Doom Patrol, Vol. 5: Magic Bus

Doom Patrol (1987)(Collected Editions)

by Grant Morrison, Richard Case (Illustrator), Ken Steacy (Illustrator)

The collection of comics savant Grant Morrison's legendary run on DOOM PATROL continues in this fifth volume reprinting issues #51-57. Featuring the final fate of the Brotherhood of Dada and the rise of the unstoppable Candlemaker, DOOM PATROL VOL. 5 also includes the delightful Jack Kirby tribute issue "And Men Shall Call Him -- HERO!" as well as a cover by the incomparable Brian Bolland.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Dc Comics, Superheroes, Graphic Novels Comics, Fiction, Comic Book

208 pages, Paperback

First published January 31, 2007

About the author

Grant Morrison has been working with DC Comics for twenty five years, after beginning their American comics career with acclaimed runs on ANIMAL MAN and DOOM PATROL. Since then they have written such best-selling series as JLA, BATMAN and New X-Men, as well as such creator-owned works as THE INVISIBLES, SEAGUY, THE FILTH, WE3 and JOE THE BARBARIAN. In addition to expanding the DC Universe through titles ranging from the Eisner Award-winning SEVEN SOLDIERS and ALL-STAR SUPERMAN to the reality-shattering epic of FINAL CRISIS, they have also reinvented the worlds of the Dark Knight Detective in BATMAN AND ROBIN and BATMAN, INCORPORATED and the Man of Steel in The New 52 ACTION COMICS.

In their secret identity, Morrison is a "counterculture" spokesperson, a musician, an award-winning playwright and a chaos magician. They are also the author of the New York Times bestseller Supergods, a groundbreaking psycho-historic mapping of the superhero as a cultural organism. They divide their time between their homes in Los Angeles and Scotland.

Reviews

[Baba · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mr Nobody and the Bortherhood of Dada are back, and they want the Presidency; the 'team' is coming apart at the seams as each member seeks answers in their pasts, and in their minds; a nefarious foe is just out of sight, but waiting to attack; and has anyone seen Niles?

It all still feels like forced weirdness for weirdness sake, with even 'mad' people churning out sentences with literary phrases as a case in point. With the passage of time, not one of Grant's better works, especially (yes, I'm a gonna say it again) it's been eclipsed by the TV show. 4.5 out of 12.

[Chad · Rating 5 out of 5]

These are some of the best issues yet with the return of the Brotherhood of Dada. Nobody running for president and touring the country was fun. then there's the strange Fantastic Four parody and the way out there Rebis issue before things take a serious turn. We discover Jane's backstory while Dorothy's long running plot comes to a head. The book ends with the same twist M. Night borrowed for Unbreakable. I'm really looking forward to see what happens next. It's been 30 years since I read this in floppies.

[Wing Kee · Rating 5 out of 5]

To turn history in it's head, that is great writing.

World: The art is surprisingly good. It's date but it's creative, the framing is creative and the character designs are creative. It's creative. The would building is absolutely wonderful. There is a turn in the end of the arc which I won't spoil but it is twisted and turns everything you know it's head. It is because of amazing world building and writing that makes possible. The stuff with Da Da and Jane...also great.

Story: Magic bus was fun and weird and then there is a slight change in tone and it's in your face. The stakes have always been high but the weight this time around is way more heavy. The Jane story starts it off and we finish with Dorothy which has been planned a while. I'm very vague about the story lest I ruin it. It's so good but so different. This is as close to a normal Superhero book as I've seen this run get.

Characters: A tour de force, absolutely brilliant. It's hard to describe how well the final issue is executed. It's just great understanding of the characters and great understanding of the history of the characters that make it possible. Nobody in the Magic Bus is always wonderful and Jane gets a large chunk of development also. Wow that Rebis issue was out there. All in all, fantastic.

Heavy and tonally different but wow is it ever good!

Onward to the next book!

[Shannon Appelcline · Rating 4 out of 5]

This volume is both badly constructed and wildly uneven, but we get the end of the great Brotherhood of Dada II story and the beginning of the great Candlemaker story, so it's nonetheless vital to your Doom Patrol reading pleasure.

Magic Bus (#51-52). Here we get the second half of the second Brotherhood of Dada story, which was unceremoniously divided between Doom Patrol, Vol. 4: Musclebound and this. It's the better half of the story, really Morrison's Doom Patrol at its best, with Nobody's run for President symbolizing the whole failure of the American political system (a recurring theme also found in the Pentagon story) [5+/5].

And Men Shall Call Him ... Hero! (#53). Another satire, this one a dream satirizing the Fantastic Four in the Marvelous Marvel style. It's not bad, and it's got a few high points, like the Justice League of Mystics, but overall, it's just hard to care. And, it can just be omitted in your read if you prefer [3/5].

Aenigma Regis (#54). Morrison unbound! Which is not a good thing. This story about Rebis is mostly incoherent, which is a pity because it's got some nice elements about the two people that created Rebus and what it's made in turn [2/5].

Prelude to the Candle Maker (#55-57). Morrison's story often went too weird. This, instead, shows where his strength was. It's a very down-to-earth story, but with shocking modifications to standard tropes and with weirdness infringing upon the reality. The heart of the greatness of this story is, of course, the revelation of Chief's participation in the origins of the Doom Patrol and the series of shocking decapitations and deaths that follow the Candle Maker's admittance to the world. But it's good to get some closure for Crazy Jane too (though there's no closure in this volume, which ends on a cliff hanger [5/5].

[Otherwyrld · Rating 5 out of 5]

The volume starts with presidential campaign that might have been weird by the standards of the day but almost seems tame compared with what is going on with the today's presidential campaign. Its a good story though, and a fun prelude compared to some of the darker stories here.

Some of the tales are a bit of a miss for me - the Kirby-esque story and whatever is going on with the Rebis story, but the other short story surrounding Crazy Jane and her confrontation with the events that destroyed her mind is amazingly well done. Dorothy's story is the prelude to the final story in the volume and as such does not stand on its own.

It is this finale to this volume which blows up everything you thought you knew about the Doom Patrol and changes everything. Of course, with most of the main characters dead or missing, it does beg the question of where does the story go from here?

Absolutely electric.

[Gavin · Rating 4 out of 5]

OK, this was by far the most consistently entertaining Doom Patrol Volume yet. The stories all run together, make sense (in Doom Patrol terms) and develop and advance the characters and their stories quite a bit. There's also some interesting philosophy in there that's far closer to the surface that it's been in past volumes, regarding free speech, individualism, perfection, evil etc, etc. All in all, very satisfying and enough happens to leave the book on a cliffhanger and the reader wanting the next volume now. Well done.

[Sesana · Rating 4 out of 5]

If only all exposition storylines were this well done! Yes, Magic Bus is mostly occupied with putting all of the pieces into play for what will follow in the next volume. But it's just so good that I don't mind at all. Much is fleshed out, but even more is left in the shadows. The cliffhanger at the end is unbelievably bold. Where does Doom Patrol go from here? I couldn't even guess. It's like Morrison casually threw a grenade on the property. In a good way.

And then there's Doom Patrol #53, a deeply affectionate take on a Kirby-esque story. The first few pages (featuring John Constantine and the Phantom Stranger in brightly colored spandex costumes) made me think it was a parody, but it ended up being written in earnest. And the best part? It's actually a good story, and the style really works.

[Paul Spence · Rating 4 out of 5]

Grant Morrison's unstoppable reworking of the Doom Patrol thunders towards its inevitable conclusion in the penultimate book, "Magic Bus" (vol. 5 of 6). Morrison's runs rarely end with anything less than the apocalypse; this one is no exception, and probably the model for some of his other stories.

The book starts off with the resolution of the "Brotherhood of Dada" storyline left unfinished at the end of "Musclebound" and then sets about exploring the principal characters. Morrison has left the self-conscious oddity of the Pentagon Horror and Judge Rock storylines behind and begins focusing on the wheels that have been turning in the background over the course of the series. Most notably, Rebis gets an issue all to him/her/itsel(ves). That issue ("Aenigma Regis") ranks among Morrison and Case's best work - Morrison's ideas about the rich inner life of his compound hero (one part male test pilot, one part female doctor, one part sexless alien being) functions on a level that the writer seems to have invented for this book; it is personal and mythic and smartly Freudian all at the same time.

Ultimately, this is "man-in-a-can" Cliff Steele's story. As a formerly human brain encased in an only vaguely humanoid robot body, Cliff's spiraling depression started the story, and his tortuous return from it has been happening in the background for the last four volumes. Now, his deep friendship with Crazy Jane and complete devotion to the Chief are landing him in tighter spots than we'd previously imagined they could. The rude, uninterested version of the character from "Crawling from the Wreckage" is gone - in his place is a completely changed man. Cliff's evolution is quiet, but there's a narrative perfection about his development, particularly the slow growth of his platonic, protective love for Jane.

Also witness the redemption of Crazy Jane, the fruition of the Chief's hidden master plan, and (most interestingly), the fate of The Candlemaker, Dorothy Spinner's horrifying familiar. The Candlemaker sets the stage for the final volume, which brings the comic book to its scary, loving, wonderfully satisfying ending

[Sam · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the one where Grant Morrison shows that he's the biggest comic book fan in the world. And at the same time, one of the most inventive writers in general.

After the inevitable fall of the new Brotherhood of Dada, he and artist Ken Steacy do a one-off Kirby knock-off in issue 53, totally taking the piss out of the absurdly serious issues that came before or are yet to come.

The rest of this trade goes by quick, revealing a lot about the characters that you've come to get closer and closer to. I won't give away anything by saying this, hopefully, but Morrison does in issue 57 what the writer before him did to the very fabric of DOOM PATROL. He almost makes it impossible for ANY writer (even himself) to continue writing this series. It's like he takes all the rules he's set up over 50 issues and ripped them to pieces.

It's bold, risky and hard to ignore. In issue 57 you get a first-person account of the origins of DOOM PATROL from the 1950's with new insight from its founder Dr. Caulder. But Morrison adds his own take, and by the last page, you're not sure where this is going to go by the sixth trade. It's like a cliffhanger with no possible way to continue.

I've got to order 'Planet Love,' the sixth trade paperback today. My jaw was hanging open by the time I reached the last page of the fifth.

[Aaron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Even when Morrison writes mostly set-up, he does it in a mindbending and entertaining way. The anticlimactic conclusion of the Brotherhood of Dada's bid for the presidency fits completely with the themes the chaotic, anarchist group seeks to enforce on humanity. Meaningless silliness is ultimately defeated by meaningless silliness. It's pretty great. The rest of the volume focuses on setting the storyline pitting the Doom Patrol against "the Candlemaker," some sort of evil monster that remains undefined at the end of the book. All in all it's a fun read, though I'm sure the true payoff will be in the next and final volume.

[Keith · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of the minor (nay, major) (nay, undying) mysteries of my Goodreads logs is why, even though I read the entire Doom Patrol ten years ago, I never bothered recording any thoughts, or even a rating, on vols 5 and 6 of the series. But having finally reread Magic Bus within the context of the other books, I think I finally get it. It's an uneven volume, containing two half-storylines that are tonally about as different from one another as the series gets.

In the first half of the book, the Brotherhood of Dada (the most goofy and accessible element of the entire series) drives a bus across America that has the ability to infect the general population with a sort of psychic LSD (for Doom Patrol, this is a relatively conventional idea). Once the nation is under their sway, the BoD puts their leader, the semi-human Mr. Nobody, up as a candidate for president, running on a sort of blue-collar-anarchist platform that at the time was obviously meant to feel novel, but in our present times just feels prophetic and horrifying. When the Doom Patrol finally vanquishes their foes, Nobody makes a cloying death-speech about the importance of absurdism, and how it's been wiped out by the 'normalcy' of the American political/corporate culture.

It's so weird to read stories like this now -- anarcho-hippie revolutions were a popular trope in the early days of Vertigo comics, seeing as most of the books were written by Thatcher-era Brits who'd had an entire generation of Big Brother government bodies breathing down their necks.

But could these authors have predicted the America yet-to-come, in which we've traded a government bent on total control for one that's single-mindedly focused on giving fucks for as few fucking people as possible? How does this story even work in a modern context? Mr. Nobody's character was, as originally written, meant as a misunderstood peacenik punk -- but now he just reads as a sort of uneducated libertarian moron.

I dunno, kids. I don't fucking know so fucking often.

After a head-scratching Jack Kirby homage issue (meh) and a total rip-off Dr-Manhattan-Watchmen homage issue (meeeeeh), the second half of the book sets up the final arc of the whole series, which starts here and continues throughout the entirety of volume 6, Planet Love. Seemingly out of nowhere (and despite the relative lightness of the issues immediately previous to these), the Doom Patrol team disbands out of sheer melancholy, and we're treated to a series of like, serviceable-whatever vignettes for each of the team's members. Of these, the real crux is that we finally learn the mysterious and insidious machinations of The Chief, Doom Patrol's questionable leader, who has been sort of MIA for the entirety of Morrison's series. It won't be too much of a spoiler to say that the Chief is up to no good, since he has always been portrayed as somewhat sinister, even in his early 60s incarnation.

What is genuinely fascinating, though, is not just the way that Morrison builds a backstory for the character that combines every iteration of the Doom Patrol team into one cohesive whole. It's that he does it by flashing back to early stories without altering the original content -- seriously, almost every early appearance that Morrison recontextualizes can be found, virtually panel-for-panel, in Arnold Drake's original Doom Patrol Archives. Morrison's gift for remixing these bits and pieces into something not only more interesting, but also something more narratively cohesive, is something that I don't think I fully understood about him until his gargantuan Batman: R.I.P. series in the 2000s. Of all the talents that Morrison could flaunt (and he is not a writer who's afraid to flaunt), I don't think he's given near-enough credit for the way he uses the methodology of a researcher and a historian to write comics that simultaneously subvert, and find the inner truths, of the characters and properties he takes on.

At the end of the day, I think Magic Bus functions most effectively as a lens on a particular time in modern comics, and as a snapshot of the development of its writer. But as a book that you can just, yknow, read, it's a little scattershot, and it relies too much on both narrative and historical context to be enjoyed on its own.

But like, don't you already read enough, anyway? Would it hurt you to try a little harder? Like, maybe it wouldn't. I'm just saying. But you do you, right? Sure. It's not like you seem totally unhappy, right? Sure. No worries, my dude. No worries forever.

[Eddie · Rating 3 out of 5]

The most uneven volume so far. The Mr. Nobody for President arc has an anticlimactic ending, and it doesn't really provide any meaningful political commentary or satire. Whatever little bit of commentary is there just seems naive and childish. Also, I feel that at this point Morrison's approach of just throwing in any weird idea he can think of has become boring rather than thrilling.

The Jack Kirby parody issue is fun to me, but it must really have been cool if read at the time. At this date, there have been multiple examples of new works that are pastiches of Kirby, so it's not possible to experience it the same way. Still, I personally enjoyed it.

The Rebis issue is an incoherent mess, even by Morrison's standards. I feel like he had big aspirations to say something about gender and race with this character (who consists of a white man and a black woman sharing the same body, along with an energy being), but he never really found anything to say. And the constant references to the Russian nesting dolls never really provide any meaningful symbolism either. Likewise, the standalone Crazy Jane story isn't that great either. Maybe it seemed really groundbreaking at the time in its attempt to show the trauma of rape, but I don't think it really does justice to that topic.

However, the book does seem to start getting back on track in the final arc, in which we finally see the background story of Niles Caulder's research become relevant. We get a radical reinvention of the entire history of the Doom Patrol that must have enraged a large part of the audience that had been fans of the original run of the comic.

[Nea Poulain · Rating 4 out of 5]

What the fuck did I just read?

[J. · Rating 3 out of 5]

This volume starts off by finishing the Brotherhood of Dada plotline from the previous volume. This brotherhood is a great set of villains--weird in all the perfect Morrison ways--but I never could figure out their plan this time. What exactly is their goal here? This also introduces the bizarre and intriguing Yankee Doodle, who has almost no impact on the plot; hopefully, he returns, or I'll have no idea why he was even introduced.

Following this, we get an homage to those old Lee/Kirby comics, which is well-done, but not particularly interesting. Then we get a single very trippy issue with Rebis. After all the build up, I have to say that a single (very poetic but very vague) issue dealing with whatever-is-going-on-with-him didn't exactly satiate me. But perhaps it will become clear in the last volume?

Then things really get interesting...big reveals all around; tons of weirdness and twists. This is the big Morrison moment, which he's used a few times, where Something Is Not As It Seemed. However, the ending of this is pretty much just a big cliffhanger, which is always frustrating.

As usual, I can safely say that the Doom Patrol stories are best when they're longer. The short stories always suffer from too much weirdness and not enough plot/character development/sense. So, with one volume left, I think I've finally figured this series out.

[Robert Hudder · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a dark series. It continues to ratchet up the badness. We find out more of Crazy Jane's back story and it is even worse but still plausible as we retrace parts of of her trauma. Cliff's own special issues become obvious and he pays for it.

I do like the whole sequence on elections and trying to get everyone to vote for nobody. It was cheeky at the time and has become more relevant. This series stays true to what I remember of the series. No character is safe and the background of the team is constantly shifting.

[Ben Brackett · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first half of the novel is mostly one-shots and short story arcs, which I wasn't so fond of. Morrison is great in his ability to focus the weird in intricate long story arcs and these really not advance the characters at all, which is the true center of the doom patrol books.

However, the second half is the start to a really incredible in the series, and I'm really disappointed the novel was over just at the reveal. Can't wait to read the next.

[Sud666 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Volume 7 of Doom Patrol collects Issues #51-57. It is a monumental volume.

It starts with the conclusion to the Brotherhood of DADA story, with the Brotherhood running for President. It was a rather interesting take on democracy and voting. But the Brotherhood may be tipping the scales using the mind-altering Magic Bus. The Doom Patrol intervenes. This part of the volume is the typical campy and weird, but always amusing, humor and story arcs I've become used to. It is quite good for how unique and odd the entire story is.

Then we have two "filler" type issues where the Doom Patrol does a Silver Age style and I didn't particularly like it, other than the Silver Age versions of Hellblazer and the Mysterious Stranger. I think it was a tribute to Jack Kirby as it resembles his style.

Then we start on the truly dark and fascinating arc that will cover the rest of the volume- without spoilers, let us say the events are momentous. Each of the main members of the team will have earth shattering events happen to them. Secrets are exposed, story arcs hinted at throughout are now explained, and finally, a betrayal that I never saw coming. I can honestly say I was blown away by Morrison's plot. I can not wait to finish this story, which seems to herald the entire of the Morrison run on Doom Patrol, in Vol 6.
Bravo! Grant Morrison, you have written one hell of a series. VERY original.

[Andrew Garvey · Rating 3 out of 5]

The weakest volume of Morrison's Doom Patrol so far, largely because it's so disjointed and inconsistent, this has some real high points but also far too much weird filler. Collected issues 51 to 57, the first two are the conclusion of the Brotherhood of Dada's political campaigning on their magic bus. Two great issues. Issues 53 and 54 are both hugely disappointing. Issue 53 is an inconsequential anthology taking the piss out of the Fantastic Four comics of the 1960s and '70s. Issue 54 is the background story for Rebis and very little of it really makes much sense. Still, the final three issues are all good, taking in Crazy Jane's trauma from being sexually abused, the rise of a new, terrifying villain and huge twist. I've only got one more volume of Morrison's Doom Patrol to go and, even if this one sometimes fails to hit the mark, understand why so many people rave about it.

[cloverina · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's hard to say with the Doom Patrol, but this might have been the craziest volume yet! I wanted expansion on Rebis' character, and when I started the Rebis-centric issue, I was excited. Sadly, it was largely nonsensical, even as a Morrison fan. I liked the exploration into Jane's trauma, but I'm worried about her going to jail. The reveal with the chief was SHOCKING to me. I know it's a big reason some people don't like Morrison's Doom Patrol, but this being my only experience with Doom Patrol, I think it's a really interesting way to go. I'm very curious to know what will happen in the next volume. Hope it ends well, I've really enjoyed this series thus far.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

My least favorite of the Morrison Doom Patrol collections - the Rebis chapter wasn't terribly coherent, and the Crazy Jane story was a little predictable. The grand finale, the reveal of the Chief's duplicity, showed promise, but DC Collections pretty much screwed me. I hate trades with cliffhangers. Hopefully I'll remember what's going on when the next volume finally drops. Next year.

[Lucas Chance · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really more of a 3.75.

It’s it bad by any means, but the plot line involving Jane confronting her traumatic past can be triggering for some given it’s graphic depiction of SA.

However, some really cool ideas here. A little disappointing compared to previous volumes, it that’s only because this is a transitional period of the comic to Morrison’s endgame as the writer of the series.

[Douglas Beagley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Grant Morrison's continued surreal adventures--reality is layered over top of comic book mayhem, and then spiced with flecks of reality, with a side-dish of reality, on a plate of utter bonkers brain breaking bohemian balderdash. Recommended for fans of Grant Morrison, or anyone who likes comics but also likes to destroy them.

[AJW · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found this volume to be very uneven. There were some great moments, but much of it I found disjointed. I got bored in places and skimmed ahead. I’m no expert, so I can’t pin down why these stories didn’t work for me. I found that I stopped caring for the characters, apart from Cliff Steele. The surreal weird bits didn’t stimulate my interest like they did in the previous volumes.

[Ahmed Munna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Grant Morrison continues to bring the epicness of previous volume in this one. And this time, they made it darker and more violent. I thought at the beginning that the departure of the first antagonist will made the rest of the story tamed. But I was wrong and I'm super glad for it. This is where Grant began to end their run of the series. Eagerly excited for the final volume at this moment.

[Chris Browning · Rating 5 out of 5]

And it all seems to go up a notch in this volume - more dramatic, more absurd and (thanks to the Jack Kirby tribute issue) even funnier. I do like that Morrison was prohibited from using John Constantine but then he finally gets to use him by which point he’s used as an admittedly very funny joke. Seems appropriate somehow

[Joseph Domingo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Holy fuck holy fuck holy fuck. I was concerned bc they killed of mr nobody real quick, but the ending was insane. I often compare doom patrol to the x-men, but this volume is like if professor x was aizen from bleach

[Alex Fyffe · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5

[Anubhav · Rating 5 out of 5]

there are comics and then there are comics

[Greg · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is worth reading for the Stan Lee and Jack Kirby spoof issue alone. The preceding arc is fun, and the following arc has exciting twists. This was definitely worth the purchase.

[Edward ott · Rating 3 out of 5]

Aaah i really wish there was more of the brotherhood of Dada in this one. Oh well zip zip zoo.