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Damage Control (1989 I) #1-4
Damage Control: The Complete Collection
Galactus ate your apartment building? The S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier crashed on your car? Aliens destroyed Manhattan...again? Call DAMAGE CONTROL! Meet the Marvel Universe's No. 1 cleanup crew, the guys and gals with the bulldog badge who work tirelessly to put New York back together after every super-hero battle - from giant robots, to the devastation wreaked by the Acts of Vengeance, to the coming of the cosmic clean-freak Edifice Rex! Not disastrous enough? How about their biggest challenges to date: Dr. Doom's unpaid bill and the aftermath of World War Hulk! COLLECTING: DAMAGE CONTROL (1989A) 1-4, DAMAGE CONTROL (1989B) 1-4, DAMAGE CONTROL (1991) 1-4, WWH AFTERSMASH: DAMAGE CONTROL 1-3; MATERIAL FROM MARVEL AGE ANNUAL 4, MARVEL COMICS PRESENTS (1988) 19, IRON MAN ANNUAL 11
309 pages, Paperback
First published May 5, 2015
15 people are currently reading
129 people want to read
About the author
Dwayne McDuffie
429 books71 followersDwayne McDuffie was an American writer of comic books and television. His notable works included creating the animated series Static Shock, writing and producing the animated series Justice League Unlimited, and co-founding the comic book company Milestone Media.
He co-hosted a radio comedy program, and also wrote under a pseudonym for stand-up comedians and late-night television comedy programs. While working as a copy-editor for a financial magazine, a friend got him an interview for an assistant editor position at Marvel Comics.
While on staff at Marvel as Bob Budiansky's assistant on special projects, McDuffie also scripted stories for the company. His first major work was Damage Control, a series about the company that shows up between issues and tidies up the mess left by the latest round of superhero/supervillain battles. While an editor at Marvel, he submitted a spoof proposal for a comic entitled Teenage Negro Ninja Thrasher in response to Marvel's treatment of its black characters. Becoming a freelancer in early 1990, McDuffie followed that with dozens of various comics titles for Marvel comics, DC Comics, and Archie Comics.
In 1992, wanting to express a multi-cultural sensibility that he felt was missing in comic books, McDuffie co-founded Milestone Media, a comic book company owned by African-Americans.
After Milestone had ceased publishing new comics, Static was developed into an animated series Static Shock. McDuffie was hired to write and story-edit on the series, writing 11 episodes.
McDuffie was hired as a staff writer for the animated series Justice League and was promoted to story editor and producer as the series became Justice League Unlimited. During the entire run of the animated series, McDuffie wrote, produced, or story-edited 69 out of the 91 episodes. McDuffie also wrote the story for the video game Justice League Heroes.
McDuffie was hired to help revamp and story-edit Cartoon Network's popular animated Ben 10 franchise with Ben 10: Alien Force, continuing the adventures of the ten-year-old title character into his mid and late teenage years. During the run of the series, McDuffie wrote episode 1-3, 14, 25-28, 45 and 46 and/or story-edited all forty-six episodes.
On February 22, 2011, McDuffie died from complications due to a surgical procedure performed the previous evening.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dwayne_M...
He co-hosted a radio comedy program, and also wrote under a pseudonym for stand-up comedians and late-night television comedy programs. While working as a copy-editor for a financial magazine, a friend got him an interview for an assistant editor position at Marvel Comics.
While on staff at Marvel as Bob Budiansky's assistant on special projects, McDuffie also scripted stories for the company. His first major work was Damage Control, a series about the company that shows up between issues and tidies up the mess left by the latest round of superhero/supervillain battles. While an editor at Marvel, he submitted a spoof proposal for a comic entitled Teenage Negro Ninja Thrasher in response to Marvel's treatment of its black characters. Becoming a freelancer in early 1990, McDuffie followed that with dozens of various comics titles for Marvel comics, DC Comics, and Archie Comics.
In 1992, wanting to express a multi-cultural sensibility that he felt was missing in comic books, McDuffie co-founded Milestone Media, a comic book company owned by African-Americans.
After Milestone had ceased publishing new comics, Static was developed into an animated series Static Shock. McDuffie was hired to write and story-edit on the series, writing 11 episodes.
McDuffie was hired as a staff writer for the animated series Justice League and was promoted to story editor and producer as the series became Justice League Unlimited. During the entire run of the animated series, McDuffie wrote, produced, or story-edited 69 out of the 91 episodes. McDuffie also wrote the story for the video game Justice League Heroes.
McDuffie was hired to help revamp and story-edit Cartoon Network's popular animated Ben 10 franchise with Ben 10: Alien Force, continuing the adventures of the ten-year-old title character into his mid and late teenage years. During the run of the series, McDuffie wrote episode 1-3, 14, 25-28, 45 and 46 and/or story-edited all forty-six episodes.
On February 22, 2011, McDuffie died from complications due to a surgical procedure performed the previous evening.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dwayne_M...
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
September 15, 2017
In the Marvel comic book universe, did you ever consider who ended up cleaning up this…
…or this…
…or stuff like that?
Well, the last one is probably those chumps from S.H.I.E.L.D. after Nick Fury forgot he had the safety off on his gun (oops), but for every busted up building, or bridge or urban infrastructure thing, it’s Damage Control.
Damage Control was the catalyst in the recent Spider-Man movie for Adrian Toomes (aka The Vulture) to go off the deep end and give in to the sweet, sultry embrace of EVIL.
In the movie, Damage Control was headed by that woman who played Cagney, or was it Lacey, in Cagney and Lacey. In the comics, it’s this bunch of bozos:
Bart – Doofus intern
John – Relatively normal, quick thinking Sales Associate.
Anne – Cleavage baring receptionist
Lenny – Work crew boss, Jack Kirby lookalike and tribute
Albert - Anal-retentive account executive
Robin - Cleavage baring manager
…and all the rest…
So this volume, which collects pretty much everything Marvel’s published under this title, is a light weight spoof that sometimes crosses over with regular Marvel continuity – Acts of Vengeance and World War Hulk.
Boy Howdy! Let’s start rambling…with pictures…
Damage Control does some work for Dr. Doom and now needs the good doctor to cough up the cash.
It could be a Doom-bot, so get some ID. And a notary. But a retina scan would be best…
Speedball works with Damage Control under his alias…
…and sort of helps She-Hulk out.
Speedball…
…as if. Hahahahahaha! Speedball! Hahahahaha!
Groucho Marx invades the X-Men’s danger room. The Secret Word is #@$%&...
A Damage Control movie is made with Simon Williams (Wonder Man) as John and Marlon Brando as the Kingpin. Some of the other staffers get an unwelcome makeover.
In the aftermath of World War Hulk, buildings will be able to talk and stuff…
There’s a dude named Edifice Rex, whose anal-retentive powers are that he cleans stuff. In outer space. Like the Asteroid Belt.
He once worked for Damage Control, got magical super powers and started tidying things.
How did Damage Control get rid of him?
Ugh.
There’s a series of letters between Damage Control and Stark Enterprises that’s amusing, but it requires reading…in a funny book!?! Bah!
Bottom Line: What passed for humor and comic book hijinks in the ‘80’s and 90’s is fairly
I gave it three stars because I'm nerdy enough to get the jokes. *le sigh*
A few decent laughs can be found -> This book is about 400 pages long -> Happy hunting!
Dwayne McDuffie is the writer throughout. The art veers from serviceable to amateurish.
February 27, 2017
3.5 stars rounded up.
A little goofier than I remember, but this brought back all kinds of nostalgia for me! And? Speedball.
Interesting to read this in a post CivilWar era. I'm not sure why they ever dumped Damage Control, but with the Great Lakes Avengers back, maybe DC can follow suit.
A little goofier than I remember, but this brought back all kinds of nostalgia for me! And? Speedball.
Interesting to read this in a post CivilWar era. I'm not sure why they ever dumped Damage Control, but with the Great Lakes Avengers back, maybe DC can follow suit.
November 7, 2015
I have been looking forward to reading this for a while and it did not disappoint. The premise is simple: Damage Control is a construction company that specializes in damage caused by superheroes. And, uh, it's wacky hilarious fun. It's so great. (Issue 2 is about how they can't work with Doom because he owes them so much money, okay?) And then later on the Chrysler Building comes to life. A+ fun, please read immediately.
I appreciate that when they called this the Complete Collection they really weren't kidding. I don't know if they've missed anything, but there are bits from other comics, in-house ads, and so on.
My favorite story here is actually a five-page epistolary story from an Iron Man annual where Tony and Damage Control trade snippy letters and occasionally panicked faxes about how the device they have is live and IRON MAN IS COMING RIGHT AWAY, STAY PUT. So great.
The thing that made me laugh out loud was the recap page for WWH Aftersmash Damage Control #3. Possibly worth the price of the entire book. (The majority of the book is the earlier 80s/90s miniseries; there are some excerpts from Civil War tie-ins and the aforementioned WWH miniseries. The older stuff is recolored, but the transition in style was a little jarring.)
Still, if you're the kind of nerd who cares about worldbuilding minutia ("Due to the continual battles of superhuman beings within New York City. the federal government has made New York City eligible for financial assistance as a disaster area indefinitely") and you want something funny, this will really scratch that itch.
I appreciate that when they called this the Complete Collection they really weren't kidding. I don't know if they've missed anything, but there are bits from other comics, in-house ads, and so on.
My favorite story here is actually a five-page epistolary story from an Iron Man annual where Tony and Damage Control trade snippy letters and occasionally panicked faxes about how the device they have is live and IRON MAN IS COMING RIGHT AWAY, STAY PUT. So great.
The thing that made me laugh out loud was the recap page for WWH Aftersmash Damage Control #3. Possibly worth the price of the entire book. (The majority of the book is the earlier 80s/90s miniseries; there are some excerpts from Civil War tie-ins and the aforementioned WWH miniseries. The older stuff is recolored, but the transition in style was a little jarring.)
Still, if you're the kind of nerd who cares about worldbuilding minutia ("Due to the continual battles of superhuman beings within New York City. the federal government has made New York City eligible for financial assistance as a disaster area indefinitely") and you want something funny, this will really scratch that itch.
January 3, 2018
An amazing collection of all four of McDuffie's Damage Control series.
His idea in writing this comic was to create a sitcom set in the Marvel Universe, and he does a great job. We get a fun cast of characters who we quickly come to know, and we enjoy seeing them change and evolve over the course of these 15 issues.
There's also a lot of great comics continuity here, of which the best is probably the four-part Acts of Vengeance crossover. But it's all nice, from Spider-Man stuck in a giant robot to the repercussions of World War Hulk.
Kudos to Marvel from providing us this great collection of the great McDuffie's work and for creating this window on Marvel continuity, past and (near) present.
His idea in writing this comic was to create a sitcom set in the Marvel Universe, and he does a great job. We get a fun cast of characters who we quickly come to know, and we enjoy seeing them change and evolve over the course of these 15 issues.
There's also a lot of great comics continuity here, of which the best is probably the four-part Acts of Vengeance crossover. But it's all nice, from Spider-Man stuck in a giant robot to the repercussions of World War Hulk.
Kudos to Marvel from providing us this great collection of the great McDuffie's work and for creating this window on Marvel continuity, past and (near) present.
September 23, 2020
Collecting the various mini-series by Dwayne McDuffie, Damage Control is all about the clean-up people in the Marvel Universe. Supervillain broke your building? Robot collapsed the bridge? Superhero's big weapon goes missing? Damage Control has you covered! A very tongue-in-cheek continuity builder for the Marvel Universe, constantly poking fun at their own cliches along with everyone else's.
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July 29, 2019Cult comedy set in the margins of the Marvel Universe, following the firm who clean up after the endless superhuman carnage, and very much following in the footsteps of DC's classic Justice League International, which debuted the year before. At least at first, it's held back by the art of co-creator Ernie Colon, who has an absolutely brilliant name for a comedy character, but as a comedy artist feels a bit broad – the Chuck Lorre to Kevin Maguire's Dan Schur. Still, where JLI rattled along for a fair old run, this dribbed and drabbed in miniseries, so despite the fact that I've never wholly clicked with Dwayne McDuffie's work, there remained the hope that things would pick up. And even that first miniseries did have its moments, like Wolverine getting a pie in the face, and the Danger Room creating a tiny robot Groucho Marx. Alas, the second run was tied in to the Acts of Vengeance event, and is hamstrung by some fairly tedious corporate manoeuvring in one plotline, and a Punisher too out-of-character to be funny in another. With the third series, the great Kyle Baker takes over on art, and suddenly it clicks and I understand why people love this book...for two issues. And then Colon returns. At least the final miniseries, set in the aftermath of World War Hulk, is free of him - but Salva Espin feels a bit too noughties house style to really capture the comedy either, although he does do a great job on the Chrysler Building bits. There were certainly funny moments scattered about, but I still don't entirely get the love for this. But then, aside from what's sexy, is anything as subjective as what's funny?
July 18, 2021
Viver em zonas afetadas por super-heróis tem destas coisas. Depois de nos salvarem dos super-criminosos, monstros assustadores, alienígenas invasores ou outras ameaças que são derrotadas após valorosas lutas onde o bem prevalece sempre, resta um enorme rasto de destruição material. Quando um super-herói manda abaixo um robot gigante na cidade, há edifícios que vão sofrer. E nestes casos, quem é que se chama para resolver as ruínas? Damage Control, a empresa especializada em recuperar aquilo que as boas intenções dos heróis mal deixaram pedra sobre pedra. Série de humor, foca-se nas desventuras de um grupo de personagens - o executivo estiloso que encontra sempre uma solução para os problemas, a eficaz gestora que equilibra tudo, o encarregado de obras que realmente implementa as soluções, o techie que da sua cave domina até as mais inauditas tecnologias alienígenas, a rececionista que se resume a ser uma cara bonita que coloca os clientes em espera, os estagiários ingénuos, e a patroa com ligações políticas. Um grupo sem superpoderes, mas muito capaz de lidar com as mais estranhas ameaças.
November 3, 2017
It's not nearly as funny as it thinks it is. And I think it loses out on free points by ignoring certain rules of the Marvel Universe. And the art styles change dramatically from series to series with, to me, some real winners and losers.
Still, it's an interesting little detour and it has its moments, most of which are deflating self-serious wrecks like "Acts of Vengeance." It feels a little bit like McDuffie tied one of his hands behind his back. It seems pretty clear he wanted to do more about race with Albert Cleary as one of the standout characters.
But the main character, so blah, suave generic, white guy named "John Porter." And if that's not boring enough, they add a second generic white guy midway through. It's not the race of the main character that makes him uninteresting. It's just how generic he is without any real motivation or interesting characteristics.
It's also not clear why Robin Chapel is so frequently sidelined.
Still, it's an interesting little detour and it has its moments, most of which are deflating self-serious wrecks like "Acts of Vengeance." It feels a little bit like McDuffie tied one of his hands behind his back. It seems pretty clear he wanted to do more about race with Albert Cleary as one of the standout characters.
But the main character, so blah, suave generic, white guy named "John Porter." And if that's not boring enough, they add a second generic white guy midway through. It's not the race of the main character that makes him uninteresting. It's just how generic he is without any real motivation or interesting characteristics.
It's also not clear why Robin Chapel is so frequently sidelined.
September 5, 2019
I remember when Damage Control came out in the 80s, and it was a fresh tongue-in-cheek series that filled an "obvious hole" in continuity. I picked this collection up to read more of the inanity, and was taken back briefly to the novelty of it all. But they do seem to run out of new concepts and rehash the same kind of thing over and over. The later series are a little better visually, and the tie-in to the Hulk AfterSmash story was pretty well-done, but overall I think the collection left me wanting something different. Maybe the concept doesn't hold up to such a voluminous collection, and is better handled in smaller bites.
At any rate, it was not bad, just not quite what I remembered, and a little repetitive.
At any rate, it was not bad, just not quite what I remembered, and a little repetitive.
June 21, 2020
Admirable for the concept alone: a sitcom set in the Marvel Universe.
Vol. 1 - Fun and goofy 4 stars
Vol. 2 - Still fun and goofy 4 stars
I forget which of these first two volumes had a Danger Room version of Groucho Marx for them to battle, but that was the best.
Vol. 3 - Awful art that looked like a Bazooka Joe artist just finished watching Ren and Stimpy and tried to raw it from memory. The story was a little goofier to the point of tiring me out, or the art colored my impression too much. 2 stars
Vol. 4 - World War Hulk era, more modern, still silly. Would have been better if more episodic. 3 stars
My rating then is to suggest the first 2 volumes outweigh the fall off and still make it worth reading.
Vol. 1 - Fun and goofy 4 stars
Vol. 2 - Still fun and goofy 4 stars
I forget which of these first two volumes had a Danger Room version of Groucho Marx for them to battle, but that was the best.
Vol. 3 - Awful art that looked like a Bazooka Joe artist just finished watching Ren and Stimpy and tried to raw it from memory. The story was a little goofier to the point of tiring me out, or the art colored my impression too much. 2 stars
Vol. 4 - World War Hulk era, more modern, still silly. Would have been better if more episodic. 3 stars
My rating then is to suggest the first 2 volumes outweigh the fall off and still make it worth reading.
August 3, 2020
I read this because the writer Dwayne McDuffie recently passed away and I saw him profiled on the Comics Tropes YouTube channel. But really the book was not for me. The bulk of the book was written in 88 to 91. It's written like a corny 80s sitcom. Maybe I would have liked it when I was 13? The last few chapters were with written in 2007 and they have a very different vibe and sensibility that I preferred. But still, I don't read superhero books so again... Not for me
October 31, 2025
I didn't realize all three original mini-series had been collected into one volume until a few weeks ago. It's the first time I've read them since the original comics were published 35 years ago.
The high concept for the series --- the clean up of the mess super heroes and villains leave behind after a big fight --- is phenomenal. The execution, though, is inconsistent, ranging from occasionally hilarious to sometimes slapdash, and often in between.
3.5 rounded up to 4.
The high concept for the series --- the clean up of the mess super heroes and villains leave behind after a big fight --- is phenomenal. The execution, though, is inconsistent, ranging from occasionally hilarious to sometimes slapdash, and often in between.
3.5 rounded up to 4.
July 4, 2018
This is a fun book. McDuffie and Colon are a great team and as far as I know this is their only time working together. The Kyle Baker issue is great as well. Marvel and DC should both be totally ashamed at how little they used McDuffie. I liked the stories of the more modern damage control, but the art just didn't do it for me. Great collection though.
April 10, 2022
The first run is a great, silly little insight into the marvel world. The original 8 issues are very fun and worth checking out- this is one of the few “funny” stories that is actually funny, this hits like an 80s comedy
February 17, 2018
A lot of fun.
June 19, 2019
Fairly mixed quality, with some pretty interesting and funny stuff, and some rather boring stuff, all percolating together. Certainly a unique Marvel book, though.
February 11, 2022
2 1/2 stars. The premise is so good, but the execution isn't great. It often feels like a Mad Magazine comic, which I am not really into. The modern story was fun.
April 7, 2024
Goofy, the second volume was my favorite by far, the third sucked and the others were fun
December 29, 2025
I’m glad I have found this trade in a book shop by chance. Pure comedy and fun. R.I.P Dwayne McDuffie.
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April 7, 2016This comic was discussed on Secret Stacks Episode 9
September 2, 2024
Such a fun read! The second miniseries was not my favorite but the first and last were so great and funny with just a hint of social commentary at times! A solid 4-4.5 stars! And just fun!
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews