Scooby Apocalypse #4 - Mobile Edition

DC Comics
Scooby Apocalypse #4
By Hervé St-Louis
August 17, 2016 - 10:42

DC Comics
Writer(s): Keith Giffen, J.M. DeMatteis
Penciller(s): Howard Porter
Colourist(s): Hi-Fi Colors
Letterer(s): Nick Napolitano
Cover Artist(s): Jim Lee, Alex Sinclair; Denys Cowan, Klaus Janson, Steve Buccellato
$3.99

Scooby, Daphne, Fred, Shaggy and Velma are attacked by vampires who can regenerate. As the gang tries to survive this new form of monsters threatening them, Scrappy-Doo makes his first appearance as a new antagonist for the gang. He despises Scooby-Doo. Will Scrappy Doo and his band of super smart dogs get the best of the Mystery Machine gang?

The artwork by Howard Porter continues to be rich and detailed. While the characters look like their cartoon versions, this is pure contemporary comic book art. Porter is capable of drawing gross destruction shots that will remind you of Ryan Ottley’s Invincible. However, the characters have this depressed look to them which doesn’t encourage readers to have much empathy. It feels like they are about to get killed by the monsters. We know. They know. And so they are just expecting the worse. The monsters, however, look lively and creepy. I wish there would be more shots with them.

Giffen and DeMatteis are old pros but their story has not progressed much since the last. Okay, we were introduced to a new type of monster and Scrappy-Doo but the kids are still in survival mode and just reacting to the obligatory monster attack which once again, almost gets Fred killed. Now, the appearance of Scrappy-Doo promises to change the dynamic of this comic in future issues. This is much needed as the vampire and zombie post-apocalyptic survival adventure is starting to feel old.

P.S. I know Jim Lee’s work is thought to be excellent but his covers for Scooby-Doo have been uninspired.

Rating: 8/10