The Bat-Cave: ‘Scooby-Doo Team-Up’ Volume 1 Introduces The Cowardly And The Craven

There aren’t enough all-ages comics today featuring A-list superheroes. However, in 2014 DC Comics launched a long-lasting series that did exactly that, and it’s a lot of fun to boot.

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Scooby-Doo Team Up launched with a lot of fanfare. Of the leading comic publishers, DC has long been the best at publishing all-ages comics. The long running Scooby-Doo and Looney Toons series are a testament to that. So to combine that publishing strength with classic DC characters was no brainer.

And of course the natural starting point for that new series is Batman.

From Scholly Fisch, Dario Brizuela, Franco Riesco, and Saida Temofonte, Scooby-Doo and the Gang are crossing the DC Universe to help save the day. They find themselves teaming up with the universe’s great heroes, including Batman, Ace the Bat-Hound, the Teen Titans, Wonder Woman and many more!

Writing all-ages comics is a tough task. Often they’re dumbed down too much to offer any value to parents, which pushes the parent away from the story. Here though Fisch makes sure they’re fun and engaging, but also full of great little easter eggs for longtime DC fans. He also gives us a family friendly version of the Dark Knight who doesn’t feel watered down. Using two of his more terrifying villains in the first two issues helps with that also, giving the stories a bit of maturity without aging them away from kids.

Brizuela shines the most when he depicts the DC Universe in a classic Hanna-Barbera style. Scoob and the gang have a model that few artists ever break from, but Batman feels heavily influenced by DC house style, while still fitting into the Scooby-Doo universe. Riesco’s colors are bright and poppy, without forgetting that these are Batman stories mostly set at night. Really the only gripe I could have (which is minor) is that the Teen Titans Go team-up issue felt pretty weird stylistically. That’s largely because Scooby’s illustration style and TTG’s are so vastly different, and not because of Brizuela doing anything wrong or poorly.

If you’re looking for something that you can enjoy with your kids and introduce them to some of the DCU, pick this book up. It’s light and fun, but it has enough to engage parents (like gags about Titans Robin being very different from Gotham Robin). It’s a great example of an all-ages comic, and worth checking out.

We’d like to ask, on behalf of our friends and colleagues that own and are employed by comic shops, that you first try to get these books at your local shop. This is a very uncertain time for owners, employees, and their families. Show some love for your community and friends by buying from your regular shop when possible and safe.