Scooby-Doo! Where Are You? #131

I don't know how I missed this. I don't know know how my favorite comic book shop missed this. A new Christmas issue of Scooby-Doo! 

In the cover story, the Mystery Inc. gang are visiting a toy convention where they're collecting toys for the annual Christmas toy drive for the nearby orphanage. Getting donations is going to be tough because an evil elf is terrorizing the attendees of the convention and stealing the toys to boot.

The secondary story is a reprint from the 2010s. It's not a Christmas story. But it features a character that has become affiliated with the holidays thanks to a nearly 60 years old holiday special. An indoor climbing facility is being terrorized by an abominable snowman! 

Derek Fridolfs wrote the main story. While it's set around Christmas, this was a mystery that could have occurred anytime of year. Christmas just happens to be when the story occurs. Except for a festive book-ending, you wouldn't know that the this was a holiday story. I mean Die Hard is more of a Christmas story than this tale.

But those first couple of pages were so Christmasy. I want to live in that world! Plus those supporting characters were so dynamic. I forgot that this was a Scooby-Doo comic. Major praises to artist Walter Carzon.

The Yeti story was kinda silly. Like why would a Bumble haunt a climbing wall? However, this was one of the most un-Scooby-like mysteries I've ever come across. It must be because of the writing talents of the amazing Sholly Fisch! To craft a mystery that has a trio of suspects that have nothing to do (directly) with the story and to make this primarily a story about the plan to take the culprit down - that's a true sign of this Hanna-Barbera comic master's mastery!

Not 100% Christmas. And some of the content is debatable. But I enjoyed the heck out of it!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

John Carpenter Presents Storm Kids: Stanley and the Haunted House (Family Comic Friday)

I finish out my all-ages reviews for Halloween 2023 today with this delightful funny animal tale from horror legend John Carpenter. (I've still got a couple of mature reads left to review.) Stanley and the Haunted House is the 3rd comic in the series. Back for another annual adventure, Stanley and his friends decide to spend the night in a creepy mansion in order to prove once and for all if ghosts exist. Bandit brought the flash lights. Baby Wolf has got the food. While Natasha has a camera to document the proof of spirits. 

I became aware of John Carpenter and wife Sandy King's all-ages imprint Storm Kids with last year's The Yard Gang Halloween Special. (I'm not really sure how I missed the first two Stanley books.) When I heard that this new one-shot was dropping, I was a little disappointed not having the pets from the Yard Gang. But the world of Stanley and Friends was a delightful introduction to a gaggle of characters that were a laugh riot. 

These guys have panache and great comedic timing. I would love to see Stanley and his furry pals starring in an animated series. Maybe an annual Halloween cartoon special! They've got the chops on par with the Looney Tunes and the cartoons of classic Mickey, Donald and Goofy when they go ghostbusting in 1937's 'Lonesome Ghosts.'

The story was written by Jeff Balke. I'm not familiar with him. But if you ever head to Jeff Balke Studios, you will feel like you're in the presence of a true devotee to those classic cartoon predecessors I mentioned in the last paragraph. On art and inks are Walter Carzon and Horacio Ottolini. Both of these talents I AM familiar with as they are DC Comics mainstays in relation to Hanna Barbera and Looney Tunes properties. Together, these three made a terrific trio with a story that was spooky, not scary, and very laugh-out loud hilarious.

The first two Stanley books are Stanley's Ghost and Stanley and the Forgotten Forest. Both of those issues along with Stanley and the Haunted House can be purchased online at the Storm Kids parent website stormkingcomics.com (Just a bit of warning though. This site also sells Storm Kings' more mature horror titles and some images on the website may be too terrifying for young readers.) If the 2021 and 2022 Halloween specials are anything like this year's release, the young readers in your life are in for a treat. And as this book isn't set during Halloween, it's a read the family can enjoy 365 days a year for a small scare read!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

Scooby-Doo Team-Up #47

After years of trying, Peebles Pet Shop has finally sold Magilla- to a mad scientist! Good thing Mystery Incorporated stopped by to give Scooby-Doo a good washing after a bout with a marsh monster. As the teen detectives and Mr. Peebles head to the foreboding laboratory, they run afoul of a score of creatures that have had their heads switched. Could this be the fate of our pal Magilla?

If you are a regular reader of my blog, you'll know that I think that the Hanna-Barbera are the weaker stories for Scooby-Doo Team-Up. But I really enjoyed this 2019 issue. It may have something to do with the fact that I am not very familiar with the antics of Magilla Gorilla. Grape Ape- I've got a doctorate in stuff involving him. But not so much Magilla. So, maybe the whole concept was more fresh to me. 

Another thing that made this issue a winner was just how well Sholly Fisch did with the story itself. The idea of the mad scientist was a welcome change to the detectives solving another whodunit involving someone in a ghost costume. Plus, the jokes were funny and not as worn out as my walking shoes.

Walter Carzon did a great job on the art. His pairings of animals with different heads was really well done. Plus, I like how the Scooby characters and the Magilla characters meshed together. Sometimes, the HB characters don't look quite right next to Fred, Daphne and Velma, who are drawn more like a realistic teens. But the way Carzon crafted Mr. Peeples, Magilla and the mad scientist, you still got the original look of the characters but without a sense that someone was out of place.

Another great issue of this fun series. SCTU is one of my all-time favs and this issue issue is yet another fantastic reason why!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars

Scooby-Doo Team-Up #35

One of the best issues of the entire series and it stars not a DC legend but Yogi Bear!

Somebody is stealing the picnic baskets of visitors to Jellystone Park. Ranger Smith believes that it's the work of Yogi and is ready to ship him off to the Poughkeepsie Zoo. Yogi swears that it's a ghost. It's up to Mystery Inc to get to the bottom of this caper or Yogi is gonna become the newest attraction of the New York zoo scene.

Sholly Fisch did an amazing job on this story. Sometimes the jokes can get a little corny and stale. But Fisch manages to keep things fresh with this one. Usually the Hanna-Barbera crossovers are the weakest. Yet Yogi, Boo- Boo and his friends were a delightful surprise! Another reason this is one of my favorite series of all-time!

Another thing I loved was the art. Because of the use of recycled backgrounds in the old Scooby-Doo cartoons, regular artist Dario Brizuela will cheat occasionally by using a similar technique. With this being a Yogi Bear story, I expected this with abandon! Yet guest artist Walter Carzon with Horacio Ottolini, kept every panel from being static with dynamic pencilling on every panel!

If they will keep putting out issues like this I would have no problem with more non-DC team-ups!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

Scooby-Doo Team-Up #35 debuted in stores and digital formats on February 28th, 2018.