Doom Patrol Vol. 3: Down Paradise Way by Grant Morrison, Richard Case, Kelley Jones, Mark McKenna, John Nyberg and Kim Demulder (graphic novel review).
If you wondered when Danny the Street first appeared, then look no further than Doom Patrol Vol. 3: Down Paradise Way, reprinting Doom Patrol #35-46 from 1992. Surely one of the most unique and enigmatic characters in comics, Danny just loves to party. Well, except when he has problems with the people from N.O.W.H.E.R.E. This volume also introduces the 1950s-style strongman Flex Mentallo.
Elsewhere, at what is actually the old JLA base, Rhea Jones has undergone a metamorphosis, amplifying her magnetic powers and attracting almost anything metallic. Well, nearly anything, as Cliff Steele’s robot body seems immune. She and the Doom Patrol are drawn off-planet to their first alien world, although they appear to be observers of the action rather than actually taking part in it.
I should point out that these issues rush by as you read them and essentially comprise only two extended stories. They certainly fulfil writer Grant Morrison’s desire to write peculiar tales but, even when I read them originally, I did wonder how long he could keep this up, or how many peculiar villains and groups he could continue to invent.
Objectively, there can be too much of a good thing, and that can eventually burn out even the most inventive creative teams. As there are three more graphic novels containing these stories, however, there is still a long way to go. Morrison is building things up and providing the series with its own increasingly strange history. Just don’t trip over it.
GF Willmetts
August 2026
(pub: Vertigo/DC Comics, 2006. Graphic novel softcover. Price: varies. ISBN: 1-40120-726-7)
Check out website: www.dc.com
