Review: Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? #91

DC Comics
Review: Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? #91
By Philip Schweier
March 14, 2018 - 08:44

DC Comics
Writer(s): Derek Fridolfs, Terrance Griep
Artist(s): Randy Elliott, Fabio Laguna
Colourist(s): Sylvana Brys, Heroic Age
Letterer(s): Saidia Temofonte, John J. Hill
Cover Artist(s): Derek Fridolfs, Pamela Lovas

In the first story in this issue, Mystery Inc is invited to participate in a fund raiser for the Coolsville Guys and Gals Club. It’s where the Scoobies spent much of their youth, before hitting the road in search of mysteries to solve. But in volunteering for the magic act, they fall under the spell of the Hypno-Haunt. Their personalities are switched, leaving Fred perpetually hungry, and Daphne unable to see without Velma’s glasses. Fortunately, Shaggy is able to fabricate a trap and expose the culprit. Like many mysteries, the who is guessable, but the why eludes everyone he explains it to those meddling kids.

In the second story, the Scoobies attend a sumo wrestling match, in which their good friend is determined to find someone to train him in the art of sumo wrestling. However, when the match is threatened by a bird-like creature, the sumos are less inclined to wrestle, let alone train someone new.

This time, both the WHO and the WHY are shrouded in mystery, until Mystery Inc is able to capture the creature and expose the plot behind it all. As mysteries go, this issue is a bit of a dud, preventing the reader from the opportunity to solve either puzzle alongside Scooby and the gang.

Artwork is serviceable, in the tried-and-true Hanna-Barbera style. However, the key is not HOW it’s drawn, but how it tells the story. In this case, there’s a scene in the Hypno-Haunt story in which the culprit is shown being led away from the reader, effectively with his back to the camera. It seemed awkward to me, and suggests Randy Elliott should have found another solution to depicting that scene.

Rating: 4/10