10 Years Ago Today, Gerard Way Brought Back One of DC’s Weirdest Teams In a Whole New Way

Gerard Way is best known in the comic book world as the man who created The Umbrella Academy. However, Way’s comic book work wasn’t just relegated to his creator-owned work. He also worked for DC Comics starting in 2016, where he brought back one of DC’s weirdest and most beloved cult teams. Before starting work for DC, Way wrote 28 Umbrella Academy issues, which were split between 21 issues in the main series and seven in the spin-off books, although he co-wrote the 2020 miniseries You Look Like Death with Shaun Simon. Before he released the fourth Umbrella Academy story arc, “Sparrow Academy,” he took a job with DC Comics.

On September 14, 2016, DC released Doom Patrol #1 (2016) by Gerard Way and Nick Derington. This was the first comic book released in the new Young Animal imprint at DC Comics, which was meant to feature surreal, edgy, and boundary-pushing stories for mature readers.

Gerard Way Revived Doom Patrol in a Mature Readers Series in 2016

When DC released Doom Patrol #1 under the Young Animal imprint, the company advertised it as a “blenderized reimagining of the ultimate series of the strange.” It also said it would combine elements from classic runs while taking it in a new direction. The book opened with the first appearance of Casey Brinke, an EMT who comes into contact with Robotman before realizing that nothing is as it seemed. This is thanks to the then-unnamed Danny, a living sentient street. This intro set up one of the most bizarre stories that Doom Patrol had been involved with, and that says a lot considering Grant Morrison once wrote for this team.

The Doom Patrol series then introduced familiar faces, including Niles Caulder, Negative Man, Flex Mentallo, and Crazy Jane. The entire story is exactly what Way’s fans might have expected from his take on Doom Patrol. There are aliens, people exploding for no apparent reason, exploding gyros, and more. It is bizarre and unlike anything in comics at the time, and it showed how Young Animal would look with the new books. However, like Morrison’s work, this was a series for acquired tastes.

In fact, this was a comic book series that really played in the same style as a Morrison comic book. Casey was an invention created by Danny the Street to communicate with people through comic books because he needed help, as the aliens known as the Vectra wanted to profit from his life by turning his fictional creations into cheap meat at a fast food restaurant. This led to Doom Patrol helping Casey save Danny, and then the series moved on to bring back Crazy Jane and then finally reunite the team with Niles Caulder.

The series ran for 12 issues with Nick Derington as the penciler, and then Way later returned in 2019 with Doom Patrol: Weight of the Worlds, where he co-wrote the continuation with Jeremy Lambert and Steve Orlando.

Doom Patrol Helped Launch DC’s Young Animal Imprint

Doom Patrol #1 was the first comic book released in DC’s Young Animal imprint. Not only was Gerard Way’s comic the first one released in the line, but Way actually developed the idea of Young Animal with DC Comics. The main focus of these comics was to relaunch certain characters for mature readers using a more experimental approach than what DC was doing in its main line at the time. Vertigo group editor Jamie S. Rich oversaw the line, and the comics shared much in common with old Vertigo comics.

There were four new original series launched when Young Animal first started. Along with the first comic, Doom Patrol, DC also released new series, including Shade the Changing Girl, Cave Carson Has a Cybernetic Eye, and Mother Panic. In fact, at the end of Doom Patrol #1, a preview of Shade the Changing Girl was released with the advertisement on that first issue coming on sale. In 2017, Young Animal released a six-issue miniseries called Bug! The Adventures of Forager. There was also a 2018 five-issue crossover series called Milk Wars that included members of the Justice League.

Shade the Changing Woman, Cave Carson Has an Interstellar Eye, and Mother Panic: Gotham A.D. were then launched along with a new book called Eternity Girl, with each of them running for six issues. Young Animal was then placed on hold in 2018, and that marked the end of the line until the 2019 Doom Patrol series resumed, along with Far Sector and Collapser. That marked the end of the imprint, with Doom Patrol remaining a highlight.