Scooby-Doo Team-Up Chapter #31 Review

SCOOBY!

Written by: Sholly Fisch
Art by: Dario Brizuela, Franco Riesco and Saida Temofonte
Cover Price:$0.99
Release Date: May 21, 2016

I am reviewing this chapter of Scooby-Doo Team-Up for a couple of reasons.  The main one is that Reggie and myself have made the claim that we will eventually review all the Digital First books on the site (how are those Bombshells reviews coming along, Reggie?), but I also want to read and review a Scooby-Doo book that I actually enjoy.  Yea, I'm making a not so veiled reference to the new Scooby Apocalypse book and while others seem to like it and are mad at me for not jumping on that wagon, I'm fine with getting my Scooby fix right here.  Plus, this issue has Shazam!  Could it get any better than that?  Let's find out...


The chapter starts off with a little catch-me-up lesson on the Marvel Family and their Villains and I loved it.  We get Captain Marvel, Mary Marvel and  Captain Marvel Junior as well as seeing the Sivana Family tangled up in what appeared to be a robotic version of Shazam #26.

This is what I enjoy most about these Team-Ups (as well as some of the other DC Digitals like Teen Titans Go!)...the in-jokes and references that make it as much fun for the adults reading them as the kids they are targeted at.

It continues by showing us what Shazam stands for...both for Captain Marvel and Captain Marvel junior as well as Mary Marvel.  Again, it's pretty cool and a great way to get the young ones up to speed so they can start demanding a Shazam solo book just like dear old mom and dad!

At this point, it's almost easy to forget that the Marvel Family are just guest stars in this team-up, but Sholly Fisch is there to remind us and to give the books it's requisite mystery.  It's all intertwined as we learn that the three members of the Marvel Family have gone missing.

The fun of this scene isn't actually the mystery, but who called the Scooby Gang in to solve it...Tawky Tawny and Uncle Marvel!  UNCLE MARVEL!!!  Fisch has a lot of fun poking fun at both characters and the fun continues when we find out that Uncle Marvel suspects that the Monster Society of Evil are responsible.

We get a rundown of the members of the Society and again, it really points out how crazy and ridiculous the Captain Marvel Universe is, but the biggest chuckles are left for a certain banjo playing evildoer that Robot Chicken thrust (back?) into the limelight.

Throughout all of this, we get the standard Shaggy and Scooby scaredy-cat reactions to everything and while I love me some Shaggy and Scooby, this was the least funny and interesting part of the comic.  I understand we have to have it, so I'll let it go without getting too upset.

The reason I can do such a thing is that the Monster Society stuff is so much fun.  There's double crosses with Sabbac and Ibac, jokes at the expense of Mister Mind and in-jokes for both Scooby and Shazam fans.  It all ends with everyone face-to-face, ready to rumble and enjoy a little banjo music while they're at it.  Actually, nobody enjoys banjo music!!!

I had a smile on my face the whole time reading this chapter.  I have enjoyed the Scooby-Doo Team-Up book in the past, but I think this one was the goofiest and it all comes down to the tropes and characters of the Captain Marvel Universe.  It's just great fun seeing the Golden Age ridiculousness mesh with the Scooby stuff and if you are a fan of either franchises, I think you'll enjoy this.

Dario Brizuela nails the Scooby gang and by the time that Uncle Marvel and Taky show up (which is just a couple pages in) everything is running on all cylinders.  It's all just colorful fun and he seems to have fun giving readers the crazy characters that Sholly Fisch give him.

Bits and Pieces:

At a time when DC Comics is going back to the fun and legacy of their main characters, it was nice to read a Scooby-Doo book that does the same.  While I loved seeing the classic Scooby Gang, the Captain Marvel/Shazam Universe easily stole the show.  If you are a fan of the classic comic and want to pass on the goofy fun to a son or daughter, this a great way to do it.  It's just a fun comic and with enough in-jokes to keep everyone one, no matter their age, smiling until the end.

9.0/10