Review: Scooby-Doo Team-Up #38

DC Comics
Review: Scooby-Doo Team-Up #38
By Philip Schweier
May 23, 2018 - 04:58

DC Comics
Writer(s): Sholly Fisch
Penciller(s): Walter Carzon
Inker(s): Horatio Ottolini
Colourist(s): Sylvana Bris
Letterer(s): Saida Temofonte
Cover Artist(s): Walter Carzon, Horacio Ottolini, Silvana Brys

The great thing about Scooby-Doo Team-Up is that it is very much aware of the greater DC Comics lore. And it incorporates it into the stories in creative ways. “But Blue Falcon was never part of the DCU,” you say. True, but this story draws inspiration from one of DC’s most popular series. I'd mention its name, but it would ruin a running joke from the story.

For those unfamiliar with Blue Falcon, he’s a character from Hanna-Barbera’s back catalogue – wealthy playboy by day, crime fighter at night. His sidekick is Dyno-Mutt, a robotic dog with elements of Inspector Gadget. So a team-up with Scooby-Doo makes total sense. Dyno-Mutt calls on Mystery Inc. when Blue Falcon begins acting strangely. But without a ghost or phantom, the Scoobies have only theories to go on.

The story is more than just a gimmick of two cartoon dogs, but it’s hardly so pretentious that it tries to be more than it is: a team-up story. But that’s all it needs to be. It’s Scooby-Doo, ferchrissake, not the Flintstones Meet the Jetsons.

It’s a fun story for fans of 1970s Saturday mornings. And for fans of DC, it pokes fun at one of DC’s sacred cows. Because sometimes a project takes on mythic proportions; reputation outgrows reality, and an enjoyable read turns into an overblown, over-hyped, tiresome target for jokes, parody and satire. Whne you’re ready to see a giant taken down a peg, pick up this issue.

Rating: 8/10