Doom Patrol by Rachel Pollack to finally be collected

Rachel Pollack’s often ignored run on Doom Patrol, which more fans should be aware of, is finally going to be collected by DC.

It’s tough to really impress upon someone what Grant Morrison’s run on Doom Patrol meant to not only readers, but the comic book industry in general.

Often mentioned in the same breath as Sandman, Preacher and and other classic works, Morrison’s work on Doom Patrol was incredibly smart, very bizarre, took no prisoners and made no apologies. It was not a book for everyone, which may be why the fans of the title had and still have a cultish devotion to the series.

If you enjoyed Doom Patrol, it was like you were a member of a special club that most comic book fans just didn’t understand. And we were just fine with that.

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When Morrison left with issue #63, it broke the heart of many a reader, myself included. With the title poised to help launch DC’s new Vertigo imprint, who could possibly follow in Morrison’s footsteps? Who could even come close to the same level of greatness?

It’s safe to say that when it was announced that Rachel Pollack would be that writer, many readers thought to themselves “Who the hell is Rachel Pollack?”

Fairly unknown in comics at the time, readers didn’t give Pollack’s work a real chance. The title was just as weird and dealt with a number of ideas, including transgender issues long before it became widely accepted, but no one seemed to care.

Even the addition of legendary artist Ted McKeever, which produced some of the best stories of Pollack’s run couldn’t turn the tide and the book was cancelled with issue #87.

That may be why Pollack’s work on Doom Patrol has remained uncollected. The Morrison run has been put in trade paperback in numerous formats over the years, but the collections always end with his final issue.

That was always a real shame, because Pollack’s Doom Patrol has aged incredibly well. They are the type of comics that require a second read in order to really appreciate what she was trying to accomplish, but is well worth the extra effort. I have always felt more fans deserve the right to be able to read the issues without having to search through back issue bins at a convention.

So I was overjoyed when it was announced that DC would finally begin collecting the Rachel Pollack issues in Doom Patrol: Book 4.

Doom Patrol: Book 4 will finally collect the first half of Pollack’s work on the title, issues 64-74, in addition to other material. It includes art by Richard Case as well as a number of other artists who worked on the book before the arrival of McKeever and some of the best Doom Patrol comics ever made.

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Doom Patrol: Book 4 goes on sale in February of next year and deserves a space on the bookshelf of any self-respecting Doom Patrol fan.