The Batman & Scooby-Doo Myseteries #7

The Batman & Scooby-Doo Mysteries #7

DC Comics 2021

Written by Sholly Fisch

Illustrated by Dario Brizuela

Coloured by Franco Riesto

Lettered by Wes Abbott

Alfred’s old friend from butler school is in town, and he’s brought along his charges: Daphne and Scooby-Doo! When Scooby and his pal Ace are dog-napped, the humans will have to rescue them without giving away any family secrets. That might be harder than finding the pets!

This is one of DC’s best series and it’s a shame it’s only a year long maxi-series. This is what fans want and need as it’s so reminiscent of the old Scooby-Doo animated movies. I also miss the Scooby-Doo Team-Up series so yeah call me sentimental but this is what I look forward to. The story here is amazing and how we see Daphne’s world and Bruce’s world connect in such ways that’s really makes sense. It's easy to forget that Daphne comes from a wealthy family so I like that this little reminder is done in such a tactful way. Plus this also gives us the chance to split the team up and see what happens with Alfred and Daphne versus the rest out on patrol. I think this is the combination that really makes the most sense and it would be fun to see these mysteries continue or work with other detectives in the DCU.

I’m a huge fan of the way that this is being told. The story & plot development that we see through how the sequence of events unfold as well as how the reader learns information is presented exceptionally well. The character development that we see through the narration, the dialogue, the character interaction as well as how we see them act and react to the situations and circumstances which they encounter. This keeps their personalities at the forefront throughout the story. The pacing is excellent and as it takes us through the story revealing more of the more we want to see.

I really like the way that we see this being structured and how the layers within the story emerge and grow. How we see the layers within the story open up avenues to be explored and this adds some really nice depth, dimension and complexity to the story. I’m particularly fond of seeing how Ace and Alfred try to keep their other identities secret and it’s innovative and fresh to see. How we see everything working together to create the story’s ebb & flow as well as how it moves the story forward is immaculately rendered.

The interiors here are utterly fantastic. The linework is impeccable and how we see the attention to detail is phenomenally well rendered. That we see backgrounds utilised so prevalent throughout the book really enhance and expand the moments as well as how we see the composition within the panels bringing out the depth perception, sense of scale and the overall sense of size and scope to the story. This is so dead on what we expect to see out of this and how it ties into the animated films. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show a remarkably talented eye for storytelling. The various hues and tones within the colours being utilised to create the shading. highlights and shadow work shows a sensational eye for storytelling.

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This is consistently one of the strongest books on the market with the level & quality of the storytelling. This is also a perfect all-ages title because while kids can marvel and dual franchises working together and rooting the dogs on adults will get the more obscure and subtle moments that always bring a smile to their faces. This is beyond spectacularly written with amazing characterisation and these absolutely spot on interiors really make us all feel like a kid again.