Remembering Artist Bruno Premiani

Remembering artist Bruno Premiani on his birthday (January 4, 1907 - August 17, 1984) with My Greatest Adventure....the earliest appearances of the Doom Patrol, where he, Arnold Drake and Bob Haney created the Chief, Robotman, Elasti-Girl and Negative Man, and their vilest villain, General Immortus.

Bruno didn't do the cover to #85, but the Doom Patrol took over the title with #86 with the introduction of the Brotherhood of Evil.

My Greatest Adventure #80 and #81 (June and August, 1963)

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My Greatest Adventure #82 and #83 (September and November, 1963)

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My Greatest Adventure #84  (December, 1963)

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My Greatest Adventure With Giant Insects

Before the Doom Patrol took over the title, My Greatest Adventure had menaces that the ordinary humans of Earth had to face...with a bit of a science fiction bent.

Here, two covers by Dick Dillin and Sheldon Moldoff, with humans facing a giant beetle with the transplanted brain of a scientist (#41, March, 1960)  and being taken away by giant ants (#55, May, 1961).

Jack Kirby's My Greatest Adventure

Before the title was taken over by the Doom Patrol, My Greatest Adventure featured stories of high adventure and human oddities....but only one with a cover and story by Jack Kirby...My Greatest Adventure #18 (November-December, 1957), where big game hunter and scientist, Addington Johns was able to state "I Tracked The Nuclear Creature".  Johns followed it from an island where atomic tests were performed, as it headed into India, killing with its radioactivity...and found that the only thing worse than one nuclear beast...was two!

This tale was reprinted in the Jack Kirby Omnibus #1 of 2011 (along with the King's work on Green Arrow and more), as well as in DC Comics Presents: Jack Kirby Omnibus Sampler #1 of December, 2011.

Doom Patrol Archives And More

The Doom Patrol of the 1960s is a somewhat unique case.  All their team appearances in their own title were collected into 5 Archive additions, allowing you to read all of their adventures from My Greatest Adventure #80 (June, 1963) to Doom Patrol #121 (September-October, 1968) without totally having to break the bank or spend all your time tracking them down.

Here's the breakdown by volume of important events by Doom Patrol Archive, and the work of Arnold Drake and Bruno Premiani, as well as Bob Haney and Bob Brown.

Doom Patrol Archive #1

The first Doom Patrol Archive came out in 2002, and features the premiere of the Doom Patrol from My Greatest Adventure #80 (as well as the first appearance of General Immortus, one of the teams most persistent foes).  This volume also includes all of their My Greatest Adventures tales (#81 to #85), the turning of the title to Doom Patrol with Doom Patrol #86 (which also features the first appearances of the Brotherhood of Evil, and its charter members of the Brain, Monsieur Mallah and Madame Rogue, with Mr. Morden trying to join using the Chief robot, Rog), learning "The Terrible Secret Of Negative Man" with Doom Patrol #87, "The Incredible Origin Of The Chief" in Doom Patrol #88, and the premiere of the Animal-Vegetable-Mineral Man in Doom Patrol #89 (in the tale where the Negative Man and Elasti-Girl get new red uniforms to replace their green ones, as well as the other Doom Patrol stories from the above issues.

Doom Patrol Archive #2

The second Doom Patrol Archive starts with Doom Patrol #90, seeing Madame Rogue get new shape-changing powers, the premiere of the sometimes heroic Mento (Steve Dayton) and alien invader Garguax in Doom Patrol #91, villainous Dr. Tyme in Doom Patrol #92, another return of the Brotherhood of Evil in Doom Patrol #93, the introduction of the Chief's "action chair" in Doom Patrol #94, the return of the Animal-Vegetable-Mineral Man in Doom Patrol #95, a team-up of Garguax, General Immortus and the Brotherhood of Evil in Doom Patrol #96, that continues into the last issue in this Archive, Doom Patrol #97.

Doom Patrol Archive #3

The third Doom Patrol Archive starts with Doom Patrol #98 and the introduction of the elemental villain, Mr. 103.  Doom Patrol #99 introduces us to Beast Boy (Garfield Logan), with Doom Patrol #100 giving us Gar's origin, while starting a look back at Robotman's history as well.  Doom Patrol #101 features the mystery of Kranus, and guest appearances by the Challengers of the Unknown, which leads to including Challengers of the Unknown #48 (with the Doom Patrol) in this Archive.  The Doom Patrol and Challengers finish their fight against Challs' foes, the League of Challenger-Haters (who include Multi-Man, Volcano Man, Kra and Multi-Woman).  Doom Patrol #103 sees the team face "The Meteor Man", with Doom Patrol #104 seeing Elasti-Girl marrying Mento (with the Justice League and Teen Titans of the time at the wedding, which was crashed by the Brotherhood of Evil.  Last in this volume is Doom Patrol #105, with "The Honeymoon Of Terror" (as well as all the Robotman-iac looks at Robotman's pre-Doom Patrol past).

Doom Patrol Archive #4

The fourth Doom Patrol Archive begins with Doom Patrol #106, and the last appearance of Mr. 103 in the Silver Age Doom Patrol title, as well as the start of Negative Man's pre-Doom Patrol story.  Problems with Beast Boy being around the team surface in Doom Patrol #107, as well as facing off against the Brotherhood of Evil for every issue going forward, with Garguax attacking in tandem starting with Doom Patrol #108, introducing the android Mandred in Doom Patrol #109, finding out about Madame Rogue's love for the Chief in Doom Patrol #110, introducing Garguax's alien boss, Zarox-13 in Doom Patrol #111, the Doom Patrol and Brotherhood of Evil working together against Zarox-13 and learning Madame Rouge's origin in Doom Patrol #112, ending with a battle against the robotic Arsenal and learning the Chief plans to help Madame Rogue with the last story in this selection from Doom Patrol #113, as well as flashback stories for Negative Man and Beast Boy.

Doom Patrol Archive #5

The fifth and final Doom Patrol Archive starts with Doom Patrol #114 and the introduction of Kor (Dr. Anton Koravyk), creating a time warp and a Beast Boy solo story.  Madame Rogue splits into her good and evil selves in Doom Patrol #115, and the team faces mutants Ur, Ir and Ar, who they defeat in Doom Patrol #116.  The Chief faces the Black Vulture alone in Doom Patrol #117, as the Doom Patrol abandons him (and the Chief grows closer to the good self of Madame Rogue), the Brain introduces a potential new Brotherhood of Evil member with Videx, as in Doom Patrol #119, the Great Guru makes Robotman a pacifist (and turns Madame Rogue back to evil).  The team deals with the Wrecker (Harvey Keller) in Doom Patrol #120, and then faces their own doom at the hands of Madame Rogue (and new boyfriend, Nazi Captain Zahl) in "The Death Of The Doom Patrol?" in the last story of the Doom Patrol in the Silver Age (and this volume) from Doom Patrol #121.

Showcase Presents: The Doom Patrol

If you don't mind reading adventures in black and white instead of in glorious color, you can get the collected Doom Patrol experience by buying the two volumes of Showcase Presents that feature the Doom Patrol.  The first volume features stories from My Greatest Adventure #80 to Doom Patrol #101 (coming out in 2009), and the second Showcase Presents: The Doom Patrol has the issues from Doom Patrol #102 to Doom Patrol #121 (and arrived in stores in 2010).

The Official Doom Patrol Index

If you just don't have the space for Archives or Showcase Presents, you can get the The Official Doom Patrol Index from 1986.  The two issues summarize the original run of the Doom Patrol, as well as giving details on the new Doom Patrol that premiered in Showcase #94 (August-September, 1977) by Paul Kupperberg and Joe Staton (as well as their next two Showcase issues, all under Jim Aparo covers), and a little extra information, all under two incredible covers by John Byrne.  Thanks to Murray Ward and his army of contributors who created this index, as well as to the Grand Comics Database and Mike's Amazing World of Comics, whose work make this article so much easier to create!

All this, and two Silver Age Doom Patrol appearances are overlooked.  The Doom Patrol appeared in Teen Titans #6 (November-December, 1966) by Bob Haney, Bill Molno and Sal Trapani, but it was reprinted in the Silver Age Teen Titans Archive Volume #2 of 2013, and in the Showcase Presents: Teen Titans first volume of 2006, and will be in the upcoming Teen Titans: The Silver Age Omnibus Volume #1 in November, 2016 (mostly focusing on Beast Boy...more on him later).  Sadly, the other appearance of the Doom Patrol, from Brave and the Bold #65 (April-May, 1966) by Bob Haney, Dick Giordano and Sal Trapani, has not been reprinted (but, if DC collected Flash's Brave and the Bold team-ups, as detailed here, this problem would be solved!).  Shouldn't we see another round of Silver Age Doom Patrol reprints....maybe even hitting their 1970s Showcase appearances (and more?).

The Charter Members Of The Doom Patrol

They were misfits, didn't really fit in any where else, and, to top it off, horribly damaged by living their lives...but, the heroes of the Doom Patrol found each other, and learned to work together (staring in My Greatest Adventure #80 of June, 1963 by writers Arnold Drake and Bob Haney, and artist Bruno Premiani), fighting one of their main foes, General Immortus (who also premiered in these pages), with the team taking over the title with Doom Patrol #86 (March, 1964), which featured the introduction of their evil opposites, the Brotherhood of Evil.

The team continued on, living together and keeping it real, all until Doom Patrol #121 (September-October, 1968), where the original run of the Doom Patrol ended (though their legacy, and eventually all the members lived on....even after their apparent death in that issue's pages).


But, who were these original teammates?

Robotman

First up is the most recognizable member of the Doom Patrol, as he has been with the most different incarnations of the team, Cliff Steele, also known as Robotman!

Cliff was a race car driver and all around daredevil who took one too many risks, and his history before the Doom Patrol started in a back-up tale in Doom Patrol #100 (December, 1965) by Arnold Drake and Bruno Premiani, called "Robotman -- Wanted Dead Or Alive" subtitled "An Untold Story Of Robotman".  This story dealt with Cliff's crash, and how a surgeon saved his life by transplanting his brain into a robot body, which made Cliff into a "Robotman-iac", sending him on a super-strength, anger fueled rampage through the city, looking for the doctor who did this do him.

The next chapter was in Doom Patrol #101 (February, 1966) by Drake/Premiani, with "The Lonely Giant", with Cliff getting help from a group of beggars (finding out his brain still needs nutrients, and must get a special formula to keep it alive), and still looking for the doctor and evading police.  In Doom Patrol #103 (May, 1966), by Drake/Premiani, Cliff learns that there is "No Home For A Robot", in trying to help his brother, Randy Steele, and Randy's wife, Helen, against criminals who want to take advanced weapons made where Randy works, then avoids the police with help from the Chief.  The "Robotman Unchained" saga ends with Cliff realizing "The Robot-Maker Must Die" in Doom Patrol #105 (August, 1966) by Drake/Premiani, finding out that the Chief was the one who made him into this "freak", and confronting the doctor.  This cured Cliff of his madness, and the Chief assembled the rest of the original Doom Patrol.

Negative Man

Next Patroler is the Negative Man, and that's not an indication of Larry Trainor's personality (though, he did have reasons to be depressed).

Larry was a test pilot flying experimental planes, with his pre-Doom Patrol days being chronicled starting with Doom Patrol #106 (September, 1966) with "The Private World Of Negative Man" by Arnold Drake and Bruno Premiani, where the pilot flew through a radiation belt at a high altitude, becoming radioactive and gaining the ability to manifest his consciousness as an energy being that can fly for up to sixty seconds at a time.  His radioactivity would have isolated him from all other humans, if not for radiation-proof bandages invented by Dr. Niles Caulder; but the bandages isolate him from others, making him look like a mummy and a "freak".

In Doom Patrol #107 (November, 1966) by Drake/Premiani, Larry faces "The Race Against Dr. Death", turning to the mad scientist named Dr. Death for help, but sending Negative Man after him when Larry realizes how dangerous this man is.  Looking for work in Doom Patrol #109 (February, 1967) by Drake/Premiani, Larry flies to a volcanic island, unaware that he is working for Dr. Death, who sabotaged Larry's plane.  With Doom Patrol #111 (May, 1967) by Drake/Premiani, it is "Neg Man's Last Road", with Larry foiling Dr. Death's plot against the government by driving its leaders mad, with the aid of the Chief.  The problems with Dr. Death done, Larry then meets with the others the Chief has aided, forming the Doom Patrol.

Elasti-Girl

The size-changing Elasti-Girl, whose alter ego was Rita Farr didn't get an individual spotlight like the boys did, but that doesn't mean she didn't have history before the Doom Patrol existed.

Rita Farr was an actress, as well as an Olympic medal winning swimmer, so it's a shame her early days didn't get individual coverage like the other members during the original Doom Patrol run...
 

...but she did have an origin tale, with Rita getting exposed to a volcanic gas in a pool while working on a movie in Africa.  This gave her the ability to shrink and grow (first, without control), labeling the lady a "freak" and messing up her Hollywood career.  Rita is approached by the Chief, offering her a chance to do good with her powers, and join the Doom Patrol, as seen in Doom Patrol #105 and #111, and starting with My Greatest Adventure #80.

The Chief

The oddest member of the Doom Patrol was their leader, wheelchair bound Dr. Niles Caulder.

Niles was involved in the origins of all the previous members, but his origin was what created the need for the team, as revealed in Doom Patrol #88 (June, 1964).

Niles Caulder was a young scientist looking to prolong life, not knowing he was working for the evil General Immortus, who needed more of a longevity serum to stay alive.  Worse still, the general had implanted a bomb in Niles' chest, that only Immortus could remove.  When Niles learned the nearly immortal madman was in charge of his research, he destroyed that work, using his own trusted robot assistant (RA-2) to "kill" him, allowing the robot to operate safely and remove the bomb (though Niles was under too long, and lost the use of his legs).  Revived without the bomb,  Niles even had to destroy RA-2, and fled General Immortus.  To combat the evil of General Immortus and others, Niles fashioned his secret identity as the Chief and gathered others damaged by society to go out and combat evil.  

The Doom Patrol also worked with other heroes introduced in their own pages, like Beast Boy and Mento.  The team lasted until Doom Patrol #121 (September-October, 1968), where they appeared to perish, but eventually came back, starting with Showcase #94 (August-September, 1977), adding new members Negative Woman, Tempest and Celsius, and as time passed, even more members joined (and more originals returned) as time went by.  But one thing remained consistent...the lesson of the Doom Patrol was that everyone has something to contribute, and to just keep trying.  Better to try and fail than to do nothing at all....