DOOM PATROL #6
"Dead?"
Mildly Recommended (6/10)
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DC Comics
Writer: John Arcudi
Artist: Tan Eng Huat
Colors: Dave Stewart
Letters: Bob Lappan
Editor: Andy Helfer
Price: $2.50 US/$4.25 CAN |
Arcudi sets aside super-hero fistcuffs and villainous plots to take over the world to examine some real-world ideas in an unreal world. This issue explores the legalities of conventional super-hero plot elements, and it grants these fantastic characters a strong degree of plausibility. The problem with the script is that it's rather low on exposition. New readers -- and especially those unfamiliar with the title team's long DC history -- will be at a loss.
Robotman is missing, but what's really got the members of two different Doom Patrols and multimillionaire Thayer Jost out of sorts is that it turns out that Robotman wasn't who they thought he was. The original -- Cliff Steele -- is revealed to have been dead for four years, leaving the heroes without any direction and Jost without a super-hero brand name to sell.
Tan Eng Huat's art conttinues to impress. His angular, detailed has an odd, frenetic quality that's unlike anything else one would see in mainstream comics today. His work is at its strongest when he's handling the more surreal scenes in the story, leading me to believe that this grounded look at super-heroes might not be the best venue for his work. Stewart's colors reinforce the odd nature of the art. His hues don't represent the usual primary-color approach to super-heroes, but neither are they muted and dark. There's a texture to them that stands out.
Every time I read an issue of Doom Patrol, I'm at a loss to remember the new characters' names. Here, they're eventually identified by their first names, but their colorful code names seem to have been lost since the earlier issues. Now, I've been DC comics for a long time, so I have no problem with Beast Boy, Elongated Man and Dr. Light, but newer readers will certainly not be as familiar with these B-list heroes. In other words, there's a lack of clarity in the script that Arcudi needs to address.
Nevertheless, his look at the legal, financial and emotional ramifications of someone posing as an individual who's been dead for four years came off as clever, entertaining and even a bit insightful. This plotline also conveys the sense that Arcudi is headed somewhere specific, interesting and big with this series. As disjointed as the adventures of this new Doom Patrol have been, there's a sense of purpose driving this series forward, piquing my curiosity.
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