Doom Patrol: Weight of the Worlds #2 – Gerard Way, Writer; Jeremy Lambert, Artist; James Harvey, Colorist
Ratings:
Ray – 7/10
Ray: Last “season”, Gerard Way’s take on the Doom Patrol started out as a fascinating character study before eventually turning into a comic that was gorgeous, but so bizarre and chaotic that it was hard to follow from issue to issue.
This run, that transition took all of two issues, as the character-driven focus of the first issue makes way for a psychedelic head trip though Dannyland in Doom Patrol: Weight of the Worlds #2. It starts well, with the aftermath of Cliff’s apparent suicide attempt after a traumatic visit to his mother last issue. He’s now back in his Robotman body, but he’s been given a bizarre new system where every good deed he does gives him some sort of high-tech upgrade. It’s a good way to keep the character fresh, but it’s clear he hasn’t come anywhere near dealing with the trauma that got him in that situation. However, that’s not going to happen this issue, as the next page the issue goes off into bonkers-land.
Larry Trainor has been sick since the last issue, and this issue the source of his illness becomes clear – a trio of walking orbs filled with positive energy burst from his chest and start causing trouble all around Dannyland. This is oddly similar to the plot with little bouncing Plastic Men in The Terrifics, but significantly weirder.
The Doom Patrol chase them into Dannyland – which is rendered gorgeously in a double-page spread – and Lotion the talking cat gets ahold of one of them and bites it, being transformed into a talking cat prophet of positivity. That plays into an odd storyline involving otherdimensional beings going through a nasty divorce and eventually being reunited by Lotion’s positive energy. There’s also an unexpected transformation for Larry at the end, but weird things happen so fast and furious in this issue that it’s hard to keep up. This is definitely a Morrison-esque book to the nth degree, but that’s not always a smooth read.
To find reviews of all the DC issues, visit DC This Week.
Disclaimer: GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
