A Refreshingly Simple Yet Bold Beginning — Reviewing ‘The Doom Patrol’ #1

Some of DC Comics most tragic and strange heroes, the once heroic Doom Patrol has fallen on some hard times. Luckily, or unluckily really, for them something big is coming for them which very could spell their actual literal doom.

It’s an all-new day as DC Comics Next Level initiative continues with the debut of The Doom Patrol #1 from Darcy Van Poelgeest, Niko Henrichon, and Lucas Gattoni.

Important note, I’ve never actually read any of the previous runs of Doom Patrol. “But Scott, why would you be reading and reviewing this title then,” is something I’m sure some of you are thinking. Though, since this is a written review and I can’t read minds or see the future, I’m going out on a limb guessing here.

The concept of the Doom Patrol has always intrigued me. They are similar in many ways to the X-Men, one of my favorite comic book groups ever, which has been capitalized upon in the past. My reading of DC Comics hasn’t been the greatest as I spent most of my focus on Marvel’s slate of heroes. Times have changed and DC has overtaken my reading list. Once I heard about this new series, it seemed like the prime time to jump on board and check stuff out.

I’m glad I did because this was a really intriguing and different debut.

Speaking of unfamiliarity, I can’t say that I’ve seen or read any of Van Poelgeest’s past work. In fact, I wasn’t even familiar with the name before searching it up during the aforementioned reveal of this book. I’m glad that I came in with such little knowledge as it unburdened my mind and allowed me to enjoy things a lot easier. I don’t mind knowing a ton about comics, both the past and the present, as well as what is coming down the line. That being said, having a little less knowledge about something does seem to lend some credence to the old “ignorance is bliss” sentiment.

Not to much though as ignorance is part of why the United States, and other places, are in some really shitty places currently.

The Doom Patrol is distilled down to just three members here and I think that works wonders. We get to see a bit about them all as the story does not assume that you’ve read or watched anything with these characters before. Van Poelgeest finds that perfect sweet spot between new and old reader friendly. The lore drops are kept simple, contained to caption boxes, without overwhelming or boring readers. These down on their luck former heroes stumbling into a mess as their leader and benefactor deals with nightmares turned reality works.

What I was somewhat familiar with though was Henrichon’s work, mostly through comic book covers.

This art has a very rough textured appeal to it which befits the characters. It’s very moody and grim while the colors chosen keep it light and appealing. These characters are strange looking in their appearances and the artwork works with that, giving them exaggerated figures and spaces within the world to remind us that they stand out more than others.

A denseness surrounds every bit of the artwork. Setting spaces are open and have some detail and weight to them. Even with the mentioned exaggeration, there is still a feeling of familiarity and realism to how things are depicted and work in the world.

Where I had the most familiarity in this whole affair came on the lettering side. Which is kind of funny since five years ago, when I first started my reviewing journey lettering was part of the comic I, shamefully, didn’t pay attention to. I, like many including the publishers themselves, took the artistic aspect which is lettering for granted.

Gattoni’s work is one that I’ve seen and written about numerous times over the past few years — always popping up in some major and fun books that DC Comics puts out. Here the lettering takes on the same tonal aspects as the rest of the visuals. It feels very rough, with bubbles that are shady and text that shrinks and spreads out in big ways. That provides voices which are hollow or odd or even sad for these characters who have been beset by tragedy many times over.

The Doom Patrol #1 is now available from DC Comics.