Batman has had some peculiar team-ups over the years (like that time he allied with the Looney Tunes' Elmer Fudd to solve a murder plot), and another one is coming in DC Comics' new series Batman & Scooby-Doo Mysteries, which will see the Dark Knight team up with the Scooby Gang to tackle a myriad of kid-friendly mysteries.
As any self-respecting fans of Saturday morning cartoons will already know, this won't be the first time the Caped Crusader swapped out his Batmobile for the Mystery Machine. In the 1970s, Batman and Robin teamed up with the Mystery Inc. crew in The New Scooby-Doo Movies on more than one occasion, with Hanna-Barbera putting out episodes like "The Dynamic Scooby-Doo Affair" and "The Caped Crusader Caper." More recently, the two worlds collided in comics like Scooby-Doo Team-Up and the entire team even had an animated movie in 2017's Scooby-Doo! & Batman: The Brave and the Bold. It's been a while since the gang all got together, but this new series seems like it will provide just as many jinkies as ever.
The announcement from DC Comics promises readers more family-friendly madcap adventures when the Dark Knight teams up with Scooby, Shaggy, Fred, Velma and Daphne for a series of zany hijinks. The cover art for the first issue, titled "Glove Story," is clearly reminiscent of the art from Frank Miller's Batman: Year One and there's a good reason for that. The story - written by Ivan Cohen with art by Dario Brizuela - will be a time-traveling romp when Batman notices his original purple gloves have gone missing. This sends Velma, Shaggy and Scooby on an adventure back in time to the Year One era to get to the bottom of things. The second story in the series, “Going Bats,” from writer Sholly Fisch and artist Randy Elliott, will see the crew dealing with a potential haunting in the Batcave. Check out the full cover art for issue #1 below.
The digital-first comic will launch on March 27, with print copies hitting store shelves April 13. There are 24 digital issues planned, all of which will be consolidated into 12 print editions. The release dates were a calculated move on DC's part. With the issues dropping on Saturdays, DC says it will be filling the, "Saturday-morning cartoon position in your family-friendly weekend entertainment."
The series seems like it will have something to offer for fans of both Batman and Scooby-Doo alike, and the idea of the Scooby Gang sleuthing in the dark, grizzled world of Frank Miller's Gotham will no doubt lead to hilarity. It will be interesting to see if Batman & Scooby-Doo Mysteries incorporates any other classic Caped Crusader stories into later books. The idea of Scooby and company trying to solve the mystery of The Long Halloween would likely be equal parts ridiculous and riotously funny. Time will tell, but fans of either property should make sure to grab some Scooby Snacks and mark their calendars for the series' March 27 release.
Source: DC Comics