The Batman And Scooby-Doo Mysteries [2024] #7 - DC Comics

THE BATMAN AND SCOOBY-DOO MYSTERIES No. 7, September 2024

Having revealed the villain of the piece to be the Scarecrow straight from this publication’s ‘get-go’, many a bibliophile will probably have felt Ivan Cohen’s script for Issue Seven of “The Batman And Scooby-Doo Mysteries” spookily read more like an actual serious comic about the Dark Knight’s exploits within Gotham City, as opposed to a children’s tale featuring an animated tongue-in-cheek cartoon franchise owned by the “Warner Brothers”. Indeed, despite Mystery Incorporated answering Commissioner Gordon’s Bat-Signal, much of this twenty-page periodical’s plot focuses upon the Caped Crusader trying to deduce the end goal of Jonathan Crane’s villainous alter-ego, rather than simply throwing a load of juvenile hijinks at the audience in the hope that some of it will garner a guffaw or two.

In addition, the yarn contains an interesting sub-thread which explores whether someone like Shaggy Rogers and his “lifelong companion”, who are seemingly always in a perpetual state of fright, are actually susceptible to the Scarecrow’s infamous fear toxin, or whether the duo are “weirdly immune”. This rather enthralling notion proves to be the key to unlock the murderous Professor of Psychology’s entire plan, whilst simultaneously showing Batman to favour using his brains over brawn whenever he can; “The gas did affect them. But not the same way it affects the rest of us!”

Of course, “Night Of The Scaredy-Bat!” does still contain some overt silliness on the odd occasion, such as when the book covers just what genuinely terrifies the “meddling kids”. Of particular note is poor Fred Jones being pursued by some giant toothbrushes and a jar of floss, due to the ascot tie-wearing sleuth suffering from a phobia of going to the Dentist.

Quite proficiently pencilling all these shenanigans is David Antón Gomis, a.k.a. Puste, who manages to sketch Batman as both a formidable physical specimen, as well as someone who likes to apply his grey matter to a problem when time allows. Furthermore, the artist includes some quite wonderful little touches into the layouts, such as when the Dark Knight liaises with Mystery Incorporated, and brings a tray of donuts for Shaggy and Scooby-Doo to scoff – something the pair impressively achieve within the space of a single panel.

Written by: Ivan Cohen, Drawn by: Puste, and Colored by: Carrie Strachan