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My CBR-reviewing cohort Greg McElhatton had a go at the book for CBR. He gave it two stars, saying
When Keith Giffen's revamp of "Doom Patrol" was first announced, I remember a
lot of promises that it would somehow encompass all versions of the team over
the years. Aside from killing off some members of the John Byrne iteration of
the team and some brief appearances of Bumblebee, though, that promise has gone
mostly unfulfilled. Well, at least until now, where Giffen seems to be doing
everything in his power to make up for lost time on that front.
He seems concerned for the future of the title, which I can understand in today's fickle marketplace, especially when you throw a crossover in early.
I've read some feedback posted here by Nathan on the comments page and it sounds like Greg might not be the only one with concerns.
What do the rest of you think?
On my first read through, I wasn't thrilled with the issue. I've really enjoyed all of the earlier issue quite a lot, so I guess I was due for one that didn't resonate with me.
ReplyDeleteOn my second read through, though, I found that, on the whole, not so bad...
It looks like this issue is a bit of a set-up/taking stock issue. We get the introduction of a couple of new threats, we check in on the residents of Oolong Island, and we get the return of Crazy Jane (which, if I had read the Morrison run, might mean something to me). All of that is probably good stuff, but with every bit of good comes a little bit of bad.
I'm not sure that we got enough of Crazy Jane. For those of you excited that she's back, she didn't really get to do much this issue.
Animal Vegetable Mineral Man... and the weird, porcelain faced chickie... very cool. But also kinda mysterious and yet another plot line where we aren't quite sure what's going on. We're getting a lot of mystery set-up in this series... not a lot of pay-off. I'm fine with that, but I can understand why other might find it frustrating.
Checking in on Oolong is also good... it's where the DP is located, afterall, so seeing what's going on in their home, helps ground their adventures. Except, we didn't really get to see any of the team until the last page. But, at the same time, it was a great last page for me. I loved that there was a sense that Larry, Cliff and Rita have each others' backs. They're family... warts and all... and still accept one another.
Keith Giffen is a long-term planner. His books are always constructed visualizing the long term. Doom Patrol has become my favorite monthly since #4, because he really packs a lot on it: you HAVE to re-read it. I haven't done it since his incredibly undervalued run on Legion of Super-Heroes.
ReplyDeleteIf slug-fest books like Dark Avengers are all the rage, once again Giffen goes against the trends by giving us a meatier comic book. Not only that, but he has to tie ALL loosened ends left from Morrison, Johns, Byrne AND Arcudi! So, at the same time I see Doom Patrol being out of fashion and out of critic's radar (when was the last time Giffen had a hit with them?), he is delivering exactly the kind of book I expected him to produce: a totally different out-of-pace re-readable superhero book.
It's a pity that much worse books treading on very beaten tracks get more scores from critics by "adhering" to the expected formula.
It's February 7th today, Doug. I hope your first goes better than Fred's:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DINuAWoxy4Q
ReplyDelete...and here's hoping that link works!