Scooby Apocalypse #1. Rorld Rone Rong.

Scooby Apocalypse #1 review

Well DC Comics has done it, they’ve made Scooby-Doo somewhat applicable to the newest generation of horror, sci-fi loving ne’er-do-wells, Scooby Apocalypse #1 is here. This isn’t to say Scooby-Doo hasn’t been relevant over the years, the gang has never really faltered in popularity, movies, merchandise, and a continued animated presence on television and Netflix are proof. It’s just, Scooby has never really been seen in this type of light, or lack there of.

Scooby Apocalypse #1 is like the unneeded 90’s revamping of so many things people loved. The 90’s it seemed were the time to take a classic and make it painfully uncool like a rap song to act hip, or bright colors and sunglasses on a dog named “Cool Hound”. These were my first impressions of Scooby Apocalypse, and I’m pretty sure they were everyone else’s impressions too.

Let’s take the cover of Scooby Apocalypse #1 drawn by the legend Jim Lee as an example: Fred is still holding onto everything he thinks is cool, his iconic neckerchief still lays firm upon his chest and he’s traded in the long sleeves for a sick ass tribal half sleeve. Of course I’m being facetious the tribal tattoo is awful and I’m surprised he hasn’t had it covered or removed, which leads me to believe he still thinks it’s “sick dude!” He now holds a camera for Daphne.

Daphne’s still looking fine as always. Her red hair glowing like the skies of  a setting sun, skin soft and fuzzy like a summer’s peach, and curves like the winding roads of Portugal. Oh wait, she has on some god awful purple camo cargo pants. The Daphne I know wouldn’t be caught dead in cargo pants, especially not ones sporting a purple camo pattern. C’MON!

At least Velma stayed somewhat consistent, except the fact that she’s now shorter than Scooby! Sure Scooby’s a great dane but that would put Velma at just around 3 feet tall. 3 FEET TALL! In a fictional world filled with monsters. short scientists are where I draw the line apparently.

Shaggy got the brunt of whatever hatred DeMatteis and Giffen had for him because he got shot right out a hipster cannon. Slicked back hair, weirdly trimmed beard complete with flavor savor, curled mustache, messenger bag, and flannel. If he pulled a typewriter out of his bag I would have shit my pants.

Scooby, I love Scooby, but Scooby also loves some type of Google Glasses monocle looking thing that shoots emoji bubbles, so he just automatically looks like a douche. The only thing worse than walking around with stupid ass Google Glasses is doing it while wearing a blinking Bluetooth ear piece with a phone clipped to your belt. Luckily Scooby doesn’t wear a belt…yet.

So I’ve torn apart Scooby Apocalypse by judging a book by its cover, and that’s where I’ve failed you. Scooby Apocalypse #1 is actually a really cool new take on the Scooby-Doo universe. If you get past the douchey appearance of Scooby and his gang, you’ll find an apocalypse tale like no other. Tag team writers J.M. DeMatteis and Keith Giffen write a story rife with conspiracy and science gone wrong. There may be zombies, but I’m more excited about the other monsters. Why are there monsters? I can’t spoil that for you.

It would be unfair to not mention the art by Howard Porter, I don’t know whether to blame him or feel sorry for him. He either was in charge of the gangs new “trying too hard to be cool” look or forced to keep the farce going. Let’s hope he’s at least proud of himself for one or the other.

Scooby Apocalypse #1 is a hefty book, it is large my friends. Once I got off my soapbox and sat down to read it I found a book that was filled with good story telling and solid sci-fi roots. The characters despite looking like walking cliches were very likable, every one of them. I was excited to see the gang get back together, and I was even more excited to see all the monsters at the end of the book. I’m not quite sure these meddling kids will solve this mystery and save the day, but I sure as hell want to see them try.