Comic Book Review: SCOOBY-DOO TEAM-UP # 8 (March, 2015)

Comic Book Review: SCOOBY-DOO TEAM-UP # 8 (March, 2015)

As we used to say in the old APA and Fanzine days: 

THE ISSUE AT HAND IS: SCOOBY-DOO TEAM-UP # 8 (Cover Date: March, 2015)

Released: January 07, 2015, by DC Comics.  

SUMMARY:  "Future-Doo Where Are You?"  

Per my own current sensibilities, one of the best comic books on the market today is SCOOBY-DOO TEAM-UP, written by the brilliant Sholly Fisch and drawn by various artists -- though, in this case (as well as the previous issue) -- by the great modern Hanna-Barbera character artist Scott Jeralds.  Though I expect THIS COMING SERIES OF COMICS will give it a little competition.  

SCOOBY-DOO TEAM-UP # 8 breaks slightly with previous stand-alone issues in that it offers something of a mini-time-travel arc, continuing from SCOOBY-DOO TEAM-UP # 7 (reviewed HERE). 

SCOOBY-DOO TEAM-UP # 7 takes our Mystery Inc. Gang from their present (let's not reopen the can of worms put forth by the final episode of the amazing TV series SCOOBY-DOO MYSTERY INCORPORATED and wonder if "their present" is either 1969-1970, or the early 21st Century), to the Stone Age of The Flintstones... and all the way to the future of The Jetsons!  

To quickly digress, before we crack the covers of SCOOBY-DOO TEAM-UP # 8, you can find a discussion of the particular merits and demerits of the cover itself HERE.  

Once in the future, the two sets of classic Hanna-Barbera characters meet and become acquainted.  

This brings about my only true disappointment with the issue... the highly anticipated meeting between Scooby-Doo and Astro.   Below are my fannish observations from a previous post: 

"As far back as 1970, I said that Scooby-Doo, Muttley, and Astro should be able to hold a conversation, given their 'Don Messick-onian linguistic roots'.

"Now, the question is, will the Scooby-Doo of SCOOBY-DOO TEAM-UP # 8 be the 'Traditional Scooby-Doo' of SCOOBY-DOO WHERE ARE YOU (as voiced by Don Messick), or 'More Recent Scooby-Doo' of SCOOBY-DOO MYSTERY INCORPORATED (as voiced by Frank Welker), who was practically speaking 'the king’s English' – with a few 'Rrr’s'  thrown in to acknowledge his roots, by the end of that series. 

"If it’s the latter, Scooby might find Astro a bit too primitive or pedestrian for his tastes."

Well, gosh... after all that personal anticipation and build-up, all we got was this.

I guess it's my own fault for anticipating so sublime a moment, (...and, perhaps for even USING the word "sublime" in such a context), but at least we got an unexpectedly good moment in the previous issue when Scooby met Dino.

But, now that we've gotten past the minor cover quibble, and the "Scooby meets Astro" moment, there's nothing but great stuff ahead, folks... so let's go!  ...And remember to click on all comic images to ENLARGE for ease of reading. 

I dunno about you, but I'd have always figured there would always be Time Machines galore in the future!  Heck, we've had stories about 'em from the Victorian Age to the present day.  

But, in a truly great bit, imagine Fred's surprise to find that there are NO Time Machines in the future of The Jetsons, to send the Scooby Gang back to their own era!  

Come to think of it, I cannot recall any reference to a time machine in the original JETSONS series.  (I try not to think much about the '80s series.)  

There was at least one Time Machine reference, in Gold Key Comics' THE JETSONS # 19 (Cover Date: January, 1966), but I guess we'll not accept that as canon.     

Um, consider for a moment that "May 20th, 2041" isn't all THAT far off anymore!  ...Scary!  

George also took a time trip to Bedrock, in Marvel Comics’ THE FLINTSTONES # 4 (Cover Date:  April, 1978), but we’ll let that one go too.   

...Should I even try to remember how that "Jetsons Meet the Flintstones" '80s thing went?  

...Naaah!  There's NO Time Machines in the future!  Let's move on!  

Other great (Have I used that word enough, yet?) bits found in SCOOBY-DOO TEAM-UP # 8 include the following: 

Shaggy makes a sandwich. Though, wasn't the household appliance in question called the "foodarackacycle", and not an "Instant Sandwich Maker"?  

Anyone who's ever seen the opening credits sequence to THE JETSONS (...and who hasn't?), where George's Space Car conveniently folds up into a briefcase, must have wondered what would happen if...  It took until SCOOBY-DOO TEAM-UP # 8 to finally witness it.

It seems that wherever the Mystery Inc. gang goes, ghosts and trouble follow.  Also, crooked businessmen who often masquerade as the troublesome ghosts.  

Can't you just hear Don Messick doing that voice?

Therefore, it adds that, when investigating the sudden appearance of "The Space-Age Specter", come to haunt the Spacely Sprockets firm, Mr. Spacely's chief rival, Mr. Cogswell, is immediately considered to be a suspect.  

...But, since the is the first time the Jetson characters have been a part of this staggeringly overused plot device, there is some natural skepticism -- until Fred offers a keen observation...

  

How do you not LOVE that!  

Of course, our heroes take up the case...

...And, because we avoid spoilers in these reviews, we will stop our story recap here.  

But, I will say that any guess as to the identity of "The Space-Age Specter", made by myself or any of my intrepid commenters in previous posts, did not come to pass!  I really like it when a comic such as this can still "out-think" longtime, and perhaps jaded, readers.

And, the resolution was kinda-sorta like that of Scholly Fisch's lead story in 2014's SCOOBY-DOO WHERE ARE YOU # 47 - but that's all the spoilers you're gonna get here.  

Scooby and friends eventually do get home in a marvelous ending plot-twist, which I will not spoil, and even George has a happy (if temporarily so) ending!  

Excellent job, as is his usual, for writer Scholly Fisch -- and let's take one more moment to enjoy the fantastic art of Scott Jeralds.  Just look at how he captures the ATTITUDES of all four characters in this drawing below - and of George and Mr. Spacely in the one above! 

Capturing "character attitude", as opposed to just good figure work, is not as easy as it may seem!  Excellent job, as well, to Scott Jeralds!  

This team is SO RIGHT for this sort of material, we can only hope there are more such opportunities for them to do so in the future.  

  SCOOBY-DOO TEAM-UP # 8, as well as the ENTIRE RUN of the series, is highly recommended to anyone who is inclined to visit this blog -- and, heck, to EVERYONE in general!  

Get it!  Read it!  Enjoy it!  

Round (and Round-ed) Robin!

Ruh-Roh!  Don't look now, but I think I might have a NEW favorite comic book! 

Back in THIS POST, I told of my purely accidental discovery of the new SCOOBY-DOO TEAM-UP title, by spying the issue below on a comic book retailer's racks. 

I enjoyed all three of the Batman-related team-ups offered by this title, Batman and Robin, Ace the Bat-Hound, and Bat-Mite, and looked forward to more. 

Recreating that wondrous Saturday afternoon chronicled in the linked post, I picked-up the current issues of BATMAN '66, ROCKY AND BULLWINKLE, and (of course) SCOOBY-DOO TEAM-UP, on Saturday, May 17. 

Guess which one I read first? 

Also, which two, of the three comics above, have a character in common on their respective covers?

My first impulse would be to say NONE... but, here is the beauty of the SCOOBY-DOO TEAM-UP title... at least over its first four wonderful issues. 

When we last saw ROBIN in the pages of SCOOBY-DOO TEAM-UP, he looked like this...

Yet, in the new SCOOBY-DOO TEAM-UP # 4, he looks like this! 

Yes, that's really Robin, folks! 

But, if THAT'S Robin, who is THIS? 

Well, just as SCOOBY-DOO TEAM-UP # 1 reconciled the respective "worlds" of THE NEW SCOOBY-DOO MOVIES and BATMAN: THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD below...

...Let's let SCOOBY-DOO TEAM-UP # 4 handle THIS burning question, shall we?  (Click to Enlarge comic panel images for greater clarity!)

DAMN!  Isn't that magnificent?!  Even a reference to Casey Kasem, who actually voiced Robin BEFORE he voiced Shaggy (in THIS SERIES), not to mention in the Batman team-ups of THE NEW SCOOBY-DOO MOVIES! 

I can't quite find the connection between someone voicing both Robin and Speedy -- but, given this title's brief but spectacular track record, I'm certain it's a great gag too!

Let's run down the list of ALL our voice actors, from Filmation -- on, and see who we have in common! 

 In fact, that's precisely what I (pardon the expression) "marvel" over from this new DC Comic...  The fact that it ACTUALLY SAYS (out loud and for all to hear... er, READ) exactly what we are obsessively thinking, as fans! 

Extreme kudos to the writer of this series, Sholly Fisch, for bringing some exceptionally clever bits to his stories! 

After all, if SCOOBY-DOO TEAM-UP is going to have, as its playground, all of DC Comics, Warner Bros., and Hanna-Barbera to work with, character version conflicts are bound to come up...

...And I can't think of a better way to deal with them than what Sholly Fisch has done. 

 Can't wait for more... and still holding out hope for a team-up with Freakazoid!

Scooby-Doo is my PAL, Cosgrove!  He'll return my calls... eventually!

 ...Oh, and Sholly... Please title it "Freaka-zoinks!", you can have the title free of charge, if only you'll use Freakazoid! 

‘Stone-Gold Scooby!

Much has been written at this Blog on my comic book mini-renaissance that began in MARCH, 2014, primarily centered on two titles: BATMAN '66 and SCOOBY-DOO TEAM-UP, both from DC Comics. 

Indeed, I’m probably enjoying these TWO comic titles far more than when I used to bring home more than a dozen titles each New Comics Wednesday. 

As undeniably great as BATMAN ’66 has been, SCOOBY-DOO TEAM-UP # 7 – guest starring The Flintstones (released on November 05, 2014, and previewed HERE), just might be the single best comic book of 2014 – at least per my particular sensibilities. 

A hallmark of SCOOBY-DOO TEAM-UP, and its gifted writer Sholly Fisch, is that it doesn’t sidestep or ignore character version disparities or quirks, but REVELS in them!

This book says exactly what we obsessive fans are thinking.  One of my favorite examples (…and you’ve seen it LOTS of times already) is again illustrated below. 

But now, try a few of these magnificent Flintstones gags on for size – and let’s also offer BIG PROPS to artist Scott Jeralds for his right-on renditions of all of the characters and general ambiance of Bedrock!  Click on all comic images to enlarge!

Oh, YES!  BIG PROPS to Scott Jeralds!

Say, didn't *I* do that bit in a Donald Duck comic once?  

Yep, I sure did!  

Of course, we're ALL just tributing this classic scene! 

Back to Our Story: The scientists' Stone Age time machine plucks Scoob and the gang out of the 21^st Century.

"Scooby-Doo WHEN are you?"  Gotta love that! 

Velma’s observation was a laugh-out-loud line for me.  And doesn’t the scientist really look like an incidental Hanna-Barbera character? 

And, of course, Shaggy is “scared of cavemen”! 

Judging by the upper-floor view that looks down upon the Flintstone and Rubble domiciles, are the scientists housed in the huge spooky old house next to Fred’s (never seen before The Flintstones Season Five) that was once occupied by The Gruesomes?  What else could offer such a view? 

What’s a good Flintstones story without a few “modern convenience” gags?

...Or, the old standard "talking animal device" gag?  Even the best of the older Flintstones comics rarely, if ever, did those! 

And, here’s an utterly amazing reference (in Fred Flintstone's aside comment to Fred Jones), and the type of thing that has put Scholly Fisch in my personal “Writer’s Hall of Fame”!

Everyone who has read one of my Disney comic book scripts knows how much I love to gag-up a story – but, I am truly in awe of this bit!  (Click to Enlarge!) 

See!  Barney's AT IT again!   

In my previous post on the upcoming SCOOBY-DOO TEAM-UP # 8 with The Jetsons, I anticipated a conversation encounter between Scooby and Astro.  Here, we get one between Scooby and DINO…and it appears to be the converse of what I predicted for Scooby and Astro.  Magnificent!

As I had hoped, The Gruesomes turn up (…where are THEY living, if the scientists are working in their huge spooky old house?), and we get a reference to THE NEW SCOOBY-DOO MOVIES encounters with THE ADDAMS FAMILY! ...Or "Laff-a-Lympics", take your pick! 

Finally, even the continuity of SCOOBY-DOO TEAM-UP itself is referenced by Fred (Jones, not Flintstone) recalling the gang’s encounter with Bat-Mite in the now-legendary (at least at this Blog) SCOOBY-DOO TEAM-UP # 3, when they meet The Great Gazoo!

"MITE" he be remembering SCOOBY-DOO TEAM-UP # 3? 

That’s the absolute maximum I can show without spoiling, or otherwise compromising, the plot – so I’ll stop here.  But, I think I’ve made my point!   

Now, all I can say is “Yabba-Dabba… er, Doo!”  

If there is only one "nit to pick" it would be that, in a story that goes so far as to include both The Great Gazoo and The Gruesomes, Hoppy the Hopperoo is nowhere to be found -- not even pictured as a background character in a group shot! 

This is in keeping with his general invisibility in comic books, going back to when he had ONE appearance in the entire Gold Key run as as (all together now) "a background character" in this Gold Key Comics Film adaptation.

Perhaps, by the time of SCOOBY-DOO TEAM-UP # 7, he'd hopped back to "Australia-rock", or something!  ...Or, maybe some Sabre-Tooth Tiger, with incessantly-blabbing kitten in tow, though he was a giant mouse-a-saurus.  

Naaaah!  That's just plain SILLY!  

Despite that singular demerit, this might (not "Mite") very well be the best comic book appearance of The Flintstones since the Dell and Gold Key days – and better than quite a few of THOSE too.  …Yes, I’m THAT impressed!  

If you get only one issue of SCOOBY-DOO TEAM-UP, let it be this one.  Then, you’ll wanna collect ‘em all!