New Batman and Scooby-Doo Mysteries Mini-Novels

5/10/2022

Even though the comic series has concluded, it appears the Batman & Scooby-Doo Mysteries series will live on through some new mini-novels releasing this summer. This continues the Batman and Scooby-Doo Mysteries novel series that began last August with four novels. Four more new books will be released as a paperback (for $6.99), hardcover (for $27.32) and digitally (for $6.99) on August 1, 2022, titled The Frenzied Feline Mystery, Trapped in Clown Castle, The Cruise of Doom, and The Curse of the Creepy Crypt. Each of the books are available for pre-order now. There seems to be a bit of confusion on Amazon's site regarding if the release date is July 31 or August 1, as the Kindle version says will be released August 1, but elsewhere, it says July 31. Walmart's site lists August 2022, so I believe August 1 is the correct date.

Here are the descriptions for each book, along with images of each of the covers:

Trapped in Clown Castle
Gotham City's new monument to Rizzo the Clown is no laughing matter! It's rigged with a series of booby-traps that have Mystery Inc. and Batman stuck in a tourist trap of the worst kind. Can the Caped Crusader help Scooby and the gang escape the horrible hijinks inside Clown Castle? Find out in this action-packed chapter book for fans of Batman and Scooby-Doo!

The Frenzied Feline Mystery
When a wicked werecat plagues a big cat park on the outskirts of Gotham City, Mystery Inc. joins forces with Batman to crack the case. Little do they know, more than one crafty kitten is at play in the preserve. Can Scooby and his friends help the Dark Knight unmask the felonious feline trying to pull off the purr-fect crime? Find out in this action-packed chapter book for fans of Batman and Scooby-Doo!

The Curse of the Creepy Crypt
When a Greek crypt at the Gotham City Museum of Natural History unleashes mythological monsters, Mystery Inc. fears they've met their match. Luckily, Batman and Batwoman quickly swoop in to best the beasties and get to the bottom of a mystery. Can Scooby and the gang help the caped crime fighters uncover the culprit behind the cursed crypt? Find out in this action-packed chapter book for fans of Batman and Scooby-Doo!

The Cruise of Doom
Something fishy is going on in Gotham City Harbor! An ancient shark curse has taken a bite out of a whale-watching charity event, and it's up to Mystery Inc. and the Dynamic Duo to dive into danger. Can Scooby and his friends help Batman and Robin reel in an aquatic kingpin, or is the calamitous cruise doomed to the depths of the sea? Find out in this action-packed chapter book for fans of Batman and Scooby-Doo!

12 Comments

whackman

5/11/2022 08:55:32 am

Here is my opinion about Scooby-Doo: The Mystery Begins
Bad Qualities
1.The Mystery Inc. gang (except for Shaggy and Scooby) look nothing like their own original designs.
2.Much like The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas, the plot is a mish-mash of references to the cartoon, and tries to shoehorn in the origins of all the famous traits, such as how and when Shaggy met Scooby, how the gang met each other, how they solved their very first case, how they got the Mystery Machine, etc.

3.The Mystery Inc. gang are depicted as generic, bland high school stereotypes; Fred is the jock, Daphne is the spoiled rich popular girl, Velma is an unpopular nerd, and Shaggy is the unpopular loser.
4.Robbie Amell and Hayley Kiyoko are badly casted as Fred and Velma, because Robbie isn't blonde like Fred and Velma isn't Asian
5.Similar to Garfield: The Movie, while the CGI used for Scooby-Doo is decent and actually a step up from the first two Scooby-Doo films, he looks way too cartoony for a live-action environment, which makes him stand out and nosedives headfirst into the Uncanny Valley.

6.The way the people reacted when Scooby licked the guy’s face was over the top, then Scooby was presumed dangerous.
7.The villain, Principal Deedle, is extremely obvious as he points out his desires for the misprinted stamps in the beginning of the film.
8.Poor acting, which is a step down from Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed since while it is a bad film, it does have good acting in it, except for Heather
9.Some immature jokes, like where Scooby farts and Shaggy smells it, but at least it's the only fart joke of the entire film.
10.At times, it feels more like a generic teen comedy rather than a mystery film.
Good Qualities
1.Some connections to the source material.
2.Despite being in uncanny valley in BQ4, the CGI for Scooby-Doo is very decent since he looks like his original counterpart and is a step up from the first 2 Scooby-Doo movies.
3.Some bits can get a chuckle.
4.The ending has some references to Scooby-Doo! Where Are You?, The Scooby-Doo Show, and What's New, Scooby Doo?
5.Even if this film came out in 2009, in the midst of Cartoon Network's first dark age, it’s still pretty enjoyable.
6.It’s at least an improvement over the previous films.
7.Frank Welker, who currently is the voice of Scooby-Doo, got to voice him in the movie, which was cool to see in the film.
8.As mentioned above; there is only 1 fart joke in the entire movie, now THAT is impressive.

WildwindVampire link

5/11/2022 09:12:17 am

Of the criticisms you listed, only #6 and #9 bothered me. I agree Scooby being presumed dangerous after excitedly jumping on someone was a bit over-the-top, since many dogs do this all the time. It was also clear Scooby was just excited and not vicious, so that plot point didn't really work. Arguably, they didn't even really need that to happen, because the same result would have happened if nobody adopted Scooby, then they put him in a cage on a truck to be transported, and he fell off. The fart joke was also immature and unnecessary.

I liked how well they made connections to the source material, and the CGI looked great. This is my favorite of the live-action films, other than Daphne & Velma which I personally like better. I was happy they got Frank Welker to voice Scooby as well rather than somebody else.

whackman

5/11/2022 09:09:44 am

Also here is my opinion about Scooby-Doo 2002 the first live action movie, This is going to be fairly long so please bear with me on this.
Bad Qualities
1.The main problem with this movie is that it has a poor grasp of the source material, with the movie being unable to decide whether if it wants to be a satire or homage to the source material, resulting in a cluttered, unfocused plot that misses the ideas of the original series and what made it work. The film even makes it seem like Daphne gets kidnapped all the time, even though she rarely gets kidnapped that much in any of the prior shows, though she did have a tendency to wander into traps.
2.The film (at least the beginning) is a rehash of Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island, as both films start off with the gang unmasking a suspect, then splitting up, reuniting years later, and then being invited into an island by the island's owner and the owner's partner, on which they encounter monsters that are not merely people in costumes. The differences here being the owner and his partner are men instead of women, and the island is out in the ocean rather than off the coast of Louisiana. Also, in Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island, the gang had reunited for Daphne's birthday when they are invited to the island. Here, they are all invited individually, and find themselves reunited once on the island.

3.Mary Jane is a pointless and unnecessary love interest for Shaggy, as she is never seen again in the sequel.
4.Pointless romantic subplots given to Shaggy and Velma that contribute nothing to the film.
5.The main characters come across as unlikeable throughout the film and barely act like their usual incarnations:
Fred goes from being the calm, yet laid-back leader to a narcissistic jock who takes advantage of the team's success, despite not even doing much (if any) of the planning.
Daphne goes from being the damsel-in-distress to being a stereotypical popular girl whose sole arc is to not become a damsel with no character development or reason. This may have been the result of Sarah Michelle Gellar of Buffy fame which resulted in Daphne being a Buffy clone.
Velma goes from being the sensible voice of reason to being an argumentative know-it-all, also demonstrated by the fact that Fred, Daphne, and Velma spend the majority of the film just arguing with each other.
Shaggy goes from being a comedic goofball into an incompetent and unlikable idiot. For example, in one scene, he suggests just leaving Fred and Velma to die while he, Daphne, and Scooby-Doo escape Spooky Island.
The flashback with Scrappy-Doo shows Mystery inc. just abandoning him in the middle of nowhere, especially since Scooby is technically Scrappy's caretaker; as a result, the Mystery Inc. comes across as villains rather than heroes. There's also a somewhat mean-spirited scene where Fred flicks Scooby in the nose to keep him quiet, only for the latter to punch Fred in the face.

6.Daphne's outfit is wrong. She never wore go-go boots in the cartoon, except in A Pup Named Scooby-Doo! (although they still don't suit her).
7.The kiss between Fred and Daphne at the end of the film is quite unnecessary and out of place since at no time the relationship between them is explored.
8.Plot hole: By the end of the movie, after the demons are destroyed by the sun, the souls of the students return to their bodies, but what happened to the students who left the island possessed? This is why Mondavarious called the team in the first place.
9.Poor attempts at humor, which mostly consists of lots fart and burp jokes, none of which were even in the original cartoon series, to begin with.
The infamous scene where Scrappy-Doo pees on Daphne's dress.
As with most of the humor falling flat, there's even a pointless scene where Scooby-Doo and Shaggy have a burping and farting contest that drags on for longer than a minute and does nothing to contribute to the film other than just for cheap, lazy and childish attempts at comedy and padding.
speaking of humor, after Fred's soul is gets into Daphne's body, he says "Hey, I can look at myself naked!", which is very uncomfortable for some fans and very inappropriate for a PG film.

whackman

5/11/2022 09:22:21 am

Futher opinion about Scooby-Doo 2002 the first live action movie.
10.The movie cannot seem to decide whether if it wants to be for children, for teenagers, or for adults.
Initially, the film was aiming for the PG-13 rating (although the cut was labelled R-rated due to a misunderstood joke according to screenwriter James Gunn), before Warner Bros. toned it down to aim for a PG rating instead, resulting in the removal of several scenes so the film would get a PG rating, notably an alternate opening sequence is done in the distinctive artstyle of the original series.
11.There were several scenes that were deleted but that were necessary to understand some parts of the story. Particularly one in which Shaggy witnesses how Daphne's soul is extracted from herself and her body possessed by one of the demons after being captured (which was deleted for being considered quite terrifying) which would have explained why Shaggy looked scared before entering the cave, why Daphne's soul was in the cauldron and why Velma found her possessed in a corridor.

12.Ugly and dated visual effects (even by 2002 standards), especially for the demon creatures and the titular character, who barely resembles his iconic counterpart and sometimes never looks like he is even here.
On this topic, both Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo looks nightmare fuel in live action form because they looks like normal Great Danes compared to how they were on the show, which makes them fly straight into the Uncanny Valley.
13.In the climax, there was no need for a trap in the first place. When Shaggy finds a well of souls captured by the demons, he frees only Fred, Daphne, and Velma's souls instead of saving everyone else's souls (especially since it is still daytime and it was established that the demons dissolve in sunlight). Not helping is that Daphne successfully beats Zarkos and kicks him down the roof where the well of souls is and manages to knock it over, freeing everyone's souls in the process, making the viewer wonder why Shaggy didn't do it earlier.

14.The "jump-the-shark" moment, where the film officially gets to flip its middle finger to its source material, is when it's revealed that Scrappy-Doo is the main antagonist. Not only is he a weak and poor choice of a villain but why would the creators of this movie choose him to be the main villain knowing how hated this character was in the first place?
Even though Scrappy-Doo was a somewhat obnoxious character, to begin with, he still had plenty of redeeming qualities and became a lot better portrayed once Don Messick took over the role. The film, on the contrary, drastically flanderizes Scrappy to the point of making him very intentionally obnoxious and unlikable without any redeeming qualities whatsoever; as a result, Scrappy's villainous role in the film officially ruined his character as a whole due to Warner Bros. and writer James Gunn (who later admitted that he despised Scrappy-Doo with a burning passion) having had made him this way just to symbolize their hatred of him and axe him from the franchise permanently. He may have initially been annoying, but, never diabolical. Making this out of character for him.
out of character for him.
In fact, Tim Curry, who was originally going to play Mondavarius (and what would have been his second role in a Scooby-Doo film, behind Scooby-Doo! and the Witch's Ghost), decided to leave the project after finding out that Scrappy Doo was in it

15.False advertising: The trailers, posters and commercials made it look like the Luna Ghost was going to be the main antagonist of the film, but he only appears briefly in the first act.
16.With the exception of Matthew Lillard as Shaggy, the acting is mostly lackadaisical and phoned-in. Such as how Linda Cardellini sounds bored when playing Velma.
17.Blatant amount of product placement, especially for for Sprite and Coca-Cola.
18.Pointless pop culture references to The Powerpuff Girls, The Smurfs, Hong Kong Phooey and Fists of Fury.

whackman

5/11/2022 09:31:48 am

Final part about my opinion about Scooby-Doo 2002 the first live action movie.
Good Qualities
1.Good score composed by David Newman, with a good cover of the original Scooby-Doo theme.
The soundtrack by artists such as MXPX and Baha Men is very good for an early 2000s film.
2.Despite the mostly bad acting, the four casting choices for our main characters were all spot on since they all mostly resemble the designs of the original cartoon.
Matthew Lillard, especially, is the one who steals the show as he nails the role of Shaggy so well that you feel you're watching the actual cartoon character. His performance was praised from both critics and fans and he later became the official voice actor of Shaggy. in addition, the voice acting for Scooby-Doo, Scrappy-Doo and the Spooky Island Demons is surprisingly good.
3.Even though the trap in the climax was unnecessary, it was impressively well-put together.
4.While most of the humour was bad, there were some funny moments:
The Scrappy-Doo jokes are somewhat funny, especially when he claims he’s as cute as a Powerpuff girl.
The teaser trailer attached to screenings of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone hilariously tricked people into thinking there is a Batman reboot coming up with Scooby-Doo inside a mansion saying "Who, me? Rah-uh!"
Melvin Doo is quite a funny minor character who shares the same last name as Scooby but is a human being. The bar owner gets a call for a Mr. Doo. Melvin thought that the call was for him but the bartender explained the call is for Scooby. He gets brought up again after Scrappy wants Scooby-Doo’s soul, with Scooby-Doo saying “Me? Don’t you mean Melvin Doo?”
The final scene with the hot peppers was very funny.

5.Although the effects are bad for the most part, there are some good parts of it:
The Luna Ghost's effects are surprisingly good.
The CGI used to remove the cleavage from the female characters is quite stunning as well.
The production design for Spooky Island is quite unique and many people wished it was real.
6.Despite being pointless, Mary Jane is quite likable compared to the Mystery Inc. crew.
7.The body swap scene is entertaining.
8.Despite being wasted and barely in the film, The Luna Ghost in the prologue is a memorable Scooby-Doo villain, complete with Joker/Pennywise mannerisms. It helps that he later appeared in the first episode of Mystery Incorporated.
9.it had some good foreshadowing for the divisive Scrappy-Doo reveal. For example, the fake Emile Mondavarious is seen inside a mechanical device greeting Mystery Inc. Also, Mondavarious was scratching himself like a dog. And the Wow-O Toy Factory was named after one of Scrappy’s catchphrases.
10.Most of it was ignored for good in Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed, with a more kid-friendly tone and better grasp of the cartoons.
11.Pretty memorable and funny quotes like "Okay, I will. Your mommy eats cat poop! No, Scooby-Doo, your mom eats cat poop!" and above all "Are you challenging me?".

WildwindVampire link

5/11/2022 02:08:04 pm

1. I agree with you that the film couldn't really decide if it was a satire or an homage. Certain elements felt like they were making fun the source material, while it also felt like they were trying to make it an homage.

2. You're right that it's sort of a rehash, but I can't say that part of it personally bothered me. It didn't really feel like they were ripping off Zombie Island.

3 & 4. Yeah, the romantic subplots for those two characters were a bit pointless, since the plot would have still turned out the same even without those scenes.

5. I wasn't as bothered as you were with Daphne or Velma, but Shaggy did feel a bit more bumbling than he did in the cartoons, and Fred was just straight-up unlikeable. He seemed like a jerk who was full of himself, as demonstrated by the scene where he flicks Scooby in the nose like you said, as well as his general posturing demeanor. The scene where they dump Scrappy on the side of the road is also unnecessarily mean.

7. I really agree with this one. Their kiss was made to seem like a huge moment, but there was no build-up or exploration of their relationship at all, so it didn't make sense and felt gratuitious.

8. I'd never considered that plot hole before, but you're so right! The film didn't acknowledge that at all.

9. The fart/burp jokes were one of the worst parts of this film for me. They were so childish and unnecessary even the first time, so they certainly didn't need to be repeated over and over. I agree that Fred's "I can look at myself naked!" when he's in Daphne's body came off as creepy, and that line has always bothered me. It definitely goes past the PG rating, as you said.

10. Yeah, there's not really a clear target audience for the film. The alternate intro being cut was always interesting to me, because unless I'm missing something, I didn't feel there was anything particularly inappropriate in that intro.

11. I agree about the deleted scenes being necessary to understand the film. I wish they would have redone the scenes to be less scary rather than removing them entirely.

13. It's always been weird to me that Shaggy just freed his friends souls but not the others. There wasn't anybody around so there was no point for him not to.

14. I've never been a fan of them making Scrappy the villain. It feels like this is what kickstarted all the mean-spirited Scrappy jokes that have been happening for 20 years now. It intrigues me that certain writers have such blind hatred for Scrappy (James Gunn and the guy who wrote the recent Where Are You Now special) that they want to detract from the plot just to bash Scrappy (or in this case, center the entire plot around bashing Scrappy). I wasn't aware Tim Curry quit for that reason, that's crazy!

1. I liked the soundtrack as well.
4. I've always enjoyed Melvin Doo too haha.
8. I find it interesting the Luna Ghost reappeared in SDMI as well.
9. Yes, the film did do foreshadowing really well.
11. I would actually say the "cat poop" line would be a criticism for me; I found it to be almost as obnoxious as the fart jokes.

There were quite a few elements of the film I enjoyed, but just as many that I didn't. Personally, I like Monsters Unleashed a bit better than this.

whackman

5/11/2022 10:11:11 am

Unexpected but very happy news for cartoon lovers, the complete series of Krypto the Superdog gets released on DVD this August. Once again this proves that physical media is far from dead, I loved this cartoon when I was young so I will definitely pick this up

https://www.supermanhomepage.com/krypto-the-superdog-the-complete-series-coming-to-dvd/

WildwindVampire link

5/11/2022 01:52:01 pm

That's so exciting! It's really interesting to see that they're leaning so heavily into the Krypto content. That's good though, because I have to imagine this means the Scooby/Krypto film is around the corner!

whackman

5/11/2022 03:36:08 pm

I think the reason why they are releasing The Krypto the Superdog series on DVD is because they want it to coincide with the upcoming movie DC movie League of Super-Pets.

WildwindVampire link

5/11/2022 04:53:11 pm

I agree, I just was saying this increases the likelihood of them releasing the Krypto film sometime this year so it also coincidences with the League of Super Pets film.

Amber noel

5/13/2022 05:04:03 pm

Maybe the crossover is made to promote the krypto complete series dvd too kind of like how thundarr was in the sword and the scoob to promote a tblue ray release of the series it also kind of explains why we have heard anything about the crossover yet.

WildwindVampire link

5/14/2022 10:03:23 am

That's kind of what I was thinking too, or they were all three meant to cross-promote each other?

I didn't know about a Thundarr Blu-Ray being released around the same time as Sword and the Scoob. That's really interesting!

New Batman and Scooby-Doo Mysteries Mini-Novels

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