VerdictFor those lamenting the upcoming demise of Vertigo, Young Animal is probably for you! Doom Patrol: Weight of the Worlds #1 blends satire with emotional resonance and intellectual depth through a thematic approach to storytelling. It's aimed at a reader looking for something more, but still manages to retain a sense of “fun!” Read Full Review

If you've ever loved the Doom Patrol, in any of their many, many forms, then Weight of the Worlds cannot be missed. Read Full Review

This is a nice start to a new series. It seems promising. Only time can tell but if the other issues are as good as this one then we might just be in for a real treat. Read Full Review

With Young Animal standing as the last of the DC imprints, Doom Patrol will continue to tow the line despite such great lengths of time between issues. With a new direction and creative team to back Gerard Way up in the creation process, fans cross their fingers in hopes of this niche titles continued survival and success. Read Full Review

It's back and I am so happy! This book is just a joy to read. It has humor, it has twists, and it has emotion. It covers important topics, while also being so freaking strange. The characters are all on a personal journey, and the plot is exciting and thoughtful. And this issue's art team really brought their A-game. Read Full Review

James Harvey's art is fantastic. Mixing different visual styles is the perfect way to tell a story like this and every page is a visual feast for the eyes. Read Full Review

'Doom Patrol Weight of the Worlds #1' is a whimsical return to form for Gerard Way and company. With spectacular visuals, intricate plotting and a unique perspective of positivity, the return of Doom Patrol proves that DC's Young Animal pop-up imprint still has a lot to offer. Read Full Review

This unusual group of superheroes is supposed to be weird, and there is enough of that here, but with Doom Patrol: Weight of the Worlds, we get accessibility with all the good parts left in. This new version is wholly worthwhile for fans new and old. Read Full Review

There is no question that Way really understands what the Doom Patrol is about. And James Harvey seems to be a perfect visual accompaniest. Read Full Review

Doom Patrol returns to form with a bizarre, dark, sometimes humorous, and character-driven first issue. Read Full Review

If you've every enjoyed a Doom Patrol book in the past or like the series, give this a read. Read Full Review

This title isn't so much a narrative as it is an experience, but so far it's an experience I want to take again. Read Full Review

If you have been missing the Doom Patrol in comic book form, then Doom Patrol: Weight of the Worlds #1 will be the welcome return you've been waiting for. Armed with a clear direction, appropriately insane plot, and dynamite visuals, Young Animal's flagship title is back in a big way. Though you'll have to wait until July 3 to get a look at the strangeness yourself, we assure you Doom Patrol: Weight of the Worlds #1 is a re-debut you won't want to miss. Read Full Review

"Doom Patrol Weight of the Worlds" #1 is a colorful and bizarre return and an excellent reintroduction to Way's take on the Doom Patrol. Read Full Review

Overall this is a great issue to get to know Doom Patrol, whether you're a complete newbie, a lapsed reader or you've seen the television series and want more. Read Full Review

The Doom Patrol are a team once more, fixing weird injustices in crazy settings with incredible chemistry between the characters. Finally, we may have a Doom Patrol title that lives up to the legendary Grant Morrision run. Read Full Review

Weirdo characters, an attempt at depth, and some "meta" commentary on comic book history.  Basically everything we've come to expect from "current year" Doom Patrol.  It's good for what it is, but I'm not sure it was completely worth the wait. Read Full Review

While thisDoom Patrol: Weight of the Worlds #1 doesn't deliver anything astounding, I urge new fans to stick with the series. I've seen the products that Way can deliver, and I think you will not be disappointed. He is a deep, and thoughtful writer, and heavily involves those on his creative team to contribute. With issue one though, it was fun, deep, but I'm hoping for more moving forward. Read Full Review

Awesome

I missed this book.

Weight of the Worlds #1, a comic that is good (but not great) for a comeback of Gerard Way's Doom Patrol.

Weird, with some issues, but I think I have a good tolerance for weird.

It's weird, but maybe not enough? The central concept of an evil fitness planet is mediocre at best. However, it's even blander done in the most cliche way possible. Granted, it's likely self-aware...but it's not funny or a subversion. So who cares?

Interesting change up of art. Took me a while to get used to all the small panels, but it works.

Too many characters now. Casey is all but forgotten.

Also, the little editor's notes annoyed me. If you're trying to catch up new readers...you need to do a lot more than that.

I didn’t love the art, and was bugged by small inconsistencies throughout. Like when a character is apparently kickflipping down some stairs and ... but then is holding a longboard in the next panel?!

At least the story was properly weird.

The stuff with Cliff Steele was good... Mostly. The stuff with Jude Law forcing fat people to be muscular was not. I don't like weirdness for the sake of it and that's all that was. I wasn't the biggest fan of Way's first run because of it, and that was before I started reading Morrison's run. Now having read some of that, it just makes this feel even more inferior by comparison. But... There are glimpses of hope. Like I said, the Cliff stuff was mostly well done, and it's the only reason I'm invested at all.

Words cannot truly express the level of disappointment that I have with this book, but I will try.

First, Gerard Way was allowed to totally disregard the fact that the DC Universe streaming service delivered a critically acclaimed season of live-action Doom Patrol. Instead, he started the book -- a first issue, mind you -- announcing that this was issue 13 of his arc. Right off the bat, new readers from the TV show are going to wonder what in the world is going on.

And I did.

But fear not! Way has an editor, and the editor has editor's notes! Those notes are plastered throughout this book in the same manner that you plastered Beth's cubicle with post-its as a prank for her birthday. They are EVERYWHERE throughout the book. Is it helpful? Kind of. It's also an implicit admission by DC editorial that this book makes no sense to the new reader. The script should have been scrubbed before it went to the artist. No book should need this many explanatory reference notes. Total tone-deafness on Way and DC's part.

EXAMPLE: Danny is a street in the tv show. He's an ambulance -- with a theme park inside! -- in the book. Of course, that's only explained in an editor's note...so you have to run this strangeness through a translator because both what we saw on tv and what we are reading on the page is wacked out, each in its own way.

Way's best writing came in the closing pages with Cliff Steele trying to rebuild personal relationships. The emotions are deep, and the pain is palpable. (And while an editor's note may have been useful to tell us that Robotman is no longer a robot but instead a human figure...it wasn't there. Maybe editorial burnt through their quota of notes in the first 20 pages.)

I'm wanted to enjoy this book, but reading it was so incredibly hard. It's obtuse to begin with being Doom Patrol, then it was mind-numbingly self-referential because it picked up on a storyline that newcomers like me did not know. Not an enjoyable read in the least.

I sure hope Gerard Way had a big audience with his last run, because he kneecapped his chances for big circulation growth.

I know my rating is low, and it's only as high as it is because the art isn't bad. more

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TheHyruleElf - Jul 3, 2019

You know, you could...just like...go back and read the original run? Or, I dunno, look up a plot summary? It's clear this book is a sequel, so you should probably read the first damn part before saying it doesn't make sense.

AdmiralWhiskers - Jul 3, 2019

Or it could have been numbered #13, and I wouldn't have bothered. Commercial pressures from the TV show aside, I think it fair to expect a fresh start with a first issue.

Inknight033 - Jul 3, 2019

It had no link to the show whatsoever and it had been made clear in the announcements that it is a continuation of Way's previous run on Doom Patrol. The previous run was great and has been collected in 2 trades. Just pick them and may be then you will appreciate this run better (just a suggestion) .

Br'er Lapin AKA 20-Ish Ceiln - Jul 6, 2019

Thank god he didn't just make this the TV show.

myconius - Jul 19, 2019

i agree with AdmiralWhiskers. if this was going to be a continuation, then it should be numbered as issue #13. to put a number 1 on it is just plain dumb.

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THE GOOD:

-I didn't hate the art? I really miss Nick Derington though. For all of the flaws of Gerard Way's original 12-issue run, at least the art was always a pleasure.

-I liked Cliff… a lot actually. I don't remember much about him from the original 12 issue run, so he couldn't have been written that well there. But his story here was great. The only parts of the issue I really enjoyed, if I'm being honest.

THE BAD:

-Sigh. More Gerard Way. Yay… This seems to check all the Gerard Way DP boxes… lazy writing (check), forced weirdness (check), weak characters (check…mostly).

-I don't like Casey at all. In the first Gerard Way series, she was an unnecessary new character who was always shallow as hell. Here she's even worse. I don't think I've read a Doom Patrol run with more dull characters. And Doom Patrol is a series that essentially relies on exactly the opposite. So right there, he's missed the core of the series.

-Man, I do not like how this artist draws Rita. At. All.

-This whole thing felt so shallow. It might look like the "good old Doom Patrol" on the surface, but the story is weak as hell, and it's a drag to read. Especially considering how contrived all the "weirdness" is.

-As if Gerard Way didn't do a bad enough job on the plotting, Jeremy Lambert comes in and gives us this awful script.

-The "Marathon World" maybe could've been done better by a good writer, but here it was just painfully stupid. The execution made it feel like a really bad Cartoon Network show, or even an Illumination movie. more

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myconius - Jul 19, 2019

people keep telling me to check out Gerard Way's Doom Patrol. i tried issue 1 of his first Young Animal line. it didn't really do anything for me. felt like it was trying to be something that it was not.

ohhaimark - Jul 19, 2019

Yeah… that's exactly right actually. That forced sense of weirdness stuck with the series in its entirety. Then things got even worse when the schedule was all messed up and half-assed issues came out once every three months. I've heard people talk about this run like it's the best one since Morrison's, which is honestly ridiculous.

myconius - Jul 20, 2019

yeah. i agree with you 100%. this run isn't even a pimple on Morrison's Doom Patrol's ass.

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