“Night of the Scaredy-Bat!”
Writer: Ivan Cohen
Artist: Puste
Color Artist: Carrie Strachan
Letterer: Saida Temofonte
Review by Lauren Fiske
No lions, tigers, or bears in this issue, but the Scarecrow has finally made his first appearance of the series in The Batman and Scooby-Doo Mysteries #3.7. Batman and Mystery Inc. have their work cut out for them as they try to save the citizens of Gotham from their phobias. I never thought I’d be excited for an issue of The Batman and Scooby-Doo Mysteries featuring the Scarecrow, but here we are!
Spoilers ahead! Make sure you’ve read this month’s issue and our previous reviews before reading on.
Don’t Be Afraid
This month’s The Batman and Scooby-Doo Mysteries called back to the classics in both its art style and story choice. Batman was drawn in one of his older costumes, as was the Scarecrow. The Scarecrow’s presence in this comic also felt like a classic to me, given my limited knowledge of Batman villains. Additionally, this issue provided a fair amount of information on the Scarecrow (Jonathan Crane) among the panels.
I enjoyed how Dr. Crane’s double fields of study both had a big impact on the overall plot of the story. It made the story’s plot that much more intriguing and fun. The idea of such a powerful fear toxin existing in reality is, of course, terrifying, but suits the light hearted level of danger in The Batman and Scooby-Doo Mysteries well. While there wasn’t much mystery to the issue as the Scarecrow was revealed in the first couple of pages, the little thriller bits wondering how Mystery Inc. and Batman would overcome their fears was a fantastic read.
The storyline in this most recent issue had a lot of promise and absolutely delivered. The best moment of the issue is undoubtedly when Batman is confronted with the fear toxin created specifically for him. Although some might see it as a throwaway panel, I feel that it really created a purpose for this series and gave a great insight to Bruce Wayne. Similarly, the resolution of the Scarecrow’s attempt to take over Gotham City is an excellent look at the psychology of fear. Unfortunately though, not everything in this issue was perfect…
Sorry
The Batman and Scooby-Doo Mysteries as a series has been a mixed bag in each volume. Frequently when there are things I find problems with, it is either the story/plot or the art. As can likely be guessed through the process of elimination, the issue I have with The Batman and Scooby-Doo Mysteries #3.7 is the art style.
The artist, Puste, has drawn for the series previously (in #3.5) and I didn’t enjoy his style the previous time he drew for the series as well. My critiques are largely the same as previously written. Batman is still in his design from Batman: The Animated Series, but now the Mystery Gang’s style matches him a bit more. Unfortunately, the familiar characters seem to have been drawn more hastily. My personal critique in this issue lies more with fine tuning the art of the comic rather than any stylistic choices. The lines of the comic are inconsistent and the faces of all characters are slightly off in one panel or another at some point.
The art in this series has been fairly hit or miss, but it’s just disappointing that it was so off for this issue. Considering how great the plot was, it’s just a bit of a letdown that the art wasn’t up to the same standard. It should also be noted however that my criticism of the art doesn’t mean it was bad, but just not to my taste or what I’ve come to expect from the artists behind the series.
Conclusion
The Batman and Scooby-Doo Mysteries #3.7 is definitely one of the better issues in the series’ run. It’s not the best issue we’ve gotten, but the story presents one of the more serious looks at crime-solving that we’ve seen overall in the comic’s history. I would have rated the issue higher if the art style had been more consistent, but that’s just the way the cookie crumbles. Hopefully the back half of this volume of The Batman and Scooby-Doo Mysteries continues to be of such high quality, whether in story, art or both.
Images Courtesy of DC Entertainment