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Doom Patrol Reading Order (The Silver Age, The Bronze Age, Grant Morrison, Gerard Way…)

Doom Patrol Reading Order

Created by writers Arnold Drake and Bob Haney, and artist Bruno Premiani, the Doom Patrol is a superhero team from DC Comics. The first iteration of the team appeared for the first time in My Greatest Adventure #80 (June 1963). At the time, the book was not selling well and something was needed to revive it. Arnold had the idea about “freaks who banded together and the man in the wheelchair guiding them.” (see American Comic Books Chronicles: The 1960s).

From the start, The Doom Patrol was not an ordinary superhero team. Also dubbed at first the Legion of the Strange, these were victims of catastrophic accidents who became freaks–the actress Rita “Elasti-Woman” Farr, the race car driver Cliff “Robotman” Steele, the pilot Larry “Negative Man” Trainor, and there was their leader, Niles “Chief” Caulder. Garfield “Beast Boy” Logan and Steve “Mento” Dayton joined soon after.

The Doom Patrol has known multiple iterations of the team, but this was always a group of super-powered misfits whose “gifts” caused them alienation and trauma. And this is why they have sometimes been dubbed the “World’s Strangest Heroes.”

Doom Patrol Reading Order

Doom Patrol Omnibus Reading Order

Before jumping to an era-by-era look at the Doom Patrol Reading Order, here are all of the omnibus already out, in order:

  • Doom Patrol: The Silver Age Omnibus
    My Greatest Adventure Vol. 1 #80–85; Doom Patrol Vol. 1 #86–121; The Brave and the Bold Vol. 1 #65; Challengers of the Unknown Vol. 1 #48
  • The Doom Patrol: The Bronze Age Omnibus
    Collects Collecting The Doom Patrol’s Adventures From Showcase #94-96, The Superman Family #191-193, The New Teen Titans #13-15, DC Comics Presents #52, The Daring New Adventures Of Supergirl #7-9, Teen Titans Spotlight #9, Secret Origins Annual #1, The Doom Patrol Vol.2 #1-18, The Doom Patrol And Suicide Squad Special #1, Superman #20, The Doom Patrol Annual #1 And Pages From The New Teen Titans #10 And Invasion! #2-3, Along With A Brand-New Introduction By Paul Kupperberg.
  • Doom Patrol Omnibus
    Collects Doom Patrol Vol. 2 #19–63, Doom Force #1
  • Doom Patrol by Rachel Pollack Omnibus
    Collects Doom Patrol #64-87, Doom Patrol Annual #2, Totems #1, and Vertigo Jam #1.

After that, no era was big enough to lead to the publication of an omnibus.

Doom Patrol Volume 1: My Greatest Adventure with Arnold Drake and Bruno Premiani (1964-1968)

Launched in My Greatest Adventure, the series quickly found success and the book was re-titled Doom Patrol as of issue #86. It was canceled with issue #121, after four years. The members of the Doom Patrol during this era were The Chief (Doctor Niles Caulder), Elasti-Girl (Rita Farr), Negative Man (Larry Trainor), Robotman (Cliff Steele), Mento (Steve Dayton) et Beast Boy (Garfield Logan).

Through the years, that original run from Arnold Drake and Bruno Premiani was collected in multiple formats. The best way to read it today is the omnibus:

  • Doom Patrol: The Silver Age Omnibus
    Collects My Greatest Adventure Vol. 1 #80–85; Doom Patrol Vol. 1 #86–121; The Brave and the Bold Vol. 1 #65; Challengers of the Unknown Vol. 1 #48.

And now, these stories will be collected in the new DC Finest collection, starting 2025:

Before that, you could also find those stories in color in The Doom Patrol Archives:

 

In the black and white Showcase editions:

And incomplete in the two volumes with softcover:

Doom Patrol Volume 2 Part 1: The Doom Patrol’s Adventures From Showcase by Paul Kupperberg (1977-1989)

Writer Paul Kupperberg and artist Joe Staton were asked by editor Paul Levitz to bring the Doom Patrol back as part of the anthology series Showcase. The new team is led by Celsius (Arani Desai), the Chief’s previously-unseen wife, with Robotman with a new, futuristic body. The Negative Spirit now possesses Russian cosmonaut Valentina Vostok, making her Negative Woman (although its presence does not render her radioactive), and Tempest aka Joshua Clay, a Vietnam veteran/deserter who fires energy blasts from his hands.

Kupperberg and Staton did what was asked of them, and it lasted for three issues. However, the team kept coming back as guest stars in other series. Eventually, a new Doom Patrol series was launched in 1987, written by Kupperberg and illustrated by Steve Lightle (who was quickly replaced by Erik Larsen). New members joined the team: the magnetically empowered strong-girl Rhea “Lodestone” Jones; the psychic-powered Wayne “Karma ” Hawking; and Scott “Scorch” Fischer who generated high-level heat through his hands.

 

  • The Doom Patrol: The Bronze Age Omnibus
    Collects The Doom Patrol’s Adventures From Showcase #94-96, The Superman Family #191-193, The New Teen Titans #13-15, DC Comics Presents #52, The Daring New Adventures Of Supergirl #7-9, Teen Titans Spotlight #9, Secret Origins Annual #1, The Doom Patrol Vol.2 #1-18, The Doom Patrol And Suicide Squad Special #1, Superman #20, The Doom Patrol Annual #1 And Pages From The New Teen Titans #10 and Invasion! #2-3, Along With A Brand-New Introduction By Paul Kupperberg.

Crisis on Infinite Earths Icon Reading OrderFollowing are stories that take place before Doom Patrol Vol. 2 (after sporadic appearances in various titles), most optional. This is where Crisis on Infinite Earths happens.

At the end of this part, the Doom Patrol appears also in the event Invasion! (go see reading order to know a little bit more about the event)

  • Invasion!
    Collected Invasion! #1-3
  • Checkmate (1988-1991) #15-30 (optional)
    Not collected anywhere. For those interested in following the story of Valentina Vostok (formerly Negative Woman).
  • Suicide Squad #58 (optional)
    Collected in Suicide Squad Vol. 8: The Final Mission. Last appearance of Karma.

Doom Patrol Volume 2 Part 2: Grant Morrison’s Doom Patrol (1989-1993)

Kupperberg was replaced by Grant Morrison and what followed defined the Doom Patrol for the next 30 years. This is obviously a good starting point for new readers.

Kupperberg agreed to help Morrison by writing out characters Morrison did not want to use (with the use of the Invasion! crossover). The new team reunites the Chief with the ambition to rebuild his team to its former greatness. Always present is Robotman, after a stay in a psychiatric ward; Larry Trainor who regains his previous connection with the Negative Man, and becomes Rebis after involuntarily combining with a female doctor named Eleanor Poole. They are joined by Crazy Jane, a patient at the hospital Robotman stayed with who possesses a different superpower with each of her multiple personalities; Dorothy Spinner, an ape-faced girl with powerful “imaginary friends.” and sentient neighborhood Danny the Street.

All of Morrison’s stories have been collected in one massive omnibus:

Those Doom Patrol stories were also collected in TPBs:

 

But also in a three-volume softcover collection:

Morrison also wrote a Flex Mentallo miniseries. The miniseries forms part of what Morrison calls a thematic hypersigil trilogy along with The Invisibles and The Filth.

Doom Patrol Volume 2 Part 3: Rachel Pollack’s Doom Patrol (1993-1995)

Morrison left the book with issue #63, and Rachel Pollack took over writing the book for the next issues, a period which was for a long time uncollected, but this changed with an omnibus (those issues are also available in digital format).

Dorothy Spinner, The Chief, Robotman, The Bandage People (George and Marion), Charlie the Doll (The Inner Child), Coagula (Kate Godwin / Clark Godwin), Alice Wired for Sound, The False Memory (The Identity Addict) forms the team.

Doom Patrol Volume 3: John Arcudi and Tan Eng Huat’s Doom Patrol (2001-2003)

Under John Arcudi, from 2001 through 2003, the team was formed by Robotman (Cliff Steele), Fever (Shyleen Lao), Freak (Ava), Kid Slick (Vic Darge), Beast Boy (Garfield Logan), Doctor Light (Kimiyo), Elongated Man (Ralph Dibny), Metamorpho (Rex Mason), and Fast Forward (Ted Bruder).

Arcudi’s run is not available in paperback collection or otherwise, but you can find this volume in digital.

Doom Patrol Volume 4: The John Byrne’s Doom Patrol (2004-2006)

This iteration was retconned to be the first in-continuity appearance of the team–with The Chief (Doctor Niles Caulder), Elasti-Girl (Rita Farr), Negative Man (Larry Trainor), Robotman (Cliff Steele), Grunt (Henry Bucher), Nudge (Mi-Sun Kwon), Vortex, Faith, Bumblebee (Karen Beecher-Duncan), Vox (Malcolm Duncan). A later story arc brought all previous appearances back into continuity.

John Byrne’s run had the reputation for being awful, no other iteration of the title is as hated as this one. You’ve been warned!

DC’s Infinite Crisis

DC editorial used the events of the Infinite Crisis crossover (reading order) to restore the Doom Patrol’s continuity. It’s totally optional to read that event as it’s just for continuity’s sake. During that time, the team didn’t have its own ongoing series.

Doom Patrol Volume 5: Keith Giffen and Matthew Clark’s Doom Patrol (2009-2011)

Following The Four Horsemen miniseries, writer Keith Giffen was put in charge of the new Doom Patrol, in a popular run for the team.

This time around, the team is: The Chief (Doctor Niles Caulder), Elasti-Girl (Rita Farr), Negative Man (Larry Trainor), Robotman (Cliff Steele), Bumblebee (Karen Beecher-Duncan), Black Hole, Crazy Jane (Kay Challis), Danny the Street and Ambush Bug (Irwin Schwab)

Doom Patrol during the New 52 (2011-2016)

In September 2011, The New 52 rebooted DC’s continuity (see Reading order), and during that period, the Doom Patrol didn’t have its own series, again. Still, we can meet the team in other titles, and this time around we have: Element Woman (Emily Sung), Robotman (Cliff Steele), The Chief (Niles Caulder), Celsius (Arani Desai), Tempest (Joshua Clay), Negative Woman (Valentina Vostok), Scorch (Scott Fischer), Karma (Wayne Hawkins) and Elasti-Woman (Rita Farr)

Doom Patrol Volume 6: Gerard Way and Nick Derington’s Doom Patrol (2016-2020)

The new Doom Patrol series written by Gerard Way and drawn by Nick Derington was created as part of the Young Animal imprint.

The team is a mix of original characters and former team rosters with: Robotman (Cliff Steele), Casey Brinke, Danny the Street, Sam Reynolds, Ricardo, The Chief (Niles Caulder), Lotion, Terry None, Negative Man (Larry Trainor), Flex Mentallo, Fugg, Lucius Reynolds, Crazy Jane (Kay Challis), Valerie Reynolds andElasti-Girl (Rita Farr).

This era is now collected in one volume, the other collections are below.

These stories are also available in trade paperbacks:

Milk Wars Young Animal DC Crossover - Doom Patrol Reading orderDC’s Young Animal collides with the DC Universe to bring you a different kind of crossover with 2018’s Milk Wars.

  • DC/Young Animal: Milk Wars
    Collects JLA/Doom Patrol Special #1, Mother Panic/Batman Special #1, Shade, The Changing Girl/Wonder Woman Special #1, Cave Carson Has A Cybernetic Eye/Swamp Thing Special #1 And Doom Patrol/Jla Special #1.
  • Doom Patrol: Weight of the Worlds
    Collects Doom Patrol: Weight of the Worlds #1-7.

Doom Patrol in the Infinite Frontier era and beyond (2022-)

The Doom Patrol appears in the first story of Batman/Superman: World’s Finest, set early in both heroes’ careers, at a time when Dick Grayson was Robin. For the Doom Patrol, it means the story takes place during Volume 1.

The Unstoppable Doom Patrol 

Following the events of Lazarus Planet, more people than ever have active metagenes! Most of these new metahumans have become misfits, shunned and imprisoned by a fearful society. They are hidden away in the dark, lost to a system that only sees them as weapons or guinea pigs—ticking time bombs that can only be defused by the Unstoppable Doom Patrol! Led by Crazy Jane’s mysterious new alter known as the Chief, Robotman, Elasti-Woman, and Negative Man are joined by their brand-new teammates Beast Girl and Degenerate on a mission to save the world—by saving the monsters!

This series by writer Dennis Culver and artist Chris Burnham lasted for 7 issues.

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