The Doom Patrol #99

History

By issue #99, the Doom Patrol series — which had debuted in My Greatest Adventure #80 in June 1963 under editor Murray Boltinoff — had already established itself as DC's most tonally unconventional superhero title, with Arnold Drake writing every installment. For this issue, regular series artist Bruno Premiani was replaced by Bob Brown, who both penciled and inked the entire book; Drake later explained that the Beast Boy concept grew from a desire to add a relatable young character at a moment when teenagers were asserting a new cultural independence. The lack of any full origin in #99 itself was by design or circumstance — reader response to Gar's debut was apparently strong enough that Drake expanded his backstory across the following issue, #100.

Trivia · 8 facts

• First appearance of Garfield 'Gar' Logan (Beast Boy), a green-skinned, animal-transforming teenager, in the backup story titled 'The Beast-Boy' — created by writer Arnold Drake and artist Bob Brown.
• The issue contains two complete stories: 'The Deadly Sting of the Bug Man' (featuring the one-appearance villain Bug Man and his insect-shaped mechanical vehicles) and 'The Beast-Boy' (Gar's debut); both were written by Arnold Drake, drawn by Bob Brown, lettered by Stan Starkman, and edited by Murray Boltinoff.
• In his debut, Beast Boy's partial transformation is visually distinct from his later depiction: his human head remains visible and green on animal bodies — a design approach that was quietly revised in subsequent issues toward a fully animal form.
• It is Elasti-Girl (Rita Farr), not the Chief or Robotman, who advocates for letting the boy join the Patrol; Robotman is then shown coining the name 'Beast Boy,' much to Gar's chagrin.
• The issue's cover carries a November 1965 date and a 12-cent cover price; the GCD records an on-sale date of September 2, 1965, reflecting standard Silver Age newsstand lead time.
• Arnold Drake stated explicitly that Beast Boy was conceived as a generational statement — an attempt to reflect young people who were 'starting to make their elders earn their respect,' marking him as one of the first DC teen heroes designed around countercultural youth attitudes.
• The issue has been reprinted multiple times: in Doom Patrol Archives Vol. 3 (2006), Showcase Presents: The Doom Patrol Vol. 1 (2009), the Doom Patrol: The Silver Age Omnibus (2017), Doom Patrol: The Silver Age Vol. 2 (2020), a facsimile edition (January 2024), and DC Finest: The Doom Patrol – The World's Strangest Heroes (April 2025).
• Beast Boy went on to appear in every subsequent issue of the original Doom Patrol run through #121, later resurfaced as 'Changeling' in New Teen Titans, and his profile expanded enormously through the Cartoon Network animated series (2003) and the live-action Titans series (DC Universe/HBO Max), where he was played by Ryan Potter.

Cast · 8 characters

Full credits

Key issues in The Doom Patrol

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#86 1st appearance — Monsieur Mallah

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#91 1st appearance — Mento