Writer: Sholly Fisch
Art: Dario Brizuela
Colors: Franco Riesco
Letters: Saida Temofonte
Publisher: DC Comics
Price: $2.99
Release Date: January 2nd, 2024
Enter Nightwing! In The Batman & Scooby-Doo! Mysteries #1, the Scooby Gang just wants to spend a fun evening at the circus, but wouldn’t you know it, ghosts enter the picture, nearly killing a trapeze artist. Who better to assist on the case than former trapeze artist Dick Grayson, AKA Nightwing? Plus, one of the more obscure heroes from the DC Universe makes a grand appearance.
If you’re interested in this comic, series, related trades, or any of the others mentioned, then simply click on the title/link to snag a copy through Amazon as you read The Batman & Scooby-Doo! Mysteries #1 Review.
The Story
Reading The Batman & Scooby-Doo! Mysteries #1 felt so much like watching a great episode of the New Scooby-Doo Movies, the show from 1972 that ran in reruns for years and featured the Scooby Gang teaming up with Don Knotts, The Three Stooges, Mama Cass (!) and Phyllis Diller, among others. It’s a fun book from beginning to end and the book tells a complete story. When does that ever happen any more? The book hits all the notes with the characters. We get Scooby and Shaggy running for the concession stand when trouble hits. Velma being a fearless walking encyclopedia, more curious about the circus being haunted than terrified by it. And Daphne and Fred’s willingness to jump into the middle of any dangerous situation. We even get a heaping helping of continuity when Daphne refers back to one of their old cases.
When written masterfully (as it’s done here), these character moments never get old. Like a Beatles song or a classic film, there’s a beautiful rhythm to them, propelling the story while scratching that itch of warm nostalgia we all have for these characters. I’m not going to give away the obscure DC hero that pops up in this issue, but it’s someone who’s an obvious choice to get involved with the Scooby Gang. Their presence adds a nice twist to the story. Nightwing works with the gang and he fits into the book perfectly, more so even than Batman. Not as grim as Batman or even as grim as he is in his regular DC book, it’s fun watching him hit the trapeze again, partnering with Daphne to help solve the case. Nightwing loves those redheads!
There are some hilarious moments with Shaggy and Scooby. I never get tired of the antics of those two, especially at the beginning of the issue when they’re paying more attention to the snacks than to the circus performers. Scooby sure loves that Rotton Randy…er, I mean Cotton Candy! There’s so much packed into this issue that I found it amazing. At the risk of sounding like an old fogey, it reminded me of the comics in the 1980’s, where one issue of a comic had so much stuff happen in it that it would probably fill 5 or 6 issues these days. We even get some insight into the circus performers, their quirks and their relationships, which adds to the layers of the mystery and leads to some lovely character moments at the conclusion.
The Art
Dario Brizuela’s art on The Batman & Scooby-Doo! Mysteries #1 recreates the look of the classic Hanna-Barbera cartoons, so much so that I kept expecting the Super Friends to suddenly appear at some point during the book. Shaggy and Scooby are especially drawn well, their postures and expressions as comical as the situations they find themselves in.
Final Thoughts
The Batman & Scooby-Doo! Mysteries #1 is such a fun book and my favorite DC book this week. It’s a self-contained story with a beginning, middle and ending, interesting characters, some great Shaggy and Scooby hijinks and a better-than-average mystery. Nightwing’s interactions with the Scooby Gang are fun and he never seems out of place in the book. It’s a great issue and highly recommended.