BTW looks to me JB made up Nudge's name correctly. We Asians name ourselves with the surname first. So in some parts of the world I would be called "Zhang Joe".

I'm glad you gave Doom Patrol a fair chance, and spent such time articulating your likes and dislikes, Brian.

Todd Hembrough wrote: I will post it here since it is in the spirit of the trade.  My biggest hang up with JSA is the new heroes that I am not familiar with.  Though in that sense it is similar to someone reading Doom Patrol for the first time. The guy with the T on his face?  And Star spangled girl....  But it is like 11 issues long, so by the end I expect that I will know them well.

You are right in that the two swaps share those similarities. I tend to think you'll be okay, since that early on in the series, there hasn't been much room for the exploration of the new characters. Plus, I think Geoff and Dave do a pretty good job of letting you know what you need to know about each character. Using the two examples that you cited, Mr. Terrific and Star Spangled Kid, I didn't follow the Spectre series in which Terrific was introduced, nor did I read Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E. and I didn't have any trouble following those characters when JSA began. In Return of Hawkman, the only "new" character you probably need to know anything about is Hawkgirl and I think that's the story where you begin to learn anything about her anyway.

I will give DP #7 credit in that even though I hadn't been following the series and wasn't up on the characters' histories, I was still able to follow the development the characters were given in that issue.

You know, I thought this very thing may be possible. Interesting to see that that was the case. And Kudos to Byrne for taking the time to learn that.

I suppose I assumed that wasn't the case since her family seemed pretty assimilated to American culture; perhaps not.

And like I said in my review, I enjoyed the experience and would do it again. In fact, my Blood of the Demon for Aquaman offer is still on the table. And I thought it only fair in the spirit of the swap to be as thorough with my thoughts as possible.

Hey Mark,

Glad to hear you enjoyed Manhunter! I gotta tell ya that scene in #3 is one of my favorites as well. And probably not just in Manhunter but in all of the comics I've read! I've always liked Shadow Thief, but that scene cemented him as one of my favorites villains.

And since you picked up two issues as part of our swap, I'll now definitely get #8. I probably was anyway, but now I will for sure!

Dick Grayson wrote: Sorry, "Dick", but if you have something to say in the JBF, use your real name.

I can just picture somewhere in Gotham, Nightwing sitting at his computer crying while REM plays.

So here is my review of Doom Patrol  7, which I picked up in exchange for Paul Greer trying out WE3.

The Good: The artwork is solid, and the story telling is clear.  The basic plot of animals and characters devolving is good.  The structural device of starting the issue in the middle of the fight, and then having a flashback to events leading up to the fight, was interesting.

The Bad: The dialogue seemed juvenile.  Negative Man actually calls one of the woman on the team "doll". Ugh.  That sort of 1950s talk blows the 4th wall right into my face, and instantly reminds me I am only reading a comic book.  Similarly, the general way the devolution was presented could have been spooky or more threatening, but instead was just presented as some weird sci-fi stuff that will doubtless be fixed later with no big consequences. This issue did not leave me convinced that characterization had been fleshed out enough to differentiate between the members of the DP.  How is Robot Man's personality different from Negative Man's personality?  After reading this issue, I don't know, though I must admit that a writer can't do everything in every issue.

To "fix" some of the bad writing that typified seasons 1 and 2 of Star Trek: The Next Generation, the season 3 story editor set a rule.  To be accepted, a script must change the character of one of the lead actors, or reveal an aspect of their character the audience has not seen before.  STTNG stuck to this rule, and the quality of scripts inproved substantially.  I believe many comic writers would benefit from this rule.

Overall: Thumbs down.  Sorry Paul.