Books of Doom
Books of Doom #1
I’ve been asked to make some more recommendations, and I’m happy to do so. Today’s recommendation is Books of Doom, written by Ed Brubaker, illustrated by Pablo Raimondi with covers by Paolo Rivera and published by Marvel. Books of Doom was originally released as a six issue mini-series, and has also been released in collected hardcover. The trade paperback collection of the story can be pre-ordered now and should be available on store shelves in a couple months.
This is the Doctor Doom story I had been waiting for. Doctor Doom has long been my favorite super villain. But that is based on who he is more than on the stories I’ve read with him in them. Doom is such a larger than life character that it is hard to use him correctly (in my opinion). This is the leader of a sovereign nation after all. Doom has his own ambassador to the United Nations for crying out loud. This is not your average super villain. He should not be out in the streets of New York trading punches with some costumed hero. Doom demands a worthy story.
Books of Doom #6
And that’s what you get with Books of Doom. Books of Doom tells the story of how Doctor Doom became who he is. The story covers the years from the earliest moments of his life to his taking control of the Latverian government. It is one of the greatest origin stories I’ve ever read. Ed Brubaker is one of the best writers in the business. His narrative style is excellent and he makes the character of Doctor Doom accessible. I’ve always liked the scientific genius side of Doctor Doom, but I’ve never been a big fan of the mystical sorcerer side. Brubaker successfully melds both aspects of Doom’s origin, which is no small feat. He also does an exceptional job of growing the character through the series. You have sympathy for the small child born into a harsh life, and watch as the combination of his difficult life and his amazing talents twist him into the villainous dictator that he finally becomes.
Page of Doom
I really wish George Lucas had let Ed Brubaker write the Star Wars prequel scripts. Brubaker clearly knows how to tell the origin of a great villain. (Lucas clearly doesn’t.) I highly recommend pre-ordering a copy of the TPB. If you just can’t wait, you can probably pick up the entire mini-series off of eBay. And if you really want to trust my recommendation (and who wouldn’t?) go out and pick up a copy of the premier hardcover edition.
I’ve always liked Dr. Doom, but was not aware of this series. It sounds like it pays the proper respect to a great villian. I bet if you like Doom you must have hated the Fantastic Four movie which had an awful representation of the character.
In any event I’m going give the TPB a shot.
Regarding the FF movie, “hated” is probably too strong a word. I was very disappointed in the characterization of Doom. I don’t know who that character was, but he was definitely not Doctor Doom. However, there were other parts to the movie that I did enjoy, so overall I would rated it a “meh+”.
Good idea to have a good comic book writer do the Star Wars Prequels. I always thought that how Anikin becomes Vader could have been developed better.
Thanks, Dan. I agree with you 100%.
The Fantastic Four movie with Jessica Alba really was a let down for me. I loved the cartoon as a kid, but the remake pretty much just sucked.
[…] With so many good comic books coming out, and comic books being as expensive as they are, it is all too easy to miss some really great stories. I didn’t discover Ed Brubaker’s writing until Books of Doom (click here to read my review), which has been elevated to my short list of all time favorite comic book mini series. Since then I’ve been buying just about everything that Brubaker writes. Luckily that means I wasn’t late to the Criminal party. Cover to Criminal #1 […]