Scooby-Doo! Where Are You? #126 (Family Comic Friday)

From the romantic looking cover between Daphne and a vampire as well as this book being released just this week, I was expecting it to be a Valentine's Day special issue. Instead, the theme of the pair of mysteries contained within, is books.

The first story does kinda reflect the cover. Daphne and Velma attend a midnight drop party for a highly anticipated book at a local bookstore. The reclusive author of the work makes a special appearance at the book shop, as does the star of the book: a dreamy vampire/zombie hybrid that wants revenge on the scribe for penning a second rate sequel novel.

Mystery #2 takes place at a library. Some rare manuscripts are going on display very soon and the Mystery Inc. gang have been hired in to prevent the tomes from being stolen. What no one expects is that not one but two ghosts are threatening to steal the antiquities. And there not just any old ghost but the spirits of famed bard William Shakespeare and Gothic novelist Edgar Allan Poe!

The opening adventure written by Derek Fridolfs was so unlike the standard Scooby-Doo formula. For one thing, Scooby barely makes an appearance. Fred and Shaggy take off to investigate a spirit haunting a buffet leaving the girls to solve the mystery for themselves. Plus instead of a ghost, it's a monster! And for once, the real villain isn't a businessman trying to buy real estate for cheap dressed as a ghost!!!

The second tale by Sholly Fisch, is a little more formulaic. But with the presence of a pair of ghosts instead of the standard solo spirit, the ending, while still predictable, was enough to make the reader feel like there was a real whodunnit to be solved. I only wished that the lettering of this story was a little more legible. One of the suspects is an experimental writer who goes by a unique name. Only I couldn't tell if their name was 'Z' or '2'. I think if the characters name was a little more easier to read, maybe I could have enjoyed the story a bit more. Plus if I knew that characters name, I would understand if Fisch was trying to use rhyme to make parts of the story flow better or not. Context is everything...

A fun all ages read that generations of Scooby-Doo fans will enjoy. A great opening story that skewers the Twilight series while satirizing it's fans. A decent follow up caper from one of my all-time favorite children's authors that was marred by indistinguishable font choices.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.