The most feared group of cowboys since The Apple Dumpling Gang.
Scooby-Doo Team-Up #28
DC Comics (September, 2017; as featured in volume 5 of the comiXology version of the trade)
“The Good, The Bad, And The Scooby”
WRITER: Sholly Fisch
ARTIST: Dario Brizuela
COLORIST: Franco Riesco
LETTERER: Saida Temofonte
ASSISTANT EDITOR: Rob Levin
EDITOR: Kristy Quinn
Fred tells the gang about his namesake, great-grandfather Fredrick, who traveled with a group of ghost hunters in the Old West. Yep, it’s what you think it is, only Daphne’s counterpart is the sister of lady bounty hunter Cinnamon. They meet up in a town where a metal monster is terrorising the town while Cinnamon and Jonah Hex compete to bring in Bat Lash, though he claims he’s being framed by a crooked sheriff. Together, the heroes uncover the monster’s true identity while Jonah and Cinnamon share the reward…which was only for the capture, not to keep Bat from escaping. At least the actual villain’s in custody.
What they got right: I was wondering how they were going to get a meeting between the gang and Jonah Hex. (Hex is on the cover and actually in the story more than Cinnamon is but her tie to not-Daphne, aka Cardomon but she’d rather be called Carrie…yes, there is a further spice joke there, was worth focusing on for the summary.) Both Jonah and the gang have experienced time travel in the past. Instead we have the old trope about a character having an ancestor and friends who just happened to resemble the usual cast. It makes for a more fun story that way, and we get to play with Old West technology.
What they got wrong: There’s a shade of a better mystery here, so while I’ve given up on DC’s Scooby having a decent mystery for the reader to solve, I feel the need to bring it up. I accept that this series would rather focus on fun team-ups and nods to Hanna-Barbera and DC Comics histories, but there really isn’t anything else to complain about.
What did I think overall: A nice tribute to DC’s Old West comic history that continues to be canon in the DC universe even after all the reboots.
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