Zoinks! Like, Check out Our Review [WITH SPOILERS] of Scooby Apocalypse # 2!
As the Scooby gang try to leave the top-secret compound, they soon discover that people are now mutating into horrific creatures! Can they escape before they become a monster’s meal?
In the last issue, I was kind of in the middle. I didn’t think it was great but I didn’t think it was bad. The story just needed a little spark that could make it way better. With people mutating at the end of issue #1, I thought issue #2 would be able to get the story on the right track. Unfortunately, it doesn’t feel like we got that here. If anything, it felt like it was more of the same; in fact, maybe even a little less than what we saw last issue.
Let me start by saying Howard Porter‘s artwork is easily the best aspect of this whole comic, giving the comic a claustrophobic and creepy feeling. Since the entire issue was spent inside the compound, we didn’t get the same amazing backgrounds which made the scenery feel a bit limited. Then there were the monsters that, while not poorly designed, seemed kind of generic. It was disappointing too, since the last issue showcased a lot of different monsters, but most of them looked like the same creature with one or two variations. They just didn’t leave a lasting impression.
Our protagonists sadly don’t get much development in the comic, either. A lot of the main cast was underused, with most of the dialogue going to Velma (who still has no character besides being smart and explaining things) and Daphne (who continues to be unlikable). While there were hints of character development for those two (which only happened when the gang had to fight off monsters), the moment went by so quickly that they went back right back to being uninteresting. In result, there was less humor in this issue and that made it a lot less fun to read (though I laughed a little when Velma started saying “Jinkies” as she was running away). Strangely enough, Scooby-Doo himself was practically a footnote in this comic. Don’t get me wrong, he was there but he didn’t do a lot and I think he only got two lines in the entire book. It’s almost like Keith Giffen forgot there was a talking dog in this story.
On top of getting no explanation regarding how the nanite virus turned people into monsters (in fact, the characters seem to be as confused as I was), the pacing of this story was much slower in this issue. It went at such a snail’s pace that I can actually sum up the comic in one sentence: “The Scooby gang runs from an infestation of monsters as they try to get to the “Mystery Machine” (van with one extra set of wheels and a really forced name) to escape.” That’s really it; those are the only two important things that happened in this issue and the only things that are really worth noting. It felt like this issue was mostly just trying to progress the plot at the expense of the characters, and sadly, this made the issue boring.
I feel that Scooby Apocalypse’s biggest problem right now is despite its crazy premise, it’s no different from other apocalypse scenarios we’ve seen before. Unfortunately, besides the fact that it stars the cast of Scooby-Doo, it comes off as bland and kind of uninteresting.
Maybe if it was more self-aware of its own silly ideas, and poked fun at apocalypse-fiction clichés, it could be a more enjoyable series. For now, it’s fighting an uphill battle. It has a story and characters that need a lot of work and if it continues this way, I can’t say I’ll be reading Scooby Apocalypse much longer. If you wanted to continue the story, bravely curious where this particular narrative might lead, that’s quite all right. But if you weren’t impressed by the last issue and were hoping this one would be different, I’d say give this one a skip.
