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Showcase Presents: Doom Patrol #1
Showcase Presents: Doom Patrol, Vol. 1
Over 500 pages of offbeat super-hero action are collected in this value-priced volume!
This fast-paced volume introduces The Doom Patrol, one of comics' strangest super-teams. Led by their wheelchair-bound chief, Niles Calder, three outcasts of society - Negative Man, Elasti-Girl and Robotman - take the qualities that make them freaks and become heroes. Together, the trio would take on bizarre menaces including General Immortus, The Animal-Vegetable-Mineral Man and The Brotherhood of Evil!
The most unusual heroes of all star in this new SHOWCASE PRESENTS volume, collecting MY GREATEST ADVENTURE #80-87, DOOM PATROL #88-101 and CHALLENGERS OF THE UNKNOWN #48.
This fast-paced volume introduces The Doom Patrol, one of comics' strangest super-teams. Led by their wheelchair-bound chief, Niles Calder, three outcasts of society - Negative Man, Elasti-Girl and Robotman - take the qualities that make them freaks and become heroes. Together, the trio would take on bizarre menaces including General Immortus, The Animal-Vegetable-Mineral Man and The Brotherhood of Evil!
The most unusual heroes of all star in this new SHOWCASE PRESENTS volume, collecting MY GREATEST ADVENTURE #80-87, DOOM PATROL #88-101 and CHALLENGERS OF THE UNKNOWN #48.
520 pages, Paperback
First published April 14, 2009
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84 people want to read
About the author
Arnold Drake
323 books10 followersArnold Drake was an American comic book writer and screenwriter best known for co-creating the DC Comics characters Deadman and the Doom Patrol, and the Marvel Comics characters the Guardians of the Galaxy, among others.
Drake was posthumously inducted into the Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame in 2008.
Drake was posthumously inducted into the Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame in 2008.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
June 14, 2011
My first encounters with the Doom Patrol were years after they had a title and Robotman was guest starring in New Teen Titans. From there, I jumped on Grant Morrison's run on their new series but I never bothered to track down any of the original material. Until now.
The Doom Patrol is comprised of Robotman, a human brain inside a robot body, Elasti-Girl, a former actress who can grow and shrink at will, and Negative Man, a former pilot who can project a body composed of radio waves from his body. Their leader is The Chief, a wheelchair bound scientist from another world.
The first thing I noticed was that the Doom Patrol has to be the Marvel-iest DC series produced during the silver age. Instead of straight up super heroes, the Doom Patrol are a team of bickering misfits whose identities are publicly known. Their dynamic is a bit Fantastic Four-ish. Robotman fills the role The Thing does in the FF, Negative Man the Human Torch, and Elasti-Girl is the peacemaker, ala the Invisible Woman. The weirdest part of their dynamic is the bizarre love(?) triangle between Negative Man, Elasti-Girl, and Robotman.
I was a little surprised that weirdness was with the Doom Patrol even in its younger days. The Chief had the world's largest set of goggles and an air tank built for Elasti-Girl. One of the Doom Patrol's enemies is a brain in a jar called The Brain. Another is Monseur Mallah, a french speaking ape. Crazy stuff.
The art is a notch above other books produced at the time. I'm surprised more people don't talk about Bruno Premiani as a gem of the Silver Age. The only person I've seen mention him is Michael Allred of Madman fame. The stories are less cheesy than a lot of stuff DC and Marvel were putting out at the same time.
Showcase Presents the Doom Patrol is a must have for fans of the Doom Patrol and it will fit comfortable in any budget due to the affordability of the Showcase line.
The Doom Patrol is comprised of Robotman, a human brain inside a robot body, Elasti-Girl, a former actress who can grow and shrink at will, and Negative Man, a former pilot who can project a body composed of radio waves from his body. Their leader is The Chief, a wheelchair bound scientist from another world.
The first thing I noticed was that the Doom Patrol has to be the Marvel-iest DC series produced during the silver age. Instead of straight up super heroes, the Doom Patrol are a team of bickering misfits whose identities are publicly known. Their dynamic is a bit Fantastic Four-ish. Robotman fills the role The Thing does in the FF, Negative Man the Human Torch, and Elasti-Girl is the peacemaker, ala the Invisible Woman. The weirdest part of their dynamic is the bizarre love(?) triangle between Negative Man, Elasti-Girl, and Robotman.
I was a little surprised that weirdness was with the Doom Patrol even in its younger days. The Chief had the world's largest set of goggles and an air tank built for Elasti-Girl. One of the Doom Patrol's enemies is a brain in a jar called The Brain. Another is Monseur Mallah, a french speaking ape. Crazy stuff.
The art is a notch above other books produced at the time. I'm surprised more people don't talk about Bruno Premiani as a gem of the Silver Age. The only person I've seen mention him is Michael Allred of Madman fame. The stories are less cheesy than a lot of stuff DC and Marvel were putting out at the same time.
Showcase Presents the Doom Patrol is a must have for fans of the Doom Patrol and it will fit comfortable in any budget due to the affordability of the Showcase line.
June 6, 2019
I'm really enjoying reading these old (re: Original) Doom Patrol adventures (even, as presented here, in black & white). These are a lot of fun. Sure the stories are wacky and a bit off-the-wall, but that's half the fun of them.
And this volume features the first couple appearances of my favorites New Teen Titan Changeling, er ... I mean Beast Boy, so that makes it even more fun.
Let's just call this collection two tons of fun and let that be the end of it.
And this volume features the first couple appearances of my favorites New Teen Titan Changeling, er ... I mean Beast Boy, so that makes it even more fun.
Let's just call this collection two tons of fun and let that be the end of it.
August 19, 2014
Though there are "cooler" and sexier sounding (in my opinion) names for rag tag or organized teams of adventurers in the vast universe of comic book manufactured (or inspired) super heroes than "Doom Patrol" it still remains one of my personal favorites because it sounds good to the ear and sums up (with no knowledge of symbolism or word play needed) their mission statement to the tee.
Sidenote* -Before I get into the (I hope relatively spoiler free) review I want to point out that it's been long rumored that Stan Lee may have been "inspired" by Arnold Drake when conceiving his own band of super powered outcast with the original X-Men (and the concept of Mutants). I'm not knowledgable enough to say whether that's a fact or not but you can see where Lee may have mined certain ideas from, regarding Doom Patrol, if that were the case (though I tend to think The X-Men would have come across as bigger "misfits" than they were presented as intially if that were true).
In a historic sense I'm amazed that this book came out when it did (the early 1960's) and took the chances that it took with a group of heroes that seem to be made up of villains from drive-in Sci Fi B movies popular in the decade before (A genius/ mad scientist with a hidden agenda, a disfigured man that can unleash a "nuclear spirit", a woman that can grow to gigantic size and a "Robot Man" who - like the team - is what his name says he is ... nothing more, nothing less). The book itself is enjoyable as (for the more "niche patrol" among us) it comes across as an "Adult Swim" show by way of a silver age homage. But whether you're looking for a fun read (that brings bang for the book at over 500 pages) or a time capsule of an incredible, off beat group. with adventures, plot lines aand a rogues gallery that were precursors to 'mature" comic book lines like Vertigo ... this Showcase edition delivers.
Sidenote* -Before I get into the (I hope relatively spoiler free) review I want to point out that it's been long rumored that Stan Lee may have been "inspired" by Arnold Drake when conceiving his own band of super powered outcast with the original X-Men (and the concept of Mutants). I'm not knowledgable enough to say whether that's a fact or not but you can see where Lee may have mined certain ideas from, regarding Doom Patrol, if that were the case (though I tend to think The X-Men would have come across as bigger "misfits" than they were presented as intially if that were true).
In a historic sense I'm amazed that this book came out when it did (the early 1960's) and took the chances that it took with a group of heroes that seem to be made up of villains from drive-in Sci Fi B movies popular in the decade before (A genius/ mad scientist with a hidden agenda, a disfigured man that can unleash a "nuclear spirit", a woman that can grow to gigantic size and a "Robot Man" who - like the team - is what his name says he is ... nothing more, nothing less). The book itself is enjoyable as (for the more "niche patrol" among us) it comes across as an "Adult Swim" show by way of a silver age homage. But whether you're looking for a fun read (that brings bang for the book at over 500 pages) or a time capsule of an incredible, off beat group. with adventures, plot lines aand a rogues gallery that were precursors to 'mature" comic book lines like Vertigo ... this Showcase edition delivers.
April 18, 2009
The Doom Patrol has been called by comics fans to be the best Marvel book DC created. Its easy to see why. While most DC heroes are rather static good guys, the Doom Patrol has to be prodded initially into doing good, has issues with themselves, and even bickers. While it is odd for readers of later incarnations to see The Chief as just a good humanitarian, it is also fun seeing the team form, seeing Mento and Beast Boy (who retains his pompadour haricut regardless of his form) for the first time, and just the general blast of seeing them do stuff. Of special note is Elasti-Girl, who, unlike many other female heroes such as Stan Lee's Invisible Girl and Wasp, is a competent character who can do just fine on her own and doesn't need to be constantly rescued while being held hostage. In point of fact, in one early adventure where the boys decide something is too dangerous for her and plot to leave her behind, not only does she show up but she saves all the men from the thing they were dealing with.
June 22, 2020
Rita Farr is a beautiful actress. When filming in Africa, she goes over a waterfall and is exposed to underground chemical vapours which give her the power to shrink and enlarge herself. Larry Trainor is a jet pilot who is exposed to ‘unknown wave belts’ when he skims space in an experimental rocket plane. After this, a strange duplicate Negative Man made of radio energy can emerge from his body but it must reunite with him before sixty seconds pass or he will die. Cliff Steele is a racing driver: when his body gets mangled in a crash and a top surgeon puts his brain into a robot body. These three outcasts become Elasti-Girl, Negative Man and Robot-Man when they are recruited by the Chief, Dr Niles Calder, a brilliant scientist in a wheelchair, to fight crime and evil from his secret headquarters.
The team was launched in My Greatest Adventure # 80 but by # 86 the book was re-titled ‘Doom Patrol’. All the stories are by Arnold Drake, except the first where Bob Haney lent a hand. The understated but engaging art is by Bruno Premiani who has an interesting personal history. A political cartoonist at first, he had to leave Italy because he annoyed Benito Mussolini and then had to leave Argentina because he upset Juan Peron! He inks his own pencils, unusual in comics at the time, which may be what gives his art such a distinctive look. It’s not spectacular or particularly brilliant but it does the job. The layouts sometimes depend on arrows pointing you to the next panel but that’s a small quibble.
Unusually, for sixties DC heroes, the Doom Patrol sometimes argue among themselves and Elasti-Girl seems to have a bit of a crush on Larry Trainor. They’re an odd bunch and have suitably weird villains: the ancient General Immortus, Mister Mallah – a gorilla given a genius brain by the Brain who himself is preserved in a machine after his body died. The bad guys teamed up as a Brotherhood of Evil.
My favourite story was ‘ Robot-Man Fights Alone’. Robot-Man chases an escaped killer to an abandoned Japanese atoll and falls victim to a number of booby-traps. He uses his own limbs to cope and loses them one by one. An arm is used to cross a ravine. A leg is used to escape from a Japanese pillbox. The other leg is made into a boomerang to deflect mortar shells. He bites his last arm off to attack a baby tank. Finally, he head butts the villain and uses his torso to pin him down until help arrives. It reminded me of the Black Knight scene from ‘Monty Python And The Holy Grail.’ They don’t make comics like this anymore with their po-faced social consciences!
Probably because of the odd writer/artist combo, this is not quite the standard DC comic. The standard was written by Gardner Fox who knew a lot and relied on his encyclopaedic knowledge to deliver clever twists. While still plot-driven, Arnold Drake seems to have had a slightly different tilt on things which makes this more interesting. He’s almost a prototype Steve Gerber. There is something subtly weird about Doom Patrol. I like it and it seems others do too. I paid £9.00 for it new a few years ago and it now costs more than that second hand on some sites.
Eamonn Murphy
This review first appeared at https://www.sfcrowsnest.info/
The team was launched in My Greatest Adventure # 80 but by # 86 the book was re-titled ‘Doom Patrol’. All the stories are by Arnold Drake, except the first where Bob Haney lent a hand. The understated but engaging art is by Bruno Premiani who has an interesting personal history. A political cartoonist at first, he had to leave Italy because he annoyed Benito Mussolini and then had to leave Argentina because he upset Juan Peron! He inks his own pencils, unusual in comics at the time, which may be what gives his art such a distinctive look. It’s not spectacular or particularly brilliant but it does the job. The layouts sometimes depend on arrows pointing you to the next panel but that’s a small quibble.
Unusually, for sixties DC heroes, the Doom Patrol sometimes argue among themselves and Elasti-Girl seems to have a bit of a crush on Larry Trainor. They’re an odd bunch and have suitably weird villains: the ancient General Immortus, Mister Mallah – a gorilla given a genius brain by the Brain who himself is preserved in a machine after his body died. The bad guys teamed up as a Brotherhood of Evil.
My favourite story was ‘ Robot-Man Fights Alone’. Robot-Man chases an escaped killer to an abandoned Japanese atoll and falls victim to a number of booby-traps. He uses his own limbs to cope and loses them one by one. An arm is used to cross a ravine. A leg is used to escape from a Japanese pillbox. The other leg is made into a boomerang to deflect mortar shells. He bites his last arm off to attack a baby tank. Finally, he head butts the villain and uses his torso to pin him down until help arrives. It reminded me of the Black Knight scene from ‘Monty Python And The Holy Grail.’ They don’t make comics like this anymore with their po-faced social consciences!
Probably because of the odd writer/artist combo, this is not quite the standard DC comic. The standard was written by Gardner Fox who knew a lot and relied on his encyclopaedic knowledge to deliver clever twists. While still plot-driven, Arnold Drake seems to have had a slightly different tilt on things which makes this more interesting. He’s almost a prototype Steve Gerber. There is something subtly weird about Doom Patrol. I like it and it seems others do too. I paid £9.00 for it new a few years ago and it now costs more than that second hand on some sites.
Eamonn Murphy
This review first appeared at https://www.sfcrowsnest.info/
December 11, 2022
Pretty odd villains for some odd heroes. Good art, but the insults (I think trying to mimic Marvel interactions in the '60s) got tiresome after a while.
(This was my insomnia book to try to put me to sleep; not because the stories are boring--far from it--but because they are on the bizarre side that took my mind off the issues that were keeping me up.)
(This was my insomnia book to try to put me to sleep; not because the stories are boring--far from it--but because they are on the bizarre side that took my mind off the issues that were keeping me up.)
August 13, 2014
i wrote a really elaborate review and a bad connection basically ate it. In essence, a good use of dramatic tension in the socially ostracizable origin stories of all the characters, combined with effectively captiazing dramatic stories, make this the best early era DC collection I've ever read. Beast Boy, with a combination of sense of humor and elaborate ability to transform into any creature he wants as well as a tortured backstory as an orphan with an evil legal guardian, is really effective.
Great writing, I miss my old review.
5/5
Great writing, I miss my old review.
5/5
November 11, 2014
3 stars for the stories, 4 stars for the art and zany concepts (how can you not be amused by names like Animal-Vegetable-Mineral Man, Negative Man, or the Brotherhood of Evil?). Like most Silver Age comics, probably best taken in small doses. Fearing I'd never get back to it if I stopped, I read it cover-to-cover, though. The stories are fun for their cheesiness, but get boring and repetitive after awhile.
November 16, 2013
While the stories in this are in black-and-white, it doesn't really matter: when you've got Bruno Premiani handling the art chores, it is going to look fantastic! This Showcase Presents featured the first twenty or so adventures of the original Doom Patrol, along with the first appearances of Beast Boy and Mentor. Very recomended!
October 1, 2016
Wonderful revisit to these heroes that could have been great. The writing still works despite some obvious gender issues and the building of a dynasty that was definitely happening between the heroes and villains. The strength is he characterization of our main team and the bond that they share.
May 7, 2009
Most fun I've had with a comic in a long time.
April 5, 2010
Love the Doom Patrol!
The original dysfunctional super hero team.
So glad DC is doing these inexpensive collections.
The original dysfunctional super hero team.
So glad DC is doing these inexpensive collections.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews