Scooby Apocalypse #30 – JM DeMatteis, Keith Giffen, Writers; Pat Olliffe, Tom Palmer, Gus Vasquez, Artists; Hi-Fi, Colorist
Ray – 6.5/10
Ray: Thirty issues in, more than double the length of any other Hanna-Barbera series, it still feels like Scooby Apocalypse doesn’t know what kind of book it wants to be. Sometimes it’s broadly comic, sometimes it’s so unrelentingly grim that it almost feels like The Walking Dead, and sometimes those two tones are crammed together in one issue. There’s two main plots this issue – and the first begins when Scooby suddenly gets an electric shock. This kicks his malfunctioning implant into high gear, and results in him gaining full human intelligence and speaking ability like Scrappy Doo. It’s mostly played for laughs as he becomes one of the smartest people in the group, but hanging over this whole scenario is Velma’s worries that it’s going to reverse itself eventually. Are we headed for a “Flowers for Scooby” scenario here? I hope not. But that’s all candy and roses compared to what’s going on with Daphne when she finds out about Fred.
To say Daphne’s been going downhill would be putting it lightly, and her despair hits a crescendo when she finds out that Fred might still be alive as a monster. This leads her to plan to end her life – until Fred shows up as a monster and declares he wants to make her his bride. Hey, kids! Comics! The title just has a really weird tone as a whole – but the new backup may be the best thing the title has provided yet. The adventures of Secret Squirrel are over, and now it’s time for a new superhero to take the helm – Atom Ant! This is a bizarre DC crossover with the diminutive superhero with a huge ego getting the chance to try out for the Justice League – alongside a sentient alien plant, apparently – and assuming he’s been brought there to assume leadership of the League. The hilarious segment involves him ticking off Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman in record time. It’s completely ridiculous, but isn’t that what we’d want out of an Atom Ant comic? This almost feels like a lost DC/Hanna-Barbera crossover chopped up into bite-size portions.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
