Robotman by Matthew Clark

Over on his Facebook page, Matthew Clark dropped this little beauty on his friends.

Kinda makes you wish you had some more Giffen-Clark DP to look forward to, doesn't it?!

. . . sigh. . .

Reviews for you

Hi all!
The final countdown is on, but the book is still chugging along. Giffen opens the floodgates on this issue and the end result is a fun, entertaining read. Here's a link to my review over on CBR, where I say:

Giffen jams a lot into this book, from an appearance by the long-forgotten Arnold Drake and Bob Oksner creation, Super-Hip, to a return of one of the Doom Patrol’s oldest foes. At the same time, M.S.E. lurks in the background, seizing the opportunity to claim Oolong as their own and using that as a launchpad to further denigrate the Doom Patrol’s image.

I gave it four out of five, as it suffers from severe art multiple personality disorder. Matthew Clark's stuff is good, but few and far between, and when juxtaposed with Randall's work, the book just seems off. It works best in the spots where the artist changes are isolated, for example, Scott Clark's two pages hold their own and seem really strong partially because there's no direct conflict in style. Ron Randall's art is the most prominent in this issue, but this volume of DP will always be Matthew Clark's in my mind.


Our friend in Doom Patrollery, Petar, has a review of his own over at Doompedia, so make with the clicking and check it out. 


So, my friends and followers, what did YOU think of this third-to-last issue of the Giffen-Clark era DP? 

Doomed in May

It's a balmy 40 degrees in Michigan as I type this, so thinking forward to May and sixty-degree weather sounds alright to me.

Unfortunately, it looks like May isn't going to be any too kind to our favorite freaks.

DOOM PATROL #22
Written by KEITH GIFFEN
Art by RON RANDALL
Cover by MATTHEW CLARK
It’s all been building to this! To retake Oolong Island, The Doom Patrol must face a pan-galactic array of foes, old and new alike. Hanging in the balance is the fate of the team, the island – and maybe even the world!
On sale MAY 4 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US, FINAL ISSUE • RATED T

The DP also make their presence known in this collection, reprinted yet again for your edification.

JUSTICE HC
Written by JIM KRUEGER and ALEX ROSS
Art by ALEX ROSS and DOUG BRAITHWAITE
Cover by ALEX ROSS 
The best-selling 12-issue series illustrated by Alex Ross is now available as a single volume hardcover at DC’s standard trim size. 
The villains of the Legion of Doom — led by Lex Luthor and Brainiac — band together to save the world after a shared dream that seems to be a vision of the Earth’s demise. They are confronted by the Justice League of America, who doubt their motives—and as their true plans unfold the two teams do battle. 
On sale JULY 27 • 384 pg, FC, $39.99 US


Nuts. "It's all been building to this!" Seems to me like there might have been a little more waiting for us on the other side of issue #22, but sales are what drives this business.

Hmmm. Maybe a groundswell of support could save the book similar to what Spider-Girl enjoyed so many times. . .

DP love on the Rama!

Our pal in Doom, Petar, of yon excellent DP blog DOOMPEDIA, dropped a link down to Newsarama. Said link contained a Vaneta Rogers-powered interview with Gail Simone and Keith Giffen and included this little snippet:

And they'll move out into the DCU and start rubbing up against some of the other heroes as we try to establish just where their place in the DCU is.

While I'd be one of the first to say seventeen issues in seems a little late to me, I have to admit, Giffen set out to establish a tone for this book and has done so. Now seems like a great time to start kicking the tires and seeing how well it all holds together.

Feel free to follow Petar's link or make with a direct click right here.

Negative Monday 36 - Front Page News!

I've mentioned it more than once here, but in my spare time (ha!) I review for CBR. Why should you care? Well, the DP review is "front page" material.

Click on over and give it a look.

Keith Giffen Speaks - really!

My other home on the internets, Comic Book Resources, posted an interview with Keith Giffen today. The interview is from NYCC a few months back, but it is still very relevant.

Check it out right here.

Giffen Speaks. We Listen. Or Read.

Vaneta Rogers is bringing the good interviews again. She had a chance to sit down and discuss some things with Keith Giffen.

I couldn't pencil the projects I have coming up, and I couldn't do what I'm doing on the Doom Patrol and Outsiders, while doing breakdowns for a book that were going to keep hitting me in this white heat. So it came down to, "OK, if you have to give up something, what do you want to give up?"

I'm not going to give up Doom Patrol. They'll have to pry that out of my cold, stiff fingers.

You can check out the rest of the interview through the magic of clickiness.

Negative Monday 31

Newsarama's got a fun little interview with Mr. Giffen.

Over there he says,

"And all of that counts. Ever since the beginning."

Make with the clicky and read more for yourself.

Mad props to Vaneta Rogers for getting Giffen to sit down long enough for an interview.

Doom Patrol #11 - this Wednesday!

The eleventh issue of Doom Patrol hits the new comics racks this week.

Here's the solicitation text straight from DC's site:

Written by KEITH GIFFEN • Art by MATTHEW CLARK & RON RANDALL • Cover by MATTHEW CLARK
What kind of people call themselves "The Brotherhood of Evil"? Not this group; not if a certain pan-dimensional business tycoon has anything to say about it. After all, image is everything. But it doesn't matter how they rebrand themselves – the Doom Patrol has found them, and it's not going to be pretty.    DC Universe    32pg.    Color    $2.99 US


Looks like we might get some answers about just what is going on with "Thayer Jost".

For those Doom Patrol fans who are trade-waiters or late joiners, the collected edition of the first few issues of this volume of Doom Patrol also hits the  streets. Titled We Who Are About to Die, this book weighs in at 144 pages and carries a $14.99 cover price. It looks like this new trade collects issue 1-7. I can't guarantee it, but taking into account that the trade is solicited at 144 pages, and the original issues feature twenty pages of Doom Patrol story while Metal Men was running back-up. That would include the Blackest Night two-parter featuring art from Justiniano.

I haven't seen any indication of the "final art" for the cover, but when I do, it'll be here for you. Here's hoping Matthew Clark was able to do something new.

Another book coming out this week that you all might be interested in is Neil Young's Greendale from Vertigo. It's written by Joshua Dysart with art from Cliff Chiang. It's an original hardcover graphic novel, and as such carries a slightly higher price tag, but it's got Cliff Chiang art!

Ambush Buggery

As noted by Petar on his DOOMPEDIA blog, Giffen has gone on the record over at the DC Message Boards to set the story straight regarding Ambush Bug.

For those of you who don't like to make with the clicky, here's what Giffen had to say on March 20:

Just to set things straight here before supposition runs wild...
Yes, that is Ambush Bug's eye.
Yes he is joining the DP book BUT as a supporting player.
No, he will not join the core team and finally...
Yes, bouncing him off of Larry is more fun than I should be allowed to
have.
I now cede the floor to wolfspider...
K-

Wolfspider is a poster on the DC Message Boards who has made no secret of his contempt for Giffen's current handling of the DP.

Now all we have to wait for is some art from Matthew Clark showing Mr. Bug. . . or do we?

Doom Patrol reviewed

Happy Friday fellow Patrollers!

I reviewed DP #8 and it's now up over at Comic Book Resources.

Giffen promised to introduce a new character or concept per issue throughout the
first year (at least) on "Doom Patrol," and so far, he's a man of his word. This
issue gives us a closer look at Jane (formerly and still Crazy after all these
years) and her favorite brick. The brick, naturally, happens to be sought after
by an invading force. That invading force brings in a sniffer, which gives the
DP a rather difficult time.

Feel free to check out the review (among many, many others) over at CBR.

Overall, for the first issue without a "second feature," I thought this issue did a good job of plowing into action. Negative Man is in top form and the rest of the crew isn't so bad either.

Check back later today for the regularly scheduled Elasti-Woman Friday.

Doomed in May 2010

Looks like we're in for an extra treat or two in May.

As my friend, Petar, covered on the Doompedia earlier (like yesterday) the Patrol will be in the May issue of The Brave and the Bold #34. This is their second time appearing in this current incarnation of the series. Here's the cover and solicit:

THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD #34
On sale MAY 19
32 pg, FC, $2.99 US
Written by J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI Art and cover by JESUS SAIZ
Don’t miss this first chapter of a most unexpected two-parter! This wouldn’t be the first instance where the Legion of Super-Heroes have gone back in time looking to add to their ranks. But the sheer craziness the Doom Patrol will bring into their lives just might make it the last time... and the Legion’s mission will lead to some rather unexpected consequences next issue!

I've been really enjoying JMS's run on B&B. It's been fun so far.

Then there's

DOOM PATROL #10
On sale MAY 5 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US
Written by KEITH GIFFEN Art by MATTHEW CLARK & RON RANDALL
Cover by MATTHEW CLARK & LIVESAY
What looks like a life-size statue washes up on the shore of Oolong Island and all hell breaks loose – the Porcelain Assassin has arrived! The Doom Patrol focus all their efforts on fending her off, but the fight isn’t nearly as brutal as the revelation of who sent her!

"The Porcelain Assassin" - cool! One of Matthew Clark's contributions to the book front and center.

And also the first of the trade paperbacks for the new DP.

DOOM PATROL: WE WHO ARE ABOUT TO DIE TP
On sale JUNE 9 144 pg, FC, $14.99 US
Written by KEITH GIFFEN Art by MATTHEW CLARK, JUSTINIANO & LIVESAY
Cover by MATTHEW CLARK
The first issues of The Doom Patrol’s new series are collected as the team deals with a black hole and comes face to face with death in a BLACKEST NIGHT tie-in.

. . . and some more reprinty goodness featuring the Doom Patrol (albeit it's a former DP). Good stuff here, all in black and white!

SHOWCASE PRESENTS: SUICIDE SQUAD VOL. 1 TP
On sale JUNE 16 552 pg, B&W, $17.99 US
Written by JOHN OSTRANDER, KEITH GIFFEN & J.M. DEMATTEIS Art by LUKE MCDONNELL, ERIC LARSEN & OTHERS
Cover by LUKE MCDONNELL
Captured villains are offered an ultimatum: Go on near-impossible covert missions or rot in jail. For the first time, DC collects SUICIDE SQUAD #1-19, DOOM PATROL/SUICIDE SQUAD SPECIAL #1 and JUSTICE LEAGUE INTERNATIONAL #13.

I pulled the info straight from Comic Book Resources, if you want to check out the rest of the solicits for DC in May.

Along those lines, Giffen is starting his run on Booster Gold with J. M. DeMatteis and Chris Batista. It looks like it's going to cross over with Giffen and Judd Winick's biweekly extravanganza Justice League International: Generation Lost. For some odd reason, I've seen more than a few people point out how much Booster looks like Michael Keaton on this cover, but no one mentions that Ice looks like Teri Garr.


Magog also continues under Giffen's writing. Additionally, DP alum Beast Boy continues to serve alongside the Teen Titans.

Completely unrelated to the Doom Patrol is the release of Brightest Day. Rather than go with one weekly series for the summer, DC is running two biweekly series. Kiss your wallets goodbye my friends!

While we're throwing money away, in the interest of fairness to both of the big two, and of (potential) particular interest to Doom Patrol fans, Marvel brings the Agents of Atlas back in May under the title of Atlas. If you haven't checked out any of the previous (the six-part mini or the eleven issue series or the Versus minis featuring the X-Men and Avengers) Atlas stories by Jeff Parker, you really should. They're good, clean, Silver Age fun - and they even have a talking gorilla.
Check out Marvel's May solicits here.
So what are y'all looking forward to in May?

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.

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.

Bonus post

So I was just killing some time, skimming the message boards over at DC and this post from giffen1 (aka Keith Giffen) hits me:

Okay, gang, it's out. Rant, rave shriek, holler, whatever. Believe it or not,
your input means alot to us. Pull no punches. We can take it. We welcome it.
Without your support we are D..E..A..D.. dead. Just one request, no mind
reading, okay? Assumptions accomplish nothing. Oh and, yes, we all care that
much. You have no idea how dedicated we are to making this work. As a teaser...
What has one body, dozens of personalities and looks good in a maxi-dress? If
you last until issue seven, you'll know. K-

Especially this part.

As a teaser... What has one body, dozens of personalities and looks good in a
maxi-dress? If you last until issue seven, you'll know.

Even if you weren't a fan of Morrison's version of the DP, you knew of Crazy Jane, and maybe even liked the character. I'm looking forward to seeing what our DP masterminds Giffen and Clark can pull together for this young lady. . .

Spoiler-free DP #1 Review

As promised, I reviewed Doom Patrol #1 for Comic Book Resources. Here's the link to my review, wherein I express the following thoughts and, oh, so much more.

Giffen quickly establishes that this team is a strike force of sorts, not a bunch of pals chumming around. They operate from Oolong Island under the auspices of Niles Caulder, who has manipulated them in the past and most likely won't hesitate to do so again. This Doom Patrol seems to have a purpose, at least moreso than some of the teams that ran under the "Doom Patrol" brand in the past. I look forward to what Giffen's going to put these characters through and how Clark renders it. The world Giffen is building isn't going to forget where the Doom Patrol came from, nor is it going to lose what makes the DC Universe special, and that gives me great hope for what is to come.

Doom Patrol #1

The big day is here! Doom Patrol #1 hits the stands and makes quite an impact doing so.

I'm not going to spoil anything, save to say someone doesn't make it home.

I'll share a little more later. I'm going to use this issue as fodder for the next week or so of posts.

Until then, here's THE panel from the book for me.

This issue also contained a sneak peek into Magog, as well as the Metal Men backup (or second feature as DC prefers to label it with political correctness only a standards auditor can appreciate). I truly enjoyed Metal Men, even if it was thematically 180º away from Doom Patrol. Seriously, how can any COMIC fan not find something to enjoy from a tale by Giffen, DeMatteis and Maguire? Even though it was just a preview, Magog is starting to lose me as the gore quotient seems like it is going to be pretty high. We'll see.

More later, after my Doom Patrol review is posted on CBR. Spoilers for the review: I gave the issue 3.5 stars out of 5. It needs to stretch a little more for that perfect 5.

Doom's Day!

It has certainly been a long time coming, but it is finally here. I've got to do the 9-5 thing today, but I will be buying (and reviewing) Doom Patrol #1 today (maybe even two copies!). My review will be published over at Comic Book Resources and I will be linking it here once I get a chance.

Look for updates soon!

Until then, here's the last panel (well, the full page containing that last panel) featuring the Doom Patrol from 52 Aftermath: Four Horsemen #6. Why should you care? It was written by Keith Giffen and (to the best of my knowledge) is the most recent appearance of the DP.
If anyone can correct me on that, please do.