The Doom Patrol #1
"The Cat's in the Bag"
Writer: Darcy van Poelgeest
Artist: Niko Henrichon
Publisher: DC Comics
Over the years, the Doom Patrol have been many things:
A trio of misfits working together as a superhero team, like the original X-Men;
Dead;
Resurrected to Grant Morrison-styled craziness that almost defies explanation;
A group of effectively cosmic paramedics, as imagined by the lead singer of My Chemical Romance;
A more modern take on the X-Men concept, where they seek out and mentor new misfits and weirdos;
And now, with their DC All In return in The Doom Patrol #1, they're... down on their luck, driving around in a van with the team name on the side, and finding missing cats for half-blind little old ladies?
Yep, it's a Doom Patrol book, alright.
Done Dirt Cheap
The original three members of the Doom Patrol—Cliff Steele (Robotman), Larry Trainor (Negative Man), and Rita Farr (Elasti-Woman)—have seen better days. They used to be heroes. Now, they find missing cats for reward money. Sometimes they find roadkill that used to be the cat, and they swap it out for a live kitty so they can still collect the reward. Times are tough, for sure.
Back at base, the Chief (Dr. Niles Caulder) isn't faring much better. He keeps having this dream—a nightmare, really—that involves a mysterious child, and usually ends up with him dying. He needs the Doom Patrol's help, but they've got plenty of issues of their own...
Enough Issues to Fill a Library
I've been excited for this book ever since it was announced. I'm a fan of the Doom Patrol.
Most folks these days know the team from the HBO Max series (which was fantastic) and the Morrison comics that heavily influenced the show. Myself, I'm actually a bigger fan of the original Arnold Drake, Bob Haney, and Bruno Premiani stories from the 1960s (currently collected in its entirety in two DC Finest volumes, which I highly recommend). I appreciate and enjoy the Morrison issues, but they're just a little too "out there" for me. I like my Doom Patrol weird and wild, but still mostly comprehensible at the same time.
The first issue of this new Doom Patrol series by Darcy van Poelgeest and Niko Henrichon seems to straddle the line between those two runs. It's certainly not as cosmically crazy as Morrison, being focused more on the main three members at its core, but it still carries some high-concept weirdness as well.
Starting off with the Chief dying and leaving it unclear whether it was for real or a nightmare certainly got my attention. Then the initial appearance of the team is a great splash page where the dialogue leads you to believe that they've discovered the Chief's body, only to turn the page and find that they're standing over a dead cat. It's just the right touch of bizarre.
As the story progresses, we get brief versions of each character's origin, as well as a glimpse into their current headspace. Let's just say none of them are exactly pictures of mental health. Cliff is probably the most together—he's a robot with a human brain, so he doesn't have a lot of physical concerns. His biggest thing is his scary-looking appearance and how people react to him. Very Ben Grimm of the Fantastic Four. And like Ben, Cliff has largely come to terms with his lot in life, so it makes him a little more well-adjusted. Well, compared to the others, at least.
Rita is a mess. She used to think that there was a purpose to her life, to all that she had suffered. Now, she's not sure she can remember what that purpose was. Her moods are about as malleable as her body, but she seems to largely be stuck in "down in the dumps" mode.
Then there's Larry. I'm not sure what's up with him. He spends the issue carrying a dead cat around in a bag and taking it everywhere with him. When he goes to deliver the news of the kitty Milo's fate to kindly old Ms. Green, he removes his bandages and shows her his true face. It's odd behavior, even for a member of the Doom Patrol.
Things get weirder when a giant alien vessel that apparently likes to kidnap kitty cats appears overhead and starts to suck up all of the nearby felines like a huge vacuum cleaner. Cliff and Rita quickly get in over their heads, and Larry has to release Negative Man, who starts acting weird, to save them. I think Larry's attachment to the dead cat was masking a larger issue there...
If this all sounds weird as heck, that's because it is. But it's good weird. It's the kind of weird where we get plenty of insight into our core cast and where they currently are, with hints and teases of where things can go next. The takes on Cliff, Rita, and Larry that we're given here are in line with their original versions, while still maintaining some of the modern post-Morrison feel. The team's current circumstance—driving around in a van with "Doom Patrol" on the side and doing decidedly un-hero-like things such as finding missing cats—is certainly not something you're going to catch the JLA or the Titans doing.
We're given a couple of mysteries involving the Chief all at once: first, how involved are he and the team with each other these days? I know he calls them and asks them home, but why does he seem like he's still doing okay when the others are clearly not? Second, what is going on with his nightmares, and who is the child Evelyn he keeps encountering there? Is she even real? And what kind of threat does she pose to the team?
My expectations for this series launch were pretty high, and I think it delivered the goods.
Small Town Trap
I confess to not being remotely familiar with Darcy van Poelgeest. I have not read a single one of his books previously. I know he won an Eisner Award for Little Bird, and he worked on some of the Critical Role tie-in comics (which I'm honestly surprised I haven't read, given my love of Dungeons & Dragons). So I had no clue what to expect coming in to this title as far as the writing went. I was very happy with what he brought to the table. The characters all feel true to their classic selves, while still having modern baggage and issues (literally, in Larry's case, since he carries around a bag with a dead cat in it all issue). The pacing is good, with everything flowing well. We get to spend enough time with the characters to learn a bit about their pasts and their current situations before the alien ship hits and we get some superhero action. And the closing scenes with the Chief and Evelyn set an intriguing tone for the issues to come.
When it comes to the art, I am at least passingly familiar with Niko Henrichon. I read Pride of Baghdad when it first released twenty years ago (man, I feel old), but haven't seen much else of his work that I can recall. His style here is instantly familiar to me from what I remember seeing in Pride, with strong character work and a good eye for detail. One thing about the Doom Patrol is that they have a very unique look—between the hulking machine that is Cliff, Larry's head-to-toe bandages plus the suit, tie, and sunglasses, and Rita's very retro hairstyle and uniform skirt, they're not going to blend into a crowd under any circumstances. Their van has a very "low-rent A-Team" kind of look to it, which again fits their current "down on their luck" state. It all works together to show just how much they stand out in a relatively normal suburban setting. Well, normal except for the giant alien ship sucking cats up into itself. Henrichon colors his own art here, and gives the issue a washed look that is almost like watercolors at times. The underlying palette is bright, and the different power effects stand out as weird and wild as you'd expect.
Coming Home
The Doom Patrol #1 is a strong debut that gives new readers enough information to know who the team is and why they should care, while still having plenty to offer returning fans. There are several mysteries being set up at once, all of which are intriguing in their own way. And the team's current "down on their luck" state allows for some of the weirdness that you expect from a Doom Patrol book, as they try to find ways to just get by. The strangest superheroes of them all are back, and they're still anything but normal.