Saturday, October 16, 2021

#IReadsYou Review: SCOOBY-DOO, Where Are You? #111

SCOOBY-DOO, WHERE ARE YOU? (2010) #111
DC COMICS – @DCComics

STORY: Derek Fridolfs; Sholly Fisch
PENCILS: Valerio Chiola; Fabio Laguna
INKS: Valerio Chiola; Fabio Laguna
COLORS: Valerio Chiola; Heroic Age
LETTERS: Saida Temofonte
EDITORS: Courtney Jordan; Kristy Quinn (reprint)
COVER: Derek Fridolfs with Valerio Chiola
32pp, Color, $2.99 U.S. (October 2021)

Ages 8+

“Crash Test Mummies”


Welcome, dear readers, to my continuing journey through the Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? comic book series, which began publication in 2010.  I continue to renew my subscription so that I can continue to review this series for you, dear readers.

Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? #111 opens with “Crash Test Mummies,” which is written by Derek Fridolfs and drawn by Valerio Chiola.  The story finds Mystery Inc.Scooby-Doo, Shaggy, Fred, Daphne, and Velma inside their beloved van, the “Mystery Machine.”  They are in a death race against a mad drag racer that the gang calls the “Spooky Speedster.”

Unfortunately, Mystery Inc. gets the worst of it.  The Mystery Machine crashes into a tree, taking on heavy and extensive damage, and the Spooky Speedster gets away.  Luckily, a mechanic happens to arrive in his tow truck, but so does the local sheriff.  The kids get away without getting a ticket, but the sheriff sends them to traffic school.  More misfortune arrives when the gang discovers that the building where the school is held is haunted by a “Mumbling Mummy.”  Can Scooby and company solve this mystery and get a passing grade in traffic school?

The second story, “On Your Marks, Get Set … Ghost!” is, as usual, a reprint story and is written by Sholly Fisch and drawn by Fabio Laguna.  [This story was originally published in Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? #36 (cover date: October 2013).]  The story opens at one of the most challenging “Modcar” racecourses anywhere, the “Terror Track.”  There, we find Mystery Inc helping the world's greatest race car driver, Earl Daleheart.  It seems that the Terror Track's mascot, “Terry the Terror,” has become a real-life monster, terrorizing the track and knocking Daleheart out of the race.  Can the gang solve this mystery, and can Shaggy and Scooby drive a race care?

Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? #111 is one of the best issues of the series that I have read in a long time.  “Crash Test Mummies” has some beautiful art drawn and colored by Valerio Chiola, and Chiola's graphic design of the characters is one of the best modern takes on the Scooby-Doo franchise – in animation or comic books.  The story by Derek Fridolfs, who is himself quite an accomplished Scooby-Doo comic book artist, is a delight that offers two mysteries.  Fridolfs also does double duty, delivering a striking cover illustration.  As Scooby declares, “Scooby-Dooby-Two!”

This issue may be the first that I have read in which the backup story is a reprint story from this series rather than being from the long-running Scooby-Doo (1997-2010) comic book series, which is usually the source for the backup stories.  Still, “On Your Marks, Get Set … Ghost!” is also a fun story from two other stalwart Scooby-Doo comic book creators, writer Sholly Fisch and artist Fabio Laguna.  Also, some readers will enjoy the fact that the character, Earl Daleheart, is a reference to the late stock car driver and NASCAR racing legend, Dale Earnhardt.

So, I highly recommend Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? #111 to Scooby-Doo fans.  And until next time, Scooby-Dooby-Doo!

A-
7.5 out of 10

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



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