Comics should be fun; comics should be accessible to lots of different people, and books clearly intended for kids need to be covered by more outlets. Yes, Batman and Spider-Man are super cool and will always sell more books, but there are always parents out there looking for good content to get there kids(s) into comics. Out of all the publishers out there, the one I see the most pushing youth titles is DC.
While I have my issues with the direction of many DC books, they have to be commended for putting family titles on store shelves alongside their top-tier books. Scoody-Doo #54 is one such title and offers a lot of enjoyment, even if it does tread a lot of the same ground the show covered.
Within its pages we get two self contained monster of the week stories that will be very familiar to anyone who knows this series. Georgia Ball pens the story “Scuba Scoob” that gets the cover feature and it does a fine job continuing the gangs ongoing adventures.
The team is out for a scuba adventure and meet face to face with monster sized shark that begins to terrorize the coastline. The writing is paced well, but as a veteran of this series, going back to the original TV show, you’ll spot the villain the moment he enters the picture.
The story will of course entertain kids, but adults will get a kick out of a few of the gags and the well paced action beats. Everything about the story is well done, from the writing to the art of Dario Brizuela. Characters look great and are represented well in action, but there are a few moments where Velma in particular just looks a bit off.
The second story in out book is “Over The Boardwalk” and is helmed by Paul Kupperberg with Fabio Laguna on art duties. What is strange is that in the grand scheme of things “Over The Boardwalk” is the better Scooby-Doo story. The artwork more closely resembles the classic television show with much more detail being put into the surrounding world as a whole.
A lot of this probably has to do with the story being set on Coney Island and has a lot of active backgrounds, but I feel like this story should have got the cover feature treatment, but I do understand how the shark angle of “Scuba Scooby” pops better on the cover.
This time our gang is enjoying a fun day on Coney Island, far removed from seeking out any spooky mystery. As the team breaks up, Daphne and Fred heading to the beach, Velma exploring the history of Coney Island, and Scooby and Shaggy getting their grub on, they all eventually get drawn into the same mystery.
A building conglomerate is looking to tear down parts of the island to build new condominiums that overlook the boardwalk. Locals aren’t all that excited about this and have been protesting the tearing down of their history causing construction delays.
As this is a Scooby-Doo affair, a bunch of monsters based off of the rides on the boardwalk come to life and begin scarring off the protesters. The team is brought together as the mystery deepens and they work to solve this latest mystery on their time off.
The whole thing is a lot of fun and gives us a small look at the team as they venture out on their own. It’s nice getting to spend some time one-on-one with these characters as opposed to the standard team formula that the series is known for.
Scooby-Doo #54 isn’t going to set the comic world on fire, but there is a lot on content here that is very well executed. If you are looking for a solid family book then you really can’t go wrong here. The only thing that I would have liked is if the two stories had their places swapped as “Over The Boardwalk” is the better outing, but I do commend them for keeping the two stories connected with their ocean elements.
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