Ghosts and a medium lead to robberies. Not exactly unusual for a Scooby-Doo story. But there’s some more to this issue than meets the eye in The Batman & Scooby-Doo Mysteries #4, written by Amanda Deibert, drawn by Scott Jeralds, colored by Carrie Strachan and lettered by Saida Temofonte.
The truth about Jace’s mother has him spiraling. Can he recover in time, with the help of Tiff and a new ally, to save her from the Moral Authority? I Am Batman #17 is written by John Ridley, drawn by Christian Duce, Eduardo Pansica and Julio Ferreira, colored by Rex Lokus and lettered by Troy Peteri.
And the experiment that was the monthly Batman anthology series comes to an end with Batman: Urban Legends #23, by various creators.
Matt Lazorwitz: We usually talk about Bat news up here when something exciting is happening, but this week, since we have an appropriate issue, we wanted to mention: The first two episodes of Velma, the adult-oriented Scooby-Doo prequel, started streaming on HBO Max on Thursday. I’m not sure how I feel about it: The trailers seem to be trying too hard to be edgy. But I thought that about the Harley Quinn animated series trailer, and I was super wrong there. And as a lifelong Velma stan, I’m always excited to see more Velma content. So I am definitely giving it a shot.
Will Nevin: The most positive internet reaction seems to be “WTF,” but you know, Glenn Howerton as the voice of Fred? I’m game.
Not Your Normal Beach Day
Matt: I never thought I’d read a Scooby-Doo story that talks about Velma’s atheism or her dealing with grief, but … there you go.
Will: The passing of Goldie Prawn makes for some surprisingly deep reading, and when you throw in the medium angle as well, there’s a lot to talk about here. I am fascinated with the concept of talking to the dead and the slimy people who employ the same cold/hot reading techniques developed hundreds of years ago. People want to believe their loved ones (or loved pets) are safe on the other side, that there can still be a connection to them. They want hope and comfort. But all the medium can offer is something fake and shallow.
Ever notice how John Edward or that Long Island Medium lady never say something like, “Your dad hates you and thinks you’re a piece of shit”? It’s because that reading doesn’t make money, which is the endgame for all of these hucksters.
Anyway, those are my thoughts after reading what’s supposed to be a silly book. And it was silly, to be clear, with all of the gags you’d expect. But like all of the other issues in this series, there’s something else going on here — whether it’s an appreciation for the IP or an interesting look at the issues you touched on.
Matt: Absolutely. And this is one of the more Scooby Gang-centric issues of the series. Batman only pops up toward the beginning and the very end, so it really focuses on Velma. Which is not a complaint. The mystery is good here, and there’s an extra twist: The Scooby-Doo formula telegraphs who the villain is pretty hard most of the time. So to have the swerve that the person you think is the bad guy is nobly intentioned if going about it in a not so great way, and the real villain is a Gotham rogue? I liked that.
Will: I liked it so much I won’t even spoil it. What a fun little twist. Is this beach town ever acknowledged anywhere else in either canon? I mean, I could google it, but it’s more interesting to hear it from you.
Matt: Definitely not in the Bat comics canon. I did some checking, just to be sure, and while there is a Beach City mentioned casually in an episode of Justice League, it’s so generic as to probably just be an easy name.
However, Beach City is the name of the hometown in one of my favorite modern cartoons, Steven Universe, and all seeing this made me think was how we need a DC Universe/Steven Universe crossover. The galaxy-conquering Diamond Authority tries to terraform Apokolips and gets into conflict with Darkseid. The Crystal Gems go to Themyscira. And Steven, whose greatest power is empathy, hugs Batman until he feels better. It writes itself!
Will: And speaking of other universe(s), that watch was Felix the Cat, right?
Matt: Close, but I think it’s actually the Schreck Department Store mascot from Batman Returns.
Which makes it a sly little hint at some of the other stuff going on here.
Will: Oh, that’s some good shit right there.
Jace Doesn’t Run From His Problems
Matt: Well, you called it in our last review: This has now become about Lucius Fox abusing his power over a subordinate, and while that is an important topic to deal with, I really dislike the fact that we’re seeing a genuinely good character dragged through the mud. It’s not Leslie Thompkins at the end of “War Crimes,” but it’s pretty awful.
Will: I’ll give Ridley credit for being a serious and thoughtful writer — something I appreciate in comics. But subtle he ain’t. I’m no genius for calling where the story was going (but I’ll take the credit all the same). At least the recap of the relationship wasn’t lurid or exhaustive? Jace called it out for what it was, and the book moved on fairly quickly to cover more of how he feels about both of his mothers.
Matt: You are correct. The point isn’t belabored, and it is rooted in character. There is some stuff here that can’t just be written off or around, especially Tanya’s line, “I stayed with your father. Staying and forgiving are two different things.” That implies a distance that seems to be belied by the fact that they have two more kids after Jace, but I feel like we need to hash this out and it can’t just be something that Jace deals with in relation to his parents, both birth and found. We need to understand more about Lucius and Tanya.
And also, Tanya hitting him for leaving after the hit-and-run? Oof. Not wrong, but that’s a low blow, especially hitting him there when he just learned such a devastating secret.
Will: It’s good that parts of that conversation were condensed, and not so good that others got a similar reduction. You’d think the family would be more reasonable in that particular moment, but again, at least Lucius was written in such a way that he was able to choose his words and thoughts carefully.
Matt: Tiff is starting to feel more like the Tim Drake to Jace’s Bruce here. She’s the one who deduced his identity and broke into his bunker, the one who seems to be insisting he needs a partner. But, because of their relationship, she’s willing to call bullshit on Jace when she needs to. And while she’s precocious and tough, she never goes into the early Damian territory of being a brat. And it looks like the New York Bat Family is growing even more by issue’s end.
Will: Taking any bets on the identity of Nobody?
Matt: Oh, barring a huge fakeout, it’s Hadiyah. The headscarf alone indicates that. But is that too on the nose, maybe?
Will: What would be the least subtle route to take?
Matt: I think that’s it. We know Jace met Hadiyah during his martial arts training, so having her join him that way fills out the family and adds to the will they/won’t they dynamic. Most surprising at this point would be Chubb, but I don’t know how she would have gotten out of the firefight outside to suit up.
Last Legends
Matt: This is the last issue of this series, but it feels like it’s a jumping off point for other stories that I don’t know if we’ll ever see. Two of these definitely feel like, “The End … or Is it?” and I don’t know where those stories will go from here.
Will: I remember a few years ago when Donny Cates wrote a Star Trek: The Next Generation one-off for IDW’s “Deviations” event. It was a simple little story about our crew that went to some wild places (like Data reduced down to only a talking head, if I recall correctly) in a world in which the Federation doesn’t exist. It also had an open ending. Was there ever a follow-up? Absolutely not. So while this book is lousy with Owls and stories that could see more exploration, I doubt we’ll see it.
But unlike the recent revival of Legends of the Dark Knight, this series is going out strong. The ending to “Murder Club”? That’s some great, emotional storytelling right there, and it’s nice to see a Thomas Wayne that’s not a complete asshole.
Matt: “Murder Club” is a highlight, not just of this issue, but of this title; it is one of the strongest serials throughout. We’ve often said anthologies feel like tryouts for ongoing gigs. If that’s the case, Joey Esposito, who wrote that, has earned a shot at some Bat ongoing, because this takes continuity and a knowledge of obscure DC characters, and combines it with a strong sense of character, and a knowledge of who these characters are, to give us a memorable Batman story. Each chapter was a little longer than your average Urban Legends chapter too, I think, which probably helped give it room to breathe some more.
Will: Someone please put Hayden Sherman on an ongoing. Please? Everything here was solid, and while “Hot Pursuit” was the only self-contained and relatively short story in this issue, it was still good and hit some really good beats in showing something from early in the relationship between Batman and Dick Grayson’s Robin.
Matt: Two stories with the Court of Owls. I feel like it’s been long enough since the Court was introduced (a decade) that we’re starting to get new writers who remember those from their teen and college years, so between that and the Gotham Knights video game featuring them, I think we’ll be seeing a resurgence of the Court.
On the subject of the Court, I like the ending of “Arkham Academy.” Getting into a “If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em” mentality when it comes to metas, and wanting them to be under the Court’s control, makes a lot of sense.
Will: Let’s do a Court of Owls maxiseries. Black Label. Bring in the whole family as Bruce decides to pull down the whole damned thing. But the Court has these new soldiers, and maybe takes to experimenting on them to produce a new breed of Talons. Still, Batman fights and fights and fights … only to learn that maybe the Court doesn’t exist after all.
Now pay me, DC.
Matt: I would read that book.
Bat-miscellany
- This week on the BatChat pod: It’s episode 69, so we’re going full dumb. Three stories that spawned internet memes. Come for the Turtles, stay for the boners.
- SO MANY BONERS.
- But seriously, when do we get a miniseries that’s just hunting the Court of Owls?
Matt Lazorwitz read his first comic at the age of five. It was Who's Who in the DC Universe #2, featuring characters whose names begin with B, which explains so much about his Batman obsession. He writes about comics he loves, and co-hosts the creator interview podcast WMQ&A with Dan Grote.
Will Nevin loves bourbon and AP style and gets paid to teach one of those things. He is on Twitter far too often.
