Doom Patrol #1

   Last November, I had the privilege to work security for some of the special events at NC Comicon. It was really cool to be in on the inside edge of comics. One such activity were the two-day Q&As with My Chemical Romance lead-singer Gerard Way.

   At the time, Way had had success with the Dark Horse series The Umbrella Academy, along with limited-issue sequel and a handful of short stories. But it had been a few years since the singer had delved back into the comic book world. But on the night of his first Q&A, Gerard Way announced that he had teamed with the good folks at DC and a new Doom Patrol series was forthcoming.
    For those of you not in the know, the Doom Patrol is often considered the forefather to the X-Men. A team of what the world would consider 'freaks' were recruited by the brilliant and mysterious Dr. Niles Caulder, who was confined to a wheelchair because of a previous injury. In the 90s, the team were revamped by Grant Morrison, who incorporated elements of surrealism, Dada, and dissected story structure. This new Doom Patrol was considered a massive hit and along with Neil Gaiman's Sandman series, the founding titles of DC's Vertigo imprint.
    It was Morrison's incarnation of the Doom Patrol that had a direct impact on Gerard Way's Doom Patrol. I learned in one of the afterwords of this issue that Way was an intern at DC in the 90s and worked under Grant Morrison. Way and Morrison became fast friends and the celebrated DC writer ;ater starred in a couple of My Chemical Romance's Killjoys videos as the super villain Korse. Obviously from reading this issue, Morrison's vision of the Doom Patrol is alive in well in this new series.
     So what is Doom Patrol #1 all about? Honestly, I'm not 100% sure but I'm not giving up on it either. Here's what I can figure out thus far:

1.     The hero of the series is a young ambulance driver named Casey Brinke.
2.      Her partner is a single father who has a theory that universes are hiding all over the place. For example, there might be another plane of existence hiding in the folds of his food truck gyro.
3.      Members of the Doom Patrol seem to be bleeding over into Casey's life. Are they from this universe or another plane of the DC multiverse remains to be seen.

    Doom Patrol #1 is the first issue and title of the newest DC Comics imprint Young Animal. Over the few months, Gerard Way and friends will release several more titles featuring some lesser known but equally bizarre characters in the DC Universe such as spelunker extraordinaire Cave Carlson and a female version of Shade: the Changing Man.

    The Young Animal books are touted as 'comics for dangerous humans.' These books are geared for adults and the cover has a rating of 'Mature.' Other than a few swears, the first issue was pretty tame. But if the super-secret sticker peel cover is any indication- things are going to get explosively cosmic! So, parents of little ones- use discretion, please!

     I enjoyed this read. Like I said, I didn't understand much of it. Gerard Way obviously has a plan for his Young Animal books. But it's impossible to establish a new universe in 32-pages (unless you're Stan Lee or Jack Kirby.) It's generally a rule of mine to give a new TV-series at least 3 episodes- because the Pilot normally sucks!  

    With that in mind, I am more than willing to give this series a couple of more issues to get established. What I read might've confused me a little, and I think that's part of Gerard Way's plan. But man this book sure didn't suck!

   Worth Consuming

    Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.