SCOOBY APOCALYPSE #12
Written by Keith Giffen, J.M. DeMatteis
Art by Dale Eaglesham, Tom Derenick, Hi-Fi
Published by DC Comics
Release Date: April 12, 2017
The Gang continues their quest through the wastelands, attempting to find one of Velma’s brothers….who bears a striking resemblance to someone that I just can’t place my finger on….
Oh yeah, it’s Trump. Giffen, DeMatteis & Eaglesham take the opportunity to throw barbs at the vile buffoon by making his caricature one of The Four, which is quite fitting considering it would take someone that evil to unleash an apocalypse of this sort upon humanity. They capture the arrogance and idiocy well, serving up a character that I can’t wait for the monster horde to descend upon. These are veteran storytellers that know exactly what they are doing when they make a character this obviously inspired by reality, and they use the pages focusing on him very well in this issue.
The overall story progresses along well, and after 12 issues I find myself very impressed that Giffen and DeMatteis have kept me intrigued in what very easily could have been a concept that got boring or played itself out. So many comics have been tried over the years that are all fluff beyond the initial laugh of the concept, but Scooby Apocalypse isn’t one of them. This veteran writing team has kept this story moving and fun, despite the circumstances, and they have maintained the perfect balance of campy-Scooby-ness with this-is-not-for-kids-zombie-ness. In a similar fashion to the dark tone of Riverdale that is peppered with references to the polar opposite world of Archie Comics, Scooby Apocalypse continues to toe that line of Scooby and very not Scooby, and it just works.
Dale Eaglesham’s pencils are strong, and Tom Derenick’s style compliments Eaglesham’s for the two pages he worked on. Eaglesham’s work is consistent and appropriate for the tone of this series and he has continued the base set by Howard Porter well. The colour work by Hi-Fi is the perfect blend of zombie/monsters and over-the-top cartoonish feel of Scooby, and I find the colour work to really be immersive in this apocalyptic world. Hi-Fi’s work sets the plate for Giffen & DeMatteis unique collaborative humour and really unifies this whole crazy adventure.
Scooby Apocalypse #12 is a fun romp that properly characterizes a menace the world is currently suffering through. Even zombies hate this guy, and Giffen, DeMatteis, Eaglesham & Hi-Fi sell it. 12 issues in, I’m still into this series and that’s aces in my books.
The Verdict: 9.0/10
