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Another month, another mystery. At least, that’s what we’ve got in the latest issue of The Batman and Scooby-Doo Mysteries! We’re going back to some Scoob and Batman roots by revisiting Jekyll, Hyde and Man-Bat! Let’s see what kind of hijinks ensue…
Fred-Splaining
The premise of this issue is simple but effective. To help permanently eliminate his more… hairy persona, Kirk Langstrom– with the aid of Mystery Inc. and the Batman– investigates Dr. Jekyll’s lair. The case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is a large inspiration for Langstrom’s character, so having the two (or should that be three, or four?) of them share a story seems quite fitting.
However, when the gang starts to investigate, it appears as though all might not be as it seems. Shocking, I know, but it appears that there may be something amiss, so in classic Scooby-Doo fashion they split up to investigate.
As I’ve already said, the premise is good. The characters all read well, they all act like I believe they should and the story is there. They don’t commit what I consider to be the biggest mistake and modernize the story by including *shudder* a phone. In fact this issue does something that I was pleasantly surprised by.
This issue references events that took place during the show! This is a little touch but I love it, and giving the name of the series will hopefully inspire some of the younger readers to go and check out what is now a pretty old cartoon.
One of the subplots I quite enjoyed with this issue was Batman’s offer to Velma about becoming his sidekick. She definitely has the skills to do so and even though it’s mostly played for laughs, it’s good to see her abilities being recognised by the world’s greatest detective. Other than that, the story goes pretty much as you’d expect, even with some occasional subpar dialogue choices. If I ever see the word “Fred-splaining” again it’ll be too soon.
Holy character design!
This series’ constantly revolving creative team really works to its advantage. Seeing how different artists interpret the mashup between Caped Crusader and Mystery Inc. Puste goes for a style that keeps the gang in their Scooby-Doo Where Are You Looks? And Batman and Langstrom have their BTAS appearances.
Something that struck me with this issue in particular though, was the backgrounds. They really did well to emulate that old-school cel animation. When they were filled in they looked like they were ripped straight off the show, but there was also a fair few backgrounds of solid colour.
For those who don’t know, older cartoons tended to have solid blocks of colour for some scenes to save on having to hire background artists. It isn’t extremely noticeable but I really appreciate the artistic reference.
Recommended If…
The current canon crossovers have tired you out
Nostalgia is your friend
You think Mystery Inc is pretty neat
Overall:
Better than last month’s issue for me, and I appreciated the story and art direction. This series does have me wishing for an issue with a different twist next month. Maybe with a different Batman like Terry or Dick? These adventures are fun one-offs don’t get me wrong, but you know what they say about variety being the spice of life,
Score: 7/10
DISCLAIMER: DC Comics provided Batman News with a copy of this comic for the purpose of this review.
“}]] Another month, another mystery. At least, that’s what we’ve got in the latest issue of The Batman and Scooby-Doo Mysteries! We’re going back to… Read More