Doom Patrol #7

I keep trying to like the Doom Patrol, and they keep chasing me away.

I liked the team when it first appeared in 1963. It was made up of Robotman, Negative Man, Elasti-Girl and the Chief.

They were an odd team of misfits but they dedicated their powers to helping others, and despite some bickering they obviously cared about each other. Their adventures were often fun, occasionally dark and sometimes silly, but (almost) always entertaining.

The book was canceled, only to be brought back time and again. The only revival that could be considered a success was the one written by Grant Morrison, which was loaded with strange characters, insanely clever stories and incredible plot twists. It was a comic like no other, and it finally sputtered out after a change in the creative team.

Even John Byrne struggled with a recent attempt at the Doom Patrol, and his version didn't last.

Which brings us to this effort by writer Keith Giffen and pencillers Matthew Clark and Cliff Richards. They seem to be taking on a herculean task - merging all the past versions of the DP into one semi-coherent continuity.

To manage this, Giffen is taking elements from all those past versions and trying to jigsaw puzzle it all together. For example, this issue features the return of a couple of favorite characters from Morrison's run. It also features a classic villain (who indulges in some mass murder just for the fun of it), a mysterious force behind the Doom Patrol, an ex-Challenger, a New God sidekick, and lots more I'm probably forgetting.

I admire Giffen's courage for tackling something like this, but for me, it's not working. The run up until now has been a mishmash of violence revolving around unlikeable characters, with lots of strange events and not much hope of things being cleared up anytime soon.

I actually only held on this long because of the backup feature, The Metal Men, written by Giffen and J. M. Dematteis, with art by Kevin Maguire.

Those stories have been the polar opposite of DP: funny, light, short and to the point. This comic I would buy.

But this is the last issue for the backup feature, so it's a sad "so long" to the Doom Patrol.

When it comes back again a few more years down the road, I'll pick it up and give it a try, hoping for a return to the dark but likeable heroes from the '60s. But I'm not going to hold my breath waiting.

Grade: D