{"id":32628,"date":"2025-04-15T08:00:13","date_gmt":"2025-04-15T08:00:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/?p=32628"},"modified":"2025-04-13T14:32:36","modified_gmt":"2025-04-13T14:32:36","slug":"dc-finest-the-doom-patrol-the-worlds-strangest-heroes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/2025\/04\/15\/dc-finest-the-doom-patrol-the-worlds-strangest-heroes\/","title":{"rendered":"DC Finest: The Doom Patrol – The World\u2019s Strangest Heroes"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\nBy Arnold Drake<\/strong>, Bob Haney<\/strong>, Bruno Premiani<\/strong>, Bob Brown<\/strong>, Dick Giordano<\/strong>, Sal Trapani<\/strong>, Bill Molno<\/strong>, Geoge Roussos<\/strong> & various (DC Comics)
\nISBN: 978-1-79950-038-3 (TPB)<\/p>\n

This book includes Discriminatory Content<\/strong> produced in less enlightened times. <\/em><\/p>\n

This stunning compilation is part of the first tranche of long-awaited DC Finest<\/strong> editions: full colour continuations of their chronolgically curated monochrome Showcase Presents<\/strong> line, delivering \u201caffordably priced, large-size (comic book dimensions and generally around 600 pages) paperback collections\u201d highlighting past glories.Whilst primarily and understandably concentrating on the superhero character pantheon, there will also be genre selections like horror and war books, and themed compendia such as the much anticpiated gathering of early ape stories (brace yourself for DC Finest: The Gorilla World<\/strong> in July!). <\/em><\/p>\n

Sadly, they\u2019re not yet available digitally, as were the lst decade\u2019s Bronze, Silver and Golden Age collections, but we live in hope…<\/em><\/p>\n

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<\/strong> 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.<\/p>\n

No traditional team of masked adventurers, this cast comprised a robot, a mummy and an occasional 50-foot woman, joining forces with and guided by a vivid, brusque, domineering, crippled mad scientist. They would fight injustice in a whole new way\u2026<\/p>\n

Covering June 1963 to May 1965, this stunning compilation collects the earliest exploits of the \u201cFabulous Freaks\u201d, gathered from My Greatest Adventure<\/strong> #80-85 and thereafter issues #86-102 of the rapidly renamed title, once overwhelming reader response compelled editor Murray Boltinoff to change it to the Doom Patrol<\/strong>. For good measure this comprehensive collection also contains an early crossover from Challengers of the Unknown<\/strong> #48, a team-up from The Brave and the Bold<\/strong> #65 and a guest shot in Teen Titans<\/strong> #6.<\/p>\n

The origins and many of the earlier dramas were especially enhanced and elevated by the drawing skills of Italian cartoonist\/classicist artist Giordano Bruno Premiani, whose highly detailed, subtly humanistic illustration made even the strangest situation dauntingly authentic and grittily believable.<\/p>\n

Eponymous premier tale \u2018The Doom Patrol\u2019 <\/em>was co-scripted by Arnold Drake & Bob Haney, depicting how a mysterious wheelchair-bound scientist summons three outcasts to his home through the promise of changing their miserable lives forever. Competitive car racer and professional daredevil Cliff Steele<\/em> had died in a horrific pile up, but his undamaged brain had been transplanted into a fantastic mechanical body. Test pilot Larry Trainor<\/em> had been trapped in an experimental plane and become permanently irradiated by stratospheric radiation, with the dubious benefit of gaining a semi-sentient energy avatar which would escape 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\u2026<\/p>\n

Former movie star Rita Farr<\/em> was exposed to mysterious gases which bestowed a terrifying, unpredictable and, at first, uncontrollable ability to shrink or grow to incredible sizes.<\/p>\n

The outcasts were brought together by brilliant but enigmatic Renaissance Man The Chief<\/em>, who sought to mould the solitary misfits into a force for good. He quickly proved his point when a mad bomber attempted to blow up the city docks. The surly savant directed the trio of strangers in defusing it, and no sooner had the misfits realised their true worth than they were on their first mission\u2026<\/p>\n

Second chapter \u2018The Challenge of the Timeless Commander\u2019<\/em>, sees an implausibly ancient despot seeking to seize a fallen alien vessel: intent on turning its extraterrestrial secrets into weapons of world conquest, culminating in \u2018The Deadly Duel with Gen. Immortus\u2019, <\/em>wherein the Doom Patrol defeat the old devil and thereafter dedicate their lives to saving humanity from all threats.
\n\"\"
\nMy Greatest Adventure<\/strong> #81 featured \u2018The Nightmare Maker\u2019<\/em>, combining everyday disaster response – saving a damaged submarine – with a nationwide plague of monsters. Stuck at base, The Chief monitors missions by means of a TV camera attached to Robotman\/Steele\u2019<\/em>s chest, and quickly deduces the uncanny secret of the beasts and their war criminal creator Josef Kreutz<\/em>\u2026<\/p>\n

Solely scripted by Drake, a devious espionage ploy outs the Chief – or at least his image, if not name – in #82\u2019s \u2018Three Against the Earth!\u2019<\/em>, leading the team to believe Rita is a traitor. When the cabal of millionaires actually behind the scheme are exposed as an alien advance guard who assumed the wheelchair-bound leader to be a rival invader, the inevitable showdown nearly costs Cliff what remains of his life\u2026<\/p>\n

MGA<\/strong> #83\u2019s \u2018The Night Negative Man Went Berserk!\u2019 <\/em>spotlights the living mummy as a radio astronomy experiment interrupts Negative Man\u2019s return to Trainor\u2019s body: pitching the pilot into a coma and sending the ebony energy being on a global spree of destruction. Calamity piles upon calamity when crooks steal the military equipment constructed to destroy the radio-energy creature and only desperate improvisation by Cliff and Rita allows avatar and host to reunite\u2026<\/p>\n

Issue #84 heralded \u2018The Return of General Immortus\u2019 <\/em>as ancient Babylonian artefacts lead the squad to the eternal malefactor, only to have the wily warrior turn the tables and take control of Robotman. Even though his comrades soon save him, Immortus escapes with the greatest treasures of all time, before My Greatest Adventure<\/strong> #85 ends an era. It was the last issue, featuring \u2018The Furies from 4,000 Miles Below\u2019<\/em>: monstrous subterranean horrors fuelled by nuclear forces. Most importantly, despite having tricked Elasti-Girl<\/em> into resuming her Hollywood career, the paternalistic heroes are all pretty grateful when she turns up to save them all from radioactive incineration\u2026<\/p>\n

An unqualified success, the comic book was seamlessly transformed into The<\/strong> Doom Patrol<\/strong> with #86: celebrated by debuting \u2018The Brotherhood of Evil\u2019<\/em>: an assemblage of international terrorist super-criminals led by French genius-in-a-jar The Brain<\/em>. He was backed up by his greatest creation, a super-intelligent talking gorilla dubbed Monsieur Mallah<\/em>. Diametrically opposed and with some undisclosed back story amping up tension, the teams first cross swords after Brotherhood applicant Mr. Morden<\/em> steals Rog<\/em>: a giant robot the Chief has constructed for the US military\u2026<\/p>\n

DP<\/strong> #87 revealed \u2018The Terrible Secret of Negative Man\u2019 <\/em>after Brotherhood femme fatale Madame Rouge<\/em> seeks to seduce Larry. When the Brain\u2019s unstoppable mechanical army invades the city, Trainor is forced to remove his bandages and let his lethal radiations disrupt their transmissions\u2026<\/p>\n

An occasional series of short solo adventures kicked off in this issue with \u2018Robotman Fights Alone\u2019<\/em>. Here Cliff is dispatched to a Pacific island in search of an escaped killer, only to walk into a devastating series of WWII Japanese booby-traps before all mysteries surrounding the leader are finally revealed in #88 with \u2018The Incredible Origin of the Chief\u2019<\/em>: a blistering drama telling how brilliant but impoverished student Niles Caulder<\/em> suddenly received unlimited funding from an anonymous patron interested in his researches on extending life. Curiosity drove Caulder to track down his benefactor, and he was horrified to discover the money came from the head of a criminal syndicate claiming to be eons old\u2026<\/p>\n

Immortus had long ago consumed a potion which extended his life and wanted the student to recreate it since the years were finally catching up. To insure Caulder\u2019s full cooperation, the General had a bomb inserted in the researcher\u2019s chest and powered by his heartbeat. After building a robot surgeon, Caulder tricked Immortus into shooting him, determined to thwart the monster at all costs. Once clinically dead, his Ra-2<\/em> doctor-bot removed the now-inert explosive and revived the bold scientist. Tragically, the trusty mechanoid had been too slow and Caulder lost the use of his legs forever\u2026<\/p>\n

Undaunted, \u2018The Man Who Lived Twice\u2019 <\/em>destroyed all his research and went into hiding for years, with Immortus utterly unaware that Caulder had actually succeeded in the task which had stymied history\u2019s greatest doctors and biologists. Now, under the alias of super-thief The Baron<\/em>, Immortus captures the Doom Patrol and demands a final confrontation with the Chief. Luckily, the wheelchair-locked inventor is not only a biologist and robotics genius but also adept at constructing concealed weapons\u2026
\n\"\"
\nIn DP<\/strong> #89 the team tackle a duplicitous scientist who devises a means to transform himself into \u2018The Animal-Vegetable-Mineral Menace\u2019<\/em> before \u2018The Private War of Elasti-Girl\u2019 <\/em>finds the Miss of Many Sizes using unsuspected or acknowledged detective skills to track down a missing soldier and reunite him with his adopted son. \u2018The Enemy within the Doom Patrol\u2019<\/em> then sees shape-shifting Madame Rouge infiltrate the team and turn them against each other whilst issue #91 introduces multi-millionaire Steve Dayton<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Used to getting whatever he wants, he creates a superhero persona solely to woo and wed Rita Farr. With such ambiguous motivations \u2018Mento – the Man who Split the Doom Patrol\u2019 <\/em>was a radical character for the times, but at least his psycho-kinetic helmet proved a big help in defeating the plastic robots of grotesque alien invader Garguax<\/em>\u2026<\/p>\n

DP<\/strong> #92 tasks the team with a temporal terrorist in \u2018The Sinister Secret of Dr. Tyme\u2019 <\/em>and features abrasive Mento again saving the day, after which #93\u2019s \u2018Showdown on Nightmare Road\u2019 <\/em>features The Brain\u2019s latest monstrous scheme: being transplanted inside Robotman\u2019s skull whilst poor Cliff is dumped into a horrific beast… until the Chief out-plays the French Fiend at his own game\u2026<\/p>\n

Creature-feature veteran Bob Brown stepped in to illustrate #94\u2019s lead tale \u2018The Nightmare Fighters\u2019 <\/em>as an eastern mystic\u2019s uncanny abilities are swiftly debunked by solid American science. Premiani returned to render back-up solo-feature \u2018The Chief\u2026 Stands Alone\u2019, <\/em>wherein Caulder eschews his deputies\u2019 aid to bring down bird-themed villain The Claw<\/em> with a mixture of wit, nerve and weaponised wheelchair, prior to DP<\/strong> #95 disclosing The Chief\u2019s disastrous effort to cure Rita and Larry, resulting in switched powers and the \u2018Menace of the Turnabout Heroes\u2019<\/em>. Naturally, that\u2019s the very moment Animal-Vegetable-Mineral Man picks for a return bout\u2026<\/p>\n

Doom Patrol<\/strong> #96 opens on \u2018The Day the World Went Mad!\u2019<\/em> as frantic investigations reveal a global wave of insanity is being caused by a deadly alliance of old foes The Brotherhood of Evil, alien tyrant Garguax and undying terrorist General Immortus. Cue last-ditch heroics to save everything, before that sinister syndicate attacks Earth again in #97, transforming humans into crystal zombies, spectacularly resulting in \u2018The War Against the Mind Slaves\u2019<\/em>, and heralding the return of super-rich wannabee and self-made superhero Mento. The net result is a stunning showdown free-for-all on the moon, after which #98 sees both \u2018The Death of the Doom Patrol\u2019<\/em> – a grievous over-exaggeration on behalf of transmutational foe Mr. 103<\/em> who was actually compelled to save Caulder from radiation poisoning – and Bob Brown-drawn solo-thriller \u201960 Sinister Seconds\u2019<\/em>, in which Negative Man must find and make safe four atomic bombs in different countries… all within one minute…<\/p>\n

Brown handled both tales in Doom Patrol<\/strong> #99, starting with an old-fashioned battle against a deranged entomologist whose mechanical insects deliver \u2018The Deadly Sting of the Bug Man\u2019<\/em> before proceeding to the groundbreaking first appearance of shapeshifting juvenile delinquent \u2018The Beast-Boy\u2019<\/em>. The green kid burgles then saves the team with his incredible ability to become any animal he could imagine…
\n\"\"
\nAn extended storyline began with #100 and \u2018The Fantastic Origin of Beast-Boy\u2019<\/em> (limned by Premiani) wherein the obnoxious kid is revealed as orphan Gar Logan<\/em>: a child being slowly swindled out of his inheritance by his ruthless guardian Nicholas<\/em> Galtry<\/em>. The conniving accountant even leases his emerald-hued charge to scientist Dr. Weir<\/em> for assorted evil experiments, but when the Patrol later tackle rampaging dinosaurs, the trail leads unerringly to Gar, who at last explains his uncanny powers…<\/p>\n

Whilst a toddler in Africa, Logan contracted a rare disease. His scientist father tried an experimental cure which left him the colour of cabbage but with the ability to change shape at will. Now it appears that Weir has used the lad\u2019s altered biology to unlock the secrets of evolution – or has he? Despite foiling the scheme, the team have no choice but to return the boy to his guardian. Rita, however, is not prepared to leave the matter unresolved…<\/p>\n

The anniversary issue also saw the start of an extended multi-part thriller exploring Cliff\u2019s early days after his accident and subsequent resurrection, beginning with \u2018Robotman… Wanted Dead or Alive\u2019<\/em>. Following Caulder\u2019s implantation of Cliff\u2019s brain into a mechanical body, the shock drove the patient crazy and Steele went on a city-wide rampage…<\/p>\n

Doom Patrol<\/strong> #101\u2019s riotous romp \u2018I, Kranus, Robot Emperor!\u2019<\/em>, sees an apparently alien mechanoid exposed with a far more terrestrial and terrifying origin, before the real meat of the issue comes from the events of the ongoing war between Galtry and the Chief for possession of Beast Boy. The tale ends on a pensive cliffhanger as the Patrol then dash off to rescue fellow adventurers The Challengers of the Unknown<\/strong> – but before that the second instalment of the Robotman saga sees the occasionally rational, if paranoid, Cliff Steele hunted by the authorities and befriended by crippled, homeless derelicts in \u2018The Lonely Giant\u2019<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Firmly established in the heroic pantheon, the Doom Patrol surprisingly teamed with fellow outsiders The Challengers of the Unknown<\/strong> at the end of 1965. The crossover began in the Challs\u2019 title (specifically #48, cover-dated February\/March 1966). Scripted by Drake and limned by Brown, \u2018Twilight of the Challengers\u2019<\/em> opened with the death-cheaters\u2019 apparent corpses, and the DP desperately hunting whoever killed them…<\/p>\n

Thanks to the Chief, all our heroes recover and a furious coalition takes off after a cabal of bizarre supervillains. The drama explosively concluded in Doom Patrol<\/strong> #102, with \u20188 Against Eternity\u2019<\/em>, battling murderous shape-shifting maniac Multi-Man<\/em> and his robotic allies to stop a horde of zombies from a lost world attacking humanity.<\/p>\n

More team-ups and guest shots close this collection beginning with The Brave and the Bold<\/strong> #65 (May 1966), with Haney, Dick Giordano & Sal Trapani crafting \u2018Alias Negative Man!\u2019<\/em> Here Larry\u2019s radio energy avatar is trapped by The Brotherhood of Evil and the Chief recruits speedster The Flash<\/strong> to impersonate and replace him… until the heroes can save their friend.
\n\"\"
\nThe weird wonderment pauses for now with Bill Molno & George Roussos illustrating Haney\u2019s \u2018The Fifth Titan\u2019<\/em> from Teen Titans<\/strong> #6 (November\/December 1966) seeing obnoxious juvenile know-it-all Beast Boy Jump ship. Feeling unappreciated by his adult mentors, the young hero wrongly assumes he\u2019ll be welcomed by his peers. 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\u2026<\/p>\n

Although as kids we all happily suspended disbelief and bought into the fanciful antics of the myriad masked heroes available, somehow the exploits of Doom Patrol<\/strong> – and their strangely synchronistic Marvel counterparts The X-Men<\/strong> (freaks and outcasts, wheelchair geniuses, both debuting in the summer of 1963) – always seemed just a bit more authentic than the usual cape-&-costume crowd. With the edge of time and experience on my side it\u2019s obvious just how incredibly mature and hardcore Drake, Haney & Premiani\u2019s take on superheroes actually was. These superbly engaging, frantically fun and breathtakingly beautiful tales should be rightfully ranked amongst the finest Fights \u2018n\u2019 Tights tales ever told. Come and see what I mean…
\n\u00a9 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 2024 DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Arnold Drake, Bob Haney, Bruno Premiani, Bob Brown, Dick Giordano, Sal Trapani, Bill Molno, Geoge Roussos & various (DC Comics) ISBN: 978-1-79950-038-3 (TPB) This book includes Discriminatory Content produced in less enlightened times. This stunning compilation is part of the first tranche of long-awaited DC Finest editions: full colour continuations of their chronolgically curated … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “DC Finest: The Doom Patrol – The World\u2019s Strangest Heroes”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[191,351,294,75,76,290,164,91,127,172,107,11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-32628","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-adventure","category-apes-monkeys","category-challengers-of-the-unknown","category-crime-comics","category-dc-superhero","category-dinosaurs","category-doom-patrol","category-flash","category-nostalgia","category-robin","category-science-fiction","category-teen-titans"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4AFj-8ug","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32628","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32628"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32628\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":32634,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32628\/revisions\/32634"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32628"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32628"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32628"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}