Camaraderie In Tragedy
The Good: Last issue ended with a huge shock, and it leaves this one to pick up the broken pieces. In despair the Doom Patrol actually comes closer together. It's almost depressing that Robotman did a better job at uniting this team through his death than he did in his life, but that has more to do with the fringe. He did wonders for Fever and Kid Slick's self confidence, and what he did was enough to get them to help each other through tough times. But what really amazed me was the subtle indications of Negative Man's dialogue that indicated a burning desire to be needed. He genuinely cares about the team, but something in his heart prevents him from showing it. But in the end, who ends up melting a hole in the wall? Freak, the ice queen. Freak speaks the most memorable line in the issue. Negative Man is sick of the shit life has dealt him. He's hit rock bottom and he's cutting his ties aside. But Freak simply tells him, "Don't go." The polar opposites ended up helping each other out in a heart wrenching moment.
For most of the issue, tensions were high, and it worked incredibly well. On the surface it was the death of Robotman, but on a deeper level, this team has first realized what it means to be the Doom Patrol. Things don't always make sense, and you have to prepare for ANYTHING to happen, because anything WILL happen.
Slimey Thayer Jost. Always looking to make a buck. His tenacity impresses me, but I can see where he's going at the end and I feel a tinge of disgust. I shouldn't be surprised, he's a shady executive who emphasizes exactly why captialism doesn't quite work. Jost, and capitalism, is all about making money for its own sake. Its not about providing goods and services, its all about making money. Thus there's a subtle layer of irony when we see a new character introduced. The russian scientist Kolodenko. I believe he will be an ally because jumping from a devout capitalist to a possibly communist would be delicious sweet irony.
The Bad: Things slow down a bit this issue, and it makes perfect sense, but some might be turned off by the lack of action.
Fever burning her clothes off her body is already becoming an annoying cliche, although I have to admire the complete lack of sxualization of it this time.
In Conclusion: 4.5/5
This issue is an odd balance of high tensions, and relaxed fallout after the team had the true meaning of 'Doom Patrol' thrust onto them, simultaniously losing the one member they had who understood what it means. There's a ton of interesting subplots set up here, and this issue functions as the transition point between the introduction of pure Doom Patrol weirdness and the implementation of it. This issue wasn't perfect because of it being an inbetween issue, but its just as solid as I've come to expect from this series.