I Reads You Review: SCOOBY-DOO, WHERE ARE YOU? #50

SCOOBY-DOO, WHERE ARE YOU? #50
DC COMICS – @DCComics

STORY: Georgia Ball, Dan Abnett
PENCILS: Scott Jeralds, Anthony Williams
INKS: Scott Jeralds, Jeff Albrecht
COLORS: Candace Schinzler-Bell, Paul Becton
LETTERS: Saida Temofonte; Jenna Garcia
EDITOR: Aniz Adam Ansari
COVER: Scott Jeralds and Candace Schinzler-Bell
28pp, Color, $2.99 U.S. (November 2014)

Rated “E” for “Everyone”

A little over a year ago, I bought a subscription to the Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? comic book series.  The school my nephew attends was selling magazine subscriptions as a fundraiser, for the entire school or a for particular program – I don't remember.  While reading the fund-raising brochure, I saw that a subscription to Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? Was offered, and I thought, “I wanna read that!”  Well, issue #50 is the last of my subscription, and I am still deciding if I want to renew.

Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? #50 opens with “The Scare Witch Project” (written by Georgia Ball and drawn by Scott Jeralds).  Mystery Inc. is in British Columbia for some skiing, when they discover that the ski lodge where they are staying is being terrorized by a “spirit.”  That spirit is “The Dzunakwa,” a witch of legend that haunts the woods of British Columbia.  And, of course, the gang won't let any witch or spirit mess up their vacation.

“The Italian Hellion!” (written by Dan Abnett and drawn by Anthony Williams and Jeff Albrecht) finds the gang overseas in Venice, Italy.  Velma wants to see the sites of an historic city.  Fred and Daphne are there for the romance.  Of course, Shaggy and Scooby-Doo look forward to spaghetti, meatballs, and the annual Gelato Festival.  Instead, they find their plans delayed by the mystery of the “Phantom of the Canals.”  This ghostly gondolier has apparently come back to haunt Venice, but Mystery Inc. plans to put this phantom out of business.

Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? #50 offers two of my favorite kinds of Scooby-Doo adventures:  the mystery set in a snowy climate and the case set in an international locale.  “The Scare Witch Project” is the new story, and “The Italian Hellion!” is a reprint from the previous series (Scooby-Doo #56).  In fact, both stories feature the kind of faux-supernatural adversary similar to the types that appeared in early Scooby-Doo animated series.  I wouldn't mind seeing the Phantom of the Canals, again.

I also noticed something a little strange about the art.  Scott Jeralds replicates classic animated Mystery Inc. in “The Scare Witch Project.”  The Scooby gang members look like they should, and Jeralds also draws the other characters so that they are graphically and visually similar to the gang.  In “The Italian Hellion,” penciller Anthony Williams draws Mystery Inc. in their classic look, but the other characters look as if they were drawn by a different artist.  Odd, at least, I think so.

Should I continue past Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? #50?  I am having a good time...

B+

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux


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