Unfortunately it’s developed in a loose, if not rash way, without truly delving into Von Doom’s psyche; all is explained in simplistic terms and his massive shifts in the last half are completely unexplained. The story is just handled with so much respect from both Paolo and Ed that you really get a great sense for the character and his twisted view on how the world should and does work.

Funny enough, he thinks Reed sabotaged his work, much like Reed thinks Victor sabotaged his own work in Ulitmate FF. What I will go into is that you should expect to see quite a few reviews coming out from me in the future. Victor being a sort of sociopath with most people works fine enough but his antagonism with Reed Richards comes pretty much out of nowhere and for something that is supposed to be so integral to his character this is not set up well at all. To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. It was pretty entertaining, but only serves as a modern expansion on some ideas that had previously already been explored in Kirby's and Byrne's Fantastic Four runs.We get to see a lot of his early motivations and desires that lead him to becoming the powerful ruler everyone knows him as in the Marvel Universe. My only gripe is that I now want to know how the family curse started out as well as it bugged me that we never really learn the origins of his mother’s demon. At his mother's funeral, the rest of the gypsy camp tried to banish young Victor and his father, Werner. From growing up in a Romani tribe to his rise to the Latverian throne, Books of Doom encompasses the triumphs and tragedies of Doctor Doom's life.

One of the stories I remember from Byrne's time on the book was that the reason that Doom wore his iron mask was because he was hideously scarred under it. The atrocities of the Baron, the death of Von Doom's mother, his relationship with Valeria - all explored very well. I also like how we learn that Doom's well-known cloak belonged to the the dead King Vladimir, a symbol of his final victory that he replaces his more humble version with that of the King.The Slings and Arrows Graphic Novel Guide doesn't care where you've been, where you're going or where you're located.