Friday, September 15, 2023

On The Shelf: The next generation of Mystery Inc.?

 DC closed out year 2 of The Batman & Scooby-Doo Mysteries by sending the Mystery Inc. team into the world of Batman Beyond. A surprise ending reveals that Mystery Inc. will live on in the future. Now, the question is whether or not DC follows up. We know Chumptoon Network won't.

Writer Ivan Cohen sends this series off on a good note.

Rating: A.

Update, 1:31 pm (ET): DC will relaunch the series as an ongoing in January.
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Next month, Marvel revives an old anthology title, Crypt of Shadows, as a miniseries starring the original Werewolf by Night, Jack Russell, who will be joined by Daredevil, Deadpool, the Hulk, and the Scarlet Witch.

But, before that comes a 1-shot special which pairs Russell, now the King of Wolves (???) with Elsa Bloodstone, whose father headline Marvel Presents for a few issues in the 70's. Seems Elsa & Jack were once a couple, and while there is not a rekindling of affections, they do make an effective team. Russell retains his intellect in his lupine form, a change that took place near the end of his series in the late 70's. A fun trip, but the artwork needs help.


Rating: B-.
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Four years ago, IDW attained a license for The Addams Family, coinciding with the release of the first animated movie based on Charles Addams' legendary strip. Over the summer, IDW reissued The Bodies Issue, a 1-shot special, setting up a miniseries that also debuts next month. You know how this family functions. The fun is in the plot.

Rating: A-.
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The Penguin has been one of Batman's more cerebral foes, and a new miniseries from writer Tom King picks up plot threads from recent issues of Detective Comics, leading to a 0 issue reprinting of Chip Zdarsky's plot. Anyway, Oswald Cobblepot has found love while in exile from Gotham, and it seems he even had time to start a family years ago. Now, though, he's back under the thumb of Amanda Waller, and unlike his time with the Suicide Squad early in John Ostrander's run on the book in the late 80's, things are going to get nasty.

Rating: A.

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