Hey there, gang. Check out Our Review [WITH SPOILERS] of Scooby Apocalypse #3!
The Scooby Gang barely escape the facility with their lives! Those meddling kids and their dog try to regroup as they come to grips with their desperate situation. But while they’re licking their wounds, something sinister is watching the gang as the world is burning down around them in Scooby Apocalypse #3. Ruh-roh!
Well, this might be where I say I’m done Scooby Apocalypse. While this issue wasn’t as bad as issue #2, it still suffered from a lot of the same problems. It’s just hard to keep reading this series when it feels like the first issue is as good as it’ll ever be!
Howard Porters’ artwork remains consistently good, giving a good picture of the destruction caused by the nanite virus. However, the same cannot be said about Dale Eaglesham’s art; he handles the art in all the flashbacks for this issue. While it’s not terrible, it is certainly lacking in places. The faces are sometimes off, with expressions looking awkward or just plain creepy. Heck, there are scenes where Velma looks like she’s trying to unhinge her jaw. Eeeeesh.
I’ll also give credit where credit is due: there were better character interactions in this issue, and I did think the gang’s attitude regarding monster-killing was well-handled.
There’s a nice moment between Scooby and Shaggy where they’re talking about how they’re in over their heads and you can’t help but feel sorry for them. Fred is still the most likable character and certainly has the most personality (ironic since he had none in the cartoon).
On the other hand, Daphne is still, hands down, the worst character. She keeps yelling and whining at everyone like a spoiled child! It’s funny, too, because this issue tries to make her character more sympathetic, but her personality flip flops so often that it only succeeds in making her more intolerable. Honestly, when it comes to Daphne, I’m rooting for the monsters.
The pacing of the story also feels slower than before. Most of the issue is spent flashing back to the escape, which brings the plot to a crawl in the present. TRANSLATION: not much was really accomplished this issue. It’s almost like the writers are waiting it out until a worthy idea presents itself. Honestly, it seems like the plot may be the biggest mystery of all.
Sadly, the problem with this series is that is suffers from a lot of the same problems over and over again. It makes all the issues a drag to read when some of those problems refuse to improve or resolve, making it all repetitive and dull. We’re at issue #3 and we really haven’t learned anything since issue #1! Why’s the virus turning people into monsters? What’s Velma (clearly) hiding from the others? What happened to the other smart dogs?? These are all questions currently waiting to be answered!
I said in my Scooby Apocalypse #2 review that this series isn’t doing anything differently from what we’ve seen in other apocalypse stories, and I think that still rings true here.
To be honest, this whole thing feels a Scooby-Doo, The Last of Us, and The Walking Dead mash-up, which would be fine if the characters were enjoyable and the story was strong, but unfortunately…they’re really not. Outside of sharing the names with characters we recognize, the story and characters are incredibly generic. They could be swapped with any other Hanna-Barbera property and it’d probably be exactly the same! Ironically, as much as these comics try to have little in common with the cartoon they’re based on, they kind of rely on it for you to understand these characters!
I have to point out again that if it simply embraced the insanity of its premise, it would’ve been a fun read. Instead, these comics play it seriously and try to give us a “mature” Scooby-Doo, and unfortunately that means we have to judge it as such. With DC Comics getting better and better with Rebirth, Scooby Apocalypse feels like it’s stuck in that early, “forcefully gritty,” New 52 era. While it’s not the worst, it’s also not that good either.
It wastes its potential with bland characters, a “been there, done that” story, and a supreme lack of fun. Honestly, I’d say this series just isn’t interesting enough to keep reading. And no, I wouldn’t even do it for a Scooby Snack!
I can’t say I recommend this issue either, but if you still want to keep reading to see where it goes, then I say go for it. Who knows, maybe it’ll get better down the line. But if you’ve been reading this from the beginning and you’re just not feeling it, then maybe this is the time to get out of the Mystery Machine.
