Customer Reviews

Doom Patrol, Book 5: Magic Bus

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Grant Morrison's unstoppable reworking of the Doom Patrol thunders towards its inevitable conclusion in the penultimate book, "Magic Bus" (vol. 5 of 6). Morrison's runs rarely end with anything less than the apocalypse; this one is no exception, and probably the model for some of his other stories. The book starts off with the resolution of the "Brotherhood of Dada" storyline left unfinished at the end of "Musclebound" and then sets about exploring the principal characters. Morrison has left the self-conscious oddity of the Pentagon Horror and Judge Rock storylines behind and begins focusing on the wheels that have been turning in the background over the course of the series. Most notably, Rebis gets an issue all to him/her/itsel(ves). That issue ("Aenigma Regis") ranks among Morrison and Case's best work - Morrison's ideas about the rich inner life of his compound hero (one part male test pilot, one part female doctor, one part sexless alien being) functions on a level that the writer seems to have invented for this book; it is personal and mythic and smartly Freudian all at the same time.

Ultimately, this is "man-in-a-can" Cliff Steele's story. As a formerly human brain encased in an only vaguely humanoid robot body, Cliff's spiraling depression started the story, and his tortuous return from it has been happening in the background for the last four volumes. Now, his deep friendship with Crazy Jane and complete devotion to the Chief are landing him in tighter spots than we'd previously imagined they could. The rude, uninterested version of the character from "Crawling from the Wreckage" is gone - in his place is a completely changed man. Cliff's evolution is quiet, but there's a narrative perfection about his development, particularly the slow growth of his platonic, protective love for Jane.

Also witness the redemption of Crazy Jane, the fruition of the Chief's hidden master plan, and (most interestingly), the fate of The Candlemaker, Dorothy Spinner's horrifying familiar. The Candlemaker sets the stage for the final volume, which brings the comic book to its scary, loving, wonderfully satisfying ending.

This series is as random as random gets--and this collection continues that tradition. While it is enjoyable and as insane as the rest of the series, and takes time to continue or wrap up plot points that were created in previous installments, it seems a little too fast paced, almost as if trying to rush through a ton of ideas that Morrison has but no space for him to get it down. But if you've gotten this far in the series, it's still necessary and enjoyable to read.

If you have been following Grant Morrison's run on the Doom Patrol you have certain expectations. This book is good, but not great and feels transitional. Crawling from the Wreckage, The Painting that Ate Paris, and Down Paradise Way are better books. I will say this is a step up from the last collection, Musclebound, as the Pentagon and Flex Mentallo stories are really kind of overrated.

On to the Magic Bus...

Issues 51 & 52 are dealing with the new Brotherhood of Dada, but the old Brotherhood was better in The Painting that Ate Paris. The whole Mr. Nobody for president story is ok, but I was a little unsatisfied.

Doom Patrol 53 is a tribute to Jack Kirby. Weird issue, I love Jack Kirby but this issue kind of left me wanting a more traditional Doom Patrol story.

Doom Patrol 54 - Aenigma Regis - see what you think, it's ok.

Doom Patrol 55 & 56 - issues about Crazy Jane, at this point I really wish the focus of the book was on the entire team, but see what you think, these are ok issues.

Doom Patrol 57 - well this one is a total mind f*ck as there is murder, manipulation, and Caulder reveals himself as to having totally selfish/evil reasons for constructing the Doom Patrol. Uh, Caulder has been murdered and now there is the Candlemaker? A hammer has fallen and it's a pretty mouth watering issue, leaving you to wonder what will happen next.

Hassle free purchase of a classic collection of a classic series.
-Richard