DC Comics Presents Metal Men #1

August 1, 2011

Writers: Keith Giffen, J.M. DeMatteis, Bob Haney
Pencils: Kevin Maguire, Tim Levins
Inks: Mark Farmer, Dan Davis
Colorist: Guy Major, James Sinclair
Letterer: Nick J. Napolitano, Ken Lopez, Travis Lanham
Editor: Elisabeth V. Gehrlein, Dan Raspler
Cover Art: Kevin Maguire
Publisher: DC Comics

I do love the DC Comics Presents format – inexpensive collections of short story arcs, reprints of old original graphic novels, or in this case, collecting a series of back-up stories that would probably never fill out a graphic novel of their own. In fact, this collection of the Metal Men stories presented in the most recent series of Doom Patrol couldn’t even fill up the 100 pages, so DC tossed in a Metal Men story from 2000’s Silver Age event to fill up the book.

The Silver Age story, written by Bob Haney, is more a curiosity than anything else. In this event, the Justice League had had their brains forcibly switched into the bodies of their enemies, and the Metal Men teamed up with Batman (controlled by the Penguin) in a race to capture Felix Faust and Catwoman (really Green Arrow and Black Canary). This story, originally presented in Silver Age: The Brave and the Bold #1, is interesting, but seems to have been chosen primarily because it was drawn by Kevin Maguire, who drew most of the other Metal Men tales in this volume.

After that, we get into the short stories. The Metal Men have moved into a small town where they’re desperate to prove themselves assets to the community, despite the fact that nobody seems to want them there, they come under attack by the now-insane star of their favorite TV show, and none of them can seem to remember the name of their newest member (Copper). Giffen and DeMatteis, legendary for their comedic take on the Justice League in the 80s and 90s, bring that same comedic sensibility to these stories, and with their old artistic collaborator Kevin Maguire along for the ride, the comics couldn’t be better.

Were I judging this only on the basis of the story and art, the book would get a solid 9/10. But unfortunately, somebody made a drastic, terrible mistake. The page reproduction of everything after the Silver Age reprint is terrible. The pages are pixilated and blurry. In fact, the only thing that comes in clear are the words and text. This sort of production error would be disastrous even from a small press title, but in a book from DC Comics, it’s unforgivable. This should have been caught and fixed before the book ever made it to comic shop shelves, and the fact that it didn’t ruins what should have been an excellent reading experience.

Rating: 7/10

Doom Patrol (2004 Series) #18

November 29, 2005

Quick Rating: Fair
Title: Convergence Conclusion

Is this the end of the Doom Patrol?

Writer: John Byrne
Pencils: John Byrne
Inks: Doug Hazlewood
Colors: Alex Bleyaert
Letters: Jared K. Fletcher
Editor: Mike Carlin
Cover Art: John Byrne
Publisher: DC Comics

The newest incarnation of the Doom Patrol comes to a fairly anticlimactic end. Frankly, I’ve felt the whole experiment was doomed from the start – not because John Byrne doesn’t still have talent given the right project, but because he alienated virtually every Doom Patrol fan on the planet by ignoring every previous incarnation and starting over from the ground-up. In this issue, as Elasti-Girl’s power leaves her close to death and the bizarre mingling of Negative Man and Vortex wreaks havoc, special guest star Metamorpho faces off against an intruder in Doom Patrol headquarters.

In and of itself, there’s really nothing wrong with this issue (except for DC’s continued lack of a “Previously” page to clue in new readers – but then, final issues don’t get a lot of those, do they?). It’s a perfectly adequate superhero story, and Byrne is still one of the best pure superhero artists in the business. It just suffered from the same problems this title has had since day one – the longtime fans feel snubbed and the characters aren’t unique or interesting enough to garner a lot of new readers.

Byrne’s skills absolutely still have a place in comics – his Blood of the Demon is quite good – but this book isn’t a fit. Chances are it will be forgotten as a part of DC continuity as completely as Byrne himself forgot the Doom Patrol incarnations of the past.

Rating: 6/10

Doom Patrol (2004 Series) #10

March 28, 2005

Quick Rating: Fair
Title: Hearts and Minds

The origin of Nudge and Grunt!

Writer: John Byrne
Pencils: John Byrne
Inks: Doug Hazlewood
Colors: Alex Bleyaert
Letters: Jared K. Fletcher
Editor: Mike Carlin
Cover Art: John Byrne
Publisher: DC Comics

At a time when DC comics is making a big move to bring its titles together and create a cohesive universe again, this title stands apart as a strange anachronism, one that eschews all rules of continuity and seems to exist in a universe of its own. Clearly, the book flatly contradicts most, if not all, earlier incarnations of the Doom Patrol. Furthermore, the version of Metamorpho presented in this issue doesn’t jibe with the character as he’s currently being portrayed anywhere else in the DCU. The scenes with him alone or with the team as a whole don’t really work because they don’t fit into the greater context of the DC Universe.

The bits of this issue that do work are the rather tragic origins of Nudge, the mentalist of the group, and Grunt, the bizarre six-armed gorilla. Not having read this title regularly, I don’t really know if his beginnings have been explored before, but they’re interesting. We get a portrait of someone who has been used, his entire life turned upside down and destroyed, and an understanding of why he may have latched on to Nudge.

John Byrne’s artwork is continually strong. While some of his faces this issue seem rather static, with one character looking much like another, he does a good job of conveying emotion with those faces. The action scenes are very strong, and he lays out a really strong cover.

This is an okay title, but it’s a book that doesn’t really seem to have a place in the DCU as a whole. With the whole line leaning in that direction, it’s a little disheartening that this title isn’t part of that movement.

Rating: 6/10

Doom Patrol (2004 Series) #4

September 27, 2004

Quick Rating: Fair
Title: The Waters Under the World

Trapped miles beneath the ice, the Doom Patrol has to battle creatures from the deep to find their way back to the surface.

Writer: John Byrne
Pencils: John Byrne
Inks: Doug Hazlewood
Colors: Alex Bleyaert
Letters: Jared K. Fletcher
Editor: Mike Carlin
Cover Art: John Byrne
Publisher: DC Comics

Not having read the first three issues of this series, I was somewhat lost getting into this one. Byrne opens up the issue with a rather nice three-page sequence of explosions, meteor showers and general devastation which I’m sure has something to do with the plot, although if it does, it’s not evident. This would have been the perfect place to work in a few expository captions, just to bring the reader up to speed. Instead we’re thrown into the deep end with no life preserver.

Half of the Doom Patrol is trapped deep under some expanse of ice along with several scientists and a lot of nasty monsters. The other half of the team, topside, is working to bring them out. Once you get past the general accessibility problem, you’re left with a pretty good superhero/science fiction yarn with clever ideas and nasty monsters. The ending is a bit too “Star Trek” for me – with the team sitting around explaining exactly how the climax was accomplished – but I’ve seen worse.

I liked the art in this issue quite a bit more than the writing. Byrne has always had a pretty good line for the more science fiction-ish aspects of the superhero genre, as evident in his masterful runs on Fantastic Four and Superman. I’m not crazy about the new look for Robotman, but the rest of the team, as well as the monsters they have to face off against, all look quite good. The storytelling is straight and direct, and the art is detailed without being cluttered.

This issue wasn’t enough to make me a fan of the series, but it has convinced me that it’s not nearly the disaster I’ve been told it was from some quarters. This wasn’t really a concept in need of a “reboot,” but since it was rebooted regardless, it’s going along okay.

Rating: 6/10