The Batman And Scooby-Doo Mysteries [2024] #8 - DC Comics

THE BATMAN AND SCOOBY-DOO MYSTERIES No. 8, October 2024

Despite featuring easily one of this mini-series’ most annoying secondary cast members - in the guise of Finger Memorial Museum owner, Ally Babble - Sholly Fisch’s start to “Big Trouble” must surely have still proved tantalizing enough for many a bibliophile to have stuck around until the twenty-page periodical’s conclusion. Frustratingly however, this commitment arguably isn’t really worth it, as the American author suddenly turns his story about a thieving giant looming over Gotham City completely upon its head, when he swaps that villain out for the much less impressive felonious trap-maker Eivol Ekdal.

Indeed, many onlookers may well get the feeling that this publication’s plot was thrown together using several elements which on their own simply wouldn’t fill this comic’s sheet space. For example, it’s never explained just why the chef jacket-wearing criminal built such a huge pinball machine in the first place..? True, the gigantic table makes for a thrillingly deadly location in which to trap this title’s considerably-sized central characters, and have them all running away from the arcade game’s hefty metal ball like some second-rate Indiana Jones’. But the motivation behind such a creation, or the other huge household items dotted about the exhibition, is never convincingly explored; “Take this teacup for instance. The mouth of this cup is big enough to dunk a baby hippo.”

Disappointingly, the villain’s explanation as to how he managed to create the illusion of a massively-tall man walking amidst the metropolis’ streets is equally as unimpressive, regardless of Fred Jones’ best attempt to persuade the audience otherwise. The notion that four flying drones could carry the weight of a wrecking ball heavy enough to knock a hole through a building’s brick wall, as well as cause the imprint of a massive foot in a concrete sidewalk, is as utterly preposterous as Batman’s decision to thwart the radio-controlled steel sphere with a ridiculously gargantuan baseball glove.

Perhaps this comic’s saving grace therefore lies within the layouts of Erich Owen, whose pencilling does a tip-top job of imbuing many of the set-pieces with an almost alarming sense of height. The scene of Mystery Incorporated clambering up a conveniently-placed ladder to the top of the aforementioned pinball machine is especially well-drawn. Whilst the Ringo Award-winning cartoonist is also very good at creating an almost animated film-cell quality to his panels, by making his oft-times subtly defined backgrounds contrast quite differently in tone to the sharp, crisp figures in the foreground.

Written by: Sholly Fisch, Darwn and Colored by: Erich Owen, and Lettered by Saida Temofonte