Unstoppable Doom Patrol #3 – Dennis Culver, Writer; Chris Burnham, Artist; Brian Reber, Colorist
Ray – 9/10
Ray: Three issues in, this series seems to be all over the map—literally. That’s a good thing, as the motley crew of the Doom Patrol heads across the country to help mysterious metahumans gain control of their powers and stay ahead of the law. This issue takes them to Reno, Nevada—for a mission that puts them in the sights of the Green Lantern Corps. That’s because they’re trying to help a teenager who has bonded with a spore of Starro the Conqueror, but had unique metahuman abilities that allowed him to maintain his mind and create a new hive-mind combining them both. The result is… Starbro, a psychic bro-dude with a starfish on his face, who kind of just wants to vibe and is enthusiastic about working with the Doom Patrol. The problem is, the Green Lantern Corps have deemed anything Starro-related to be an imminent threat—and are willing to tear Reno apart to get it.
It’s Guy Gardner and Kyle Rayner who draw the short end of the stick and have to take on this mission, with the two playing the good cop-bad cop routine pretty well. Negative Man plays the starring role in the Doom Patrol this issue, with his negative spirit wreaking havoc on the Lanterns pretty effectively. There is also some great material involving the unconventional identities that some members of the Doom Patrol have, with a conversation between Robotman and Negative Man having some surprising heft. Chris Burnham’s art continues to be a massive highlight, with the kinetic energy and gross-out effects being note-perfect for this property. Overall, this issue is missing the other characters just a bit, given the last issue’s cliffhanger, but these oddball done-in-one adventures are a lot of fun and are giving some unexpected new characters the spotlight in every issue.
To find reviews of all the DC issues, visit DC This Week.
GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
