Doom Patrol #2

   The Doom Patrol is back as part of DC's new Young Animal line, and it's a tall challenge for any writer.

   That's because the team has two key periods that are imprinted with long-time readers, and the new series has to measure up against those.

    The first series in the original run appeared in 1963, and the surprisingly dark adventure series was expertly crafted by writer Arnold Drake and artist Bruno Premiani.

   In 1989 Grant Morrison re-imagined the team with artist Richard Case, and it was a brilliant crazy-quilt of abstract concepts and surreal threats.

   So against that we have the new version of the team by writer Gerard Way and artist Nick Derington - and it's managing to walk that tightrope between the two.

   We're seeing elements of the original series (as that Mike Allred cover illustrates) and characters from the Morrison version. 

   The characters and events also seem to have a tenuous connection with reality, and the reader may wonder what is real and what isn't.

   (And how I love the one-page bits with the Chief, Niles Caulder.)

   So far, I'm enjoying this a lot - it's a great mix of terrific characters, humor and mystery, and I can't wait to see where it goes next.

   Highly recommended!

Grade: A

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