Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? #41
DC Comics (March, 2014; as posted to comiXology)
COLORING: Heroic Age
“Annunaki”
WRITER/ARTIST/COVER: Scott Gross
LETTERER: Saida Temofonte
ASSISTANT EDITOR: Jessica Chen
EDITOR: Kristy Quinn
“Chupacabra-Cadabra”
WRITER: Keith Champagne
ARTIST: Scott Neely
LETTERER: Randy Gentile
EDITOR: Jeanie Schaefer
It’s not surprising the gang gets lost and ends up finding trouble. This time they’re in Chillicothe, Ohio, which actually exists but I bet there isn’t some alien thing chasing people away from attempts to turn a mound into a tourist attraction. Heck, I bet there’s a lot they get wrong about the town and this supposed landmark but what gets me is how abruptly the story ends. The Sherriff gets to help catch the bad guy, the explanation is given, story ends. Yep, still no mystery. I think a full length story would have benefited this.
Instead we get more of Velma talking about haunted histories before getting to the second story. It’s Shaggy’s birthday and the gang are in Mexico to celebrate…until the Chupacabra kidnaps a magician’s assistant and the gang disappears one by one until only Shaggy and Scooby are left…to reach Shaggy’s surprise birthday party. At least this one has a proper ending, and what it lacks in mystery it makes up for in being a fun little story. Although, why they would use a monster to distract Shaggy considering how much he doesn’t like them is simply being on brand.
Sadly the second story does not help this comic. The first story had potential but didn’t live up to it and just ends. Velma’s segment seems unnecessary, and losing even that might have benefited the first story, though making it the only story might have been better. Overall, I can’t really recommend this issue either, and I think I’m going to stick this one on the back burner unless I found an issue worth reviewing. Why can’t DC, the company that took it’s name from Detective Comics, put together a good Scooby-Doo mystery?