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Doctor Doom: Books Of Doom

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152 pages, Paperback

Published January 21, 2025

6 people are currently reading
73 people want to read

About the author

Ed Brubaker

1,797 books3,009 followers
Ed Brubaker (born November 17, 1966) is an Eisner Award-winning American cartoonist and writer. He was born at the National Naval Medical Center, Bethesda, Maryland.

Brubaker is best known for his work as a comic book writer on such titles as Batman, Daredevil, Captain America, Iron Fist, Catwoman, Gotham Central and Uncanny X-Men. In more recent years, he has focused solely on creator-owned titles for Image Comics, such as Fatale, Criminal, Velvet and Kill or Be Killed.

In 2016, Brubaker ventured into television, joining the writing staff of the HBO series Westworld.

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5 stars
103 (37%)
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121 (44%)
3 stars
39 (14%)
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews
Profile Image for Benji's Books.
519 reviews6 followers
February 1, 2025
A fantastic origin, not weighed down by a bunch of unnecessary cameos and fan-service. This is a Doom story, first and foremost. I'm a simple man. I see the Brubaker name attached to something, I read it.
Profile Image for Reece.
156 reviews1 follower
February 24, 2025
This is probably the most in-depth origin of Victor Von Doom you can get. It really represents his ego as a scientist and saviour. His need to validate his existence, but he has no one to validate his existence to. He's incredibly isolated, and the veneer of intelligence hides this fact to himself and the reader.

Perhaps more importantly, it shows in all its glory, an aspect of Doom so often forgotten. He is European, not American. He is a Romani traveller, not some billionaire magnate. The Romani aspect is so often overlooked, but this really creates a sense of anti-monarchy and anti-imperialist justice in Doom's rise to the top.

Of course, he goes on to become a Monarch and an imperialist, but that's part of Doom's flawed character. He sees himself as the exception to the rule because he is just so far removed from humanity. It's a shame we won't see this version of Doom on the big screen any time soon.

Art was serviceable, and definitely of the time. But the strength of this book is definitely in the writing. This should be considered the defacto Doom origin in a similar vein to Batman Year One and Perez's Wonder Woman reinvention.
Profile Image for Pranay.
384 reviews4 followers
April 29, 2025
Doctor Doom is a fascinating character. This volume collects all 6 single issues beautifully showcased by Ed and Pablo.

Ed Brubaker captures his life right from the aloof gypsy boy to the awkward teenager in love to the angry orphan oppressed by the rich and greedy to the young arrogant genius on American campus to a disllusioned broken young man about to give up every thing to the knowledge thirsty obsessed man who conquers magic and science to the revolutionary who wants to free his homeland with his unique and powerful creations to the King of Latveria who has made a deal with the devil for a chance to fight for his mother's soul.

Highly recommended
Profile Image for Nicholas Dehler.
307 reviews4 followers
February 6, 2025
DOOM’s story is an excellent one- Brubaker’s telling focuses purely on the character’s rise from oppressed gypsy boy to scientific genius to ruler of Latveria. I feel that some of my favorite nuances of Dooms character are missed or brushed past in this story in favor of other elements, but the story of Doom’s troubles and triumphs shine.
Profile Image for kesh.
157 reviews2 followers
July 28, 2025
i enjoyed it for what it was. my last brubaker ration so i approached it w a need 😵‍💫

this is THE doom origin comic and i love brubaker’s introduction and this idea of doom’s eternal goal of saving his mother’s tormented soul

doom is right down his lane - i rlly liked the start but it lost me a lil towards the end. ofc it was gon get predictable but also wth was that ending twist 😭

the architecture art was beautiful but i can’t say much else #divorce #phillips

3.5/5
Profile Image for Josh Tobin.
26 reviews
September 22, 2025
I'll make you deal doom. once a year, you must decorate your house and leave me out milk and cookies. and what will I do? well, if you're good I will leave loads of toys mwahahaha. what if you're bad? prison rape mwahahaha
Profile Image for Jeff.
85 reviews7 followers
October 8, 2025
A great retelling of the origin of one of the greatest villains in comic history. Ed Brubaker is a master storyteller!
Profile Image for Nicky.
226 reviews
August 2, 2025
The last of the books from my backlog that I'd planned to read ahead of watching FF: First Steps and a really engaging story from Brubaker. Victor's journey isn't straightforward, taking some unexpected turns and is a real page turner.

I'm not sure I thought much of Doom as a character until I read Triumph and Torment, a story that also made me very interested in Doctor Strange, and this one goes very well with it.

Brubaker's new introduction in this collection refers Astonishing Tales #3 and I'd forgotten it was in the T&T collection until I looked it up; I remember it and he's absolutely right that it adds a layer that the reader keeps with the character.

This story and the 2 stories I mention add so much to Von Doom and really highlights why he's such a compelling character!
Profile Image for Nico D..
158 reviews2 followers
February 8, 2025
One of the stronger origin retellings of a big two character I've read in a while. Despite the many extreme elements to the story (black magic, super science, political intrigue) everything coalesces really well and works great for Doom himself. The only weakspot is the very ending, as I wasn't totally sure what was happening with the framing device conclusion. But until then I was totally hooked and read through the entire novel in a single sitting.

A must read for Doom fans.
Profile Image for Shawn Ingle.
1,002 reviews8 followers
February 13, 2025
I’m in the minority here but I found this rather boring.
Profile Image for Aaron.
1,041 reviews44 followers
May 4, 2025
Few stories are as desired, enrapturing, and atomically fulfilling as an origin story. And for readers who know of Doctor Doom's tale, yet have never perused the pages themselves, DOCTOR DOOM: BOOKS OF DOOM offers a healthy recollection.

BOOKS OF DOOM is a good read. It's a simple, straightforward, no-frills exposition of one man's vigorous climb from obscure itinerancy toward the halls of coveted high statesmanship. Readers need more of this: books that don't overpromise, books that know what story they're telling, and books that push their readers to nod in understanding of each inflection point that maneuvers one impoverished soul deeper and deeper into despair. Victor von Doom is not a good man, and indeed, given the circumstances of his life, one is not harried to believe he ever was.

Brubaker's patient writing lends Victor's backstory the right breadth of connective tissue. The narrative style is akin to a serialized drama, keen to view Victor's turbulent youth, errant young adulthood, painful maturation, and roguish encounters with political and military authority. Perhaps the author has the benefit of decades of literature to sift through, to form a visible tapestry that feels more comfortable than not. But one also senses the comic's voice relishes the opportunity to peruse this character's history, warts and all: "It was appalling," Victory says, recalling the emotional blowback of killing a man with his bare hands. "How could I fall victim to such a plague of guilt and anxiety?"

The mistakes (he swore never to make). The opportunities (he swore never to pass up). The personal relationships (he swore would never hold him back). The technological breakthroughs (he swore he would never throw away). The life and times of Victor von Doom are littered with egotistical suppositions that begin with earnestness and legitimacy, only to swerve within sharp reach of corrupted magic and violent exercises of power.

For example, Victor's family of Roma-like nomads is persecuted and hunted to its death by a greedy baron. What's to blame? Victor's mother's affection for black magic? The baron's desire for control? The clan's inability to defend itself? The earnest and legitimate search for an answer (e.g., study magic, blend it with high-tech science), soon begets a temptation and an opportunity (e.g., study abroad, gain resources, build a reputation), which itself begets one extreme after another (e.g., waging war with the American government, commanding an uprising in Latveria, daring to cross minds with an interdimensional demon). Victor von Doom is not a man who second guesses himself.

BOOKS OF DOOM is not the type of book one recommends to those seeking unassailable action and raucous supervillain exploits, for the simple reason that this origin story is about how one man lost his family, his home, and eventually, his mind. The art team yields to a rather stoic, staid style that's notably stingy with facial expressions and goes a little too heavy on the shadows. That's good for a literary drama, but perhaps not so entertaining for a supervillain trying to carve his way through hell to save his mother from a poor bargain. BOOKS OF DOOM explores the quiet chaos raging about the mind of a man whose confidence stems from his trauma. And what readers learn is that failure, no matter how frequent and no matter how gruesome, is but another tool of survival for those whose life is spent mastering pain (and the doom it brings).
Profile Image for Shivesh.
237 reviews9 followers
August 30, 2025

The Tragedy of a Broken Man, Remade

On a quiet Saturday afternoon, I sat down with my son expecting to read just a chapter or two of this pillar of modern comics. Instead, as he slinked away to play another interminable session of Roblox, I found myself completely absorbed by Ed Brubaker’s Books of Doom—a masterful retelling of one of Marvel’s most enigmatic and mythic villains. The story doesn’t just live up to its reputation; it deepens it, offering a portrait of Victor Von Doom that is both chillingly precise and symbolically rich.

Brubaker’s framing device—a journalist interviewing Doom himself—allows the narrative to unfold with a seductive ambiguity. Is this the truth, or merely Doom’s version of it? That question lingers throughout, but it never undermines the emotional and psychological weight of the tale. From the very beginning, Doom is cast not merely as a megalomaniac, but as a child shaped by trauma, a superior and dark intellect, and an unrelenting belief in his own destiny. The death of his mother, a sorceress whose soul was claimed by the Devil himself, becomes the crucible of his obsession. His father’s tragic demise while protecting him only reinforces the isolation and fury that define him.  It is a cold, diabolical fury that envelops all.

Brubaker’s characterization of Doom is consistent and compelling. Even as a boy in Latveria, Victor is calculating, arrogant, and driven by a sense of cosmic injustice. His genius is matched only by his ego, and his journey to America—where he attends university and clashes with Reed Richards—marks the beginning of his transformation.  This part of his life was new to me and now makes all his arcs afterwards meaningful. The infamous experiment that scars his face and leads him to the Himalayas is rendered with mythic gravitas. There, among monks, he forges his armor and identity, becoming the iron-willed sovereign of Latveria.  Everyone would eventually kneel before Doom.

What makes Books of Doom so satisfying is its refusal to dilute his pathology. He is not a villain who seeks power for its own sake; he believes he is the only one worthy of wielding it. His megalomania is not a flaw—it’s a philosophy of the man. Brubaker doesn’t ask us to sympathize with Doom, but he does demand that we understand him. And in doing so, he elevates Doom from comic book antagonist to tragic archetype.  This is almost a Russian drama in drawn panels.  

The ending, with its subtle hedging of truth and fiction, only adds to the mystique. Doom’s narrative is unreliable, but that unreliability is part of the myth. He is a man who rewrites reality to suit his vision, and Brubaker leans into that with elegance.

As the MCU inches closer to introducing Doom in earnest, I find myself both excited and apprehensive. Will they capture the grandeur, the sorrow, the terrifying conviction? Doom is not just another villain—he is a symbol of unchecked genius, wounded pride, and the eternal struggle between fate and free will. He doesn’t need a real-world analogue because there is nothing like him. He is singular, and this tale reminds us why.

2 reviews
December 26, 2025
First of all, I have to say Doctor Doom is my favorite Marvel character of all time, he is just so deliciously complex while still being very much The Bad Guy, even if he leans to being more morally gray than just evil nowadays, which elevates him as a character really.

The art in this is very well done, from the colors to the backgrounds, it is very well made, even if some character designs I did find kinda lacking(Valeria and Cynthia—in my opinion—almost looked identical). But the art is very good.

The comic almost reads as a documentary, multiple interviews of side characters from Doom’s life while most of it is Doom’s own narration, which I found to be very entertaining and enjoyable, since it keeps Doom in character, as he doesn’t share everything, while allowing the readers to still get information anyways.

I love how direct everything is, it is all just Doom’s life, we don’t linger on cameos or drawing things out, which is definitely something refreshing. The dialogue I also found interesting.

Of course, there are some downsides; racism and misogyny. Doom being misogynistic could be an interesting character flaw but it gets brushed off and it seems to be more of a story issue than a character issue(if that makes sense?) and of course, referring to the Romani people as slurs throughout the entire book, which again, could make for some good commentary had they simply made the antagonist call the Romani slurs instead of actually just calling all Romani people slurs. I know Romani people have nearly always been called by that slur, but it should still be acknowledged anyway.

Still, a good read for anyone interested in Victor von Doom/Doctor Doom. 4/5 stars.

Profile Image for Kyle Spishock.
493 reviews1 follower
June 10, 2025
My ongoing binge preparing for the Fantastic Four: First Steps movie:

Another Dr. Doom convoluted origin story. In this one, he’s raised by gypsies in Latvaria. His mother is a witchy woman from whom he learns the dark arts.

Dr. Doom, dressed in his full villainous regalia, narrates the moments of his past by inserting himself in the background of scenes, very much like The Watcher.

The government is quick to interfere, taking him from the gypsies after his father freezes to death. In an experiment at school, he nearly explodes himself. Reconnecting with his childhood gf, both are rescued by a homeless man with mythical powers, who sacrifices himself and parts by telling Doom the whereabouts of a mystical Tibetan temple, without going into specifics.

In a very Batman Begins coded plot, Doom visits the temple and becomes their leader. After seeing Reed Richards in a news story, he becomes disillusioned that his former classmate tampered with his machines and seeks his revenge.

Kurt Busiek is a very capable writer (I’m a big Astro City fan) and he does his best here, even if the origin tale runs out of steam in the final act.
Profile Image for Dakota Morgan.
3,390 reviews54 followers
May 20, 2025
Doctor Doom dictates his autobiography and it's essentially what you'd expect: childhood trauma leading to great scientific breakthroughs leading to adult trauma leading to mystical learnings leading to conquering Latveria.

Books of Doom starts slow as young Victor Von Doom experiences the many woes of being young and poor in a backwards nation. The plot picks up as Doom heads to America to research weapons for the Army (and have some bad encounters with Reed Richards and women). The rest of the book is much more of a breeze as we're getting into traditional Doom territory: goals first, humans second.

Ed Brubaker does a great job with the storytelling, keeping each chapter pretty compelling, even as it rarely surprises. Especially appreciated: Brubaker shows Doom's many facets and allows for plenty of character growth, giving us reason to (kinda) root for the man even when we know he's a supervillain. The artwork is solid too, though Doom's costume in the later issues is clunky as hell. A classic for a reason, well worth a perusal.
Profile Image for Jack "THATLegoRobber" Brown.
65 reviews
February 4, 2025
8/10

A great read if you want to find out more about Dooms backstory. I wouldn't exactly recommend this if you want to experience Dooms rivalry with the Fantastic 4 and Reed Richards in particular as there's only brief mentions to each respective character.

Dr Doom is a cool villian and one I'm interested to learn more about, I like that while he is seemingly cold and heartless he still craves to save his mother from Mephisto (Devil) but it does make him seem like such a shitty leader which I don't like as I prefer to think of him as a man of the people of Latveria.

I'm not a massive fan of the twist at the end as I just find it slightly pointless.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Travis Duke.
1,136 reviews15 followers
February 18, 2025
Brubaker with Doom?! Oh hell yes. In his Intro he explains how much this means to him, and we can tell! This book is just awesomely written, you really get in Doom's head space. It is about the upbringing and childhood that shaped Dr. Doom and you can really see why Dr. Doom is such an evil bastard. The torment, jealousy, and genius are all on display from Brubaker and it does not feel like a marvel book, it is just a good story. I love the narration and the perspectives from the people who meet him, it all just paints a great picture. The end is just perfect, you never get to see his deformed face but at the end....what a twist!
Profile Image for Jamie.
471 reviews
November 1, 2025
Excellent book about the origin of Doctor Doom. The artwork is pretty good, but for me the writing and story is the real strong point. Every issue has its own story and it flows very well. It was so interesting learning new things about Doom’s past and some of the supporting characters were also intriguing.
The ending was very unexpected and mysterious.
While it’s not quite as strong as say The Killing Joke, it’s definitely in the same bracket and deserves 5 stars!
The cover by Alex Ross is fantastic and I would definitely recommend this book.
Profile Image for Liam Campbell.
28 reviews1 follower
March 22, 2025
A gripping and interesting depiction of the ever intriguing character of Doom. While this may sound like a typical backstory for Doom, it is nice to have an opportunity for unfamiliar readers to learn of Doom's tale. It is an interesting point of view to see his descent into evil be any other hero's rise to greatness, which makes one consider if it is the nature or the nurturing that makes someone.
Profile Image for Cole.
16 reviews
August 13, 2025
A fantastically self-contained origin of Doom. I was not expecting the structure of the story to be how it was, but it’s amazing, especially with the fun little twist/reveal at the end is also beautiful.

This is a true showcase of the pain, horror, isolation, egotistic, brutal, self-righteous, other-worldly, yeet human being that Doom is.
Profile Image for Drew.
659 reviews13 followers
February 23, 2025
This was solid, good art, and the story held my interest front start to finish. I have never known much about Doom nor understood why he’s such a threat, so this was a good introduction to the character.
Profile Image for Samuel.
394 reviews
June 16, 2025
4.5/5.

Wow. This was written so nicely (by Ed Brubaker so that makes sense). Brubaker perfectly captures all the facets of Doom that make him such an interesting character in my opinion. Plus the art was cool too. I had a fun time with this one.
Profile Image for Peter Holz.
473 reviews
July 19, 2025
It is the Doctor Doom origin story we didn't know we needed. The story follows a predictable path, but is told with considerable panache and makes no attempt to turn the good doctor into a redeemable character.
Profile Image for Sadiel Giron.
139 reviews
March 1, 2025
This is Ed Brubaker's take on Doctor Doom's origin. Well done and great artwork by Pablo Raimondi.
Profile Image for David Phillips.
Author 2 books8 followers
April 11, 2025
It was ok. I had high hopes. It didn’t blow me away but, was an interesting origin story.
519 reviews5 followers
April 15, 2025
I'm kind of a Doctor Doom apologist, so to be brief, this is a really good retelling of a classic origin story. If you are a fan, like I am, then you should probably pick this up.
537 reviews2 followers
June 24, 2025
A good origin story for a villain i know virtually nothing about.
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