Grant Morrison's take on Doom Patrol

[ninelivecat]

Did anyone get into this It looked pretty weird and wonderfull Are all the comics now in Graphic novels ? What was the story behind the shapeshifter character with the russian dolls spinning around him That was mad ?

[dancj]

It's a great run! I think they've collected it all now - across about 6 TPBs

[CBikle]

It was pretty good, but got repetitive after awhile, with most of the stories involving weird theme-based creatures showing up, transforming people into things while spouting gibberish dialogue.

Morrison's run on Animal Man was much better.

[MartinRedmond]

I think it's good. It's much better than Animal Man, because it's more straight forward adventure.

Here's most Doom Patrol storyline afap:

It's the apockalypse, Cliff is blown to bits, Crazy Jane's got a new personality, Dorothy's crying.

And then there's classics you'll never forget, like the Beard Hunter. Or mr Nobody running for president using an acid trip inducing bicycle.

[Pixie_Solanas]

Great stuff. I loved every minute of Morrison's DP.

[Shellhead]

Morrison's Doom Patrol was brilliant at first, but I lost interest halfway into the second year. By issue #50, it seemed like Doom Patrol was nothing but weirdness for the sake of weirdness, as plots, characterization, and even basic concepts were lost in a mire of bizarre visuals and inane chatter.

[Expletive Deleted]

It's a great run! I think they've collected it all now - across about 6 TPBsEverything except FLEX MENTALLO.

Bastards.

[ultramandingo]

.......my fave moment was the robot man on french gorilla action - now illiegal in california

[Paul McEnery]

Morrison's Doom Patrol was brilliant at first, but I lost interest halfway into the second year. By issue #50, it seemed like Doom Patrol was nothing but weirdness for the sake of weirdness, as plots, characterization, and even basic concepts were lost in a mire of bizarre visuals and inane chatter.

I find it interesting that DP lost focus and became druggier during the exact same three months that Shade did the same thing during the exact same time that certain drugs became very available and popular in the club scene.

But DP does recover its focus and deliver one helluva punchline.

[Kiryu]

I loved the hell out Doom Patrol, possibly my favorite bit of Morrison's work. All the weirdness aside, it absolute captures just the unimaginable horror the characters feel when confronted by all these things that are so completely out of their depth, and that, more so then all the weird, is what captured me.

Cliff especially, he's just a guy with a robot body and he goes through some absolutely horrible and incomprehensible things as a member of the Doom Patrol. And Grant really conveys this perfectly. It isn't about "being weird of the sake of being weird" or "trying to outsmart the reader", it is just showing how people react to these insane and unimaginable things. Like Twin Peaks, the weirdness and all that jazz just become set pieces to provide context for some really wonderful characters to interact with and react to and it's awesome.

And then, the weird stuff is really awesome and out there too. There are so unforgettable bits. The Beard Hunter is my favorite, if you saw any reports about NYCC and anyone asking Grant Morrison about the Beard Hunter, that was me.

Beyond that, there is Mr Nobody, Danny the Street, a character with every superpower you haven't though of. The Painting that Ate Paris has an incredible issue narrated by a character who is barely literate writing a letter, complete with awful grammar and miss-spellings, just reading it made me pity the character.

Read this series.

[JohnConstantine]

Morrison's Doom Patrol was brilliant at first, but I lost interest halfway into the second year. By issue #50, it seemed like Doom Patrol was nothing but weirdness for the sake of weirdness, as plots, characterization, and even basic concepts were lost in a mire of bizarre visuals and inane chatter.
Weirdness for the sake of weirdness and how the gang tackles it as if it was an everyday walk through the park was sorta the concept of Morrison's Doom Patrol. The fact that this ridiculous insanity takes place that normal heroes can't handle or even understand (i.e. - The JLI pondering over the painting that are Paris until Doom Patrol just struts right into the painting itself.) is what the book is all about. And about the "inane chatter"... I have one acronym for ya... "N.O.W.H.E.R.E." In my mind that's not inane, thats... inawesome? Intastic? Naw sorry, cant think of something that means cool that also rhymes with "inane".

[matt_hatyber]

Its one of my favorite series of all time. My only problem is that i wish grant did more stuff with the beard hunter. He was just such a cool character. If he had his own on-going series i would so buy it.

[diablo7]

it was a great run and a great nod to the silver age...what made it great was the fact that morrison went to the original concept of the doompatrol ( which if you pick up those issues of the original you'll find them quite bizarre )

[Shellhead]

Weirdness for the sake of weirdness and how the gang tackles it as if it was an everyday walk through the park was sorta the concept of Morrison's Doom Patrol. The fact that this ridiculous insanity takes place that normal heroes can't handle or even understand (i.e. - The JLI pondering over the painting that are Paris until Doom Patrol just struts right into the painting itself.) is what the book is all about. And about the "inane chatter"... I have one acronym for ya... "N.O.W.H.E.R.E." In my mind that's not inane, thats... inawesome? Intastic? Naw sorry, cant think of something that means cool that also rhymes with "inane".

I loved the storyline with the Painting That Ate Paris. Crawling from the Wreckage was great. Red Jack and all those chaos theory concepts... neat. It was later on, after that lengthy alien war storyline, when Doom Patrol went completely off the rails. I kept buying to the bitter end, but I literally can't tell you anything that happened after Flex Mentallo showed up, because I have a terrible time remembering nonsensical details.

Perhaps a more educated reader could catch all kinds of interesting references to obscure cultural, historical and scientific concepts, but to me, it was babble. There may also have been plotlines and character development, but I was unable to perceive it. So maybe as early as issue #42, it was just page after page of randomness.

[dancj]

So maybe as early as issue #42, it was just page after page of randomness.
It felt a bit like that to me when I read it monthly. Going back and reading through the whole lot in one go I realised that that wasn't the case at all. It's good right through to the end.

[Shellhead]

It felt a bit like that to me when I read it monthly. Going back and reading through the whole lot in one go I realised that that wasn't the case at all. It's good right through to the end.

Maybe we could do a reading group thing here in this forum. Start with Doom Patrol #19 (the start of the Morrison run) and discuss each issue. Talk about character development, themes, concepts, plot twists, and references. It might help us all gain greater appreciation for this legendary run.

[dancj]

We had a bookclub going in the Pipeline forum a few years ago for Blade of the Immortal and (IIRC) Promethea. I'd be up for doing something like that again - though I haven't got any Doom Patrol trades yet and I'm really growing to dislike reading floppies.

[Eumenides]

I haven't read Planet Love yet, but I've loved every collection so far: Orqwith, Red Jack, the Brotherhood of Dada, Daddy, the Pentagon, the alien war, the Beard Hunter... there's so much to love about it; it's one of the most imaginative, hilarious and whimsical comics I've read.