Doomquest #4 – This Is A Love Story

DoomQuest has seen Reed Richards send Doctor Doom to the sinking of the RMS Titanic, and now Doom faces his biggest challenge yet – love. After seeing Richards discuss a plan for time travel, Doom takes matters into his own hands and creates the Doom Engine. Before he can use it to rewrite history in favor of Latveria, Reed and the Fantastic Four send Doom tumbling through time. Having overcome the Titanic, Doom now finds a younger version of himself next to his first true love, Valeria.

This review is brought to you by Nerd Initiative’s Megan and Shawn!

Creative Team

Writer: Ryan North
Artist: Francesco Mobili
Color Artist: Frank D’Armata
Letterer: Travis Lanham
Cover Artist: Alex Ross

Writing

Megan: As much as I’ve loved every issue from this run, Doomquest #4 is easily my favorite. Ryan North has the Doctor Doom fans in a chokehold with this and I’m here for it. Doomquest #4 continues Victor Von Doom being in the time stream, but this time, he’s somewhere familiar. Back in Latveria as a child, reliving his love story with Valeria, he now has the chance to do things very differently. He has the chance to be with the love of his life, grow old together, and create a live together full of memories and love.

What we see is a different side of Doom, a side that only Valeria could pull out of him. A side of him that shows happiness and fulfillment with things that would make an ordinary man happy. But we also see how Doom finds the limits with that happiness. What we also see is that class Doom. The one who can see past the trivial pleasures of life to see the big picture. Ryan North beautifully captures every side of Doom in this issue and puts a spotlight on the complexity of him.

Shawn: “When you first fall in love, you don’t know its limits.” What a heartbreakingly beautiful line from this issue of Doomquest by Ryan North. I’ve been cautiously anticipating this story since the last issue. To say that Victor has a complicated relationship with Valeria would undersell it, and I wasn’t sure how North would approach it. What followed in Doomquest #4 was a look at the complex and unique relationship between Doctor Doom and his first true love, Valeria.

Without giving anything away, Ryan North gives us what functions as essentially a version of What If?…that utilizes time travel rather than alternate universes. We get a chance to see what if Victor had chosen differently. How might his life have turned out? The beautiful and tragic story wraps up in what may be a panel that is talked about long after the DoomQuest series is finished. Ryan North teased this surprise twist last month, but even given 100 guesses, I could not have guessed at how DoomQuest #4 would have ended. This is a story that shows you a different side of Victor Von Doom and yet the same Victor you’ve come to know at the same time with an ending that leaves you begging for issue #5.

Art

Megan: Hats off to the artists of Doomquest #4 because they keep your eyes glued to every page. Perfectly capturing the heightened emotions of the story, Francesco Mobili, Frank D’Armata, and Travis Lanham bring visuals that can only be worthy of a Doctor Doom story. Mobili handles the linework expertly, bringing in details that really push the narrative of the time changing, especially when it comes to the characters. Doom goes through a lot of time changing in his life and Mobili makes it perfectly clear in his face.

Frank D’Armata nails the colors, making the life of Victor and Valeria feel so real. What I loved was that D’Armata included the classic green look in Victor’s life, keeping him on brand. Travis Lanham is the letterer of the comic and beautifully captures the inner dialogue of Doom while capturing the tone of his words. When his tone changes on the drop of a hat, you can easily feel the menacing tone in his words.

Shawn: Francesco Mobili, Frank D’Armata, and Travis Lanham crafted a visually perfect issue. Mobili’s line work as he crafted this version of Victor’s story was both haunting and stunning. There is a panel where Mobili shows us Doom’s mask reflected in Valeria’s eye, and it is such a stunning, high-quality panel that you can’t look away. Mobili’s lines and shading really stand out this issue as we see the “older” Victor.

Frank D’Armata does a beautiful job with colors. I really love the decision to keep Victor’s signature green as part of his wardrobe, even if it looks different from what we are used to seeing. Everything from Valeria’s dress to even the background of the panels is just impeccably colored. D’Armata’s lighting and shading really stand out on this issue. Travis Lanham does a great job handling Victor’s internal monologue, which often moves beyond the traditional panels. Despite being non-traditional in their location, Lanham makes sure the story flows well and that key moments are never obscured in the process.

Final Thoughts

Megan: 10/10 – I cannot say enough good things about this run! Doomquest #4 continues that incredible streak of high quality Doom stories, but ups the ante in a huge way. This deserves to be on every pull list. Victor Von Doom fans, don’t miss out on this!

Shawn: 10/10 – It’s Victor Von Doom meets What If? Easily the best story in the series so far. The writing is well done, the art is phenomenal, and the issue closes with a cliffhanger that makes you desperate for Doomquest #5.

Overall Grade: 10/10

How does this issue compare to the first three? Let us know in the comments below.