
DC Comics 2016
Written by J.M. DeMatteis
Illustrated by Dale Eaglesham & Howard Porter
Coloured by Hi-Fi
Lettered by Nick Napolitano
So far I have say that so far what they are doing with this series is genius. All the fun that came from my childhood growing up with the Jinkies and the Zoinks taken to whole new level of realism and craziness where monsters are genetically created is the kind of awesome that grows up with the original fans.
The way the guys are telling this is really nice, as we see the gang not only discovering about their new reality but also getting a feel for each other. That this is a brand new group dynamic that has trace elements of what we’ve seen in the past, Daphne’s television show from when they went their separate ways for a while, to this bonded friendship between Shaggy and Scooby along with new elements in them it’s a nice way to feel connected but still learning.
What Dale is laying down with the interiors here is utterly fantastic. It really is a new generational look at the latest trends in looks and fashion where Shaggy as a hipster is actually kind of hotter than Fred. Then there’s the way the story flows through the pages and panels with a great look towards what an apocalyptic world, their apocalyptic world looks like. The attention to detail is fantastic between the way Dale manages to make the monsters to the backgrounds it’s all done extremely well.
I like the characterization here as we see aspects of the gang that we’ve only seen hinted at until now. The relationship between Fred and Daphne and his love for her that is, for now, unrequited to Velma’s scientific curiosity that helped set everything in motion so far and the friction that’s causing between them all is being handled extremely well. In many aspects this is very much one of those examples of how a team can be put together on the fly where they bond unexpectedly and on levels they don’t realize in a world gone mad.
The way that they are finding out what exactly their world looks like now is great. Velma only understands partially what’s happening and as far as I can tell has no real way to know how to fix it but with the help of her newfound friends she wants to try. It’s actually a very smart look and take on what we’ve come to expect from the genre or mix of genres as the case may be. This whole monsters ruling at the end of the world, caused by people who wanted to control the course of history, and a small band of heroes off to save the day well it’s one of the few re-imaginings that work better than expected.