Scooby Doo Team-Up #40 – Sholly Fisch, Writer; Dario Brizuela, Artist; Franco Riesco, Colorist
Ray – 8.5/10
Ray: Scooby Doo Team-Up #40 continues the all-ages title’s pattern of being an incredibly fun love letter to DC continuity and a great entry into the universe for young readers. This issue turns the focus on the Louisiana bayou, as the Mystery Machine crew heads down south to help Shaggy’s Uncle Chester with a local problem – zombies! Not the traditional brain-eating zombies of myth, but the brain-addled bewitched individuals of actual Voodoo lore. The local villain known as Voodoo Queen has gotten dozens of locals under her thrall with a cocktail of herbs, and has been using them as her servants. The Uncle Chester mentioned early, by the way, is none other than Chester Williams – aging hippie and the best friend of Swamp Thing. The guardian of the Green doesn’t show up until later in the issue, so a lot of the early going is the gang running from zombies and being confused with how they function. It’s pretty funny, but it drags a little bit with no real mystery.
Once Swamp Thing shows up, though, the issue comes alive. Writer Sholly Fisch has obviously done his homework with these characters – as he usually does – and Swamp Thing’s battle to save the “zombies” is complicated by the arrival of Solomon Grundy. Grundy remembers the crew from a past adventure, and is not happy to see them again. The action is chaotic, but it makes great use of the extent of Swamp Thing’s powers. He’s inarguably one of the most powerful beings in the DC Universe, almost godlike in the way he’s near unkillable and has an incredible reach. The villain is probably the weakest part of the issue, but she’s really just a plot device to get Swamp Thing into the story. The Abigail Arcane cameo at the end was a lot of fun, and this is one family of characters I wouldn’t mind seeing make a return engagement. Maybe next time Anton Arcane and the Un-Men enter the fray? There’s a lot to explore here, and this title keeps on impressing.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
