Hello lords and ladies.
Welcome back to Cartoon Hangout, your place
for all things cartoon.
I want to apologize for the severe lateness
of this review, as it's been probably close
to 2 weeks since the issue actually released.
Come to think of it, the review for issue
one was also late so maybe we're starting
a tradition of Scooby Apocalypse being late?
Nah, that's a cop out if I ever heard one.
So if you're new or just somehow missed my
previous review, recently I've expanded my
reviews to cartoon-related things such as
this comic book based on a cartoon, namely
the Scooby-Doo one.
Feel free to click on the card that's appearing
in the top-right of the screen if you'd like
to go and watch my review of issue one, as
we'll be dealing in spoilers for that issue
as well as in general for issue two.
Now the first thing I wanted to address was
a little comment I made in my review last
month.
And yes, it turns out I'm seemingly right:
my least favorite character in this comic
series is going to be Daphne.
After punching Fred for a little joke last
issue, she continues to be the weakest part
of this comic.
She's repeatedly aggressive over every little
perceived slight against her and actually
decides to punch out scrawny Velma, too.
So we've got two people she's hit.
Obviously this is the direction Keith has
decided to take Daphne in, but it strikes
me as trying too desperately to turn Daphne
into a 'strong female' protagonist compared
to her role as a damsel in the original series.
The live-action movies tried this and it worked
about as well as this comic's attempt.
And by that I mean poorly.
At least movie Daphne was likeable.
Comic book Daphne is a straight-up b-word.
Dear Keith Giffen: a female can be strong
without coming across the way you've portrayed
Daphne.
Having her fly off the handle and smack people
around only makes her seem ruled by her emotions.
Which isn't the Daphne I know and love.
With that out of the way, that's easily the
only bad thing about this issue.
We pick up right where we left off last month
after we got that wicked cool two-page spread
reveal of the monsters.
A lot less of this issue is devoted to exposition,
now that we're past the set-up of issue one,
however we don't jump into the action as quickly
as some may like.
But that's easily the best thing for this
comic, as I was turning the pages eager to
catch sight up the first monster the gang
would come across and it didn't disappoint.
It was actually pretty early into the comic,
now that I think back.
And it was actually pretty scary.
Maybe not enough to give me nightmares for
weeks, but it was a terrifying moment anyways.
Most people don't equate Scooby-Doo with horror
even if Mystery Incorporated was pretty spooky
thanks to the art design, but now I'm left
to wonder: why haven't we gotten such a take
before?
And I mean a truly horror experience, not
something that frightened us as kids but is
now just, as the kids say, spoopy.
I don't want to dwell on this panel too long,
but I just have to stop and appreciate the
fine work of Howard Porter for this scene.
Just look at how it's set up.
The lone figure facing away from Velma and
her unknowingly addressing it as if it were
still the same man she knew.
All the while we just KNOW that something
scary is about to happen.
And it does on the next page.
The monster is definitely scary, but it was
that moment of the unknown before the big
reveal that was truly unsettling.
The actual reveal itself is somewhat a mix
of horror and cheesy.
Part of me was repulsed by its design (in
a good way) and the other wanted to giggle.
And seeing Velma run off yelling 'jinkies'
over and over did add to the humorous factor.
So it is nice to see that the title will not
be completely devoid of all humor.
I just hope it can balance it well without
making the monsters less of a threat.
But don't let that moment fool you, because
a few pages later and we are dropped hard
back into the real horror of the comic.
At times I wish for a different artist on
the book, but then Porter delivers us some
truly stunning and disgusting visuals of freakish
monsters eating humans and then I'm glad he's
on the book.
As I said not but a few moments ago, some
of the monster designs border on the classic
Scooby-Doo silliness, but the story helps
push past that with moments of dread and horror.
Like this moment when Daphne is forced to
kill Shaggy's former friend and co-worker.
It's definitely not a moment you'd ever see
in the cartoons, for obvious reasons.
There's no unmasking in this comic, just plain
up beheadings and headshots.
It's also odd seeing Scooby-Doo on the offensive
as much.
He's normally a scaredy-cat, but considering
the tone of this series it wouldn't make much
sense to depict them as running away from
their friends like they might in the cartoon
series.
So I'll forgive this odd character trait.
The one big thing that will likely not sit
well with old-time fans is the Mystery Machine.
It retains its name in a somewhat clever way,
but looks far less psychedelic as you might
imagine.
I'm not sure what I was expecting but, again,
given the tone this series is going for I
guess they felt that a more military-esque
design would help the characters out than
an old van.
At least there's a smily face on it, partially
paying homage to the nature of the original.
So far this issue doesn't fail to impress
with its great art and story.
Yes, Daphne continues to be an annoyance,
but I'm hoping that as she spends more time
with the other characters she'll start to
act a bit more like the classic Daphne we
know.
The issue is just the right amount of scares,
comedy, and action, which is fantastic.
I'm really enjoying this comic and I can't
wait to see where issue three takes us.
From what I've seen of the synopsis, it'll
be a ghost town.
I'm eager to see some really unique and maybe
familiar monster designs.
What did you think of this issue?
Hopefully you're reading it alongside me.
Thanks for watching and take care.
