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Doom Patrol (2004) #1-18
Doom Patrol by John Byrne Omnibus
The Doom Patrol, stars of the new series on the DC Universe streaming service, have their 2004 series by X-Men artist John Byrne collected in hardcover for the first time.
The World's Strangest Heroes are back, in the way that only the legendary writer/artist John Byrne can deliver! Picking up in the wake of the events of "The Tenth Circle" saga in JLA, this series reunites Robotman, Elasti-Girl, Negative Man and Niles Caulder with a host of edgy new heroes. Byrne, best known for his unforgettable work on Marvel's X-Men and Fantastic Four, picked up threads of his previous story from the JLA to reintroduce the Doom Patrol. Along the way, the team encounters the vampiric threat of Crucifer, heads to the Antarctic to stop a pack of mysterious creatures from before the dawn of time, rescues a team of scientists conducting ocean research from an ancient, deadly species of monsters and much more.
Collects Doom Patrol (2004) #1-18 JLA #94-99, the Doom Patrol adventure from Secret Origins Annual #1, Superman #20 and behind the scenes material.
The World's Strangest Heroes are back, in the way that only the legendary writer/artist John Byrne can deliver! Picking up in the wake of the events of "The Tenth Circle" saga in JLA, this series reunites Robotman, Elasti-Girl, Negative Man and Niles Caulder with a host of edgy new heroes. Byrne, best known for his unforgettable work on Marvel's X-Men and Fantastic Four, picked up threads of his previous story from the JLA to reintroduce the Doom Patrol. Along the way, the team encounters the vampiric threat of Crucifer, heads to the Antarctic to stop a pack of mysterious creatures from before the dawn of time, rescues a team of scientists conducting ocean research from an ancient, deadly species of monsters and much more.
Collects Doom Patrol (2004) #1-18 JLA #94-99, the Doom Patrol adventure from Secret Origins Annual #1, Superman #20 and behind the scenes material.
672 pages, Hardcover
First published February 25, 2020
3 people are currently reading
66 people want to read
About the author
John Byrne
2,957 books360 followersLibrarian note:
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name
John Lindley Byrne is a British-born Canadian-American author and artist of comic books. Since the mid-1970s, Byrne has worked on nearly every major American superhero.
Byrne's better-known work has been on Marvel Comics' X-Men and Fantastic Four and the 1986 relaunch of DC Comics’ Superman franchise. Coming into the comics profession exclusively as a penciler, Byrne began co-plotting the X-Men comics during his tenure on them, and launched his writing career in earnest with Fantastic Four (where he also started inking his own pencils). During the 1990s he produced a number of creator-owned works, including Next Men and Danger Unlimited. He also wrote the first issues of Mike Mignola's Hellboy series and produced a number of Star Trek comics for IDW Publishing.
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name
John Lindley Byrne is a British-born Canadian-American author and artist of comic books. Since the mid-1970s, Byrne has worked on nearly every major American superhero.
Byrne's better-known work has been on Marvel Comics' X-Men and Fantastic Four and the 1986 relaunch of DC Comics’ Superman franchise. Coming into the comics profession exclusively as a penciler, Byrne began co-plotting the X-Men comics during his tenure on them, and launched his writing career in earnest with Fantastic Four (where he also started inking his own pencils). During the 1990s he produced a number of creator-owned works, including Next Men and Danger Unlimited. He also wrote the first issues of Mike Mignola's Hellboy series and produced a number of Star Trek comics for IDW Publishing.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
March 21, 2023
John Byrne always does a great story and I love his art. This series was just getting started when DC decided to cancel it. At least Mr Byrne was able to wrap up the dangling plot line and end it nicely. Very recommended
March 4, 2023
Difficult to review because of its size and Grant Morrison's shadow, but I'll give it a shot. Mostly I was underwhelmed. I think tossing out Morrison's continuity was a mistake. I've drunk the GM Electric Kool-Aid and I thoroughly enjoyed his Doom Patrol run more than most mainstream superhero comics because it resisted and played with the medium so well. Gerard Way had the right idea building on GM. In this, Byrne throws out everything and most of the characters--no Crazy Jane, Danny the Street, Dorothy Spinner, or the wacky villains. There's a far less lippy Robotman, a fairly boring Elasti-Girl (I can't maintain this size!), Negative Man, and cheesy newcomers Grunt (four-armed human-brained gorilla), Vortex (energy alien?), and Nudge (telepath). My biggest complaint is how ordinary this feels after twice reading GM's run. Other than the large inter-dimensional vampire story, I was pretty bored and skimming, forcing myself to finish. Could've been worse, but this is nothing like GM's run in the worst way.
A Short Note on the Omnibus
The book itself is well designed. A thick glossy dust jacket covers a glossy illustrated hardcover. The paper is thick semi-gloss. The binding is glued-sewn and has very minimal gutter loss. Overall the quality is great for a DC Omni.
A Short Note on the Omnibus
The book itself is well designed. A thick glossy dust jacket covers a glossy illustrated hardcover. The paper is thick semi-gloss. The binding is glued-sewn and has very minimal gutter loss. Overall the quality is great for a DC Omni.
March 6, 2020
This is the second best Doom Patrol omni I’ve read (Morrison’s being the best). I thought Negative Man looked weird without the bandages, but I really enjoyed Nudge and Vortex’s additions to the team. Now I need them to release the other runs as omnis so I can have a full collection.
May 25, 2020
John Byrne's v4 Doom Patrol was pretty widely derided by fans at the time because of his decision to reboot their whole continuity. Well, now we know that reboot would soon be erased by Superboy punching the multiverse ... and then the Patrol be re-rebooted by the nu52 before Gerard Way perhaps restored their continuity. (Jeez: it's no wonder people hate DC's universe.) So that means we can now look at John Byrne's Doom Patrol as its own thing, and review and enjoy the comics based solely on that.
The story started in a JLA storyline meant to generate enthusiasm for the reboot team:
The Tenth Circle (JLA #94-99). A JLA by Chris Claremont (with John Byrne) could have been great, perhaps should have, but this unfortunately shows off the worst excesses of the authors and doesn't feel much different than their writing in the '80s. Claremont loves mind-control, particularly mind-controlling women, and he's already done the Lord of the Vampires back in X-Men, but here, we have all those tropes again (though to be fair, there are more mind-controlled men than women). Byrne seems to like mind control too, because he famously had a mind-controlled Superman and Wonder Woman shoot a porno back in the late '80s. There's no porno here, but Superman is certainly hypnotized for the entire volume. Overall, there's just not much interesting as the JLA fights vampires. [2+/5].
As for the New, New, New Doom Patrol? There's some good graphic design, particularly on the new Negative Man. And it's good seeing Rita have more daring and more agency. (Is that worth rebooting their continuity? Obviously not.) But the three new kids seem pretty generic so far, and not really Doom-ed material, at least not yet.
Baptism of Blood (DP #1-2). Apparently the vampire story isn't over, because we get two more issues of fighting them. These issues focus on the Doom Patrol, rather than the JLA (though they're all still here), but pretty shockingly, we don't really get much characterization of them, and Byrne spends way too much time on his very dull newcomers. Beyond that, it's pretty much Act II, but with less creepy mind control [2/5].
A Cold Night's Day (DP #3-4). The Patrol fighting aliens hiding under the ice at last offers some nuance not found in the vampire tales, making this arc just a teeny bit deeper. Meanwhile, the kids argue about their new costumes, but oddly not about how dull they are [3/5]
Hearts of Steel (DP #5-6). Would you believe the Patrol infiltrates a robot-fighting ring? It's hard to imagine, but for some reason Byrne does, and the result is as bad as you'd expect. The only saving grace of this arc is that the chief-robot-fighter-baddie has a history with the Chief and Rita [2/5].
The Devolutionists (#7-8). The first story that truly feels like a Doom Patrol story, as the Patrol fights a strange alien who devolves even the most unlikely things. We also get interesting mysteries about Vortex and less interesting backstory for Nudge and a shocker for Larry, so this really seems as good as this shallow, fight-heavy version of the Patrol is going to get [3/5].
Freaks (#9). Metamorpho feels like a good addition to the Doom Patrol (unlike the kids, to date). But this introductory store is dull, and it's rather shocking that Byrne thinks we don't know they're fighting Metamorpho until the last panel [2/5].
(Around here, Byrne starts heavily serializing his stories, and also pushing along multiple threads.)
Grunt & Nudge (#10-11). After a year of being boring, Byrne suddenly gives Grunt and Nudge good backstories that are both interesting and make them feel like the sort of freaks that the Patrol is supposed to contain. Go figure [4/5].
Chief (#11-12). Meanwhile, we get a new origin of the Chief that is also quite Doom Patrol-y. It's an interesting story with its modern connections ... until it ends rather quickly (and not satisfactorily) at the end of this arc [3+/5].
Unstuck in Time (#13-14). Byrne pulls a plot contrivance out of nowhere: the Chief has invented a Quantum-Leap device that lets someone jump back into their body in their own timeline. Why? Apparently because he wants to tell this story. And it's a good story at first, involving Cliff going back to prevent his accident. But the latter half spins our heroes spinning through realities, mocks fans of the previous Doom Patrol by suggesting we might get it back, and then very suddenly ends. It's a great setup (#13) with a deeply unsatisfying follow-up (#14) [3/5].
The Man Who Lived a Lifetime (#15). There's not a lot to this energy vampire story, but it's a perfectly enjoyable, "freak"y sort of thing [3/5].
Convergence (#16-18). Oh hey, it's the end. The creepy expanded story about Nudge comes home to roost, but somehow Byrne turns it into just another fight. And we finally get resolution on Vortex's story ... though I'm still not sure what that resolution was. Overall, about the best you could expect from Byrne's rather uninspiring take on the Patrol [3/5].
Bottom line: Byrne got better, but he never wrote a good Doom Patrol, and especially not a good post-Morrison Doom Patrol. This is just pallid superhero twaddle that Byrne could have written in the '80s. Comics were better than that by the time he returned and wrote up more of the same.
The story started in a JLA storyline meant to generate enthusiasm for the reboot team:
The Tenth Circle (JLA #94-99). A JLA by Chris Claremont (with John Byrne) could have been great, perhaps should have, but this unfortunately shows off the worst excesses of the authors and doesn't feel much different than their writing in the '80s. Claremont loves mind-control, particularly mind-controlling women, and he's already done the Lord of the Vampires back in X-Men, but here, we have all those tropes again (though to be fair, there are more mind-controlled men than women). Byrne seems to like mind control too, because he famously had a mind-controlled Superman and Wonder Woman shoot a porno back in the late '80s. There's no porno here, but Superman is certainly hypnotized for the entire volume. Overall, there's just not much interesting as the JLA fights vampires. [2+/5].
As for the New, New, New Doom Patrol? There's some good graphic design, particularly on the new Negative Man. And it's good seeing Rita have more daring and more agency. (Is that worth rebooting their continuity? Obviously not.) But the three new kids seem pretty generic so far, and not really Doom-ed material, at least not yet.
Baptism of Blood (DP #1-2). Apparently the vampire story isn't over, because we get two more issues of fighting them. These issues focus on the Doom Patrol, rather than the JLA (though they're all still here), but pretty shockingly, we don't really get much characterization of them, and Byrne spends way too much time on his very dull newcomers. Beyond that, it's pretty much Act II, but with less creepy mind control [2/5].
A Cold Night's Day (DP #3-4). The Patrol fighting aliens hiding under the ice at last offers some nuance not found in the vampire tales, making this arc just a teeny bit deeper. Meanwhile, the kids argue about their new costumes, but oddly not about how dull they are [3/5]
Hearts of Steel (DP #5-6). Would you believe the Patrol infiltrates a robot-fighting ring? It's hard to imagine, but for some reason Byrne does, and the result is as bad as you'd expect. The only saving grace of this arc is that the chief-robot-fighter-baddie has a history with the Chief and Rita [2/5].
The Devolutionists (#7-8). The first story that truly feels like a Doom Patrol story, as the Patrol fights a strange alien who devolves even the most unlikely things. We also get interesting mysteries about Vortex and less interesting backstory for Nudge and a shocker for Larry, so this really seems as good as this shallow, fight-heavy version of the Patrol is going to get [3/5].
Freaks (#9). Metamorpho feels like a good addition to the Doom Patrol (unlike the kids, to date). But this introductory store is dull, and it's rather shocking that Byrne thinks we don't know they're fighting Metamorpho until the last panel [2/5].
(Around here, Byrne starts heavily serializing his stories, and also pushing along multiple threads.)
Grunt & Nudge (#10-11). After a year of being boring, Byrne suddenly gives Grunt and Nudge good backstories that are both interesting and make them feel like the sort of freaks that the Patrol is supposed to contain. Go figure [4/5].
Chief (#11-12). Meanwhile, we get a new origin of the Chief that is also quite Doom Patrol-y. It's an interesting story with its modern connections ... until it ends rather quickly (and not satisfactorily) at the end of this arc [3+/5].
Unstuck in Time (#13-14). Byrne pulls a plot contrivance out of nowhere: the Chief has invented a Quantum-Leap device that lets someone jump back into their body in their own timeline. Why? Apparently because he wants to tell this story. And it's a good story at first, involving Cliff going back to prevent his accident. But the latter half spins our heroes spinning through realities, mocks fans of the previous Doom Patrol by suggesting we might get it back, and then very suddenly ends. It's a great setup (#13) with a deeply unsatisfying follow-up (#14) [3/5].
The Man Who Lived a Lifetime (#15). There's not a lot to this energy vampire story, but it's a perfectly enjoyable, "freak"y sort of thing [3/5].
Convergence (#16-18). Oh hey, it's the end. The creepy expanded story about Nudge comes home to roost, but somehow Byrne turns it into just another fight. And we finally get resolution on Vortex's story ... though I'm still not sure what that resolution was. Overall, about the best you could expect from Byrne's rather uninspiring take on the Patrol [3/5].
Bottom line: Byrne got better, but he never wrote a good Doom Patrol, and especially not a good post-Morrison Doom Patrol. This is just pallid superhero twaddle that Byrne could have written in the '80s. Comics were better than that by the time he returned and wrote up more of the same.
December 3, 2021
(Zero spoiler review) 3.25/5
Solid but unspectacular. There you go, your review in three words. This was my first taste of Doom Patrol (I have the Morrison omni sitting there waiting to go), as well as John Byrne writing. I've had the distinct pleasure of enjoying his art before, and again, this was the highlight of the book. The man just oozes comic art from his pores. Its just a shame the stories and the characters didn't really hit as hard as the artwork. This came (I believe) towards the end of his career, so his might not have been firing on all cylinders, word wise. I just never really felt a connection with, or took an interest in the characters. After twenty or so issues (A big chunk of which was wasted with an unnecessary JLA tie, I assume to give the run a sales boost to start it off), and the characters remained just as ambiguous and unknown to me as when I first started reading. Elasti-girl being a notable stand out. The lack of a journey, of a feeling of time invested with the characters come the end was really a bit jarring, and despite me wanting to hit this with an extra star for it being by John Byrne, it really doesn't deserve it. The bronze age issue that a much younger Byrne pencilled that was stuck in the back (and not written by Byrne) was by far the highlight of the issue, which isn't a great sign. The final issue was a Man of Steel, Doom Patrol crossover which I didn't read as I haven't read Man of Steel yet. A single look at one page of the art though, and I sure as shit can't wait for a Man of Steel omnibus, and I don't even like Superman. 3.25/5
OmniBen.
Solid but unspectacular. There you go, your review in three words. This was my first taste of Doom Patrol (I have the Morrison omni sitting there waiting to go), as well as John Byrne writing. I've had the distinct pleasure of enjoying his art before, and again, this was the highlight of the book. The man just oozes comic art from his pores. Its just a shame the stories and the characters didn't really hit as hard as the artwork. This came (I believe) towards the end of his career, so his might not have been firing on all cylinders, word wise. I just never really felt a connection with, or took an interest in the characters. After twenty or so issues (A big chunk of which was wasted with an unnecessary JLA tie, I assume to give the run a sales boost to start it off), and the characters remained just as ambiguous and unknown to me as when I first started reading. Elasti-girl being a notable stand out. The lack of a journey, of a feeling of time invested with the characters come the end was really a bit jarring, and despite me wanting to hit this with an extra star for it being by John Byrne, it really doesn't deserve it. The bronze age issue that a much younger Byrne pencilled that was stuck in the back (and not written by Byrne) was by far the highlight of the issue, which isn't a great sign. The final issue was a Man of Steel, Doom Patrol crossover which I didn't read as I haven't read Man of Steel yet. A single look at one page of the art though, and I sure as shit can't wait for a Man of Steel omnibus, and I don't even like Superman. 3.25/5
OmniBen.
March 13, 2020
I loved this Doom Patrol series. I think it might be my second favorite, after the original series. There were a couple of other DP series after this one and I hope those also get complete collected edition.
February 16, 2022
Decent book, fantastic art and the characters are exactly who you know them to be, there just isn't much depth. Every issue is very self contained so it's all fun adventures which is great if you love the characters but there isn't much explored outside of facing the bad guys, again though John Byrne's art is fantastic and really helps elevate the book!
May 5, 2020
This was actually okay, but it took a bit of time to get going (just in time for cancellation). And this is true of most Doom Patrol runs.
I did not buy this originally because I was aghast at the jettisoning of the book's history, where everything and anything became integrated. It seemed hostile to cut that, and misguided at best. There's definitely some hokey stuff here, and there's always the weird older man-younger woman dynamic of most Byrne books, but it felt like this one might have been okay with a slightly more stern editorial hand. The ghost of the HQ, the potential of Gary Kwon, Nudge's brother...there's definitely some stuff that could be revisited here.
I did not buy this originally because I was aghast at the jettisoning of the book's history, where everything and anything became integrated. It seemed hostile to cut that, and misguided at best. There's definitely some hokey stuff here, and there's always the weird older man-younger woman dynamic of most Byrne books, but it felt like this one might have been okay with a slightly more stern editorial hand. The ghost of the HQ, the potential of Gary Kwon, Nudge's brother...there's definitely some stuff that could be revisited here.
August 28, 2023
I enjoyed it very much; Doom Patrol is my favorite superhero team.
John Byrne maintains the goodness of the group and his art is very correct and nice.
Grant Morrison will destroy the whole thing, then this volume is for nostalgics like me
John Byrne maintains the goodness of the group and his art is very correct and nice.
Grant Morrison will destroy the whole thing, then this volume is for nostalgics like me
January 15, 2023
I can’t do it, I can’t finish this collection, its bad, just bad.
January 8, 2026
John byrne doesn't understand the doom patrol, this was a interesting story but not a GOOD doom patrol story. Also why did john byrne make cliff a pedophile???
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews