The Batman & Scooby-Doo Mysteries #8

The Batman & Scooby-Doo Mysteries #8

DC Comics 2021

Written by Ivan Cohen

Illustrated by Dario Brizuela

Coloured by Franco Riesco

Lettered by Saida Temofonte

The world’s greatest detectives-Batman and Mystery, Inc.-face a mysterious scheme concocted by Harley Quinn and the Joker! A mysterious zillionaire has taken over Gotham’s waterfront. But what do Batman’s wildest foes and a supercharged ghost have to do with it?

This issue just goes to show why I think this is one of the best books DC has right now. It’s got that tongue-in-cheek humour for adults and the right blend of the animated cartoons that are perfect for kids. These folks have found a way to sneak it all in right under everyone’s noses and the multiple mentions that the kids and Batman have been working together a lot is absolutely phenomenal. This series is dedicated to them teaming up and yeah I’m loving every moment of it but I wouldn’t mind seeing their Team-Up book coming back and having them explore more of the DCU, especially on planets not their own just saying. This is so well done however that I’m going to miss this when it’s over. It has been a real joy seeing the more lighthearted Batman teaming up with the kids because it just brings us back to a more innocent time.

I’m a huge fan of the way that this is being told. The story & plot development that we see through how the sequence of events unfold as well as how the reader learns information is presented exceptionally well. The character development that we see through the dialogue, the character interaction as well as how we see them act and react to the situations and circumstances which they encounter does a magnificent job in continuing to bring us these always evolving personalities. The pacing is excellent and as it takes us through the pages revealing the story the more fun we seem to be having.

I like how we see this being structured and how the layers within the story continue to emerge, grow, evolve and strengthen. I also like how these layers open up new avenues to be explored, like Daphne being the one to figure out the anagram that was a nice change of pace we don’t normally see. What all this does is add some great depth, dimension and complexity to the story. How we see everything working together to create the story’s ebb & flow as well as how it moves the story forward are impeccably rendered.

The interiors here are absolutely bloody delightful. It does feel like an animated series so maybe this could be a straight to dvd, okay Blu-Rays or whatnot nowadays, series or something because this is what we need in this crazy world right now. The way that we see backgrounds being utilised to enhance and expand the moments as well as how the work within the composition of the panels to bring out the depth perception, sense of scale and the overall sense of size and scope to the story are marvellously rendered. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angels and perspective in the panels show such a remarkable eye for storytelling. The various hues and tones within the colours being utilised to create the shading, highlights and shadow work shows a wonderful understanding of how colour works. The gradation and such in the backgrounds versus the solid characters is exceptionally well done almost like colourforms, a favourite of mine when I was a kid.

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This really is one of the best books to be reading right now. Not only is it a near perfect all-ages book but it’s also that book that brings fun back to comics. It may be lighthearted fare but it does have some serious business to it that makes it so incredibly easy to read. This has some exceptional writing, characterisation and interiors there’s nothing here NOT to love.