We know walking into your local comic shop or browsing the new titles on Comixology can be harrowing, particularly with the rising prices of comics. The GeekRex team feels your pain, so that's why each week two members of our team will collaborate and highlight the "must-buys" of every Wednesday, and we'll make sure we keep the tab under 20 bucks. Props to MultiversityComics for coming up with the great idea–we hope you like our spin on it!
Week's Team: Kyle & Shane





Total Price: $18.95
Pick of the Week:
The Doom Patrol Omnibus by Grant Morrison, Richard Case and various artists
We've been talking about "Moz" a good deal on the site lately, and with good reason, as he's one of the few consistently great writers still working in Big Two superhero comics. Along with Warren Ellis, who is edging out of Marvel again for more creator-owned Image work, he's about all that's left of the Alan Moore-Neil Gaiman-Peter Milligan-Jamie Delano "British Invasion" class of writers that still produce regular work in mainstream comics. Doom Patrol was one of his earlier assignments for DC, and followed very closely on the heels of his classic run on Animal Man. What differs between the two though, is that rather than attempt to ape other writers (as Morrison admits to being highly influenced by Alan Moore for the early issues of Animal Man), Doom Patrol embraces that earlier series' mind-bending back-half from the very beginning.
Working with artist Richard Case for the majority of the series' duration, Morrison reinvented the classic 60's Doom Patrol lineup, a team that somewhat resembled the outcast status of Marvel's X-Men but in a much uglier, art-deco kind of way. Taking this concept a step-further, Morrison reinvented the team as a stand-in for the "outsiders" in society, including Robotman (who acted as a metaphor for the struggles of those living with physical disabilities), Crazy Jane (representing mental illness), Rebis (gender dysphoria), and Dorothy Spinner (physical deformities). This is a series that challenged readers ideas of what is considered "normal" and did it through the lens of infusing the low brow of comics with high art, including embracing post-modernism and the art meets philosophy of Dada. In many ways, Morrison and Case's work on this series was the next logical step after Jim Steranko's all too brief work on Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.
While Animal Man introduced a number of concepts that would reappear in Morrison's work for years on end, Doom Patrol is the first time we get a chance to see Morrison truly unleashed on the world of superheroes and its absolutely essential reading for anyone interested in just how far the genre can stretch
It's a bit pricey, but an essential tome of DC lore, and can be purchased here.
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