Scooby Apocalypse

Scooby Apocalypse
Cover for Scooby Apocalypse #1 (July 2016).
Art by Jim Lee & Alex Sinclair
Publication information
Publisher DC Comics
Schedule Monthly
Format Limited series
Genre Mystery, Adventure, Sci-fi, Humor
Publication date May 2016 – present
Main character(s) Scooby-Doo
Creative team
Written by Keith Giffen
J.M. DeMatteis[1]
Penciller(s) Howard Porter
Dale Eaglesham
Ron Wagner
Jan Duursema
Inker(s) Andy Owens
Colorist(s) Hi-Fi Design
Editor(s) Brittany Holzherr
Marie Javins
Collected editions
Volume 1 ISBN 978-1401267902

Scooby Apocalypse is a monthly comic book series published by DC Comics, which began in May 2016. It re-imagines the characters from the Scooby-Doo franchise, particularly the 1969 TV series Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!, setting them in a post-apocalyptic world.[2][3][4]

Unlike previous titles, which are all-ages, this title has a teen plus rating.

The comic was conceived by DC Comics co-publisher and artist, Jim Lee, as part of a major reboot using Hanna-Barbera characters, in order to create a new Hanna-Barbera comic book universe.[5] Jim Lee worked on the first issue's cover and several more after that (before interior artist, Howard Porter, took over).

Premise

"Those meddling kids" and their Mystery Machine are at the center of a well-meaning experiment gone wrong and they’ll need to bring all of their mystery solving skills to bear (along with plenty of Scooby Snacks), to find a cure for a world full of mutated creatures infected by a nanite virus that enhances their fears, terrors, and baser instincts. This time, the horrors are real in this apocalyptic near-future badland![6]

Characters

Main characters

  • Scoobert "Scooby" Doo – Scooby-Doo is a "Smart Dog" prototype, who is able to talk like a human being, thanks to a chip that was implanted in his cerebral cortex. This enables him to communicate with others, either by words or through the use of a pair of emoji-goggles. He was treated poorly by the rest of the smart dogs in the Nevada Complex as the runt of the litter, being constantly attacked by them. Eventually, he ended up standing up against the other dogs after Shaggy taught him how to defend himself. Unlike his cartoon counterpart, Scooby is quite brave and is not afraid of anything that stands in his way. His original name was 24062, having been named Scooby by Shaggy himself.
  • Fred Jones – Fred Jones was the doting cameraman of "Daphne Blake's Mysterious Mysteries", hosted by his long-time friend, Daphne Blake. Having attended the same college as Daphne, Fred has always been there for her. Over the years he developed a crush on Daphne and has since tried to prove himself as a man worthy of her affections (he states that he proposed to her numerous times), even though Daphne states that she sees him only as a friend (which he does not believe for a minute). He acts as Daphne's moral compass sometimes, and is usually the voice of reason, whenever there are fights among the gang. However, it is revealed in issue 25 that Fred has died, suggesting the Fred seen in the issue is a hallucination of Daphne's.
  • Daphne Blake – Daphne Blake was a budding journalist, who came from a wealthy family. Her career plummeted after she failed to expose a story she had been working on for almost a year. After that, she was lucky to get a slot on the Knitting Channel, hosting "Daphne Blake's Mysterious Mysteries", which further contributed to her being seen by her peers as a laughing-stock. As a journalist, she feels compelled to finding the truth, no matter what the cost. Known for being extremely distrustful, she has a sharp tongue and a sarcastic vein. Still, under a tough shell, Daphne is shown to be very caring and very fearful for the well-being of everyone in the gang, especially Fred, for whom she has a soft spot.
  • Norville "Shaggy" Rogers – Norville Rogers, nicknamed Shaggy by his friends, was a dog handler in the Nevada Complex, where he was responsible for the treatment and training of the "smart dog" prototypes. On his first day on the job, he saved Scooby-Doo from being ripped to pieces by the other prototypes, making it his mission to show the Great Dane how to defend himself against the others. Later, this earned the canine's loyalty and friendship. He also became an acquaintance of Dr. Krebs, the creator of the Mystery Machine, who taught him how to drive it. Normally, Shaggy is laid-back and is always hungry. He defends a philosophy of life, in which a person must be open-minded to the universe and to what the universe throws at people. He also believes in numerous gods and deities, and is very superstitious. Still, in moments of tension, he is the one that tries to keep the peace between the gang, reminding them that in order to survive, they have to stick together.
  • Velma Dinkley – Velma Dinkley was a leading scientist in the Nevada Complex. Throughout her life, Velma never had any friends and considered herself as incapable of making them due to her extraordinary intelligence and low social skills. She would later collaborate in a top secret research project called Project Elysium, which through the use of nanites was supposed to alter mankind's DNA, eliminating mankind's bad and vile instincts. She was also the coordinator of the "Smart Dog" program, which created Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo. Being quite shy and socially awkward, Velma does not speak very much. Still, with a brilliant and objective mind, and armed with doctorates in the fields of Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Astrophysics, Astronomy, Math and Engineering, she is usually the one that comes up with theories and plans on how to deal with the numerous monsters that attack her and the rest of the gang.

Recurring characters

  • The Four – The Four are Velma's former employers, who operate several underground facilities and perform weird scientific experiments. They are revealed to be Velma's older brothers, who positioned themselves in strategic places of a specific field (Hugo Dinkley in the Military, Cheeves Dinkley in Politics, Quenton Dinkley in the Secret Services and Rufus Dinkley in a Research Medical Company) Velma describes them as a unique mind that shared four bodies, when they were younger. Along with Velma, they created Project Elysium and unknown to her at the time, used Velma's research for their own benefit, plunging Earth into an apocalyptic nightmare.
  • Scrappy-Doo – Scrappy-Doo is one of the test subjects of the "smart dog" program at the underground Nevada Complex. Scrappy has two objectives on his mind: upgrading his implants that give him human-like attributes and to kill Scooby-Doo, the prototype of the smart dog program, who he hates because he sees him as a soft-hearted weakling. He also hates humans, given the experiments they performed on him. He leads the Scrappy Gang, which is composed of some of the other test subjects of the program.[7], as well as a runaway orphan named Cliffy, who he adopted and has grown fond of ever since.
  • Daisy Dinkley - Daisy is Rufus Dinkley's wife and Velma's sister-in-law. Being Rufus' trophy wife, she was always treated like that, with Rufus always demeaning her. The truth is that Daisy is a lot smarter than she shows, and when the gang shows up, she ditches Rufus and goes with them, hoping to find a cure to the nanite apocalypse for which her husband was partly responsible.
  • Cliffy - Cliffy is a runaway orphan that Scrappy-Doo adopts, while searching for Velma and the rest of the Scooby gang.

Reception

Scooby Apocalypse has garnered mostly positive reviews from critics.[8][9][10][11] At the review aggregator website Comic Book Roundup, the series holds a 7.7 out of 10 rating, based on 110 reviews for the first fourteen issues.[12]

References

  1. "SCOOBY APOCALYPSE Turns Franchise Towards Creepy, 'Semi-Serious' Horror". Newsarama. Retrieved 4 December 2016.
  2. Andrea Towers • @_atowers. "DC Entertainment announces new slate of Hanna-Barbera titles - EW.com". Retrieved 4 December 2016.
  3. Guide, TV. "Scooby-Doo Grows Up – And Fights The Future – In Scooby Apocalypse". Retrieved 4 December 2016.
  4. Rivera, Joshua (28 January 2016). "Today in Gritty Reboots: Shaggy from 'Scooby-Doo' Is a Hipster Now and Fred Has Tribal Tattoos". GQ. Retrieved 4 December 2016.
  5. "Scooby Apocalypse: Exclusive First Look Inside The Comic: Scooby Apocalypse cover, art by Jim Lee". TV Guide. Retrieved 4 December 2016.
  6. Beedle, Tim (January 28, 2016). "Hanna-Barbera Beyond: Flintstones, Scooby and More Are Getting Comic Book Reimaginings". DC Comics. Retrieved January 29, 2016.
  7. "Can DC's Scooby Apocalypse Redeem Scrappy-Doo?". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved December 4, 2016.
  8. Schedeen, Jesse (24 May 2016). "Scooby Apocalypse #1 Review". IGN. Retrieved 4 December 2016.
  9. "Scooby Apocalypse #1 Review - An Impressive Reimagining". Comic Book. Retrieved 18 December 2016.
  10. Narcisse, Evan. "Holy Ruck, Raggy, That Dumb-Looking Scooby-Doo Comic Is Pretty Good". Io9. Retrieved 18 December 2016.
  11. "Scooby Apocalypse #1". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved 18 December 2016.
  12. "Scooby Apocalypse". Comic Book Roundup. Retrieved January 17, 2017.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.