Doom Patrol
From Barbelith
The Doom Patrol was one of Grant's earlier works for DC, and it was one of Morrison's most brilliant runs. Earlier, the Doom Patrol was more or less a traditional comic book,the premise being that a group of superpowered people who did not seem to fit in anywhere came together at the behest of a wheelchair bound scientist named Niles Caulder to investigate strange happenings. But after Grant began his run,he redefined strangeness as the series went into brave new territory where comic books had never journeyed before. He explored concepts like Dada, alchemy and the human psyche, while never failing to make the book interesting on an immediate story level.
The cast of the book included Cliff Steele, sometimes known as Robotman, who was a human brain of a former race car driver trapped inside a robot body. There was also Niles Caulder, otherwise known as the chief. Grant added two new members. One was Crazy Jane, who's real name was Kay Challis. She was a mental patient with 64 different personalities, each with its own superpower. Another was Rebis, who originally was an earlier member of Doom Patrol who was a test plane pilot named Larry Trainor inhabited by an alien "Negative energy" being. But Morrison revamped the character, merging him with the negative being and a female doctor named Eleanor Poole, turning him/her into a divine hermaphroditic being. Josh Clay, another old Doom Patrol memeber joined the group as its physician. A few issues later, another new character named Dorothy Spinner joined the group. She was a young girl who could manifest beings residing in her subconscious.
Grant portrayed each of these characters with amazing detail. They all seemed 3 dimensional, having very distinct, very genuine personalities. Cliff was the lovable everyman of the group, often getting confused by the strangeness that surrounded the Doom Patrol. Rebis was divine in his/her power and aloofness. His/her chilling indifference to human emotions was one of the most unique traits of the character. Dorothy was a sweet young girl, unsure of her looks and her powers, desperately trying not to anger anyone. Each of Crazy Jane's personas revealed something new about her. The Chief was a manipulative genius who never listened to anyone.
But Grant's true brilliance was most evident in this book in the ideas and concepts he created. There was Orquith, a fictional city trying to super impose itself upon reality. There was Red Jack, a being who thought he was both god and Jack the ripper. There was the painting that ate Paris. There was the Brotherhood of Dada, led by Mr. Nobody. They tried to make the people of the world see how pointless existence is. There were many, many more ideas uch as these. I was amazed that one man could give birth to so many unique, beautiful and otherworldly ideas.
The Doom Patrol is one of Grant's seminal works. It should really be given the respect it deserves.
