“Scooby-Cruise Where Are You?”
Artist: Dario Brizuela
Color Artist: Franco Riesco
Letterer: Saida Temofonte
Editor: Kristy Quinn
Review by Lauren Fiske
Ahoy mateys! We’ve got pirates again in The Batman & Scooby-Doo Mysteries #2.10. It’s a different crew though and Batman and Mystery Inc. are out to see with a new invention made by Bruce Wayne. There’s a few layers to this one, but it’s still the usual antics for the Caped Crusader and team.
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Arghhh!
The Batman & Scooby-Doo Mysteries #2.10 is hitting the high seas! Bruce Wayne is testing out his newest invention, the WayneFinder. It’s… a bit hokey, but the giant magnifying glass attached to the ship helps guide the vessel and scan the ocean floor. Its invention and shape, according to Mr. Wayne, have led to a mystery themed cruise, which of course the Mystery Gang has been invited to participate in.
The idea for this outing is really cute, even if Mystery Inc. solves the mysteries a lot faster than the other guests on board. The meddling kids are just too good for actors in themed rooms! (A fun idea for another issue could be the crew all going to an escape room together?) The meddling kids end up spending a lot of time with Bruce Wayne, which I don’t think is the most likely thing, but it works out okay in this issue (other than when Bruce has to disappear and get into costume).
The story for this issue has been one of the more predictable ones, oddly enough. I didn’t know who the ringleader of the villains would be while reading. However, the identities of the pirates in “Captain Hyde’s” crew were a bit obvious, at least to me. I would also venture to say that because the main villain chosen for this issue is from another part of the DC universe, context would be helpful for this story to make a bit more sense. There also just wasn’t a very exciting hook or twist at the end, unless you count Mystery Inc. not realizing that Bruce Wayne is Batman since there were abundant clues throughout the issue!
Mr. Wayne
Readers of my reviews (are you out there?) are familiar by now with my opinions on this series’ art style. I try not to write too much about it if differences between artists are small or insignificant. In this issue, my frustration probably isn’t shared by anybody else, but I’ve got to write about it: why does Bruce Wayne look like that?
Dario Brizuela has drawn the art for The Batman & Scooby-Doo Mysteries before, but I can’t recall if we’ve ever seen his depiction of Bruce Wayne without the mask. I did not even recognize Bruce Wayne on the page and wouldn’t have if he wasn’t constantly being addressed by the other characters.
The difference in Bruce’s face this go around really took me out of the comic. His face is mostly just his chin and jawline and the lines and bone structure of it are so present. It’s distracting, especially when looking at other panels in the issue of Batman. Batman’s chin is still large, but it doesn’t jut out as far in profile and his jawline isn’t the same. Batman’s bone structure is also less prominent. I try to not let different artist’s styles throw me off, but this one just really stood out for me because it seemed inconsistent with previous issues and with the current issue.
Conclusion
This week’s issue of The Batman & Scooby-Doo Mysteries was a decent outing. The plot wasn’t overly complicated if a little predictable. Everything about the issue was pretty consistent, which made for a fairly easy read. All the characters seemed to be their usual selves and everything was fine. It just wasn’t the most exciting issue and that’s okay. Everybody needs an alright filler every now and then and this time is no different.
Did you have any thoughts on the pirate gang or Bruce Wayne’s chin? Drop a comment below!
Images Courtesy of DC Entertainment