The charming series is ending in December. Let’s send it off with 13 COVERS…
One of the most enjoyable comics over the last three-and-a-half years has been DC’s The Batman & Scooby-Doo Mysteries, which, as the name suggests, is a monthly team-up between Batman and Mystery Inc.
Sadly, the series’ third “season” appears to be its last, culminating in December’s Issue #12, featuring a showdown against the Phantasm.
Batman/Scooby #12 was solicited in September as “THE FINAL ISSUE!” but the series has, since April 2021, operated as three, 12-issue runs, so it wasn’t clear whether it would be gearing up again in January 2025.
Unfortunately, it’s not.
Here’s the solicitation, by the way, plus 13 of my fave covers from the series (not including the final one, below):
THE BATMAN & SCOOBY-DOO MYSTERIES #12
(W) J. Torres (A/CA) Dario Brizuela
DON’T MISS THE FINAL ISSUE! There’s a Phantasm haunting the Gotham City Opera House! Batman and Mystery Inc. are determined to exorcise this spirit before someone gets seriously hurt, owner “Theatric” Al Perry needs it to happen before his retirement fund gets seriously hurt, and Dr. Leslie Thompkins doesn’t care about anything but acquiring the building to serve as a new neighborhood clinic so she can help residents who’ve been seriously hurt. Who will prevail?
Price: $2.99
Due date: Dec. 4, 2024
The series — which replaced the superb Scooby-Doo Team-Up — didn’t just provide fun, nostalgic adventures, they were a de facto history lesson in Batlore, wrapped in Scooby tropes and Easter eggs. The writers, including Sholly Fisch, Ivan Cohen, Matthew Cody, Amanda Deibert, and J. Torres, and artists, including Dario Brizuela, Randy Elliott, Scott Jeralds, Erich Owen, Megan Huang, and Puste, gave us a wide array of obscure characters and references, in addition to the main members of the Batman Family.
There was young Bruce Wayne’s time as Robin under the tutelage of Harvey Harris; Dr. Carter Nichols; the False Face Society; the Terrible Trio; Dr. X; the Riddler in his jumpsuit; Lord Death Man; the Eraser; the Batmen of All Nations; the original Batwoman; Professor Milo; the Royal Flush Gang; Eivol Ekdal; gigantic props; Ally Babble — and so much more.
And you never knew how Batman (or his comrades) would look. Sometimes, he’d resemble Adam West, sometimes he looked like he did in Super Friends, sometimes it was Batman: The Animated Series, and other times he was generic Bronze- or Silver Age-style. It didn’t matter. The back-and-forth was part of the joy.
Plus, Batman’s relationship with the gang was increasingly portrayed as a comfortable partnership. He genuinely liked them and trusted their skills. In fact, he was so taken with Velma, that in Vol. 3’s Issue #5, he suggests she become his next Robin. She declines, but it’s a warm exchange, and fitting too, given Velma’s deductive abilities.
Like most series, not every issue landed. But those that did, really hit the mark. Regardless, every single one made you smile, often until your cheeks hurt.
The best part? When I was done, I’d set aside a bunch of issues, then give them to a colleague for their young kids, who would eat them up. If a 57-year-old and a 7-year-old can enjoy the same comic, the creators did their job.
Could the series come back? Hey, anything’s possible, right? There have been gaps between series before.
In any event, DC isn’t saying but I do feel like this is the end of something.
I really hope I’m wrong.
—
MORE
— August’s BATMAN/SCOOBY-DOO #8: A ‘GIANT’ BILL FINGER Tribute. Click here.
— BATMAN & SCOOBY-DOO MYSTERIES #1 Takes You on a Bat-History Tour. Click here.
October 24, 2024
RE: Saying Farewell to The Batman and Scooby-Doo Mysteries.
Well, bless my Olan Soule! Such an emblematic team-up by a publishing company named after Detective Comics. We’ll Bravely and Boldly hope the Dark Knight Returns one day with Mystery Inc.’s Doggy Companion.
October 25, 2024
“Bless my Olan Soule!” Clever!
October 24, 2024
I’m very sorry to see it go; it was one of the best Bat books on the stands.
And it was one of the few books you could still get at $2.99, which was a selling point for young readers.
I hope DC changes its mind and TBASDM is only taking a brief vacation and will appear again sometime in 2025.
October 24, 2024
Need to find if these have been gathered up into collections yet. Seems like I’ve missed some good stories.
October 25, 2024
pretty safe to assume we will see this in 2025, I am thinking spring. and 1 new story , 1 team-up from the Archives, a classic Scooby story from the archives , and a Batman team-up from the BATB cartoon comic archives. $7.99 or $9.99 , depends if they go 80 or 100 pages…..will also be available at Supermarket checkouts
October 25, 2024
Interesting concept. I tend to doubt it but it’s a fun idea.
October 25, 2024
This was a fun set of series. They used interesting heroes, villains and supporting characters from the archives. The price point was a definite plus! I agree with your comment, Dan, “Like most series, not every issue landed” and I think that was in part due to trying to force the Scooby Gang and Batman to meet and team-up every month. Where’s Bob Haney when you need him? I believe the other reason for a few misses was the variability in quality from the creators. This was a real negative. I wish they had settled on one creative team. Sholly Fisch and Dario Brizuela could have handled this nicely! If it returns, in some form, I think they should go back to the original Scooby-Doo team-up format. That series had many excellent issues with non-Batman team-ups!