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Content Items (11 total)

The Big Squeeze

Illustration on Cover, Front

Credits

Colorist(s): ?

Letterer(s): ?

Subject Matter

Genres: anthropomorphic

Character(s): Scooby-Doo; Shaggy; Fred; Daphne; Velma; giant cobra

Synopsis: A giant cobra has wrapped itself around the Mystery Inc. gang.

Reprinting

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Miscellaneous

Pages: 1

Notes: Shaggy's line of dialogue, "Like, this sphinx is jinxed, Scoob!" is removed for this cover reprint and replaced by the book's title. A "Johnny DC Logo" is placed at the lower right of the cover illustration, over the spot that displayed the signatures of Joe Staton and Andrew Pepoy on the original cover.

Almost Live from Big Puce

Story on Interior Page(s)

Subject Matter

Genres: anthropomorphic, humorous, mystery

Character(s): Scooby-Doo; Shaggy; Fred; Daphne; Velma; Rob Nylon (sixties rocker); members of Rob Nylon's band; Lavon Home (sixties rocker); The Ghost of Jimmy Hendryk-Hudson; holistic guru; state trooper

First Line: Jinkies! I can't believe we're actually here in the legendary village of Willowstock!

Synopsis: Touring the counterculture village of "Willowstock", the gang runs into sixties rock/folksinger Rob Nylon, whose efforts at recording a comeback album are disrupted by the Ghost of Jimmy Hendryk-Hudson, Nylon's rival rocker from the 1969 Willowstock Rock Festival.

Reprinting

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Miscellaneous

Pages: 14

Notes: Sixties rock and counterculture references abound: "Rob Nylon" = Bob Dylan. "Jimmy Hendryk-Hudson" = Jimi Hendrix (combined with a "Henry Hudson" reference for "Upstate New York"). "Lavon Home" = Levon Helm (vocalist and drummer for The Band). "Willowstock" = Woodstock, New York (home of the historic 1969 festival). "Big Puce" = Big Pink (house in West Saugerties, New York, where Bob Dylan and The Band recorded "The Basement Tapes", and The Band wrote their album "Music from Big Pink"). And more.

Guest Stars!

Story on Interior Page(s)

Subject Matter

Genres: anthropomorphic, humorous, mystery

Character(s): Scooby-Doo; Shaggy; Fred; Daphne; Velma; Killer Corn Creature; Preston Pressman (publicist); Mr. Blake (Daphne's father); Italian Ice; Chicken Monster; Mama Cast; The Techno-Terror (car monster); Holly Heartworm (teen movie actress); Zebra Monster; McSmally Skulkin (shocked child star); Tony Flanza (handsome TV actor); Rob Pope (old comedian); reporters at press conferences; police officer

First Line: Killer Corn Creature Captured!

Synopsis: Hired by Daphne's father to ostensibly promote Mystery, Inc., Hollywood publicist Preston Pressman pursues an agenda of his own - saddling the teen mystery-solvers with one useless celebrity guest star after another.

Reprinting

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Miscellaneous

Pages: 8

Notes: A superb parody of the core concept of "The New Scooby-Doo Movies" (1972-1973), the DC Comics series "Scooby-Doo Team-Up" (2014-2019), and the more recent animated series "Scooby-Doo and Guess Who?" (2019-2021) - but with (purposely) the most useless of "has-been" guest stars ever assembled, looking to reignite their own careers via association with "those meddling kids and their dog".

A guide to the celebrity knock-offs: "Italian Ice" = Sylvester Stallone combined with rapper Vanilla Ice. "Mama Cast" (singer/songwriter with two broken arms in "casts") = Mama Cass Elliot - who actually DID appear on "The New Scooby-Doo Movies". "Holly Heartworm" = Molly Ringwald. "McSmally Skulkin" = Macaulay Culkin. "Tony Flanza" = Tony Danza. "Rob Pope" = Bob Hope.

Interestingly, "Rob Pope" was referred to in a later Scooby-Doo comic book; Scooby-Doo Team-Up (DC, 2014 Series) #36 written by Sholly Fisch and appearing more like the comedian's "classic self". A Bob Hope comic book series was published by DC (1950-1968) - and an artist actually named "Robert Pope" worked steadily on the various Scooby-Doo comic books from DC.

Monster Museum

Story on Interior Page(s)

Subject Matter

Genres: anthropomorphic, humorous, mystery

Character(s): Scooby-Doo; Shaggy; Fred; Daphne; Velma; director of the Natural History Museum; various exhibit attendees; diplodocus (dinosaur); museum chief of security; museum guard; vampires; mummies

First Line: Welcome, ladies and gentlemen!

Synopsis: At the Natural History Museum, a complete set of dinosaur bones disappears, while a dinosaur, vampires, mummies, and assorted wild birds and animals suddenly appear.

Reprinting

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Miscellaneous

Pages: 14

Notes: Subtle Star Trek Reference: When the dinosaur bones go missing, the museum director alerts security:
CHIEF: "You heard the director, cover all exits! Check everyone for BONES!"
GUARD: "Me? I'm a guard, not a DOCTOR!"

The Ghost of Christmas Presents

Story on Interior Page(s)

Subject Matter

Genres: anthropomorphic, humorous, mystery

Character(s): Scooby-Doo; Shaggy; Fred; Daphne; Velma; video game store proprietor; The Mighty Mite; frenzied shoppers

First Line: Ready for holiday shopping, gang?

Synopsis: The gang goes holiday shopping. Shaggy hints that he wants the new video game "Mighty Mite Bytes II". He hints, he hints again, and again, and again, and (just to be certain his message got across) he hints once again. They finally find the only video game store that has it in stock, but that store is invaded by the bug-like "Mighty Mite" itself.

Reprinting

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Miscellaneous

Pages: 8

Notes: Meta Moments: Shaggy peruses the merchandise at the video game store and finds some "Hanna-Barbera-familiar" game concepts:

SHAGGY: "Like, check this out, Scoob. 'Battle Crime with the Heroic Blue Falcon and his cybernetic wonder dog, Dynomutt!' What'll they think of next?"
SCOOBY (laughs): "Ree-Hee-Hee-Hee!"
SHAGGY: "Hey, here's one with a talking shark! Wild, huh, Scoob?" (Reference: H-B's Jabberjaw).

Are We Scared Yet?

Story on Interior Page(s)

Subject Matter

Genres: anthropomorphic, humorous, mystery

Character(s): Scooby-Doo; Shaggy; Velma; Gremlin; creepy toll collector; Zeke (gas station proprietor); Marty (souvenir shop proprietor); Fred (Cameo); Daphne (Cameo)

First Line: We're not going to make it --!

Synopsis: On the way to pick up Fred and Daphne at the "Terror Island Ferry", Scooby, Shaggy, and Velma are waylaid by a Gremlin on spooky Route 1313.

Reprinting

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Miscellaneous

Pages: 10

Sound Stage Spook

Story on Interior Page(s)

Subject Matter

Genres: anthropomorphic, humorous, mystery

Character(s): Scooby-Doo; Shaggy; Fred; Daphne; Velma; Grampa Teddy Jones (actor, Fred's grandfather); The Ghost of Clayton Lonney; Tom Burden (movie producer/director) Lucas Spiegel (Tom Burden's rival at a competing studio); Tom Sevine (horror makeup artist); Nick (actor); actor playing Zandor (of The Herculoids - cameo); actor playing Igoo the Rock Ape (of The Herculoids - with head exposed from costume - cameo); young actress playing Jan (from Space Ghost - cameo); actor playing Ranger Smith (from Yogi Bear - cameo)

First Line: Like, gee, thanks a lot!

Synopsis: The production of "BISQUE, Horror from the Deep", a monster movie starring Fred's Grampa Teddy, is haunted by the ghost of silent film star and horror legend Clayton Lonney.

Reprinting

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Miscellaneous

Pages: 12

Notes: Grampa Teddy Jones (film star and grandfather to Fred) is an "older version of Fred", but with silver hair and a continental, "Caesar Romero-like" moustache. Like Fred, he wears the Jones-trademark ascot but keeps it tucked in his shirt. Grampa Teddy Jones previously appeared in "Legend of the Silver Scream", the lead story from Scooby-Doo (DC, 1997 Series) #5 (December, 1997).

Hollywood parody-tribute references abound: "Clayton Lonney" = Lon Chaney, Sr., "Lucas Spiegel" = an amalgam of George Lucas and Steven Spielberg, Tom Sevine = noted horror makeup artist Tom Savini. If anyone knows who "Tom Burden" might be, please add it here.

The creature prop used for the film "BISQUE, Horror from the Deep" owes much to it's real-life counterpart seen in "Attack of the Crab Monsters" (1957) directed by the legendary Roger Corman.

Dueling Movie Monster Madness: Exchange between Tom Burden and Shaggy on competing creature flicks:

BURDEN: "...My latest masterpiece -- the giant crustacean-at-the-races movie 'BISQUE, Horror from the Deep'!"

SHAGGY: "Like, isn't the giant crustacean-at-the-speedway movie called 'CLAWS'?"

BURDEN (insulted): "Bite your tongue! That's the movie Lucas Spiegel is directing for a rival movie studio! Mine is about a scary giant CRAB! His is about a scary giant LOBSTER! There's NO comparison!"

"CLAWS", of course, is a parody reference to the film "JAWS" (1975) directed by - NOT Lucas Spiegel, but - Steven Spielberg.

The Curse of the Scary Scarab

Story on Interior Page(s)

Subject Matter

Genres: anthropomorphic, humorous, mystery

Character(s): Scooby-Doo; Shaggy; Fred; Daphne; Velma; Professor Henry Rogers (Shaggy's archeologist uncle); Habib (Professor Rogers' first assistant); two upset flight attendants; Ben Abi (executor of Professor Rogers' will); Omar (Professor Rogers' second assistant); Khyyam (Professor Rogers' third assistant); giant cobra

First Line: Egypt... At last! I've found it!

Synopsis: Shaggy's archeologist uncle, Professor Henry Rogers, has disappeared from the site of his Egyptian dig and is presumed dead. Shaggy is informed of this by telegram and is requested to come to Egypt for the reading of the professor's will. Once there, as the gang is awaiting the reading of the will, the professor's assistants and the will's executor suddenly vanish! Clues lead to a trio of walking mummies, a mysterious hooded duo, and one giant cobra.

Reprinting

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Miscellaneous

Pages: 12

Psychic Psyche-Out!

Story on Interior Page(s)

Subject Matter

Genres: anthropomorphic, humorous, mystery

Character(s): Scooby-Doo; Shaggy; Fred; Daphne; Velma; Cecelia Fogbottom; various exhibitors and attendees of the "Bath, England Psychic Fair"; Wanda the Wise (psychic); waitress at the Susie Lynn House; Susie Lynn the Ghost of Bath; Inspector Morris

First Line: It was really generous to bring us to England with you, Cecelia.

Synopsis: Elderly Cecelia Fogbottom, who "lived next to Shaggy's parents since he was a boy", takes the gang with her to Bath, England to find the treasure she lost in Bath as a young woman. Convinced that Bath had "its very own ghost", Cecelia seeks a psychic to contact the ghost in the hope that the ghost can lead her to her lost treasure. The gang remains skeptical, until the trail of Cecelia's past leads to an encounter with Susie Lynn the Ghost of Bath.

Reprinting

Reprint Notes:

Miscellaneous

Pages: 10

Notes: Cecelia *really was generous* considering that The Mystery Machine was also brought to England. It can be seen in the first panel. As it does not factor into the story, and is not seen beyond the first panel, might this be an art blooper?

Nice Page Layout: Page three consists of five horizontal panels, each the width of the page (except for margins). The top three panels show Fred, Velma, and Daphne each casually and matter-of-factly debunking the various psychics at the fair, while the lower two panels show Cecelia taking her selected psychic seriously.

Wraithcar Driver

Story on Interior Page(s)

Credits

Colorist(s): ?

Subject Matter

Genres: anthropomorphic, humorous, mystery

Character(s): Scooby-Doo; Shaggy; Fred; Daphne; Velma; Johnny Zoom (racer); Sparky (mechanic); The Ghost of Axel Malone; Carl Vega (racer); Stanley Testarosa (racer)

First Line: Johnny, thanks for the help in fixing the Mystery Machine!

Synopsis: The cars of the contestants for the "Fortune 500" race are being wrecked by the Ghost of former driver Axel Malone.

Reprinting

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Miscellaneous

Pages: 12

Ghost in the Machina

Story on Interior Page(s)

Subject Matter

Genres: anthropomorphic, humorous, mystery

Character(s): Scooby-Doo; Shaggy; Fred; Daphne; Velma; Big Ralph (bearded diminutive Texan car wash owner); Machina (vengeful car-monster)

First Line: Ahhhh, this is the life!

Synopsis: In order to avoid taking a bath, Shaggy and Scooby jump at the chance to solve a mystery instead - until they learn that they're headed to a haunted car wash.

Reprinting

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Miscellaneous

Pages: 10

Notes: GOOD BIT: As expected, Shaggy and Scooby run through the car wash, getting the requisite wash-y works. Shaggy emerges from the ordeal sporting a fluffed-up '70s style afro, while Scooby assumes the appearance of a poodle (albeit Great Dane sized) with similarly fluffed-up ears, tip of tail, and "poodle-cut ring" around his middle.

SHAGGY: "Man, it's not EASY being CLEAN!"