The Batman And Scooby-Doo Mysteries #7 - DC Comics

THE BATMAN AND SCOOBY-DOO MYSTERIES No. 7, June 2023

Whilst Amanda Deibert’s twenty-page plot for Issue Seven of “The Batman And Scooby-Doo Mysteries" is pleasingly paced as the titular characters energetically rush around a small-sized theatre like headless chickens, the logic of her narrative arguably must have proved somewhat less palatable with its readers. Indeed, the notion that Mystery Incorporated would be allowed to simply shoulder barge their way into the Gotham’s Got Talent final when they never won or even competed in one of the show’s qualifying events casts something of a disagreeable shadow over this comic’s entire proceedings.

Admittedly, Daphne Blake’s “beyond exciting” karate demonstration at the Crystal Cover Talent Show wins her a place at the competition. But just why the likes of Shaggy Rogers and his Great Dane are allowed to appear as competitive eaters of pizza is debatably stretching any bibliophiles’ willing suspension of disbelief – especially when so many other acts have failed to make the grade and been forcibly dropped; “Aw, Man. I heard it’s gonna be judged by Bruce Wayne. I guess next year I need to swallow two swords.”  

Such an uninspiring contrivance is disappointingly followed by a series of bizarre disappearances and mysterious happenings all of which occur within spitting distance of an auditorium’s main stage. Just how a troupe of tap-dancers, Bob the Bear and a stand-up comedian all end up being locked inside a back closet without the rest of the contestants spotting the super-villain responsible is somewhat head-scratching, as is Daphne’s reluctance to win first place as it would mean she would have to leave her teenage friends to go on a “full-time, life-changing” tour.

Perhaps therefore this publication’s biggest draw is the excellent artwork by Dario Brizuela and Franco Riesco’s vibrant colours, which enchants the eye the moment the audience are introduced to the rest of the show’s entertainers and spot a number of notable nods to Marcel Marceau, Evel Knievel and the American rock band Kiss. Furthermore, the pair quite beautifully capture all the maniacal mayhem which the Hanna-Barbera animated television series was famous for once Shaggy and Scooby-Doo start getting chased by the ‘off-screen’ baddie, and wind up ruining everyone else’s performances as they catastrophically combine their food-scoffing act with "interpretive dance".

Written by: Amanda Deibert, Drawn by: Dario Brizuela, and Colored by: Franco Riesco