The Batman And Scooby-Doo Mysteries [2024] #10 - DC Comics

THE BATMAN AND SCOOBY-DOO MYSTERIES No. 10, December 2024

On paper there’s a good deal of merit behind this comic’s basic premise that Harley Quinn would so want the Joker to own a car which can compete with the Batmobile that she’d start stealing motor parts to build one. But disappointingly, Amanda Deibert’s penmanship simply doesn’t do such a storyline justice, with the “New York Times bestselling” television writer peppering the promising plot with a rather disagreeable incarnation of Shaggy Rogers, some unconvincingly inconsistent secondary characters, and a blatant dig towards men for repeatedly underestimating the “massive intelligence” of women.

In addition, the author debatably handles Batman in an infuriatingly illogical manner by portraying the Dark Knight as being far too busy investigating “a string of robberies” to assist Mystery Incorporated for much of this comic. Of course, such a stance would make perfect sense if the Caped Crusader was attempting to thwart a Gotham City wide crime spree by the likes of the Penguin or Clayface. However, on this occasion he’s dealing with stolen antique car parts, and doesn’t apparently spot the coincidence that Fred Jones’ van was sabotaged so as to force the meddling kids to seek the assistance of “a [auto] repair shop down the road.”

Perhaps this twenty-page periodical’s biggest let down though can be found in the motivation behind the mysterious Geraldine. This so-called Ghost Car has apparently been terrorising the locals for some weeks. Yet it’s eventually revealed to regrettably just be the sentient motor vehicle Quinn has been building as a birthday present for “Mistah J!” Just why Harley would draw such attention to her criminal operation by letting the vehicle repeatedly attempt to murder people is a bit bewildering, as is Quinzel's willingness to upgrade the Mystery Machine in order for the van to dramatically outmanoeuvre her own homicidal handiwork.

Possibly a little more acceptable than this book’s narrative is its layouts (and colours) by Erich Owen. The Ringo Award-winner does a fair job in capturing the television likenesses of Mystery Incorporated, and certainly seems to excel when sketching the fast-paced car chases required for Deibert’s script. Nonetheless, the artist appears to struggle when capturing Batman’s cowled visage, giving the masked vigilante’s a rather comical, quirky-looking jawline.

Written by: Amanda Deibert, Drawn & Coloured by: Erich Owen, and Lettered by: Saida Temofonte