Scooby Apocalypse, Issue #2 Review

Title: Scooby Apocalypse, Issue #2
Author(s): Kevin Griffan, Jim Lee
Artist(s): Howard Porter
Publisher: DC Comics
Language: English
Genre: Horror 
Release Date: June 15, 2016 
Pages: 26

The end of the world has begun, the nano-technology created by the Elysium Project have become active and they have transformed all those infected into a variety of scientific horrors. Conveniently, a scientist, a reporter of the paranormal, her camera man, a dog trainer with an appetite, and his best canine friend, were able to escape the mass infection. Now they must try to make their way through the scientific facility where half of the employees have been infected, find a means of escape, and warn the outside world.

Story

Like the previous issue, the story is slowly paced and filled with a plethora of somewhat tedious dialogue. The first page is dedicated to six panels of them opening a door and all from the perspective of the hallway. A good portion of the story is the team traversing through the compound, and Velma repeating a great deal of information already stated in the previous issue. In addition, Velma and Daphne are constantly bickering, so this is a less than enjoyable adventure.

The one improvement for this comic over the previous issue is that there are a few action scenes that break up the dialogue, although, the monster encounters are somewhat brief. It is only near the end where the group finds a means of transportation is when suspense actually kicks in and builds up some suspense.

While the overall story of the series does have a large sense of scope, considering that it is a worldwide epidemic, however, it is disappointing that the issue is focused on the facility rather than seeing anything happening in the outside world. This is, especially, frustrating since last issue ended with monsters terrorizing the carnival at the end of issue one and showing the monster apocalypse had begun.

Characters

Nothing much has improved from the previous issue, Velma continues to recite repeated information, she hardly shows any remorse for what the Elysium Project has caused, and she still possesses a sense of self-important. This would be remedied if Velma did not try to justify what the organization has done. To be fair, Velma does show some regret over the loss of her co-workers and she does want to make things right, so she is not completely unsympathetic.

As for Daphne, while her reaction to killing a monster that was once human could be considered understandable, however, it does not paint her in a good light when she constantly overreacts. She, once, again yells at Fred, and she continues to make him look like her helpless punching bag, even when he tries to reassure her that it was alright to defend herself. Hopefully, Daphne will learn to adapt, considering that she will have to since this will not be their last monster fight. Even before the monster fight, when Fred suggested they trust Velma, she not only yells at Fred, but she threatens him, which makes Daphne even less likable.

Things are made even worse for Velma and Daphne when they spend a lot of time bickering. Hopefully, this character dynamic between the two will not last too long throughout the series since the two have already showcased how unlikable they are.

The only two character readers might be alright with are Shaggy and Scooby. Shaggy is still the same, asking questions, thinking calmly and rationally, and basically, he is not being antagonizing to anyone. And while last issue had a very uncomfortable prologue story featuring the franchise’s favorite canine, Scooby appears to braver in this series, especially when he attempts to attack the monsters a few times which is a step up for the cowardly pup.

Art

In terms of the monster designs, the monsters are decent, varying from insect-like lizard creatures to simply hideously mutated humanoids, which can be intimidating.  Although this is hindered by the fact that not too many are seen in full detail in. there are at least three encounters where monsters are seen up close, but other times, it’s restricted to security footage, thus making it hard to enjoy the monsters.

 There is some gore in the comic, where the monsters have eaten some of the staff, but it is not too graphic. This is mostly due to keeping bodies mostly hidden and the coloring making the blood and gore looking as bright as the background, and it looks more like red clay and paint than blood.

In terms of our human characters, there are scenes where characters have very awkward expressions, but the one that sticks out the most is Fred. It could be that this is Fred’s character design for this series, however, Fred’s lips and eyes are disproportionate from the rest of his face, which is very distracting. Daphne, at least, has a wide variety of expressions from terrified, shocked, and angry, making her the most expressively drawn.

Final Word

Almost uneventful, slow pacing, less scope as it is regulated to the complex, substandard artwork, and less than enjoyable characters, this comic hardly possesses re-readability value. There is some merit to the comic for being better than last issue for having a few monster encounters to break up the constant dialogue and shake up the flat pacing. In addition, and any chance to see Scooby act brave and attack a monster instead of runaway is still a nice treat. Despite that, there is still not enough good to make up for what is bad.