Ghosts like hard hats too.
Scooby-Doo #55
DC Comics (February, 2002; as posted to comiXology)
COLORIST: Paul Becton
SEPARATIONS: Digital Chameleon
ASSISTANT EDITOR: Harvey Richards
EDITOR: Joan Hilty
“The Tracks Of My Fear”
WRITER: Scott Cunningham
PENCILER: Joe Staton
INKER: Andrew Pepoy
LETTERER: Jenna Garcia
“Chili Chiller”
WRITER: John Rozum
ARTIST: Karen Matchette
LETTERER: Matthew Isaac
A ghost train is interfering with work on an abandoned subway tunnel where two trains collided years ago. There’s no mystery for us to solve (again) since the big clue is kept from us and there’s nothing pointing towards the baddies. However, it’s not a bad story on its own. The gang teams with a local subway detective and he honestly works with the gang to solve the ghost train mystery. I like that and it’s a fun story overall.
Shaggy and Scooby are chosen to judge a chili contest in our second story but between contestants wanting to bribe them and a would-be devil type trying to scare them off they aren’t enjoying themselves as much as they hoped. Sadly this one tries to make a good solving mystery but it also wanted a twist ending that doesn’t work when you don’t take time to explore them as suspects. With more time available this could have been good. Instead it’s just decent.
By now I’m feeling like a broken record but these two stories an issue are hampering the mystery angle, and means the writers have to come up with more monsters and more reasons for them. That means they’re burning up ideas that would have been better served as a full mystery. This could be a great comic series but instead it’s just a bunch of decent reads.
