I Reads You Review: SCOOBY-DOO, WHERE ARE YOU #86

SCOOBY-DOO, WHERE ARE YOU? No. 86
DC COMICS – @DCComics

STORY: Ivan Cohen; Paul Kupperberg
PENCILS: Randy Elliot; Fabio Laguna
COLORS: Sylvana Brys; Heroic Age
LETTERS: Saida Temofonte; Travis Lanham
EDITOR: Robin Levin; Harvey Richards
COVER: Scott Gross
32pp, Color, $2.99 U.S. (December 2017)

Rated “E” for “Everyone”

Several years ago, I had a subscription to the Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? comic book series.  I let it expire after a year, but I had been putting off renewing it, which I did a few months ago.  I recently received the first issue of that new subscription.  Let me share some news about my first subscription issue with you.

Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? #86 opens with “Medical Mystery Tour” (written by Ivan Cohen and drawn by Randy Elliot).  Mystery Incorporated has just solved a case and disaster strikes!  When Velma Dinkley is forced to stay awake in a hospital bed for 24 hours, Scooby-Doo and the rest of Mystery Inc., do their best to keep their resident super-brain occupied.  Are there schemes, however, keeping them from seeing the truth?

The second story is “It's a Mystery!” (written by Paul Kupperberg and drawn by Fabio Laguna).  It was originally published in Scooby-Doo #155, a 2010 issue of the Scooby-Doo comic book series that began in 1997.  This is another Velma story.  It is her birthday, and her Mystery Inc. pals have created a fake mystery based on the work of Velma's favorite mystery novelist, Cal Melvin Cullins, for her to solve.  But fate and bad timing throws Velma into a case that is real and is closer to home than the Mystery Inc. gang realizes.

Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? #86 is a pointed reminder for me that I should have renewed by subscription to this series back in 2014.  I missed three years of a comic book that I really liked.  At the end of my review of Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? #50, I asked, “Should I continue past Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? #50?  I am having a good time...”  I didn't continue.

Both of these stories are quite good, and similarly are about misdirection.  Although most readers will probably figure out what's going on midway through both stories, they are fun because they depict the closeness of the characters.  Mystery Incorporated is a family, and the cartoon series that have broken up the family into a smaller unit, such as “The New Scooby and Scrappy-Doo Show” (1983) and “Shaggy & Scooby Get a Clue! (2006).  These two series are not the same as the series which feature the entire original cast – and are not as good as the ones with the full cast, as far as I'm concerned.

I like that the two stories that make up Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? #86.  They put the family in “Scooby gang.”  Also, Scott Gross' cover art for this issue is one of the most imaginative visuals and striking designs that I have ever seen on a Scooby-Doo comic book cover.

A-
7.5 out of 10

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


The text is copyright © 2017 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for syndication rights and fees.

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I Reads You Review: SCOOBY-DOO, WHERE ARE YOU? #49

SCOOBY-DOO, WHERE ARE YOU? #49
DC COMICS – @DCComics

STORY: Sholly Fisch, Paul Kupperberg
PENCILS: Robert Pope, Fabio Laguna
INKS: Scott McCrea, Fabio Laguna
COLORS: Candace Schinzler-Bell, Heroic Age
LETTERS: Saida Temofonte; Travis Lanham
EDITOR: Aniz Adam Ansari
COVER: Scott Jeralds and Candace Schinzler-Bell
28pp, Color, $2.99 U.S. (November 2014)

Rated “E” for “Everyone”

“Ruh-Huh!”  So you, dear readers, are back for another I Reads You review of the Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? comic book series.  As regular readers of this blog know, I bought a subscription to this latest Scooby-Doo comic book series via a fundraiser held by my nephew’s school last year, which involved selling magazine subscriptions.

Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? #49 opens with “A Midsummer Night's Scream” (written by Sholly Fisch and drawn by Robert Pope and Scott McCrea).  The Mystery Inc. gang is visiting a Shakespeare festival, “Shakespeare Outdoors,” for a production of A Midsummer Night's Dream.  Not long into the evening's performance, mischievous faeries suddenly appear to terrorize and scare the audience.  But are they real faeries?  It's the latest Scooby-Doo mystery.

“Attack of the 50-Foot Shaggy!” (written by Paul Kupperberg and drawn by Fabio Laguna) finds the gang at Westnorthern University, home of the country's best library of the supernatural, “William Hanna Library.”  Shaggy and Scooby, however, are not in the mood for a research marathon.  Looking for food (of course), the duo comes upon a scientific demonstration.  There, a delicious roasted chicken causes Shaggy to be zapped by a ray from the Archer Molecular Enlargement Device.  Now, Shaggy can't stop growing, but is everything as big as it seems?

Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? #49 is one of those issues of a Scooby-Doo comic book that I really enjoyed reading.  Even as a life-long Scooby-Doo fan, I have to admit that not all Scooby-Doo comic books are like that.  The plot for “A Midsummer Night's Scream” is an odd one for a Scooby-Doo story, and I think it would make a good plot for an entry in Warner Bros. Animation's line of Scooby-Doo direct-to-DVD films.  “Attack of the 50-Foot Shaggy!” this issue's reprint story (originally published in Scooby-Doo #159), is also this issue's better story.  It plays like an actual mystery in that the reader must play close attention to the story art in order to solve the mystery.

B+

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux


The text is copyright © 2014 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for syndication rights and fees.

I Reads You Review: SCOOBY-DOO, Where Are You? #48

SCOOBY-DOO, WHERE ARE YOU? #48
DC COMICS – @DCComics

STORY: Scott Neely, John Rozum
PENCILS: Scott Neely, Leo Batic
INKS: Scott Neely, Horacio Ottolini
COLORS: Candace Schinzler-Bell, Heroic Age
LETTERS: Saida Temofonte; Nick J. Napolitano
EDITOR: Aniz Ansari
COVER: Scott Neely and Candace Schinzler-Bell
28pp, Color, $2.99 U.S. (September 2014)

Rated “E” for “Everyone”

I recently received another issue in my Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? subscription.  As regular readers of this blog know, I bought the subscription via a fundraiser held by my nephew’s school last year, which involved selling magazine subscriptions.  [It's time to renew my Scooby subscription, by the way.]

Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? #48 opens with “Tiki Taboo Trouble” (written and drawn by Scott Neely).  Scooby-Doo and Shaggy are cleaning out the garage to find items they can sell at a neighborhood garage sale.  The garage looks like something from a television show about hoarders.  They find lots of stuff, including the Mystery Inc. Archives.  They even find a tiki from one of their mysteries, “The Case of the Night Marchers.”  Shaggy not only decides to keep the small wooden idol, but he also puts it on a chain around his neck.  Is he asking for trouble and bad luck?

“A Wolf in Creep’s Clothing” (written by John Rozum and drawn by Leo Batic and Horacio Ottolini) finds the gang at a monster convention, “Monster Mix 2004.”  This is the one place where Shaggy and Scooby can feel safe around monsters, because these monsters are only fans in costumes.  However, the ghost of Patricia Millicent, the late, famed movie monster costume designer, is terrorizing the contestants of the convention’s costume contest.  And Shag and Scoob have to solve this mystery on their own, as Fred, Daphne, and Velma are trapped on a convention panel.

Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? #48 is the first Scooby-Doo comic book that I have read in which the story depicts domestic harmony for Mystery Inc.  Cleaning up the clutter, garage sales, and running errands:  for a Scooby-Doo fanboy like me, this “home front” story is a nice change of pace.

Meanwhile, “A Wolf in Creep’s Clothing.” this issue's reprint story (originally published in Scooby-Doo #92), has already been recently reprinted in Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? #46.  That must be an editorial glitch, but it is a good story.

B-

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux


The text is copyright © 2014 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for syndication rights and fees.

I Reads You Review: SCOOBY-DOO, Where Are You? #46

SCOOBY-DOO, WHERE ARE YOU? #46
DC COMICS – @DCComics

STORY: Scott Gross, John Rozum
PENCILS: Fabio Laguna, Leo Batic
INKS: Fabio Laguna, Horacio Ottolini
COLORS: Candace Schinzler-Bell, Heroic Age
LETTERS: Saida Temofonte, Nick J. Napolitano
EDITOR: Aniz Ansari
COVER: Scott Gross
28pp, Color, $2.99 U.S. (August 2014)

Rated “E” for “Everyone”

Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? #46 is the most recent issue that I have received through my subscription to the title.  Join me as I continue my journey through the current Scooby-Doo comic book series with a review of the forty-sixth issue.  Why is this happening, those of you who are new might ask?  I bought a subscription to Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? via a fundraiser held by my nephew’s school last year, which involved selling magazine subscriptions.

Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? #46 opens with “Awesomelantis Rises” (written by Scott Gross and drawn by Fábio Laguna).  After Shaggy and Scooby, through their usual antics, dig up a mysterious artifact, The Mystery Inc. gang visits a local university.  In the Marine Archeology Department, Professor Varzi tells them that he believes the artifact to be a relic of the long-lost city of Atlantis.  When a group of creatures calling themselves “Atlanteans” show up, the gang has another mystery to solve.

“A Wolf in Creep’s Clothing” (written by John Rozum and drawn by Leo Batic and Horacio Ottolini) finds the gang at a monster convention, “Monster Mix 2004.”  This is the one place where Shaggy and Scooby can feel safe around monsters, because these monsters are only fans in costumes.  However, the ghost of Patricia Millicent, the late, famed movie monster costume designer, is terrorizing the contestants of the convention’s costume contest.  And Shag and Scoob have to solve this mystery on their own, as Fred, Daphne, Velma are trapped on a convention panel.

Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? #46 offers two delightful tongue-in-cheek stories.  Both trade in classic Scooby-Doo scenarios, while gently poking fun at how Mystery Inc. solves cases.  “Awesomelantis Rises” is a mystery so obviously not about the supernatural, but the art by Fábio Laguna is a treat.  It is also funny to see what is essentially a children’s comic book making a pointed attack on commercial exploitation of history and on frivolous commercial real estate development.

“A Wolf in Creep’s Clothing” is a reprint from Scooby-Doo #92 (the Scooby-Doo series prior to this one).  I like Scooby-Doo stories that take place at conventions and at other behind-the-scenes locales like a movie lot, a circus, or a theatre where stage plays are performed.  Writer John Rozum spoofs figures that are well-known in monster films, television, and fiction, such as Hellboy’s Mike Mignola (as Mike Magnolia) and Stephen King (as Steve Kingman).  This story left me wanting more Scooby-Doo, and Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? #46, as a whole, makes me want to re-subscribe.

A

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux


The text is copyright © 2014 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for syndication rights and fees.

I Reads You Review: SCOOBY-DOO, Where Are You? #45

SCOOBY-DOO, WHERE ARE YOU? #45
DC COMICS – @DCComics

STORY: Georgia Ball, Darryl Taylor Kravitz, Robbie Busch
PENCILS: Dave Alvarez, Karen Matchette, Robert Pope
INKS: Dave Alvarez, Karen Matchette, Scott McRae
COLORS: Dave Alvarez; Heroic Age
LETTERS: Saida Temofonte, Randy Gentile, Brian Durniak
EDITOR: Kristy Quinn
COVER: Dave Alvarez
28pp, Color, $2.99 U.S. (July 2014)

Rated “E” for “Everyone”

Via subscription, I continue my journey through the current Scooby-Doo comic book series with the forty-fifth issue of Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?  Why is this happening, those of you who are new might ask?  I bought a subscription to Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? via a fundraiser held by my nephew’s school last year, which involved selling magazine subscriptions.

Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? #45 opens with “Scooby Slides into Danger” (written by Georgia Ball and drawn and colored by Dave Alvarez).  The Mystery Inc. gang visits the water park, Pudelnass (“the World’s Greatest Water Park”), for a day of sun without a mystery to solve.  The kids actually get to have the water park all to themselves.  Of course, it’s not that easy.  They have to solve the mystery of the mutant creature known as “the Primordial Ooze.”

As “The Freeloading Ghost” (written by Darryl Taylor Kravitz and drawn by Karen Matchette) opens, the Mystery Inc. kids have just solved a mystery.  However, there is some blowback because of their actions.  They have made a ghost homeless, and he expects housing from his accidental evictors.  Also, reality show shenanigans have the gang trying to capture “The Great Lire of Lagoona Beach” (written by Robbie Busch and drawn by Robert Pope and Scott McRae).

Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? #45 features the return of one of my favorite Scooby-Doo comic book artists, the fantastic Dave Alvarez.  There is a 3D quality to the combination of his compositions and coloring that remind me of my childhood experiences with “View Master.”

Of course, Scooby-Doo and friends have an established visual appearance, but Alvarez shows off his talent for cartooning the human head and face on the other characters.  Expressive and odd-looking, the supporting players of “Scooby Slides into Danger” have a striking visual look.  Plus, the story is also fun, and it is one that I would like to see adapted as one of those Scooby-Doo direct-to-DVD animated films.

The other two stories are reprints from the Scooby-Doo comic book series previous to this one (entitled, Scooby-Doo).  I love “The Freeloading Ghost.”  Can we get a revisit on that one?  As for Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? #45, it is one of the favorites of my subscription.  More Dave Alvarez, please.

A

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux


The text is copyright © 2014 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for syndication rights and fees.

I Reads You Review: SCOOBY-DOO, Where Are You? #44

SCOOBY-DOO, WHERE ARE YOU? #44
DC COMICS – @DCComics

STORY: Matthew K. Manning; Paul Kupperberg
PENCILS: Robert Pope; Roberto Barrios
INKS: Scott McRae; Horacio Ottolini
COLORS: Franco Riesco; Heroic Age
LETTERS: Saida Temofonte; Pat Brosseau
MISC. ART: Vincent Deporter
EDITOR: Kristy Quinn
COVER: Scott Neely with Heroic Age
28pp, Color, $2.99 U.S. (June 2014)

Rated “E” for “Everyone”

I continue my journey through the current Scooby-Doo comic book series with the forty-fourth issue of Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?  Why is this happening?  I bought a subscription to Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? via a fundraiser held by my nephew’s school last year, which involved selling magazine subscriptions.

Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? #44 opens with “Island of the Jabberwockies” (written by Matthew K. Manning and drawn by Robert Pope and Scott McRae).  The Mystery Inc. gang is traveling through what is apparently a series of interconnected islands.  The kids are headed to a beach on Fripp Island, but first, must pass through Hunting Island where they almost have an accident and definitely have a weird experience.

At the Fripp Island Hotel, they learn that vacationers are being pestered by deer and scared by the “Jabberwockies.”  Now, Fred, Daphne, Velma, Shaggy, and Scooby-Doo are also being terrorized, but they’re not too scared to investigate.

In “The Phantom of the Opal!” (written by Paul Kupperberg and drawn by Roberto Barrios and Horacio Ottolini), the Mystery Inc. kids are guests on “The Tad Williams Show.”  The arrival of the Phantom of the Opal means that the guests have to become mystery solvers.  When it comes to the identity of the Phantom, the kids have plenty of suspects because the phantom is obviously an embittered living person.

Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? #44 has as a theme conniving showbiz types.  “Island of the Jabberwockies” is a quickie type story, but it is pointed in making its point.  Writer Matthew K. Manning also uses much of the 10 pages of the narrative to showcase the lovable silliness we’ve come to expect of that crazy duo, Shaggy and Scooby.

“The Phantom of the Opal!” is apparently a reprint (from the previous series, Scooby-Doo #153), but it is the better story of the two.  The main reason is because writer Paul Kupperberg squeezes enough subplots and characters inside a short story to create a separate graphic novel (or even miniseries).  The guest characters are fairly well-developed, complete with motivation and conflicts.

Surprisingly, even with only 12 pages, Kupperberg succeeds in making the mystery of the Phantom of the Opal an intriguing one.  I really got into solving the mystery of the Phantom’s identity (and my first choice turned out to be right).  I hope Kupperberg writes new Scooby-Doo comics.

B+

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux


The text is copyright © 2014 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for syndication rights and fees.

I Reads You Review: SCOOBY-DOO Team-Up #1

SCOOBY-DOO TEAM-UP #1
DC COMICS – @DCComics

STORY: Sholly Fisch
ART: Dario Brizuela
COLORS: Heroic Age
LETTERS: Saida Temofonte
EDITOR: Kristy Quinn
COVER: Dario Brizuela
28pp, Color, $2.99 U.S. (May 2014)

Rated “E” for “Everyone”

Batman created by Bob Kane (with Bill Finger)

That famous Saturday morning cartoon dog, Scooby-Doo, and his human companions:  Shaggy Rogers, Velma Dinkley, Daphne Blake, and Fred Jones, first appeared in the Saturday morning animated series, Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! (1969-1971 from Hanna-Barbera).  This quintet is known as Mystery Inc. (or the “Mystery Inc. gang” or the “Scooby gang”).

The second Scooby-Doo animated series was The New Scooby-Doo Movies, which premiered on September 9, 1972 and ran for two seasons on CBS until 1974.  It was the first Scooby-Doo cartoon series that I ever saw, and it began my life-long love of Scooby-Doo and his pals.  It also began my life-long love affair with Batman and Robin.  The Dynamic Duo’s appearance on The New Scooby-Doo Movies marked the first time I ever saw them, and I was immediately fascinated by the mysterious Batman and his colorful young sidekick.  I can say that once I discovered that Batman was a comic book character, I became attached to DC Comics.

An hour-long series, The New Scooby-Doo Movies featured a rotating series of special guest stars.  Each episode guest-starred a real-life celebrity or well-known fictional character that joined the Mystery, Inc. gang in solving the mystery of the week.  Some celebrities were living at the time of an episode’s first airing (Don Knotts, Tim Conway, and Dick Van Dyke, to name a few).  Some were deceased or retired (The Three Stooges and Laurel and Hardy).  There were real-life celebrities who would become cartoon characters in other series (Harlem Globetrotters).  Some were stars of other Hanna-Barbera animated series (Josie and the Pussycats, Speedy Buggy).

I watched The New Scooby-Doo Movies every chance I got, even as an adult.  Now, DC Comics is producing Scooby-Doo Team-Up, a follow-up comic book series to The New Scooby-Doo Movies, and I have nothing but fanboy love for them for producing this new comic book.  After the comic book shops within driving distance of me sold out, I turned to Mile High Comics to find the first issue of Scooby-Doo Team-Up.

Scooby-Doo Team-Up #1 (“Man Bat and Robbin’”) teams Mystery Inc. with Batman and Robin to solve a mystery and to stop a crime.  Mystery Inc. is in an unknown city investigating reports of “a giant bat creature.”  The gang meets their old pals, Batman and Robin, who quickly inform them that the bat-creature is really tragic Batman adversary, Man-Bat.  But the group soon finds that their investigation is complicated by multiple “man-bats” (or “men-bats” as Shaggy calls them).

Over the years of reading articles, essays, reviews, etc. written about comic books, I have come to understand that some believe that in order for comic books to gain more new readers, especially those of elementary and middle school age, is to make comic books and graphic novels that are fun to read and are less engrossed with sometimes decades old plots, concepts, narratives, mythologies, etc.  Sometimes, it does seem as if the same few stories are being told over and over again.

On the other hand, DC Comics, for well over a decade, has been producing a line of children’s comics based on various Warner Bros. and Cartoon Network animated properties, like Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? and Scooby-Doo Team-Up.  They’re good; they’re fun to read.  I really can’t remember reading one that I did not like.

And I absolutely love Scooby-Doo Team-Up #1.  I figured that a comic book that matched Scooby-Doo and Batman and Robin could not possible please me because I would expect too much.  Please, please me, I asked of Scooby-Doo Team-Up #1.  It did, and it is the fun comic book that some of us believe American comic books need in order to attract more new readers.

In this brief, 21-page story, writer Sholly Fisch manages to give each character his or her own moment to shine, and Fisch makes them seem familiar – the way we’d expect them to be.  Fisch also offers a clever exchange acknowledging one of Batman and Robin’s appearances on The New Scooby-Doo Movies.  There is even a nod to Burt Ward’s Robin, from the old 1960s Batman television series.

In addition to the smooth manner in which he turns Fisch’s story into a snappy Scooby-Doo comic, artist Dario Brizuela recalls the ghosts of Hanna-Barbera past.  Brizuela’s art and graphical storytelling puts truth to DC Comics’ declaration that Scooby-Doo Team-Up is a successor to The New Scooby-Doo Movies.  Brizuela makes this comic book look like its source.

If this review reads like a declaration that (1) I am a big fan of this first issue and (2) I will continue to read Scooby-Doo Team-Up, then, you, dear reader, have impeccable reading skills.

A

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux


The text is copyright © 2014 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for syndication rights and fees.

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I Reads You Review: SCOOBY-DOO, Where are You? #42

SCOOBY-DOO, WHERE ARE YOU? #42
DC COMICS – @DCComics

STORY: Heather Nuhfer, Terrance Griep
PENCILS: Eduardo Garcia, Leo Batic
INKS: Eduardo Garcia, Horacio Ottolini
COLORS: Heroic Age
LETTERS: Deron Bennett, Travis Lanham
COVER: Eduardo Garcia
28pp, Color, $2.99 U.S. (April 2014)

Rated “E” for Everyone

I have a subscription to DC Comics’ most recent Scooby-Doo comic book series, Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? (which launched in 2010).  I bought the subscription through a fundraising drive for the school which my nephew attends, and I recently received the fourth issue of my subscription.

Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? #42 opens with “Viral Villain” (written by Heather Nuhfer and drawn by Eduardo Garcia).  The story finds Mystery Inc. on a short break to relax from all the mysteries they have been working.  Shaggy and Scooby, however, are bored, so they visit a local video game story, looking for something with which to entertain themselves.  They find a copy of the hot new game, Celestial Edge, but the store owner warns them that the game has been making some of the people who have played it act crazy.  That may explain why Shag and Scoob are seeing the game’s villain, Lord Vicious, walking around in the real world.

In “Sleeper’s Peepers” (written by Terrance Griep and drawn by Leo Batic), the gang visits the lake that is the site of a wakeboarding tournament.  They are helping Tad Laurent, the top-rated wake-boarder, get ready for the tournament.  However, the “Scaled Sleeper,” a monster that looks like the creature from the Black Lagoon, wants an end to the tournament so that he can keep sleeping.  Of course, the Mystery Inc. gang sees his threat as the start of a new mystery to be solved.

Once again, an issue of Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? offers two stories that would work better as one issue-length story.  Ten and 12 pages, respectively, don’t do justice to the stories, especially the 10-page, “Viral Villain.”

I must admit that that I am impressed with the artist of “Viral Villian,” Eduardo Garcia.  You could mistake him for an animator drawing cel art for an actual Scooby-Doo cartoon.  He is a true Scooby-Doo artist, and his illustrations, combined with Heroic Age’s coloring, make “Viral Villain,” seem like true-blue Doo.

B-

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux


The text is copyright © 2014 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for syndication rights and fees.

I Reads You Review: SCOOBY-DOO, Where Are You? #41

SCOOBY-DOO, WHERE ARE YOU? #41
DC COMICS – @DCComics

STORY: Scott Gross, John Rozum, Keith Champagne
PENCILS: Scott Gross, Scott Neely
INKS: Scott Gross, Jorge Pacheco, Scott Neely
COLORS: Heroic Age
LETTERS: Saida Temofonte, Sal Cipriano, Randy Gentile,
COVER: Scott Gross
28pp, Color, $2.99 U.S. (March 2014)

Rated “E” for Everyone

I currently subscribe to DC Comics’ most recent Scooby-Doo comic book series, Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? (2010).  I bought the subscription through a fundraising drive by the school my nephew attends.  I just received the third issue of my subscription.

Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? #41 opens with “Annunaki” (written and drawn by Scott Gross).  The story finds Mystery Inc. on the road and lost.  The gang ends up in the small Ohio town of Chillicothe.  There, they discover that an “ancient astronaut,” is terrorizing locals and keeping them away from the area’s pride and joy, local Indian mounds.  Faster than you can exclaim, “Jinkies!” Velma Dinkley has a plan.

In “Chupacabra-Cadabra” (written by Keith Champagne and drawn by Scott Neely), the gang takes a road trip to celebrate Shaggy Rogers’ birthday.  No-thanks to the legendary “El Chupacabra,” which has a penchant for kidnapping, Shaggy is about to have his worst birthday ever!

Once again, I experience the joy of reading a Scooby-Doo comic book.  Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? #41 offers three good stories, although some of this material is not new.  Some of the comics here were previously published in Scooby-Doo (1997) #130 and #140.

Even at eight pages, “Chupacabra-Cadabra” is a complete and fully developed story.  However, “Annunaki,” at 10-pages in length, is the victim of a rushed ending.  The story is a good idea, but it should have been a full-length, single-issue story of at least 20 pages in length.  The last two pages are crunched together, when this last act needs at least six pages.  Talk about compression.

Overall, Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? #41 is a good issue.  And I’m ready for the next issue – as usual.

B+

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux

The text is copyright © 2014 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for syndication rights and fees.

I Reads You Review: SCOOBY-DOO, Where Are You? #40

SCOOBY-DOO, WHERE ARE YOU? #40
DC COMICS – @DCComics

STORY: Sholly Fisch, John Rozum
PENCILS: Walter Carzon, Robert Pope, Fabio Laguna
INKS: Horatio Ottolini, Scott McRae, Fabio Laguna
COLORS: Heroic Age
LETTERS: Saida Temofonte, Travis Lanham
COVER: Scott Gross
28pp, Color, $2.99 U.S. (February 2014)

Rated “E” for Everyone

I previously wrote that I subscribe to DC Comics’ current incarnation of a Scooby-Doo comic book series, Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? (2010).  I bought the subscription through a fundraising drive for the school my nephew attends.  I recently received the second issue of my subscription.

Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? #40 opens with “Scare Mail” (written by Sholly Fisch and penciled by Walter Carzon).  The story finds Mystery Inc. working for “Tex Mex” delivery service (a spoof of FedEx).  They are delivering a package to the ghost town of Jackpot, but the gang’s true purpose is to investigate the disappearance of previous TexMex trucks that entered Jackpot and never returned.

Next up is a “Howling Good Time” (written by Sholly Fisch and penciled by Robert Pope).  Scooby, Shaggy, and the rest of the gang visit a carnival run by their old pals, the Ghastleys, who first appeared in Scooby-Doo (1997) #107.  The gang learns that everything about the carnival is just fine, except for one small detail.  For the past week, a monster has been rampaging through the carnival and scaring customers away.  If this monster mystery isn’t solved, it will put the carnival out of business.

After reading the first issue of my subscription, Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? #39, I was disappointed.  This time around, I am disappointed that Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? #40 is not double-sized… or even triple-sized.  Sholly Fisch offers two highly-enjoyable stories that capture the fun of the classic Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? television cartoons.  In fact, I wouldn’t mind seeing Fisch’s two stories here adapted into Scooby-Doo cartoons.

Penciller Robert Pope and inker Scott McRae, who were excellent in issue #39, return for another story.  I like how Pope fills the panels with characters and background details that give each panel a sense of environment; McRae’s clean inking keeps Pope’s details from becoming cluttered.  However, I have to say that I’m especially impressed by Walter Carzon.  From his drawing hand, classic Scooby-Doo is reborn in the graphics of comic book storytelling.  Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? #40 would make an excellent comic book gift for a young reader.

Obviously, I’m ready for the next issue in my subscription.

A-

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux


The text is copyright © 2013 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for syndication rights and fees.

I Reads You Review: SCOOBY-DOO, Where Are You? #39

SCOOBY-DOO, WHERE ARE YOU? #39
DC COMICS – @DCComics

STORY: Heather Nuhfer, John Rozum, Darryl Taylor Kravitz
PENCILS: Robert Pope
INKS: Scott McRae
COLORS: Heroic Age
LETTERS: Saida Temofonte, Mike Sellers, Sal Cipriano
COVER: Scott Neely
28pp, Color, $2.99 U.S. (January 2014)

Rated “E” for Everyone

A few months ago, my sister, her husband, and their son (my nephew, of course) came for a visit.  My nephew told us that his school was doing one of those fundraising campaigns schools always seem to be doing.  Instead of candy bars or M&Ms, his school was selling magazine subscriptions, and my nephew had a catalog filled with what seemed like a few hundred magazine offerings, covering a wide range of topics.

To my surprise and delight, the subscription offerings included a few DC Comics titles.  I’m not sure why, but I chose a subscription to DC’s current incarnation of a Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? comic book series.

Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? #39 opens with the story, “Prize Pup.”  A sold-out movie means the Mystery Inc. gang ends up at the Conewango Kennel Club Dog Show just in time to solve the mystery of the “Hound of the Conewango.”  Now, Scooby-Doo might become a champion pooch or a victim!

Next, learn about such monsters of the “Plat-Eye,” the giant six-legged cow, and more in “Velma’s Monsters of the World.”  In “Ah… Rival,” the gang is off to London, England for a chance to be “Teen Detectives of the Year.”  The Sleuth Sisters Club is all that stands between our heroes and “the Golden Magnifying Glass Award,” and they mean to win by any means necessary.

The art by penciller Robert Pope and inker Scott McRae is excellent.  When it comes to drawing Scooby-Doo and Mystery Inc. in comics form, this art team deserves to be called perfect.  The coloring by Heroic Age is also quite good.

The stories are the problems in Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? #39, but not because they are bad or of poor quality.  Aside from “Velma’s Monsters of the World” (which is a gag story), “Prize Pup” and “Ah… Rival” need to be longer.  They are actually good scenarios.  In fact, they are good enough ideas that each could be adapted into a Scooby-Doo direct-to-DVD movie.

In the comic book, however, the two stories are just crammed into 10 pages or less, but they’re really made to be told as 20-page stories, at least.  They’re good stories.  They need to be – dare I say it – decompressed.

B-

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux


The text is copyright © 2013 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this site for syndication rights and fees.