Throughout most of Grant Morrison’s runs in comics, characters are created with the intention of not only being good, but memorable. For example, Mirror Master in Animal Man, Tomorrow Woman in JLA, or Doctor Simon Hurt in Batman. Some of these characters may feature quite often, while others may only appear once. However, Morrison makes them good characters which are memorable. Doom Patrol was no exception to this. Crazy Jane was created by Morrison in his first issue of the run, Doom Patrol (vol 2) 19, and she was an instant success with readers. But, while most of Morrison’s characters are certainly memorable, not all of them are exactly brilliant in my view. This takes us to Flex Mentallo, who first appeared in Doom Patrol (vol 2) 35 (Down Paradise Way, read my review of it here). His origin wasn’t explained until some issues later, specifically issue 42. I’ll explain why I’m not Flex’s biggest fan later, but something else which is worth mentioning is that Doom Patrol was reaching its 50th issue, meaning that it was an excuse for DC to roll out the red carpet and allow a wide array of artists to draw the world’s strangest heroes. Not only that, but issue 50 would be significant not just because of its number, but because of the return of a strange, yet deadly villain…
In the fourth of six Doom Patrol by Grant Morrison posts, I will be reviewing:
Musclebound/Anyhow Strikes/Voices --- Doom Patrol (vol 2) 42-44
The Beard Hunter --- Doom Patrol (vol 2) 45
Aftermath/The World, The Flesh, and The Devil/Entertaining Mr Evans --- Doom Patrol (vol 2) 46-48
Death in Venice/Tales of Hoffman --- Doom Patrol (vol 2) 49-50
Doom Patrol (vol 2) 42-50 were published usually monthly from March to December 1991 (with the exception of issues 44 and 45, in which there was a two-month gap between issues). As usual, all stories are written by Grant Morrison, but with art by a huge selection of artists, most notably Richard Case, Mike Dringenberg, Steve Yeowell
and Brian Bolland. Lastly, I have read all of these stories in their original issues, but again, the trade paperback shouldn’t be a difficult find.
Musclebound/Anyhow Strikes/Voices --- Written by Grant Morrison with art by Mike Dringenberg, Doug Hazlewood, Steve Yeowell, Richard Case and Mark McKenna
THE STORY
The Chief, Joshua and Flex Mentallo return to Danny The Street with Sara to pick some things up. Intrigued, the Chief asks Flex to tell them a bit about himself. Flex agrees and begins his story in 1954. He was once a thin young man named Mac who was tired of being abused by bulkier men on the beach. However, one night, he wishes that he was strong and muscular, to which a strange man appears out of the toilets and gives him a coupon to fill out. After thinking about it, Mac does just that and the next day, the postman gives him a parcel containing a book named Muscle Mystery for You. He read the book that taught him how to develop his muscles, but it somehow gave him the knowledge to read people’s minds and see into the future. Unknown as to why he was chosen for the power, Mac later visits the beach and beats up a man who abused him for being thin earlier, just by flexing his muscles. Two years later, Mac changed his name to Flex and fought crime, sometimes in a team. But after some time, the team disbanded and he met a woman named Dolores, who he fell in love with instantly. After some time, Flex met a reporter named Norman Grindstone, who worked on a story about the disappearance of Harry Christmas, a ghost hunter. Grindstone went missing for a few days, before calling Flex and telling him that the disappearance of Christmas is linked to the Pentagon. Grindstone then showed evidence to Flex, who was frightened by what he saw. In the years that followed, Flex attempted to change the Pentagon into a circle. This caused Dolores to leave him, since he had become obsessed with the building. Unknown to him at the time, his constant flexing caused bodily changes to occur in people nearby, but after some time, Flex never tried to change the Pentagon. He then decided to visit the Pentagon and he broke in and witnessed something so terrifying that it was unexplainable. The Men From N.O.W.H.E.R.E then appeared and erased the images from Flex’s memory. However, he managed to escape, but he lost his powers, luckily, he encountered Danny The Street (where the Doom Patrol found him in issue 35). This caused him to remember who he was and that he has to stop what’s going on in the Pentagon. Flex tells them that they must act quickly, causing the Chief to claim Danny as the new headquarters of the team. Meanwhile, at the Lost and Found office, a woman is controlled to make her think she is Dolores who has just found Flex.
In the Pentagon, Sergeant Washington is inducted into the depths of the building by General Honey, who discusses the history of the underground levels, mentioning the Déjà vu Room and the Ka-Bala (which reveals the secrets of the future). Honey also mentions that although the underground levels were constructed in 1943, its main figure was discovered in 1875, when Alexander Graham Bell somehow summoned it during the first ever telephone call. He also explains that a strange item named the Silver Sugar Tongs, which caused the disappearance of Flight 19, was stolen by an expelled member, named Darren Jones (Doom Patrol (vol 2) 35-36). Honey then continues and explains that Tongs were used to reanimate the dead as soldiers, who then have to read Lucy Clifford’s Anyhow Stories, terrifying them and turning them into a Man From N.O.W.H.E.R.E. Washington and Honey then see a trapped Mr Sage, who once fought Flex Mentallo and wrote a comic book named My Greenest Adventure. Walking down further, Washington is given X-Ray glasses by Honey, who
shows him the ant farm, shocking him. Meanwhile, on Danny The Street, Joshua and Dorothy notice a strange woman named Dolores Watson, who is looking for Flex. Inside the Doom Patrol headquarters, Flex is shocked when he sees Dolores, who gives him his old costume to wear. Flex does just that, making him look ridiculous. However, that doesn’t bring his powers back, making him angry. Suddenly, Dolores collapses and melts, before The Men From N.O.W.H.E.R.E appear. In a huge fight, they take both Dorothy and Flex away. However, as the Men From N.O.W.H.E.R.E go to kill Joshua and the Chief, they are stopped when the rest of the Doom Patrol arrive.
Captured by the Men From N.O.W.H.E.R.E, Flex and Dorothy are under the Pentagon, where they meet General Honey and Sergeant Washington, who is still recovering from seeing the ant farm. Aware of Flex’s background, Honey presents Mr Wally Sage to Flex, who recognises him. Although Flex Warns that the Doom Patrol will find them, Honey tells him that they soon won’t exist. Meanwhile, after Robotman and Jane tell the Chief about what happened to them and Rhea (Doom Patrol (vol 2) 37-41, a Man From N.O.W.H.E.R.E they captured disintegrates. This causes the Chief to become frustrated, since they can’t get into the Pentagon. This causes an argument to break out between the heroes, which is stopped when Sara reminds them that Danny can easily get them to the Pentagon. At the same time, a confused Flex asks why the Pentagon is the shape it is. Honey then confirms that the building is built on an old structure named the City of the White Abyss and the Pentagon aims to focus the energy from the city and use it. He then says that he wants control of the power and to use it to destroy everything unusual in the world, starting with Dorothy, since Flex no longer has his powers. Still confused by Sage, Honey explains that Sage created Flex and his powers. Honey then presents the ant farm, causing Flex to remember that he has been there before. Continuing, Honey explains that the farm is used as a blueprint for a predetermined world where oddities don’t exist. Honey and a scarred Washington leave Flex and Dorothy with the Men From N.O.W.H.E.R.E, confused. However, when Honey and Washington walk through the lower levels of the Pentagon, they find Danny, along with Robotman. Meanwhile, the Men From N.O.W.H.E.R.E from leave their prisoners alone due to an alarm, causing Flex to rescue Sage from the machine he is trapped in. However, the operators of the ant farm appear just as Sage tells his story about how he made up Flex in a comic book when he was a child, Flex is electrocuted by the operators. Although Dorothy becomes frightened, Flex gets up, with his powers restored. He easily takes out the operators. Suddenly, something appears to be coming out of the ant farm, which is a strange machine-like entity known as the Avatar. However, Robotman then arrives, along with the rest of the Doom Patrol. Together, they weaken the Avatar, but Flex tells Dorothy to kill it, causing him to fall into her own imaginary world. However, when she awakens, she finds that her mind has caused the Avatar to hang itself.
MY THOUGHTS
This story is really split into two, the first part being the backstory of Flex Mentallo, and the second part being the core Pentagon story. The origin of Flex is stupid, and it is obviously been written that way. Whether it be his ridiculous power of knocking people over by flexing, or his borderline-non-existent costume, you can laugh at Flex’s origin, while also feeling sorry for him. However, this is just interesting extra information since he really needs the Doom Patrol’s help in order to defeat something inside the Pentagon. This is arguably the greatest aspect of the story, the mystery. For these three issues, Morrison builds up suspense to what that strange thing under the Pentagon is and although the build-up is done very well, you just get that feeling it will be disappointing, but more on that later. There is a lot of action in this story, especially because of the return of The Men From N.O.W.H.E.R.E, who are just as weird and ironic as they were before. They are actually a lot more threatening this time around too, since they kidnapped both Dorothy and Flex. The scenes underneath the Pentagon are also great, since we see some of the strangest devices known to man that are hidden by the government. The characters of Honey and Washington are sorely introduced to present to us what the lower levels of the Pentagon look like, and it works well. It also does make you think about what sort of technology the government in the real world hide from the rest of the world. However, the story takes a rather experimental path towards the end, when a person known as Wally Sage is revealed to have created Flex Mentallo. This is a very Animal Man-type move by Morrison, since in Animal Man (vol 1) 26, the hero meets his writer, Grant Morrison. This is very similar here and while some may not like this idea, I really do, since it shows that Morrison is willing to take things seriously, while also being fun and experimental while writing. Apart from that, I think the ending is great since it features Dorothy for the first time in a long while and in actually quite a crucial way. Plus, its great to see the resolution of the Dolores story, which is something that took place several issues before this story.
I hinted earlier that the thing underneath the Pentagon was going to be a disappointment and it was. A thing that appeared after the first phone call, it just comes across as pretentious and too clever for its own good. In fact, this story is littered with obscure literature references that instead of being interesting, just come across as too clever, as if Morrison is rubbing it in the reader’s face about his extensive knowledge. Now, the main problem I have with this story is actually… Flex Mentallo. Yeah, the same character that I praised earlier on. The reason is this: as a concept and a joke character, it works. However, when he features constantly and we see his powers in action towards the end, the joke wears off incredibly quickly. That’s kind of why I’m happy that he was created in a comic book, since his character of that of a generic hero. That said, with the exception of his origin, I don’t really find the humour in his character and ultimately, he is just annoying. And what gets me is that Morrison did a 4-issue miniseries about him years later. Christ guess I have to get to that at some point. Anyway, apart from all of that, I don’t understand how Danny the Street can appear underground and still have a sky, since I thought that would only work outside. A small knit pick, I know, but it’s one I can’t get my head around, along with the large number of pretentious elements to this story.
The art by Dringeberg and Hazlewood may be awfully scratchy and rough for the Doom Patrol, but they certainly draw the flashbacks featuring Flex well, really giving an old-fashioned feel to the story. I also think Steve Yeowell as guest artist on the (continued)
second part is quite good, if a bit Frank Miller-like in terms of the way it has been inked. However, all of these are better than Richard Case and Mark McKenna, who give us the same old bland stuff, lacking any sense of action or drama. Once again, its not crap art from them, but it’s far from the best.
Story: 7/10
Art: 7/10
The Beard Hunter --- Written by Grant Morrison with art by Vince Giarrano and Malcolm Jones III
THE STORY
On a rooftop with a sniper rifle, a man named Ernest Franklin watches a man with a beard walk to his car, before shooting him in the head. He then runs to the body and with a razor and cream, shaves his beard off. He then leaves the scene on his
motorbike and comes home to his mother, who wants to know where her son has been. He explains that he is on his war to rid the world of facial war, causing his mother to remind him of his age, 36. Annoyed, Ernest runs upstairs to his room, where he finds an letter from the Bearded Gentleman’s Club of Metropolis. He attends a meeting and although disgusted by the blue beard of the club’s speaker, he is interested when he speaks about Niles Caulder, who called the club lunatics after they offered to buy his beard from him. He then says that Caulder isn’t worthy to have a beard and it must be cut off. Ernest agrees to take the mission. Meanwhile, the Chief is shopping when suddenly, a worker named Shaun is shot and killed. Ernest then appears and tries to kill the Chief, who manages to get away from Ernest, despite not being able to use his legs. At the same time, Ernest’s mother tells the police that her son is sick and that without his medication, he is unstable. The police then ask about Ernest’s beard obsession, to which his mother says that he is on Rhode Island hunting another beard. Meanwhile, Ernest still tires to kill the Chief, but by using an electrical wire, he electrocutes Ernest, who sees God and is really angry that he has a beard. Instead of dying, Ernest becomes unconscious, while the Chief then sits next to the body and eats his chocolate.
MY THOUGHTS
Once again, Morrison doesn’t disappoint with single issue stories, delivering a fantastic and comical plot, with memorable characters that make the story even better to read. For starters, in the bat-sh*t insane world of Doom Patrol, a basic plot such as this one is welcome every so often. Of course, the actual story idea is far from normal. I mean, its about a man who still lives with his mother while killing people because of their beards. Weird plot, but a fantastic one at that. This is because the structure may be more like a regular comic book, but the actual plot is weird enough for Doom Patrol. That being said though, the Doom Patrol don’t feature in this story, at least, not all of them. The only member we have here is the Chief, which isn’t a problem since he is the only member who has a beard, making him a target for Ernest. In terms of pacing, the story is excellent. It’s one of those stories that you wouldn’t complain about reading it a second time straight after the first, because its so fun and it doesn’t take itself too seriously. Not only that, but this story is full of comedy, which never feels over the top and it works well. For instance, Ernest’s mother is a great character because of the lax attitude she has about her son. She knows everything he is doing but is more concerned that he is 36 and still living with her. Not only that, but it’s clear she thinks her son is insane. I mean, when the police question her, she pretty much gives them everything they want to know about her son, including his insane beard quest. Other than that, the Chief is excellent here as we see him in a fight of sorts, one in which he defeats his enemy by using his mind. Plus, the ending is brilliant, with Ernest not only freaking out that God does have a beard, but just how the Chief eats his chocolate. It really summaries his unique f*ck all attitude.
The art by Vince Giarrano and Malcolm Jones III is pretty standard stuff. I mean, if they drew the art to make Ernest look like a bad Rob Liefeld-style early 1990s greasy over-muscular daredevil, then they definitely succeeded. That being said, the page layouts can be very dramatic and can work effectively for certain moments in the story, more so than Case’s artwork. While it is a breath of fresh air after countless issues drawn by Case, the art only really serves its purpose and doesn’t add or detract anything from this excellent story.
Story: 10/10
Art: 7/10
Aftermath/The World, The Flesh, and The Devil/Entertaining Mr Evans --- Written by Grant Morrison with art by Richard Case and Mark McKenna
THE STORY
After the destruction of the Avatar, those who have encounter the Doom Patrol, such as Harry Christmas, Sergeant Washington, General Honey, Sara Furness and Flex Mentallo have all moved up in life, except Wally Sage, who is dead, but his mother speaks well of him at his grave. Meanwhile, Robotman is in a new, but similar robotic body. The Chief guarantees the suit is much better than the one made by Will Magnus and as a test, he asks Robotman to help him move some boxes down to Danny The Street. On the way down, Robotman walks past a silent and sad Dorothy, who runs up to her room and sees one of her strange imaginary friends in the mirror, scaring her. Elsewhere, Joshua discovers that the Chief will still be using the old base for private research, making him intrigued. Outside, Robotman meets Jane, who doesn’t care about his new body, but does show him a Doom Patrol logo idea. Confused by Jane’s attitude, Robotman asks who he is speaking to. She tells him that it is Liza Radley, who is going to save them all. Then, Danny The Street moves to a beautiful and lush green forest with rabbits, making Jane happy. Elsewhere, a man named Doctor Silence enters a dark house. At the same time, Robotman and Jane walk around the green landscape and look at the ocean. Then, Jane thanks Robotman for saving her and the underground, before her hat falls into the sea because of the wind. Meanwhile, the Chief continues with his research when Rebis appears. He tells the Chief that he has been interested in his research and that he knows what he is planning to do with it. He then tells the Chief that he may have to stop him, but in the meantime, the Chief gives him some chocolate. At the same time, Doctor Silence enters an old mansion and finds the storeroom, where he is shown a mysterious covered painting by the owner. The painting is the Painting That Ate Paris, except it is now covered in paint randomly. Later, in the Doom Patrol headquarters, Robotman and Jane find Rebis crying, who then reveals they aren’t crying, just practising. Suddenly, the alarm goes off and when Robotman finds the Chief, they see an entity with a clocktower for a head, bonging constantly.
In Berlin, Willoughby Kipling (yeah, that annoying ar*ehole) is approached by a hooded person, who tells him that Mr Evans is back. Kipling pretty much ignores it and the person asks him what he is going to do. Kipling just says that he is going to get drunk… again. Meanwhile, the bonging entity of confusion is confusing the Doom Patrol. However, when Robotman discovers that it is just a cloud of white gas, it (continued)
vanishes. Although they all discuss theories on how the clock creature could have appeared, the Chief says that he is leaving and that if they want to find out more, than they should just wait for it to return. Later, Joshua speaks to Rebis and tells him that his mother has just died of a heart attack in hospital. Rebis asks which mother has died, causing Joshua to become angry and tell him that it is Larry’s mother. He thanks Joshua for telling him, but when he leaves, he feels sad that he never saw his mother. Meanwhile, Doctor Silence continues to stare into the strange painting. At the same time, Robotman visits a restaurant with Jane, who is in her Baby Doll personality. She then gets up and heads into the toilets, telling Robotman it is time. Meanwhile, Rebis is naked and begins to unwrap and bandages covering their body. Back at the restaurant, Robotman is shocked when Jane comes out of the toilets dressed like a prostitute with a wig on and creates a scene, causing Robotman to leave with her. However, this creates more problems as she punches a man in the balls and begins screaming. Meanwhile, everything around them changes and Robotman’s attention is taken by the arrival of Mr Evans, who talks nonsense.
With the arrival of Mr Evans, everyone in Happy Harbour is overcome by uncontrollable sex drives. This causes the Sex Men to appear, who aim to try and find the cause of the crisis. Meanwhile, Mr Evans is looking around when suddenly, Robotman appears and screams at him, demanding to know who he is. Meanwhile, Joshua tells the Chief about the problem, causing the Chief to tell Joshua to prepare the Doom Saloon, their flying craft. When they find Robotman, Joshua and Dorothy touch him instead of helping him, causing Robotman to wake up from what was a dream. Back in reality, Robotman finds that the Sex Men have located Mr Evans. Elsewhere, Doctor Silence notices that a black dot on the painting is becoming bigger. Meanwhile, Mr Evans kills one of the Sex Men and calls himself Satan. Mr Evans, Robotman and the Sex Men appear on a rollercoaster which tours the lives of the people of Happy Harbour. At the same time, Doctor Silence witnesses the black spot on the painting becoming even bigger. Meanwhile, Mr Evans, Robotman and the Sex Men find Jane in the realm of Mr Evans. However, a tortured person tells Robotman that Mr Evan’s must say five words in order to make him disappear. This works and Mr Evans and his realm disappear. After they reappear back on Earth, Robotman and Jane say goodbye to the Sex Men. However, when they get back to base, strange noises can be heard behind Rebis’s door and when Robotman breaks it down, a strange green vortex is in the centre of the dark room.
MY THOUGHTS
Okay, everything apart from the main plot is good here. The characters shine once again, and Morrison ties up loose ends from previously featured characters. In the very beginning of the story, where we see characters like Flex Mentallo and Sara, along with others from Doom Patrol (vol 2) 42-44 and how their lives have changed or been made better by the team. This is an aspect of the story I really like, as it brings closure to a set of characters which have been important in the Pentagon story, some of which long before that even. It really shows that Morrison remembers the characters he writes and because of that, he wants to give them all conclusions. You’d be surprised how many writers forget about their own characters. The main plot doesn’t start off until the end of the first part, which is a good thing as in the meantime, there is a lot of scenes between the Doom Patrol themselves and they usually work well. For example, a great highlight of this story is when Joshua (yeah, him for once) speaks to Rebis about how his mother has died. That whole scene works because it is Rebis and his split character. Plus, its not like he doesn’t care about his mother, since when he is on his own, he shows regret for not seeing her. Morrison writes these scenes excellently and they bleed character, making everything feel so real in this unreal world. There are also the conversations between Robotman and Jane, which work well since these characters are friends. Since Morrison’s first issue, the bond between Robotman and Jane has become closer and we see them evolve as friends, which is rather odd but good to see. This is because whenever the Doom Patrol are outside in public, people stare at them and call them freaks, but together, their bond with each other should be strong. Also, we get numerous occasions throughout this story about more of Jane’s personalities, some of which are more extreme than others. While at times you can cringe at some of her dialogue in the third part of this story, these moments are essential in order to make all of Jane’s personalities feel different from each other. Morrison succeeds in this and even when she isn’t acting like herself normally, she is still a very strong and great character. Furthermore, in this story, it’s the first real time we see the Chief mention his “private research”, which interests both Joshua and Rebis, who is the only one who has an idea of what the Chief is doing and the dangers of it. These character interactions are excellent, since they build up the over-arching plot and we know, just from reading these scenes, that tension is building in the team.
Now, the main problem of this story is… well, the story. Sure, you are curious when the giant clock weird thingy (that’s the best way to describe it) appears at the end of part one, but afterwards, the plot just accelerates far too quickly, going from coherent to peak-bullsh*t. One moment, everything is ‘normal’ for the Doom Patrol, but then the Sex Men arrive and Mr Evans and everything becomes so sh*tty. Everything becomes difficult to understand and grasp and because of the excellent character writing that takes place before the plot really gets going, the main plot bores and annoys you, making you want to turn the pages faster just so when can see Robotman being confused again. This point is so huge, and its quality of the story drops dramatically. Character interaction and development is all well and good, but when there isn’t a coherent plot to construct it around or focus it on, then readers will just become either bored or irritated. I get that the idea of Mr Evans and the Sex Men is weird and it can work in the world of Doom Patrol. However, it needs to be understood by readers in a clear way, but a way that sometimes has to make the readers think as well. Here, the story isn’t helping at all. Also, the bonging clock thing didn't add up to anything, making that whole cliffhanger to part one entirely pointless. Plus, Willoughby Kipling is back pointlessly, so another reason to dislike the plot. It’s a shame there is so much great character here, which is buried under a steaming pile of crap known as the story.
Once again, the art doesn’t do any favours. Case and McKenna make this unreadable and terrible plot into a pretty dull read, which lacks any emotion and doesn’t make the readers feel anything.
Story: 4/10
Art: 6/10
Death in Venice/Tales of Hoffman --- Written by Grant Morrison with art by Richard Case, Mark Badger, Jamie Hewlett, Rian Hughes, Simson Bisley, Brian Bolland, Duncan Fegredo, Paul Grist, Shaky Kane and Steve Yeowell
THE STORY
A man named Boddy Carmichael wakes up from a strange dream and discovers that he has no arms, but just a floating red glove, which makes him think everything is love. Meanwhile, its been two weeks since Rebis has become a green vortex that makes moaning sounds. Joshua asks when the Justice League is moving back, but the Chief doesn’t care, as long as they stay away from his researching and Rebis. Elsewhere, Jane tells Robotman that her main personality is underground, helping with modernisation. She also finds Cliff Steele’s ashes from after the accident, which Robotman says he keeps for sentimental reasons. Meanwhile, Doctor Silence has noticed his painting is nearly completely black and that there is a voice calling out from it. Long ago, a young German actress became obsessed with herself in the mirror that when her appearance got older, she planned to kill the woman in the mirror. However, when she threw acid onto the mirror, she realised that the reflection was her, causing her to blow her brains out. Years later, a boy found the broken mirror and it came to life as Alias the Blur. In Venice, Doctor Silence is met with Alias, along with Agent “!”, a person in which nothing about him comes as a surprise and the man with the floating red glove, named the Love Glove. They tell Doctor Silence that they
have all experienced dreams about uniting to wait for the painting to reveal what inside of it. Suddenly, a figure comes out of the black painting and it is Mr Nobody (Doom Patrol (vol 2) 26-29). Although grateful that Doctor Silence rescued him from the painting, he orders him to look at his own reflection. Despite that Doctor Silence will disappear if he sees himself in a mirror, he is forced to by Mr Nobody, causing him to vanish. Elsewhere, something begins to form inside Rebis’s vortex. Ready for his next attack on reality, Mr Nobody and his new Brotherhood of Dada, consisting of Alias the Blur, Love Glove and Agent “!”plan to use the bicycle of Albert Hoffmann.
While working on a medicine for headaches, Albert Hoffmann discovers the hallucinogenic power of the drugs. Curious, he took the drugs and rode his bicycle home with his assistant, a journey full of detours and strange feelings. Mr Nobody explains that this is what caused LSD to be created and that his bicycle was forgotten about because of it. It became supercharged with LSD energy which can alter reality. Excited, Mr Nobody rides the bike out, followed by the Brotherhood of Dada. Meanwhile, in Venice, Robotman and Jane are shocked when they find Rebis is back. Elsewhere, Mr Nobody rides his bike across the city, causing reality to become warped and twisted, along with the people of Venice to experience hallucinations. Confused, the Doom Patrol wonder where the changes in the street suddenly came from. Suddenly, Alias the Blur, Love Glove and Agent “!” appear and begin fighting the Doom Patrol. At the same time, Mr Nobody continues to ride his bike across Venice, altering the buildings and layout of the city. He finds Robotman and to attack him, brings a building to life, which grabs and throws him. Elsewhere, Rebis and Jane fight the Brotherhood, while Mr Nobody decides to steal a school bus. Angry, Robotman, Rebis and Jane are defeated when the Brotherhood escape on the bus. Later on, while the school bus has broken down and Love Glove tries to fix it, Mr Nobody reveals his plan to make the world into what the Painting That Ate Paris looked like, claiming that together, they will make the world into a utopia.
MY THOUGHTS
Again, this story’s best aspect is character. That may not come as a surprise, but honestly, I find the scenes featuring the Chief and Joshua to be a lot more interesting than what is going on with Mr Nobody. Once again, the Chief is clearly hiding something, mentioning his research once again. This is evidence that Morrison is cleverly building up the story to something big, excellently teasing us for the ultimate story of his stint on Doom Patrol (vol 2). Apart from that, I do think the build of Mr Nobody’s return, featuring Doctor Silence staring into the painting as voices come from is effective, even though the moment you see the painting, it is fairly obvious who is on the other side of it. Also, I do find some of Mr Nobody’s history about LSD to be quite amusing, even if it is overdone in the second part of the story.
Although I liked the original Brotherhood of Dada from The Painting That Ate Paris story, this newer version is nowhere near as good and quite honestly, pretty boring. Sure, their concepts and origins may be weird, especially Love Glove, but I don’t think any of them are as interesting as previous villains like the Quiz. I also think the spotlight was needed more on Doctor Silence, who is only really there to free Mr Nobody. Why couldn’t he have been in the Brotherhood? I mean, he is much more interesting than the likes of Love Glove, Alias the Blur and Agent “!”, all of whom come across as not just boring, but also too clever for their own good. Not only that, but Mr Nobody himself isn’t great here either. He spends most of the second part of the story just riding a bike, says a jokey line or two, before moving on. Sure, the main plot is a weird one, but not a very appealing one. It just reminds me of The Painting That Ate Paris, but instead of a painting, it’s a bike, meaning the two stories don’t feel very different. I think the second part of the story is pretty unreadable, and that is the 50th issue. For 30 pages, it just features Mr Nobody on a bike causing Venice to change while the Doom Patrol act like idiots and do nothing about it. That’s another problem with the story, the Doom Patrol basically might as well not be in the story. They are just useless here. Also, Rebis just turns up randomly, after being in some weird green vortex for a few issues. There isn’t much explanation for how or why he is back, but he is. Guess we just have to accept that. For a 50thissue, this is a huge disappointment. I get the fact that Morrison wanted to bring back a popular villain, Mr Nobody, but it just doesn’t work because nothing is explained and the plot is just a huge mess of strange facts from history and moments in the story where nothing happens. Compared to the last story featuring Mr Nobody and his Brotherhood of Dada, this is just terrible.
The art of the main story featuring Mr Nobody can be horrific to look at. While the art by Case and Badger is nothing to rave over, I’d sooner have him than I would Jamie Hewlett, who looks just terrible here. The art has that unfortunate mixture of both bland and ugly, which really makes this story harder to read. Rian Hughes art isn’t much better, but at least the people look like people. Hughes’s art can look very flat, but it has a cartoony charm which I can see some readers enjoying. However, Hewlett’s art is just a mess and Case’s is just as boring as usual. That being said, there is a second story in the back of issue 50. I say story, it just features a load of different splash pages by different artists that show the Doom Patrol fighting some weird
creatures. While some pages look horrible, such as those by Paul Grist and Duncan Fegredo, others can look good or even excellent, especially Brian Bolland’s piece featuring Elasti-Girl, the last member of the original Doom Patrol to be brought back. However, the art is pretty mixed overall.
Story: 2/10
Art: 5/10
VERDICT
Overall, Doom Patrol: Musclebound is another mixed bag. While it does feature a fantastic one-off featuring the Beard Hunter, along with a solid three-parter featuring the Pentagon and Flex Mentallo, the story featuring Mr Evans is certainly below average and the return of Mr Nobody is a disappointment, with the story being pretty unreadable. Once again, Morrison writes the characters here perfectly, but not always the plots. The art has its ups, downs and mehs. The usual by Case never fails to bore, while the guest art of Steve Yeowell and others can be quite good, while others like Jamie Hewlett are like bad fanart. However, with the overarching plot coming along well, the Chief hiding something, hopefully things can only go up from here…
Stories: 6/10
Art: 6.5/10
Next Week: The Atomic Knights (Strange Adventures 117, 120, 123, 126, 129, 132, 135, 138, 141, 144, 147, 150, 153, 156, 160). Written by John Broome with art by Murphy Anderson. Expected to be published by 08/03/2020.
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