Quick Rating: Three Scooby Snacks!
Title: What A Ghoul Wants; Trouble in Store

Isn’t it time for a Scooby Doo/Predator crossover?

Writer: Alex Simmons, Ivan Velez Jr.
Artist: Joe Staton, Andrew Pepoy, Robert Pope, Jorge Pacheco
Letters: Nick J. Napolitano
Editor: Joan Hilty

Have you noticed that no one seems obsessed with getting a good comic book out there to tie-in to Scooby Doo 2? Is there some rule that you can’t promote the industry unless the characters originated in comic books? In our desperate insistence that comic books can be written for adults, do we have to create a school-age slum where we shunt off the comics written for children? Why is the kid’s area of a comics shop inevitably filled with yellowed, wrinkled pamphlets in a damp corner? Do we really hate children that much?

The mind reels thinking about the editorial meetings involved in producing an issue of Scooby Doo. Just how restricted are these stories? And are the restrictions imposed by Warner Brothers, the audience, or the editors themselves? I mean, good heavens, do they have to solve a mystery twice every issue? What I wouldn’t give for a multi-issue arc in which Scooby is kidnapped and Shaggy joins a cult… And yet, the world would seem to be unbalanced if I didn’t read the words “meddling kids” at least once a month…

Despite what a few ignoramuses have said over the years, I do believe that comic books are a wonderful introduction to reading for children of all ages. I’ve never met a comic book reader who was not far outpacing his compatriots in language skills. Of course, this is anecdotal, but I find that my anecdotes are very reliable. (Yours, however, require careful scrutiny.) Younger children seem to lap up the entire run of cartoon-inspired comics that DC is currently producing. I hope that some are finding their ways into households in which the adults are not disposed toward reading comics. Maybe then the wee ones can introduce the big ones to the joys of mixing words and pictures.

This edition in the Scooby Doo franchise contains the usual story duo in which the Mystery Inc. gang solves a pair of mysteries. The first story features a humorous walk-on character who adds a great deal of life to the tale. On the other hand, the tale hints at actual supernatural events, which may bother the skeptics out there. The second story is similar in narrative, but is enlivened by an artistic style that deviates a bit from the norm. Velma looks a bit off-model, but I actually liked the change. A few recent issues have featured somewhat different looks for the art, but this is the first one that seems to fit.

You may not buy this for yourself, but buy it and give it to the first child you see passing by the door of the comics shop.

March, 2004

Quick Rating: Really Really Rooby Roo
Title: A Broken Winged Dragon

Writer: Rurik Tyler/Terrence Griep Jr.
Pencils: Joe Staton
Inks: Andrew Pepoy/Scott McRae
Colors: Paul Becton and Sno Cone
Letters: Jared K Fletcher
Asst. Editor: Harvey Richards
Editor: Joan Hilty

Nine women are crammed into a VW Microbus, circa 1969. Polyhymnia is driving and she won’t let anyone touch the radio. Calliope is writing in her journal. She has a backpack full of journals. The backpack is army surplus. Clio is lecturing everyone on a variety of counter-culture issues. No one is actually paying attention. At the same time, Erato is reciting an ode to her current inspiration, a college boy with soulful eyes. Terpsichore has happy feet and is kicking the back of the seat in front of her. Euterpe is singing the latest song by the Mamas and the Papas. Melpomene is reading the newspaper, trying to quiet down whoever is being loudest at the moment, and swatting Terpsichore’s feet every time they kick her seat. Urania is plotting her star charts. Thalia is asleep with a smile on her face. Erato takes out her acoustic guitar and starts to sing “Me and Bobby McGee.” She does this a lot.

A van can be seen in the distance, broken down by the side of the road. Polyhymnia slows down beside the other van. A surfer-type guy wearing a red ascot and no shirt is working on the engine. A redhead is sunbathing on the ground in front of the van. Clio asks if they need any help.

“You know anything about engines?” He says, indicating that he does not expect them to be any help.

Clio frowns, but Urania jumps out of the VW and shoves blonde guy away from his engine.

Just then, the back of the van, bursts open, emitting a pungent stream of smoke. An unshaven young man crawls out and blinks at the Muses. A great dane and a short, young woman in a too-heavy sweater follow him. All of their pupils are heavily dilated. “Like, what’s going on, Fred?”

“Nothing, man. Go back to… whatever you were doing.”

Urania punches the surfer dude in the chest and says, “You’re all fixed.” She climbs back in with her sisters. The passengers of the mystery Microbus stare dumbly at the van and its nine occupants.

“Oh, for crying out loud!” Clio exclaims. “Come here, Blondie.” He drags his feet up to her. Clio wraps her arms around his head, leans down to his ear, and whispers, “Mysteries. Solve them. You’ll be good at it. All of you, together.” She releases him and the Muses drive away.

Scooby-Doo 78, like virtually all of its predecessors, contains two tales. The first, A Broken Winged Dragon, concerns the titular monster which has been spotted in Huntington Woods. The second story, The Mine is Mine, finds Scooby and the gang doing some gold prospecting. A weird ghost appears and all and sundry try to determine if it’s a spiritual apparition or man-made.

I know that the Mystery Inc. gang meddles more than is good for them, but if no one ever meddled, we wouldn’t have any stories to tell. I also realize that every single story is exactly the same- variations on a very tight theme. I don’t have a knee-jerk reaction to the repetition. It can be reassuring. The artwork is all right with periodic helpings of pretty good. This is not a comic book that should look realistic or even close. The style is predetermined.

The Scooby Doo aficionado in our household had this to say: “It’s really funny for those people who like funny stuff. You’ll like it. The art was pretty good. I thought the first story was good.” I could not possibly impart more useful information than that, so I’ll just mumble my agreement. Go ahead and revisit your childhood.

March, 2004