Review by Win Wiacek
This stunning compilation is part of the first tranche of long-awaited DC Finest editions: full colour continuations of their chronolgically curated monochrome Showcase Presents line, delivering “affordably priced, large-size (comic dimensions and generally around 600 pages) paperback collections” highlighting past glories. Whilst primarily and understandably concentrating on the superhero character pantheon, there will also be genre selections like horror and war titles, and themed compendia.
The short review is that the work of Arnold Drake accompanied by the elegant classicist art of Bruno Premiani may have been produced in the mid-1960s, but remains incredibly mature and hardcore. That’s represented by the title characters alone. Former racing driver Cliff Steele’s brain is housed in a mechanical body as Robotman. Former film star Rita Farr was exposed to mysterious gases which bestowed a terrifying, unpredictable and, at first, uncontrollable ability to shrink or grow to incredible sizes. Most freakishly test pilot Larry Trainor had been trapped in an experimental plane and become permanently irradiated, with the dubious benefit of gaining a semi-sentient energy avatar that escapes his body to perform incredible feats, but only for up to a minute at a time. To pass safely amongst men, Trainor had to constantly wrap himself in unique radiation-proof bandages. The outcasts were guided by a vivid, brusque, domineering, crippled mad scientist Niles Caulder, the Chief, who sought to mould the solitary misfits into a force for good.
Later came the dubiously motivated, ultra-rich Steve Dayton as Mento, and Gar Logan, green-skinned metamorph able to transform himself into a green version of any creature he imagines.
This work has been reprinted before. See reviews for Doom Patrol Archives Volume 1, Volume 2 and Volume 3 for more information about individual stories. In black and white it’s found as Showcase Presents The Doom Patrol. The Silver Age Omnibus includes the entire run in oversized hardback format, while The Silver Age Volume 1 has most of this material.
What’s here and missing from the other formats are most of the team-ups. That with the Challengers of the Unknown is in most of the above, but you’ll look in vain for Bob Haney and Dick Giordano’s ‘Alias Negative Man!’ Here Larry’s radio energy avatar is trapped by The Brotherhood of Evil and the Chief recruits speedster the Flash. Bill Molno illustrates Haney’s ‘The Fifth Titan’ seeing obnoxious juvenile know-it-all Beast Boy jump ship. Feeling unappreciated by his adult mentors, the young hero wrongly assumes he’ll be welcomed by his peers in the Teen Titans. After being rejected again, he falls under the spell of an unscrupulous circus owner and the costumed kids need to set things right and set Gar free.
In 1963 traditionally cautious comic book publishers at last realised superheroes were back in a big way and began reviving and/or creating a host of costumed characters to battle with and against outrageous menaces and dastardly villains. Thus, the powers-that-be at National Comics decided venerable adventure-mystery anthology title My Greatest Adventure would dip its toe in the waters with a radical take on the fad. Still, infamous for cautious publishing, they introduced a startling squad of champions with thematic roots still firmly planted in the B-movie monster films of the era that had not-so-subtly informed the parent comic.
The Doom Patrol fight injustice in a whole new way and these are superbly engaging, frantically fun and breathtakingly beautiful tales.
