it at your favorite comics facility on September 10 instead.

Rather than repost them all here, I'd like to point you there.

I'd also like to share both covers with you right here.And the variant cover by Clark and Maguire. . .

If you need some more inspiration to pick this book up, here's the solicit text.

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? Do we have to spell it out for you? Oh, and the Metal Men in space.

Let's just hope G'nort stays in the solicit.

Oh, all right, just because you asked so nicely. . . here's a couple of panels from the preview.
A little old, a little new. . . this ranting fellow above sure feels like a panel from Doom Patrol as it is meant to be.

Blackest Night

I've mentioned Blackest Night before, and I even went so far as to highlight the characters that appeared in issue 1 when Hal (Green Lantern) Jordan and Barry (the Flash) Allen were talking. In November, Doom Patrol #4 will be a Blackest Night crossover issue. Evidently #5 will tie-in as well. Read on for more details.

Set to release on November 4, here's the solicitation copy for Doom Patrol #4:

Written by Keith Giffen; Co-feature written by Keith Giffen and J.M. DeMatteis; Art by Justiniano and Livesay; Co-feature art by Kevin Maguire; Cover by Justiniano and Andrew Mangum

When BLACKEST NIGHT falls, skeletons start coming out of the closets — and no one has more skeletons in his closet than Niles Caulder, founder of the Doom Patrol. Caulder has been playing god for years, and the time for a reckoning has come. The Doom Patrol thought they knew darkness. Find out how wrong they were in this BLACKEST NIGHT tie-in issue!

Meanwhile, in the Metal Men co-feature, trendy meets grotesque when the robots battle a group of living mannequins.
DC Universe
40pg.
Color
$3.99 US

So over on the DC message boards (why Giffen stomps around over there and not here is beyond me ;-P ) he mentions that there will be some Black Lanterns making an appearance herein. His post is from August 14 at 9:26 am.

First of all, thanks. Thanks for the feedback and most of all thanks for the support. Even if you hated it, thanks for caring enough to sound off. Now, about this whole Blackest Night thing... We've got four, count 'em, four Black Lanterns showing up. You may guess the first three, but the fourth... Well, you may guess that one too but I'm hoping not. Oh... and Rita's eye color? Yeah, there's a reason her eyes are no longer brown. K-

Only four? I can think of a few more than that. . . Of course in the image Hal projects, there are only three characters shown: Josh Clay, Val Vostok, and Arani Caulder. Those three would give us the "three" Giffen mentions, but who's the fourth? Did Giffen give us a clue above? Anyone else have any guesses?


On a mildly related note, retailers will be getting bags of rings when they order copies of Doom Patrol. Evil yellow Sinestro Corps rings. Retailers order 25 copies of Doom Patrol #4 and they can order a bag of Sinestro rings. Bleeding Cool has so much more to the story.

Continuing on with Blackest Night info, Elisabeth Gehrlein, editor of Doom Patrol gave us a few sneak peeks over at The Source, including this beautifully haunting and hauntingly beautiful cover by Justiniano for issue #5.

Giffen's commentary about this cover is priceless. You should click the link above and check it out. Too lazy to scroll back up? Try this one.

I love Matt Clark's work, but I'm glad they have Justiniano around to spell Matt every now and again so Matt can stay fresh. Next to Doug Mahnke and Ivan Reis, I think Justiniano is best suited to render the undead DC characters. In the timeshare that Gehrlein has employed for DP, it truly the best of both worlds.

Negative Monday 17

So I just got back from a great weekend at the Fan Expo in Toronto. Kind of a long day as far as "jamming things into one day" goes, but it's done. I managed to score 24 issues of Blue Devil, 3 DP Archives (what can I say, I've been delinquent on getting those) and a DCUC Ronnie Raymond Firestorm.

I also got the first two sketches for my Doom Patrol sketchbook - more on those later this week.

For now, I want to share the most recent Doom Patrol-related Source posting. Elisabeth Gehrlein gave us a sneak peek of the third variant cover for Doom Patrol.

Sticking with variant covers for a minute – you’ve seen the Matthew Clark/Kevin Maguire jam variant covers for DOOM PATROL issues #1 and 2 in previous posts. I love these covers very much, so I wanted to show you the final one for issue #3, starring Negative Man and a Metal Men obstacle course. We’ll start with Keith Giffen’s layout, and then there’s Kevin Maguire’s inks, Matthew Clark’s pencils over Kevin’s inks, Matthew’s and Kevin’s inks together at last, and finally the color by Guy Major.

Giffen's rough shown above and the near-final image below.


Gehrlein also shared the cover for the second Blackest Night issue, issue #5 to be exact, but I will also share that at a later time in a post I'm working on covering DP's Blackest Night involvement.

All in all, I'd say this is a well-timed revelation by Gehrlein. She must have known I needed some Negative Monday material.

Elasti-WOMAN Friday 16

Sorry friends, foes and gentle readers, I've been neglectful in my posting responsibilities. My life's been a little busy, between work, reviews, and life.

One f the reasons for my negligence is the fact that I'm going to the Toronto Fan Expo tomorrow. I've been blessed with a wonderful bride who has no problem shedding herself of me for one weekend a year. The past two (three?) I've gone to Baltimore. This year, I chose to go to Toronto.

When I go to these cons, I like to get my geek on, but I'm not a talented enough seamstress to cosplay. Of course, I don't have the physique for it either.

What's this have to do with Elasti-Woman?

Well, it has this to do with her.

I made this image for a t-shirt. It's just a simple iron-on dealio, but until Graphitti or DC puts out a DP shirt, it'll do.

I used Matthew Clark's promo poster image (with his permission), the old logo from the 1980s series, and the head circles from Premiani's heyday. A little from each, to make a pretty killer image if I do say so myself.

There you have it, a bit of a cheat, sure, but it does have Rita on it.

Super Powers 25th Anniversary!

The big internet-cracking blog event of August 2009 is finally here! Happy Super Powers Day!

A consortium (fun word, isn't it?) of bloggers are celebrating the 25th anniversary of those wonderful old Super Powers toys. Organized by my man, the Irredeemable Shag, we're all taking a look at the comics that came along with these beauties.

Given the impressive range of figures that were included in the line, there is an equally impressive line of bloggers. Superman's Super Powers existence is examined (that was fun to type!) at the Fortress of Baileytude! Batman is covered by Tommy over on the Batblog. Shag himself has a post on his Firestorm site and his Once Upon a Geek home where he discusses the Dr. Fate figure as well as the proposed Blue Devil and Shockwave figures. Kelson Vibber provides some insight into the Flash's comic. Flash also gets some love from Brian Dixon on the Fastest Man Alive blogspot. As always, Rob Kelly covers the seven seas with Aquaman, who was my personal favorite of the first wave of Super Powers figures. Luke covers Hawkman while Adam heads for the Arrowcave. Frank covers the Martian Manhunter over at the Idol Head. The Joker even gets some love, courtesy of Bee.

Since this is a Doom Patrol blog, it bears mentioning that the DP - not a one of them in any incarnation! - were grossly overlooked and unable to participate in the Super Powers line. So when Shag issued a call to arms for parties interested in sharing the love for the Super Powers figures and their mini comics, I jumped on the chance to give Reddy some attention. After all, if it wasn't for Red Tornado, I would have never sunk hip-deep into collecting comics as a kid. Extrapolate that to now and this blog wouldn't exist if not for Red Tornado.

Stretch it out a little further and the Sunday post featuring Niles Caulder and Reddy makes a little bit of sense now, right?

So, without delaying the inevitable, here's the Red Tornado mini comic, guest starring Green Arrow and Hawkman. Great cover of Reddy opening a can of fist on the Parademons. Classic logo too. Before you read any further, please remember the Super Powers line was geared towards KIDS, not crazed, continuity-obsessed grown collectors who would never even dream of playing with the toys. These are supposed to be fun comics that give the reader a gist for the characters without burdening the reader with too much knowledge. The battle against the Parademons is what the Super Powers line was all about. Cool visuals, great characters, unique powers and uses for those powers. Did I mention the fact that this book is cool WITHOUT Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Flash, or even Green Lantern? Bah! Blinded by a paltry smoke arrow! Isn't it great how the comics are so simplified. After all, would these three truly stand much of a chance against Darkseid? That Hawkman is a bully, pushing Darkseid down when he's blinded! Imagine what a totally cool villain kids would think Darkseid is once they discovered the "real" Darkseid in comics.

The Super Powers heroes were definitely a team. No doubt about that.
Tornado doesn't get a chance to guest star in any other hero's mini comic, but he does appear in the comics for Steppenwolf, Mantis, Kalibak, and Darkseid.


Undoubtedly this figure helped Reddy find a whole new audience. From here, Reddy found his way into molded plastic quite a few times again. Those adventures will eventually be covered on my brand-new, incredibly irregular blog - Red Tornado's Path. Nothing to see yet, but soon, my friends. Soon. Once again, I want to drop a shout out and a huge, "Yeeee-ha!" to Shag. His passion for things comic related and just plain fun is something to behold.

Additionally, Rob Kelly hit us with the logo at the top of this post, while Tommy from the Batblog crafted the logo at the bottom of this post.

We now return you to your regularly scheduled Doom Patrol blog.