Batman - the world's greatest solo detective - has teamed up with the world's greatest detective group. Scooby-Doo, Mystery Inc., and the Dark Knight have joined forces once again in The Batman & Scooby-Doo! Mysteries. Separately both are excellent mystery solvers, but together they're truly a force to be reckoned with.
Mystery Inc. and Batman have been part of several team-ups in the past. Batman and other DC heroes were included in multiple issues of Scooby-Doo Team-Up. The Dark Knight and this meddling mutt have also co-starred in a couple of full-length animated features before. These teams have solved mysteries together and now they are doing it again. Batman was first introduced in 1939, while Scooby-Doo and Mystery Inc. have been cracking cases since 1969. While Batman has thirty years on this group, they have both been in the game for a while and have honed their skills.
The first issue of The Batman & Scooby-Doo! Mysteries, created by Ivan Cohen, Dario Brizuela, and Franco Riesco, places Scooby, Shaggy, Velma, Daphn,e and Fred at the forefront of a very peculiar mystery. Ironically enough, Batman has a theft problem. Some of his personal effects from over the years are on loan to a museum and items are being stolen and replaced by fakes. Normally, Batman is very capable of solving mysteries himself, but this is a problem with less trouble than he usually deals with - at least at first glance - which makes it perfect for Mystery Inc. to handle. Additionally, the Caped Crusader is having some trouble with his memory, which makes it difficult for him to figure out what is going on. Scooby and his gang will have to revisit the very first year of Batman's career to crack this case.
The museum exhibit in the series is full of all kinds of Batman memorabilia. This includes one of Batman's Batmobiles and a Batcycle - complete with Robin's sidecar! Also on display are six of Batman's costumes marking different eras under year groupings. Year One naturally has the original Golden Age Batsuit with the iconic set of purple gloves, which have been replaced with fakes. The Rainbow Batman suit from 1957 is directly next to the first suit, followed by Batman's Silver Age suit, which added in the yellow background to his insignia. Year Four is Batman's Leatherwing suit from the Elseworlds story of the same name that featured Batman as a pirate on the high seas. Year Five is marked by Jean-Paul Valley Jr.'s suit (Azrael), from the Batman: Knightfall storyline. While these are a single panel detail, they successfully convey the many adventures and "phases" Batman has experienced, which Mystery Inc. now gets to explore a little bit of throughout this team-up series.
The creative team behind this series is extremely suited for this series, since each member has actively worked on previous Scooby-Doo comics. Ivan Cohen wrote several issues of Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?, as well as Looney Tunes. Dario Brizuela and Franco Riesco both worked on multiple issues of Scooby-Doo! Team-Up. All three have also worked together on issues of Teen Titans Go!, Green Lantern: The Animated Series, and Beware the Batman. Collectively this is a team who has proven itself with these characters and with the intended younger reader demographic. The first issue of The Batman & Scooby-Doo! Mysteries is available now.