The Doom Patrol? Yes, it's crossover time, as DC's craziest villains take on DC's freakiest heroes on behalf of new criminal organisation S.M.A.S.H., as the logo on its flying craft states. Or maybe it's C.R.U.S.H., as new Sixer King Shark claims after biting off one of Elasti-Woman's legs.
Whatever it is, it's a hoot, as layabout Eric gathers his gaming pals in an operation aiming to put 'the fun back into world domination'. The players want to be Players and are soon modelling themselves on the Rat Pack, with babes as important as bombs. While it all sounds a bit silly, perhaps Eric isn't to be underestimated - he does organise a heck of an operation in a fortnight. We'll find out if he is the formidable leader, or simply a kid with too much money and too little sense, when this story concludes in Doom Patrol #19 any week now.
Meanwhile, there's an awful lot to enjoy in this issue, from Gail Simone's typically assured handling of the Six to her delightful take on the Doom Patrol. The interplay between the groups, in a story that reminds me of Vertigo's old spy spoof Knockout, is a nice balance of action and antics. It's no surprise that former Deadpool writer Simone gets Ambush Bug, but it's reassuring to see that she doesn't miss a beat with the likes of Negative Man and Bumblebee.
The only tweak I'd make to the story would be to add a roll call: we're in crossover mode, so the guest heroes should be introduced to readers who aren't familiar with them. Doom Patrol sells a fair few copies less than Secret Six, so there can't be an assumption that Six fans know that Elasti-Woman was recently revealed to be, basically, Silly Putty Girl, explaining her odd shark-shaped injury here. And likewise, not all Doom Patrol aficionados will know who Scandal Savage and co are.
Jim Calafiore's pencils and inks bring the story to dynamic life, with standout scenes including a Catman/Robotman face-off and Elasti-Woman's unique approach to catching fish. Colourists Jason Wright and John Kalisz make the art pop further, while Travis Lanham letters with neatness and style. Daniel Luvisi's cover pairing of Catman and Deadshot is not strictly relevant to the issue - you'd expect a confrontation between the groups - but it's great-looking nonetheless.
This is the first $2.99 issue with a page count of 20, yet there's no reduction in entertainment value, for which the creative team - under the guidance of editors Sean Ryan and Rachel Gluckstern - deserves praise.
You might want to note that this cross-over originally was suppose to begin in Doom Patrol, and end in Secret Six. But because Doom Patrol got behind in schedule they switched. So maybe that's why characters aren't as well explained - I'd imagine they might have had to scramble to reverse the stories.
ReplyDeleteI hope my comic shop has an extra issue. I only read Doom Patrol, and I don't like that I'm being forced into a cross-over with a title that, chances are, isn't even going to be available to me because it's not ordered in the same numbers.
I'd heard about the start-and-stop-swap, and now everyone has, thanks! I doubt that's the reason for the lack of intros, some DC books (LSH, JSA, Birds of Prey etc) always 'tag' characters, but S6 tends not to. More's the pity.
ReplyDeleteI hope you get both issues without undue trouble.
Yep, I got the issue. It was good, but I wasn't very wowed into wanting to jump on the Secret Six band wagon. What I was impressed with was how natural the Doom Patrol scenes where - that for a moment I thought I was reading the other writer's script (you have to get their voices, even dialect, down right). Maybe Ms Simone should write Doom Patrol is ever Keith Griffen gets bored or distracted the leaves the book.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your optimism - I'd assumed that once Giffen goes, DP goes too, what with the sales being so disappointing.
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