Doom Patrol #2 - DC

I've been a fan of the Doom Patrol for a very long time. I appreciate the old stuff . . the foundation, but to me the most interesting series was Grant Morrison's stuff. Those issues explored a lot of new ideas and paradigms. And what better team to do that with? Anyways, my point is, with Keith Giffen at the helm . . he's got a little bit of that feel also with this book. I mean, with this story-line, they're dealing with a sentient black-hole. It came into being at the Vulcan Supercollider in Germany. And it's interesting this issue to see how it goes from person to person, gathering intelligence and raw data. He tells the Doom Patrol later, "Curiosity . . once I stumbled across the concept, the allure was irresistible. Knowledge for the sake of knowledge. If it's there to know, I am compelled to know it." To which Rita responds, "Oh my got . . it's another Chief." With this latest incarnation, we're also dealing with the whole Oolong Island thing. Now that it's a sovereign nation, I think Dr Cale is tolerating Will's residence. However, with the turbulence that usually follows this group . . I'm sure that will be precarious at best. Plus we have the usual personality quirks that follow the members of this group. We have Karen, the Bumblebee from the Teen Titans, living in a doll-house in Rita's room. They're 'roomies', of sorts. However, it looks like Karen is more of a 'sounding-block' for Rita. There's also a new supporting character in the form of Rocky. He's a priest, and kind of the team's resident therapist. I don't know why nobody thought of that before. If any team needs that support, it's this one. And in the first issue we lost Nudge. Although I don't think that's the last we've seen of her. I think Keith has a tremendous handle on this group and these characters. If anyone can succeed here, it'll be him. I also love Matthew Clark's pencils. The back-up feature is another group of my favorite characters, the Metal Men. Keith is also involved with that. Along with JM Dematteis and Kevin Maguire. You know. The same group that brought us Justice League International . . back when it was fun . . in the beginning. It's a great feature and I really hope it grows from here. Overall, I think this is a great book. Definitely worth a 'look-see' if you're not reading it.