***THIS REVIEW WAS ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON SCOOBYFAN.NET IN DECEMBER 2013***
I’ve been excited for this since it was announced at Comic-Con this year.
When it was recently upgraded to a Full Series, instead of the One-Shot or Mini-Series it was originally intended as, I was overjoyed!
But, does it meet those expectations?
Cover by Dario Brizuela: I don’t have a single complaint.
Though I will admit, I expected something a bit more spectacular from the logo.
It would have been cool if they had used a distinguishable font or colors to make it easy to tell who the guest star or stars are for each issue.
While I have grown to like it, it is a wee bit plain.
Batman and Robin look better here than they did in the Scooby Movies episodes and Scooby is front and center where he belongs.
A great cover that sets the tone for the book.
FUN!
Story, Man-Bat And Robbin, By Sholly Fisch: Again, Fun!
This book is nothing but fun from start to finish.
There are references flying everywhere, from the New Scooby Movies and Batman: The Brave And The Bold to the 66 Adam West Batman show.
If you’re a fan of the very diverse histories of both sets of characters this is the comic for you.
The story takes place in a mall.
After the characters get reacquainted, the 7 detectives hear a screech and run to find the source.
As people are fleeing in terror, the gang and the dynamic duo race into the mall to find three Man-Bat’s, the reason the 7 have been brought together to investigate around town, looting stores.
They stop and unmask them only to find the real Man-Bat scavenging for food in a fast food joint, leading to some high-flying action for Shag, Scoob, and Batman.
So you get classic Scooby style bad guys in masks and classic Batman Monster villains and action.
Daphne even gets to try her hand at throwing a batarang.
The ending even sets up the next issue!
Interior Art by Dario Brizuela: Batman, Robin, and Man-Bat all look right in the classic Scooby style, they look great standing side-by-side.
I was a little worried that they’d try to make Scoob and the gang look different to fit with Bats, I’m glad its the other way around.
Brizuela even gets in some great action shots too, and not just for Batman and Robin.
Dario must be a huge fan of both Scooby and Batman, only somebody who loves both could do it this well.
You can almost follow the story without ever reading a word balloon, which is how good comic art should be but often isn’t.
There are a few instances where the panels do feel a bit empty though.
In these cases I see a few options that could have prevented this.
Better panel lay out with more panels per page, a few less pages, or maybe a bit more detail per panel.
It’s not a huge gripe, but I did find it very noticeable.
This is the best Scooby has looked in a comic in a long while.
Overall: I Absolutely loved it, but it goes by too damn quickly.
It is 20 pages long but it feels more like a 15 page story stretched to fill an entire issue.
A little more dialogue or a few more panels would’ve helped, maybe even a short back-up. It does leave a bit to the imagination, but even so, what is there is amazingly good.
Definitely go to a comic shop or book store and buy this issue.
I can not wait for issue #2!
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As difficult as that may be currently, it can have an impact far greater than you know.
Until next time, stay safe out there, gang.
