Grant Morrison's Doom Patrol

[Mike]

Anybody else have any strong opinions on this era of Cliff 'n Company?

I remember buying a few of these issues as they came out and NOT liking them.
I never returned.

[j9ac9k]

Actually, sounds a lot like Hellboy to me

Also like The Thing.

Negative Man has almost always been a part of the DP, but I loved Rebis - s/he was an enigma - even to hirself. I'm sure not many other than Morrison could have written that character well. The latest series seems to have brought back some of those characteristics, but without the hermaphrodite aspect.
2016_0308_Rebis.jpg

[Robanker]

Robotman and Hellboy would make for a great team up. 2 curmudgeons punching their way through overwhelming odds.

You know they would get along swimmingly until Hellboy asked if Cliff wanted to get a beer and then it'd get so awkward they'd just call it a night and avoid each other like an awkward high school breakup.

Way's Doom Patrol is easily the second best run of the team, and I did enjoy what Giffen was doing, but I want to look forward. The streaming series is outstanding so that will hold me over until DC finds the next team to take on their weirdest bunch of misfits.

[Flash Gordon]

Also like The Thing.

Negative Man has almost always been a part of the DP, but I loved Rebis - s/he was an enigma - even to hirself. I'm sure not many other than Morrison could have written that character well. The latest series seems to have brought back some of those characteristics, but without the hermaphrodite aspect.
2016_0308_Rebis.jpg

I think you're right. Rebis is one of my favourite comics characters, but I don't think they'd be portrayed well by many other creators outside of Grant Morrison.

[Hatut Zeraze]

Morrison's Doom Patrol is an enormous piece of the puzzle that defines the comic reader I am today. I adore it.

It was asked earlier what other runs are most similar and I agree that Gerard Way's Doom Patrol run is the closest, but I would also suggest Way's Umbrella Academy. It plays with a similar template - a group of superpowered misfits brought together under the aegis of an aloof, brilliant, and occasionally amoral leader ends up bonding as kind of a dysfunctional family, fighting against cosmic weirdness. This describes both teams.

[kcekada]

I'm not a huge fan of the run. As an adaptation the tv show is definitely better.

I think I own his entire run. It was interesting, but I was never a bit fan either. Of course, I tend to feel that way about all of Morrison's work -- and a lot of people just love everything he does. I think Animal Man was his best work. I think that 'Final Crisis' was one of his worst. I also found his Batman run refreshingly understated.

[iron chimp]

It was so good that 99% of everything DC published afterwards read like uninspired nothing. So modern it feels fresher today than it did 30 years ago.

Pointed a direction forward for comics for some readers that was never taken - we could have been reading the techniques of experimental fiction applied to comics - instead we got 1000s and 1000s of issues of a reskin of the same plot and story for the next 30 years.

Basically killed the doom patrol - the arc that held the indicidual stories together was the story of the doom patrol. Rachael Pollock did a good job picking up the pieces and making stories afterwards but the franchise was done really after issue 63.

Arcudi, Byrne, Giffen and Way - were all varying degrees of rubbish - arcudi just depressing and full of unlikeable people, giffen just whatever, way just an unfocussed mess - not enough time spent actually trying to create a tight script and too much time spent doing other things.

The only other run that was even remotely close was Pollock. By the end with Ted Mckeever it barely looked and read like a comic anymore. Nigh on unreadable - which was quite an achievement in itself. Probably the most extremr thing DC ever published.

Very funny, very smart, full of likeable characters, some great art by Richard Case, Jamie Hewlett etc. Top tier- love it to bits.

[Timothy Hunter]

I'm curious what fans of the Morrison Doom Patrol run think of Paul Kupperberg's take. He wrote the majority of the team's adventures for 10 years starting with his reboot in the pages of Showcase. His iteration of the Doom Patrol basically faded into limbo afterword, making the odd appearance in Showcase Presents (starring in the first appearance of Ambush Bug!), Superman Family, and Supergirl. Miraculously Kupperberg's Doom Patrol remained in tact even after Crisis on Infinite Earths, finally graduating into their own solo title.

The series definitely had problems, primarily taking to long to reveal the whereabouts of Niles Caulder, but it certainly was a fun comic with endearing characters. Kupperberg's run started out with the sublime art of Steve Lightle, but after issue five introduced then newcomer Erik Larsen, who would reach comic stardom a couple years down the line drawing Spiderman and Savage Dragon. Larsen was completely complementary to Kupperberg's writing: slightly offbeat, high octane superhero antics.

Comparatively, Morrison's run didn't look like a far cry from the run that preceded him aesthetically. Richard Case seemed to be doing his best impression of Larsen.

[Pinsir]

I think I own his entire run. It was interesting, but I was never a bit fan either. Of course, I tend to feel that way about all of Morrison's work -- and a lot of people just love everything he does. I think Animal Man was his best work. I think that 'Final Crisis' was one of his worst. I also found his Batman run refreshingly understated.

I read Animal Man after Doom Patrol and it's above and beyond fantastic. It was so weird too, because Animal Man is so tightly plotted and paced, whereas I found Doom Patrol to be far too sprawling and chaotic.

[Flash Gordon]

It was so good that 99% of everything DC published afterwards read like uninspired nothing. So modern it feels fresher today than it did 30 years ago.

Pointed a direction forward for comics for some readers that was never taken - we could have been reading the techniques of experimental fiction applied to comics - instead we got 1000s and 1000s of issues of a reskin of the same plot and story for the next 30 years.

Basically killed the doom patrol - the arc that held the indicidual stories together was the story of the doom patrol. Rachael Pollock did a good job picking up the pieces and making stories afterwards but the franchise was done really after issue 63.

Arcudi, Byrne, Giffen and Way - were all varying degrees of rubbish - arcudi just depressing and full of unlikeable people, giffen just whatever, way just an unfocussed mess - not enough time spent actually trying to create a tight script and too much time spent doing other things.

The only other run that was even remotely close was Pollock. By the end with Ted Mckeever it barely looked and read like a comic anymore. Nigh on unreadable - which was quite an achievement in itself. Probably the most extremr thing DC ever published.

Very funny, very smart, full of likeable characters, some great art by Richard Case, Jamie Hewlett etc. Top tier- love it to bits.

Great post.

I agree that there has been nothing on the level of Morrison's DOOM PATROL since. Outside of his INVISIBLES, my favourite comic series, which I'd say explores a lot of the ideas at greater depth.

There's this frequency to the book that just can't be matched, it's a beautifully sculpted narrative with a perfect ending. All the later Doom Patrol series have all been varying degrees of weak. Morrison charted this course that has never been followed, and lot of it is the craft, but so much of it is just his heart. His writing has so much heart.

Unrelated, but whatever- I have to say I don't really care for the television show, outside of the inspired casting of Brendon Fraiser who is pitch perfect as Robotman. I mean comics are my thing, so maybe it's just that- I don't really care a lot about adaptations or most superheroes joints unless they're something really fun or interesting. I think it's the structure of the show versus the comic, and how it's made to fit into a format that appeals to superhero fans. I'm not sure. I'm just 'there' to see Robotman, Rebis, and Jane stagger through life, trying their best while the metaphysical is all around us all the time and there's insane forces at play in the day to day of life. The show seems more interested in things happening. Perhaps I'll watch more of it sometime, I'm curious to see if HBO improves upon it but from what I've seen of s1 it didn't hold me.

[Robotman]

Has Batman ever crossed paths with Doom Patrol, guys?


Actually, sounds a lot like Hellboy to me

I think both characters take some inspiration from Ben Grimm. But Morrison started writing Doom Patrol in 1989 and Hellboy didn't appear until 1993.

There haven't really been any memorable Batman and Doom Patrol adventures in the comics but the team was featured in a great Batman: The Brave and the Bold episode.

[iron chimp]

I think you're right. Rebis is one of my favourite comics characters, but I don't think they'd be portrayed well by many other creators outside of Grant Morrison.

Again for me Rebis is done. Im sure in Supergods Morrison describes dressing up as a woman at home in the period he wrote Rebis. It was very much a personal exploration manifesting itself as a comic book character. I just dont think anyone can carry on with that character unless they have a personal attachment to the concepts behind Rebis. I

Thats why i liked the start of Ways run - ok cool new characters that mean something to you and they are likeable and engaging - book.looks superb and its chock full of story each issue then wheels came off and it just became a really continuity heavy story with a cast of 100s and just a mess. Such a frustrating run as it was ok... we are finally taking a brand new path here rather than trying to make sense of everything that happened before - which i doubt 90% of doom patrol readers even care about - and then we just got sucked back into the vortex. I think there is an issue where chief returns and trys to sell cliff on going on some ridiculous mission and i was thinking... oh please do that it looks awesome but of course they went the other way.

[Johnny Thunders!]

It was so good that 99% of everything DC published afterwards read like uninspired nothing. So modern it feels fresher today than it did 30 years ago.

Pointed a direction forward for comics for some readers that was never taken - we could have been reading the techniques of experimental fiction applied to comics - instead we got 1000s and 1000s of issues of a reskin of the same plot and story for the next 30 years.

Basically killed the doom patrol - the arc that held the indicidual stories together was the story of the doom patrol. Rachael Pollock did a good job picking up the pieces and making stories afterwards but the franchise was done really after issue 63.

Arcudi, Byrne, Giffen and Way - were all varying degrees of rubbish - arcudi just depressing and full of unlikeable people, giffen just whatever, way just an unfocussed mess - not enough time spent actually trying to create a tight script and too much time spent doing other things.

The only other run that was even remotely close was Pollock. By the end with Ted Mckeever it barely looked and read like a comic anymore. Nigh on unreadable - which was quite an achievement in itself. Probably the most extremr thing DC ever published.

Very funny, very smart, full of likeable characters, some great art by Richard Case, Jamie Hewlett etc. Top tier- love it to bits.

I recently went and saw the entire first two seasons of Doom Patrol on HBO and I am surprised how good the show was, and how much it puts Grant Morrisons vision on TV. I always felt that his stuff was impossible to adapt but the show really does it.

I am currently reading the entire run from front to back and I am surprised how ahead of it's time the book remains. The whole ideas of Memes and Viral Culture are discussed in this book. It seemed like science fiction then but sure enough, it came true.

I am actually curious about the Silver Age stuff to see if it compares to the X-Men from that time period. One thing I love about the series, it takes 1950s Sci Fi and Horror movie ideas and makes a super hero team out of it.