Tag Archives: Super Friends

Scooby Doo Team Up Volume 1 Review

Posted on by
Reply

61xQVHplhTL._SY344_BO1,204,203,200_
The concept of a Scooby Doo team up series is really good. I already like the Scooby Doo adventures a lot so adding in the Superfriends will just make it that much more exciting! The Mystery Gang is no stranger to crossovers as they’ve met up with Batman in the past. I actually saw those team up episodes several times back in the day and they were certainly a blast as you might expect. This comic is great for nostalgia and I always love to see that retro feel in a comic.

There are 6 stand alone issues to be found in this graphic novel so I’ll devote a paragraph to each one and state why that story was or wasn’t epic. The first story involved the return of the Man Bat. The mystery gang happened to be in the neighborhood so they decided to help Batman and Robin out. The Dynamic Duo was happy to have the extra help and Shaggy even got to prove that he was brave for a page or two before getting exposed by Scooby Doo. It was a fun story to start off with, mainly because of the fact that Batman and Robin can really hold their own issue.

Next up was a sort of continuation as Batman and Robin brought the Mystery Gang over to a detective conference as guest speakers. These guys are the best of the best after all so it was quite the honor to be among them. That being said, things get a little dicey when the Scarecrow decides to jump in and mess the heroes up a little. Batman actually falls for this at first since the illusions look pretty real so Ace decides to step up as he teams with Scooby Doo to stop the menaces. The Mystery Inc got to show their stuff and prove to the skeptics that they could hold their own in a fierce situation.

We can’t have a team up without adding in Batmite right? One issue brings him together with a Scooby Doo inspired guy and even Larry jumps in. Reality warping guys messing with the heroes gets old fast so this would typically be a bad thing, but it’s mostly handled well. At the very least, Batman looks very good as he constantly escapes from impossible traps in an instant. That’s the Batman that we’ve come to know and respect after all! Aside from the Batman props, this issue was fairly dull and you could skip it without missing anything.

Another issue had the team head over to Titans Tower when Robin called them over for some help. One could make a case for this being the normal Teen Titans, but it had a very Titans Go vibe for me. That was neat and the characters even mentioned how Robin acts very different with his friends than when he is with Batman. They explained that and it was fun to have the Titans on board. The twist with who the ghosts were was great, but Raven’s uncle was pretty annoying and not in a funny way. It was a fairly charming issue.

Velma and Daphne got to take center stage in this issue as they went to Themyscira to solve a mystery. Wonder Woman invited them because a lot of mythical monsters had been showing up, but then they would vanish as suddenly as they appeared. Scooby and Shaggy are around as well, but they can’t allow themselves to step on the ground or the amazons will lose their powers. That’s a huge weakness and I prefer the incarnations where they are simply not pleased when the event happens. There’s certainly not a lot of action here and the secret villain was a bit underwhelming so this would probably be the weakest issue of the bunch.

Finally, the collection ended with the return of the Legion of Doom! Dressed as ghosts, they quickly took down the whole league and so it was up to the Mystery Gang to rescue them. It was a pretty tense issue amist the jokes and levity from the heroes. After all, how could a bunch of kids hope to stop a group who has given the Superfriends a run for their money? Answer….they can’t! This is simply out of their league at the moment, but the heroes realize that not every battle is about winning. They just need to make a plan!

While this issue had the most action and was the best overall, there was a minor plot hole as one villain claimed to be stronger than Supergirl while in the ghost costume. The only member who could conceivably be stronger than her is Bizarro and it couldn’t have been him since the voice spoke in perfect English. Well, I suppose that plot holes should be expected in comedy/action hybrids, but I still thought that I should make a note of that.

The art is solid for this collection and everyone looks in character while keeping with that retro feel. This collection is made to look like the old Superfriend days so that’s always a plus. It’s certainly easy to read and while the series is certainly more comedy than action, it’s always satisfying to see the heroes land a solid punch. You can feel the power behind the blows!

I also enjoyed the writing as the characters have quite a few puns and subtlety put the others in their place. The Mystery Gang can be a bit much at some points though, like Scooby and Shaggy who constantly run away from their danger, but that’s their gimmick so I’m sure that people would be shocked if they didn’t act like that. I do like the overall confidence of the leaders like Fred and Daphne though as they strike a pose whenever they’re on screen. You can feel the confidence emanating from them and they don’t fear any of the so called super villains. Fred’s still my favorite member of the gang so it’s good to see him get his due props.

Stories like this one have a lot of replay value. The writers should be able to easily think up 50-100 stories right off the bat since each issue is very quick, any small plot can be developed into an issue. I hope that the series is still going or that it at least got a lot of issues This will tide me over until we get a true Superfriends nostalgia series. This also reminds me that we need more Scooby Doo comics since that series is a lot of fun. As a franchise, I’ve enjoyed the shows, movies, and games. Now I can add comics to that list as well!

There’s not much to say about the characters since they’re all using their public domain forms. They’re meant to be a little two dimensional in that way. Batman is essentially invincible and he can solve any case. The rest of the League is ready to back him up. Scooby and Shaggy are still scared of everything so it’s up to Fred to save the day. Daphne and Velma also hold their own and in the background they throw punches sometimes. It’s ironic that the writers of these comedy issues understand the DC characters better than a lot of the mainstream titles. That’s just how it goes sometimes!

Overall, This team up volume was a lot of fun. I definitely look forward to reading the next installments and I believe that Superman may get a bigger role on that one based on the cover. He surprisingly only got to appear in one story and since he was out of the picture for most of it, we couldn’t really see what he was made of. Batman got the biggest role and that’s fitting. With solid art and easily read stories, this is definitely a good collection to check out. It’s quite short so you will be able to blast through it!

Overall 7/10

Showcase Presents Super Friends Volume 1 Review

Posted on by
3

Jacket (1)
It’s been a while since I checked out a Showcase Presents collection hasn’t it? Well, the Super Friends was one that I definitely needed to get and I was shocked to see it at the library. I loved the cartoon and still own one of the box sets, but I never really thought that I would see it in comic form. It certainly holds up well and the collection goes really quickly.

The Super Friends is mostly filled up with comics that act as stand alone issues. Typically, the adventure will be a multi part one so the adventure will last for 2-3 issues or more. That helps to make sure that each story isn’t rushed. The issues also tend to follow a very formulaic route. Each issue will have the Super Friends split up into 3-4 teams and then we see each of them try to stop a villain. Typically, you can guess what will happen to the other teams on the missions. If the first group succeeded, then the rest will, but if the first group lost, the rest of the heroes will lose. It does make each story a little predictable, but that’s how it’s supposed to be. Figuring out how the heroes will lose it typically the exciting part.

There is a plot in the background that is around…slightly. The first half of the collection features a pair of kids and their dog. They are being trained by the super friends and they eventually graduate as they become full fledged heroes. They leave the series at that point and are replaced by the Wonder Twins. I can’t say that I missed the kids because they felt out of place here. They are just kids so how can they hope to keep up with the actual heroes when it becomes time for serious business? The plot hax was a little too heavy when they were around.

The Wonder Twins aren’t much better I’m afraid. They arrived on Earth because they ran away from their home planet, but they are eventually freed from their charges. The problem is that they save the Super Friends several times to show us that they have certainly earned a spot on the team. I don’t mind them joining, but they are certainly weaker than most of the heroes so I don’t see why they got so much hype. They are also not familiar with Earth customs and that’s a trope that I’ve never cared for. They make mistakes when trying to utter Earth sayings and that gets old very quickly.

Luckily, that’s one of the only things that gets old here. It should also be noted that the Wonder Twins aren’t good characters here, but they would probably be a lot more likable in comparison if the super friends weren’t so likable. The Wonder Twins certainly aren’t nearly as bad as the average unlikable character. The art looks really sharp here as expected. Unfortunately, the collection is in black and white so it’s a little hard to say exactly how good it looks, but the art is clear and you can always tell what is happening. The action scenes always look good and that’s one of the most important factors for a comic book. You really feel it when a characters punches Superman around.

This took place during an interesting time where the Justice League was around as well as the Super Friends. This meant that most members of the Super Friends had to juggle their responsibilities. Some members like Green Lantern basically decided to be with the Justice League and to ignore the Super Friends. This is the kind of thing that probably wouldn’t fly nowadays, but it gave us an excuse to have our favorite heroes have more than one adventure at a time with the various comics on the shelves,s which was pretty neat.

Showcase Presents may take away the colorful aspect of the art, but at least it also bundles together a good amount of issues. This particular collection was a little over 400 pages, which is certainly a lot. You’ll be having a blast so the pages will be over in no time, but at least you can definitely be confident that you are getting your money’s worth.

As for the adventures in question, there are a bunch of them, but I’ll quickly mention some of them. One adventure has a villain robbing people by making circus animals tiny and then bringing them back to normal size when it came time for a heist. A monster woke up from its slumber in another issue and proved to be virtually unstoppable as even Superman could not defeat it. The Mirror Master came closer than most of the other villains to winning as he trapped the heroes in a mirror world. Unfortunately for him, Superman’s FTL so he just dragged the other heroes back to reality.

Naturally, that’s just the tip of the iceberg. There are dozens of adventures and by the end of them, you’ll certainly have bonded with the heroes. They’re all in character for the duration, which is always good. One scene where I questioned Flash though was in the Mirror Master plot. With the Justice League trapped, the Wonder Twins would have to fend off the villain on their own. Flash knew that they were a target, but he decided to stay on Watchtower duty instead of going to help them. That felt a little out of character as his speed would have enabled him to help right away. I know that he trusts the heroes, but it was still a bit much.

It’s always nice to see the classic Batman here. Robin is around as well and he’s always got some puns at the ready. He is always paired up with Wonder Woman for missions, which is a little dicey for him since he never really gets to help out as a result of this. At least he still has some puns at the ready and he always fires a few off. This was back when Batman was very chipper so it’s nice to see him throw in a pun once in a while. Superman is at his best as he is extremely confident. He’s still a nice guy of course, but he realizes that he is the strongest. Unfortunately, almost all of the villains have kryptonite up their sleeve, but this doesn’t stop Superman from getting serious when the time is just right.

As far as the Showcase Presents go, this is easily one of the best ones. I definitely can’t say that it is the very best of course. As long as Justice League and regular Superman is around, that will be extremely difficult. Nonetheless, Super Friends puts up an admirable fight and it reminds me why I’ve always been a fan of the series. It’s essentially the Justice League series, but with more of a light tone and a roster that tends to include Robin on the team. You can’t go wrong there!

Now, this collection is practically a comedy and it’s meant to be cheesy, but it’s still worth noting that there is a lot of plot hax to be found here. It’s always a stretch when someone like the Riddler is able to take out Superman, but that’s why we have Kryptonite right? I just feel like Superman isn’t as susceptible to Kryptonite as the comics would have you believe. He can still melt it or just stay away. There are also quite a few villains who are able to just overpower Superman, which is certainly surreal. Almost every comic has a moment that is a little iffy like when Batman or Superman is defeated, but the scenes are typically funny so I suppose that we can live with it. Aquaman fans may be sad as his weakness of being away from water for too long becomes a liability for him more than a few times. It’s tough being a fish guy before The New 52.

Finally, the comic has fun showing off guest star heroes as well. The Super Friends have to team up with global heroes on more than one occasion. This includes another Batman who doesn’t seem to be as cool and a guy who uses objects from biblical times to help him fight. The guest stars are pretty cool and while they all seem weaker than their Super Friend counterpart, it’s nice to know that the other countries aren’t completely defenseless. After all, it seems like the US area with Gotham and Metropolis is extremely secure with so many heroes helping out.

Overall, The Super Friends is a really fun collection to read. The comics will certainly keep you busy for a while and the cast is filled with well known characters. Batman and Superman are regulars along with the other heroes and it’s always neat to see how the villains will try to win against such odds. The art is very good as well. The original characters certainly weren’t great and I didn’t miss them when they were gone, but it’s not like they really hurt the comic either. All’s well that ends well right?

Overall 8/10