REVIEW: Doom Patrol: Director's Cut #1

Doom Patrol issue 1Â focuses on Casey Brinke, a young EMT, who is described as weird, due to the tales she tells. Her world gets even stranger when Casey and her partner, Sam Reynolds, encounter a robot man who has been involved in a hit and run accident. This series is notable for its originality and courage to experiment. However, I won’t go into many of the plot details of this book. If you are interested in this, it’s likely you are already a fan of Doom Patrol and are here for the extra features. I would recommend a purchase of the standard issue with full coloring etc. if you are just starting out with this title.

I love Nick Derington’s art and to see it in this raw form is a delight. I’ve always been intrigued when seeing pure pencil art, so I received special joy from this issue. Nick’s art is clean and simple without glossing over important details. His art has a perfectionist quality and slight animation sense to it. Every stroke has a purpose and anything extraneous is not present.

The cover is brilliant. It is intriguing if you haven’t read the book and makes sense when you have. You will have that “Oh, I get it” moment when you hit that point in the book.

I’m a fan of director cuts of comic books. It gives hardcore fans an insight into the making of the titles we treasure. The early drafts and annotations also provide details about the creator’s process, which can be helpful for those looking to get into the comics industry. I feel like fans should support these titles purely for the historical and educational benefits they provide. My wish is that older books would be given this type of treatment. I’m sure the DC and Marvel vaults are filled with important artifacts that document the creations of many titles. Comic books are a relatively young industry, but given their importance to our culture, especially in recent times (the film industry would be in worse shape if it weren’t for the popularity of comic book films), I think it’s important to show the process of how these titles came to exist. Since many of the pioneers of this industry are no longer with us, to provide personal insight, these types of books become increasingly important.

I give this book 4 out 5 stars. If you are the type of person that isÂ inclined to listen to “Director Commentaries” on DVD, Blu-Ray, etc., you are likely to get substantial enjoyment from this. I encourage fans of both Doom Patrol and readers who are simply intrigued by what goes into making a comic, to read this book.

[yasr_overall_rating size=”large”]

Written by Gerard Way
Art by Nick Derington
Published by DC’s Young Animal imprint