Doomsayer
Written by: Scott Lobdell
Art by: Javier Fernandez, Ulises Arreola and Corey Breen
Cover Price: $2.99
Release Date: November 18, 2015
I am not going to kid anyone reading this by saying that this series will be remembered by more than a handful of people as they sit on the porch, sipping lemonade and waxing poetic about the good old days. Okay, that scenario will probably never play out at all, but I am sad that Doomed was cancelled. It's more of a wasted opportunity thing than the actual quality of the book as I had this pegged as DC's potential answer to Spider-Man. You can stop laughing now. It's hard enough to establish a new character in our ADD riddled world, but Scott Lobdell seemed to want to develop side characters at the expense of his main and that just didn't work. I can't say things would have been better with a more focused plan of attack, but... Oh well, Scott seems to have learned his lesson a bit, but since this is the last issue of the series, that's infuriating in it's own right, but more on that later. I am here to tell you if the last issue of Doomed is a good read or not and that's what we'll do right about now...
The issue opens up with the huge monster from last issue and it seems to have gotten even bigger. We also get a name for it thanks to Alpha Centurion. It's called "Mother Herd" and yes, that is an awful name. It sounds like some 70's rock band that I don't want any parts of and when it starts generating an army of smaller monsters, Superman, Alpha Centurion and Doomed feel the same way. Actually, Alpha and Supes jump into attack, but Doomed reverts back to his "woe, is me" persona that I hate so much. While the Man of Steel and the Man Who Talks Like a Renaissance Faire Reject make like Edge and Christian and tag team Mother Herd's ass, Doomed just sits and wonders if they even want him around. Come on Scott, aren't we past this?
While Alpha and Superman knock Mother Herd (did I mention I hate that name?) down, she does her Chumbawamba impersonation and gets back up again and this time she picks up a nearby Battleship and smashes it on to our heroes. As Doomed says, "This is going to hurt".
At this point I was wondering about a whole lot of things, but the main one was, is Scott Lobdell going to try to give fans of this book a satisfying ending. You know, maybe work in those side characters he forced on us in earlier issues instead of fully developing Reiser/Doomed. Here is a spoiler for you all, he doesn't. Unless you count Oui Oui who runs off to (I guess) find Doomed.
Before that happens though, the Battleship attack has knocked Doomed and Superman underwater and while Doomed doesn't look any worse for wear, Clark is trapped and is actually dying. This is the big hero moment for our monstrous hero and he frees Clark and saves his life. He follows that up with an encore to end all encores by killing Mother Herd...I guess. While I loved Javier Fernandez's art throughout this series, he fumbles the ball here. What should be a major moment in the development of Doomed is muddied and confusing. When Doom says he decapitated Mother Herd, I had to page back and I still didn't see it. Oh well, I guess we'll just have to go with it.
So, Doomed saved the day and everyone dumped Gatorade over his head and carried him off the field on their shoulders, right? Wrong! Alpha Centurion would probably have killed Doomed if Superman didn't sucker punch him and then the Man of Steel insists that Doomed goes with him to STAR Labs. WTF?!?! While Superman's lack of "Thanks for Saving Me" was annoying, the fact that Scott Lobdell didn't give us a moment when Reiser sees that Alpha is his best friend, Roman, was downright infuriating! Don't give me any, "Maybe we'll see it in Teen Titans" bullshit, fans of this book deserve to see it...wait for it...in this book! Getting knocked out by Superman was the perfect moment for it to happen. It could even have lead to a cool story down the line where Roman has no idea Reiser knows his secret. Oh well.
Everyone have a seat and get comfortable, because I am only beginning to get angry and when I get angry, I...am still just a socially awkward guy writing a review, but I am angry. If it wasn't obvious that this books sole purpose was to get Doomed prepped to join the Teen Titans, the end will open your eyes. Out of nowhere, Doomed starts talking in sentences and Reiser suddenly seems to be able to control his transformation.
Then he tugs at Clark's heartstrings and compares his "problem" with Clark's current situation as a known alien who lived among humankind. Hey, Clark got that opportunity, why can't he pass it on to Reiser. Well, because you are a walking Doomsday virus who could possibly infect everyone around you for starters! Clark is just as skeptical as me, but then Oui Oui steps in to save the day. We find out that no matter how dangerous a monster you are, if a dog loves you, you are alright in Superman's book. Seriously, Darkseid is bad...unless his got a puppy. Cyborg Superman is trying to destroy Metropolis? If a puppy is licking his face, don't ask Superman to help fight him. Nonsense!!!
The series then ends with Superman talking Alpha for a "job" he is suited for and yes, that sounds shady (and a little sexy) and Doomed and Oui Oui jumping over Metropolis on their way to Teen Titans #14.
I like both this book and it's lead character and because of that, I wanted a proper ending to the series. This wasn't it. Yes, I am looking forward to seeing him in Teen Titans, but I just feel let down that Scott Lobdell treated the fans (even if we are few, we are still the fans) like this.
I mentioned my problem with Javier Fernandez's art above, but besides that little problem, I really liked his work on this book and series. I hope to see him pop up on another book soon.
Bits and Pieces:
Maybe it's because I'm one of the few fans of this book, but I felt betrayed by this finale. Instead of properly tying up his story, Scott Lobdell just uses this issue to get Reiser/Doomed prepped for his appearance in Teen Titans. Who was this issue for? If my anger while reading it was any indication, it wasn't for me.
4.5/10
Glad it wasn't just me confused by the decapitation panels, I literally stared at those panels for 10/15 minutes and eventually gave up. Sure this series has many problems but it gets my excited to see Reiser in other books.
ReplyDeleteSorry this series didn't go the way you were hoping for guys
ReplyDeleteI really, really liked this book, So many cancelled books in the new 52....Static Shock, Mr. Terrific, Vibe, and now Doomed. At one point all of these were my favorite books of the month...either I like books that no one else does...or DC doesn't like me...lol
ReplyDeleteI feel the same way to. Don't forget DC Presents they had a few great stories as well, like Deadman and The Ray. Still waiting for my freedom fighter book. And I'm hoping vibe at least appears in another book soon.
DeleteYeah, this finale didn't tie everything up, but I had a lot of fun with it and I'm gonna miss this series
ReplyDeleteKind of a late response, but for what it's worth, the reason why Scott began to build up those side characters while slow-rolling Reiser was because he was likely doing it with the intention that this was going to last longer than the 6 issues it ended up ending with.
ReplyDeleteReiser was slow-rolled because he was gonna be there throughout, and there would be plenty of time to develop him a bit at a time like an unfolding flower with each issue, and therefore not put all the eggs in one basket from jump street. The side characters he started building up were, rather obviously, at least from my perspective, plot seeds he was planting to sprout at later points.
That's why they were beginnings of buildup that largely never came to pass. It's because it ended sooner than originally anticipated. Scott likely mapped out the story for multiple story arcs and in the end only got one, which he didn't realize until it was too far in, and so couldn't do much more than end the series on a more positive note at the last moment. Positive for Reiser, anyway. Not poor Roman.
As you can tell, I really, really liked this series, and hope against hope that it sees a continuation someday. Somehow. Preferably with Scott back on it. Too many longshots, I know, but I can dream.
Not sure how to edit here, but I wanted to add this:
DeleteI feel you were being too hard on Scott Lobdell in your review, especially since the issue comes off as him simply trying his best to make the best out of a poor circumstance, that is, the early and for a time unforeseen cancellation of his story.