Comic Review: Scooby Apocalypse (2016-) #36

Scooby Apocalypse (2016-) #36

DC Comics

Writers: J.M. DeMatteis, Heath Corson

Artist: Pat Olliffe, Gus Vazquez

Here I am again with another comic book that I love, and it’s ending. That’s right, this issue of Scooby Apocalypse is the final issue. It says so right there on the cover. But, in this modern era where 20+ issues is a long run, Scooby Apocalypse making it to 36 is pretty good. Especially for a comic whose premise I dismissed as dumb before I started reading it but ended up surprising me with how fun it actually is.

In Scooby Apocalypse #36 it’s the Scooby Doo gang against the Nanite King for the fate of humanity. The Nanite King wants to kill all the remaining human survivors to “save” the Earth. But the gang has a card up their sleeve in the form of Fred Jones, who’s been resurrected by a swarm of rogue nanites. As the backup in this issue, Atom Ant and Itty the Plant face their judgment as the Justice League decide who their new member will be.

This issue is… less than what I was thinking it’d be. That’s not to say it’s bad, just more lackluster than anything. It’s a happy ending, and I prefer that to some dark “everybody’s dead” ending. I think mostly it’s because the issue feels short. And it is just a little bit shorter, because of the backup story. It comes in at 17 pages, and you can really feel it. There’s stuff that I think would work out fine if the series were going for longer, but that’s not the case. I’m happy that there’s a solid final conclusion, but it’s a little disappointing to me.

I like Pat Olliffe’s art. I don’t have a problem with it on this issue. But there’s not a lot of things happening in this issue, so it’s mostly just characters standing around talking. I enjoy his art in this series best when there’s action/violence, that’s where it really shines. But there’s none of that in this issue. The only monster in the book is the Nanite King, and he’s just a silver guy. Because of how much this issue covers through dialogue, there’s not too much besides character close-ups, for the art to do.

Atom Ant continues to be funny. In his audition to join the Justice League, he’s been competing with Itty, a space plant. There’s a lot of humor packed into this short five-page story. It’s great, and ends in a way I wasn’t really expecting it to. The art is also good, and we get to see the full Justice League lineup in the same room. Something I don’t think has happened in a year. There’s no action or dynamic scenes, but I like Gus Vazquez’s art, and wouldn’t mind seeing him do an issue or two of the main Justice League book.

And that’s that. The end of Scooby Apocalypse. While I’d love to see a sequel, or for the series to continue, they left it on a pretty definitive ending. As a fan of the series, I like what they did. It’s a happy ending, and what I think, is what the plan was all along. It’s also just very anticlimactic, and there’s a lot going on that feels very rushed. I did enjoy it, but I think the best part of this final issue of Scooby Apocalypse is the Atom Ant backup story.