Doom Patrol #7

by Olivier Roth on July 26, 2017

Writer: Gerard Way
Artist: Michael Allred
Colourist: Laura Allred
Letterer: Todd Klein

Since its return, Doom Patrol has been a downright pleasure to read issue to issue. Gerard Way has recaptured what I believe to be the Doom Patrol’s biggest strength: its utter weirdness. After the conclusion to the first story-arc in issue 6, we are treated to a stand-alone issue this month in a story revolving around the return of the Doom Patrol’s founder, Niles Caulder, The Chief!

Teased in previous issues, The Chief is finally back and has his sights set on taking back the reigns of the team he created. Throughout the issue, we are giving glimpses into the type of character The Chief was in the past: less of a leader and more of a master manipulator. Not someone to be fully trusted, which Way shows in the initial reticence of Cliff, Robotman, to allow the Chief back into his, and his teammates lives.

However, a little convincing by Larry, the Negative Man, allows the members to begrudgingly give the Chief another chance.
From this moment, we are treated to a nice call-back to the old days with a very Silver Age-style adventure, complete with off-world hijinks, weird science, and a completely off the wall “bad-guy”. This is nothing to say of the nice nod to the Doom Patrol of old.

On art, the Allred’s continue to shine and seem fully in their element with this issue. The Allred's have been linked to many quirky books over the years and their style perfectly fits this iteration of the Doom Patrol. Michael's line-work was crisp as usual and Laura’s explosive colours never cease to bring Michael’s characters to life on the page.

One detail that I would like to single out is their use of facial expressions throughout the issue. Robotman and Negative Man are not characters that tend to be emotive due to their circumstances. However, under the deft skills of the Allred's, we are given the rare treat of seeing their feelings on full display.

As an interlude, this issue of Doom Patrol was a great read and continues what I believe has been quite a successful launch to the DC’s Young Animal line of comics. As well as the Chief’s story in this issue, we were also given a few glimpses into the future, and I for one, can’t wait to see where Way takes the Doom Patrol next.
 

Our Score:

9/10

A Look Inside