Reviewer: Tim Stevens
Story Title: Book Three
Written by: Ed Brubaker
Pencilled by: Pablo Raimondi
Inked by: Mark Farmer
Colored by: Brian Reber
Lettered by: VC’s Russ Wooton
Editor: Tom Brevoort
Publisher: Marvel Comics
I have read a few reviews of previous chapters of Books of Doom that have found fault with some of the “revisionist” history bits of Doom’s narration. For example, a big sticking point for some is that Reed Richards does not warn von Doom that his calculations are off, Richards only expresses confusion at them. I, however, think that this is one of the book’s greatest strengths. This Victor von Doom narrating his own life. Of course his recollections are going to prove problematic at certain points. Would he ever report that Richards was a greater scientific mind, great enough to notice a fatal fault in Doom’s own experiment? Never! He has not admitted that for years of Marvel stories and it certainly makes that, by now, he has made up his own version of the events of that day.
This issue that trend continues as Doom creates the character of a tragic romantic hero for himself. He does not leave Valeria because of his unquenchable thirst for knowledge and power (which for Doom are, essentially, the same), he leaves her because it is the best way to protect her. Yes, the events of last issue left him a “broken man” but he is still resourceful and highly intelligent, the better of all those around him. Could this all be true? Possibly. But more likely, Doom, in the role of the unreliable narrator, is telling a story of his life the way he wishes it was and the way he’s convinced himself it was. It is a perfect approach.
A lot of what makes it work comes down to the voice Brubaker uses for the once and future ruler of Latveria. It remains distinctly Doom (right down to the occasional slips into third person) but it is not the nonstop overblown bombast that many writers resort to when putting words in Victor’s mouth. That can be fun for a little while, but in a book that requires him to speak more than anyone that would get old very quickly and devolve into an (unintentional) parody. Instead, Brubaker nicely negotiates the tight rope of making Doom “real” to us and not sacrificing his personality to do it.
Raimondi proves to be equal to Brubaker on the art side. His linework is clean and simple, but distinctive. He also makes some subtle choices that I very much appreciate. Doom’s (younger) face is always cloaked in shadow, thus never answering our question about whether or not Doom’s scars are as bad as he says or very minor and it is vanity that will make it worse (as Stan Lee and everyone since has explained). However, what really impresses me is how Raimondi incorporates the current day Doom into his remembrances of the past. Obviously, it is meant to convey that Doom is still narrating but it also has the added benefit of adding a foreboding quality to the past. It seems, even then, that young Doom becoming Doctor Doom was an inevitability. That fate was always hiding in the shadows, watching and waiting for him.
