Doom Patrol, Book 2: The Painting That Ate Paris
Before writing such critically acclaimed cult comics asThe Invisibles, Morrison made his name in 1988 by updating Animal Man, a third-rate 1960s costumed crimefighter. The next year he similarly resuscitated the Doom Patrol, a band of misfit superheroes whose strange powers made society fear and hate them (compare Marvel's X-Men, who debuted at the same time). Morrison'sAnimal Mandrew praise for daring experimentation, but his "World's Strangest Superheroes" raised the stakes by replacing many original cast members with the likes of Crazy Jane, a schizophrenic whose multiple personalities each has its own superpower, and Dorothy Spinner, an ape-faced girl with the ability to distort reality. In this second collection of Morrison'sDoom Patrolrun, the archvillainous Brotherhood of Evil has been supplanted by the ludicrous but dangerous Brotherhood of Dada. Morrison's outrageously inventive takes on superheroes, which manage to be both smart and silly, may be off-putting to tradition-minded fans. The compensation is that his sensibility draws readers who usually prefer alternative comics.Gordon FlaggCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved