Scooby Apocalypse, Vol. 4

Scooby Apocalypse #4

by Keith Giffen, J.M. DeMatteis, Dale Eaglesham (Illustrator)

The fate of humanity rests in the hands--and paws--of a very different Mystery, Inc. as Fred, Velma, Daphne, Shaggy and the superintelligent Scooby-Doo learn more about the bizarre threats they now face every day in Scooby Apocalypse Volume 4 !

A visit to a small town seemingly untouched by the nanite plague that turned the world into a monster-infested wasteland puts the gang at the heart of tragedy, as new allies Cliffy and Daisy have a hard time dealing with what the gang has had to become to stay alive. And when Velma comes up with a plan to try and ensure their survival, a shopping mall becomes the zombie-ruled site of what may be Mystery, Inc.'s last stand!

Writers Keith Giffen and J.M. DeMatteis ( Justice League International , Blue Beetle ) and artists Dale Eaglesham ( Secret Six ), Ron Wagner ( The 99 ) and Andy Owens ( Nightwing ) meddle with the Mystery, Inc. gang's lives like never before! Plus, Giffen and DeMatteis reinvent the adventures of Secret Squirrel, Morocco Mole and Honey Bea in stories illustrated by some of comics' greatest talents, including Phil Jimenez and Colleen Doran! Collects issues #19-24.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics, Horror, Dc Comics, Science Fiction, Mystery, Zombies

160 pages, Paperback

First published September 25, 2018

About the author

Keith Ian Giffen was an American comic book illustrator and writer. He is possibly best-known for his long runs illustrating, and later writing the Legion of Super-Heroes title in the 1980s and 1990s. He also created the alien mercenary character Lobo (with Roger Slifer), and the irreverent "want-to-be" hero, Ambush Bug. Giffen is known for having an unorthodox writing style, often using characters in ways not seen before. His dialogue is usually characterized by a biting wit that is seen as much less zany than dialogue provided by longtime collaborators DeMatteis and Robert Loren Fleming. That approach has brought him both criticism and admiration, as perhaps best illustrated by the mixed (although commercially successful) response to his work in DC Comics' Justice League International (1987-1992). He also plotted and was breakdown artist for an Aquaman limited series and one-shot special in 1989 with writer Robert Loren Fleming and artist Curt Swan for DC Comics.

Giffen's first published work was "The Sword and The Star", a black-and-white series featured in Marvel Preview, with writer Bill Mantlo. He has worked on titles (owned by several different companies) including Woodgod, All Star Comics, Doctor Fate, Drax the Destroyer, Heckler, Nick Fury's Howling Commandos, Reign of the Zodiac, Suicide Squad, Trencher (to be re-released in a collected edition by Boom! Studios)., T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents, and Vext. He was also responsible for the English adaptation of the Battle Royale and Ikki Tousen manga, as well as creating "I Luv Halloween" for Tokyopop. He also worked for Dark Horse from 1994-95 on their Comics Greatest World/Dark Horse Heroes line, as the writer of two short lived series, Division 13 and co-author, with Lovern Kindzierski, of Agents of Law. For Valiant Comics, Giffen wrote XO-Manowar, Magnus, Robot Fighter, Punx and the final issue of Solar, Man of the Atom.

He took a break from the comic industry for several years, working on storyboards for television and film, including shows such as The Real Ghostbusters and Ed, Edd 'n' Eddy.

He is also the lead writer for Marvel Comics's Annihilation event, having written the one-shot prologue, the lead-in stories in Thanos and Drax, the Silver Surfer as well as the main six issues mini-series. He also wrote the Star-Lord mini-series for the follow-up story Annihilation: Conquest. He currently writes Doom Patrol for DC, and is also completing an abandoned Grant Morrison plot in The Authority: the Lost Year for Wildstorm.

Reviews

[Chad · Rating 2 out of 5]

Scooby Apocolypse started strong but has really stagnated over the last year. Nothing happens, especially now that the main story has been shortened to allow for the insipid Secret Squirrel backup story. The backup is mind-numbingly bad and why isn't it collected all together at the back of the book? Back to the main story, the Scooby Gang spends its wheels for 5 issues as they hide out in a mall. It's extremely dull, rehashing the same things over and over again in each issue. It's time for some new blood to take over this series.

[kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

this series is beyond bizarre but so much fun and utterly additive.

[Chantel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I could do without the Secret Squirrel bits though

[Priscilla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoy it but left you on a cliffhanger I wish it was not the last book

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Starting to get irritated with the weird Super Secret Squirrel Spy side stories, and can't figure out if it's just a weird bonus or if it's going to intersect with the Scooby Gang.

Otherwise, this series continues to be weird and solid, with the gang holing up in a mall . . . BUT IS IT TRULY SAFE?!

[Mohammad Al Ayoubi · Rating 2 out of 5]

The first issues of this comic were interesting, and still haven't shed light upon the flows in it.
But since issue 16 I started to lose interest in the first comic series I have been reading.
These flaws MADE ME CONSIDER leaving this one, I will mention:
1-Repeated dialog and an endless amount of Clichés.
Oh my god I just can't take this anymore, I am a person easily get bored of mundane clichés (only one way to find out was present at least 7 times throughout the series until issue 25) and please, we still hear Velma recriminating herself for the nightmare she created to this very tormenting moment!
The writer talks to the reader EVERY 3 ISSUES through a lengthy and boring revision of what happened earlier.
2-Lack of depth in introducing characters, we know little about Fred's and Shaggy's history compared to Daphne's and Velma, also Daisy is being ULTRA cute and rightious- almost a perfect person! Who doesn't fit any where else outside the writer's fantasies, so please Keith... Create characters with flows.
3-I like my wife to have a strong personality and distinct ideology, not a mere shadow of me.
BUT! Women in this series (beginning with Daphne and ending in the most obnoxious Agent Honey) are really infuriating.
They are violent, cocky, insensitive(almost inhuman) to other teammates with few occasions of the contrary, and they take the leadership while men around them are being wimps, which is unnatural.
The worst thing of all is that they have issues, most prominent in their absolute inability to express feelings... They really get under my skin.

The art and awesomeness of Scooby-Doo is what I lean on to continue my way in this comic.

[Cale · Rating 3 out of 5]

Most of this volume is Scooby Doo meets Dawn of the Dead - the gang (after a Twilight Zone episode of a small town and a mysterious little girl) decide to take up residence in a mall that isn't quite empty. Although it trades on a lot of zombie ideas, it does take them in slightly different directions. But the big thing about this volume is the character interaction - there isn't a whole lot of action going on. It's more about the characters finally starting to sort out what they mean to each other. Cliffy and Daisy consequently have smaller roles, while the main four each explore their relationships and start to recognize what their year together has done to their interactions. The art is pretty good throughout, although Shaggy looks surprisingly hairless in a couple of later issues.
There's also the B-story of Secret Squirrel, which graduates from being horrifically bad all the way up to relative waste of space. The slaugheratons are just in poor taste.
This volume doesn't really resolve many of its threads here, but it does hint that resolutions are coming. On it's own, it's okay; it's not the book you'll remember after reading the whole series, but it does provide enough connective material to be worth reading.

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

After this volume I can see this book is a real slow burner. The story moves forward ever so slightly, we get a bit of insight into the disaster, a bit more development of the main character, and a whole lot of filler. By now the story has been moved forward several months but nothing of huge significance has happened. And as much as I'm willing to continue reading I'd really like for there to be a major plot development rather than just feeling like the whole thing is just plodding along.

One other thing. The Secret Squirrel minis at the end of each issue. They're pointless. They have nothing to do with the Scooby Doo comic, they're not set in the same storyline, they're thrown in for no reason that I can understand and take pages away from the reason I picked the book up in the first place.

I'm all caught up now until Volume 5 hits at the end of May. I just hope my local library gets it in but I'm certainly not paying to read this series, it's just not worth the money.

[Katie Quinn · Rating 2 out of 5]

I liked this volume even less than the previous ones. I really dislike the minor characters who follow the gang around, and I skipped past the stupid part with the undercover squirrel. Plus, the plot itself really slows down in this volume. It just wasn't as compelling to me.

Aaaaand the critical reader/feminist in me has to say that one thing that really bothered me was the storyline involving Fred and Daphne's relationship. It may be an unpopular opinion, but look, I have a brain, and I can't help myself. I will nestle my complaints in this spoiler: Towards the end of this volume, Velma literally tells Fred "if you want her to be your wife, don't take no for an answer" after he proposes to Daphne dozens of times only to be rejected, and I'm sorry, but can we just talk about how that contributes to rape culture and toxic masculinity??? Because it totally does. Like guys who might be reading this series, if a girl tell you "no" in real life, just take it and move on- you are not entitled to date her or sleep with her just because that's what you want and you think you deserve it. This whole angle was just so upsetting to me because until this point Fred is not inherently toxic at all in this series (in fact, I think Daphne is arguably the more toxic one of the whole group), but I am so sick of seeing these kind of damaging ideas dressed as romantic gestures in novels and movies, and that was really disappointing for me to see in a love story/character development that was otherwise healthy. To be honest, it's even worse that Daphne does agree after Fred proposes for the final time, because that to me just perpetuates that men/people can keep bothering women to the point where women are worn down and relent only because they're so damn tired of being bothered, or because they feel they have no other choice. So all in all, this was damaging, and also, as someone who always shipped Daphne and Fred, a pretty disappointing way for the couple to acknowledge their feelings for each other and finally get together.

So yeah. Volume 5 better redeem itself for me when it is published.

[Erin Cataldi · Rating 2 out of 5]

This series has been a mixed bag for me, and volume four is easily my least favorite of the bunch. It wouldn't have been as bad if it just focused on Scooby and the gang but we kept getting weird side stories with a talking mole and squirrel (top agents) with babes in bikinis assisting them.... ok. Is it going to tie in later? Did it already tie in and I miss it? God knows. It was weird and diverting. The rest of this graphic novel the gang has to focus on if there can be good monsters and deciding what they want to do with the rest of their lives now that they know there isn't a way to reverse the nanites that affected everyone and turned them into monsters. They decides to hole up in a mall and make the best of it. Very meh, I'll give it one more volume, but my heart isn't really in this anymore.

[Quentin Wallace · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story is moving along a little better, and we find the gang holed up at a shopping mall ala Dawn of the Dead. I'm still waiting on a little more info about the plague itself but that may never be revealed. I'm not a fan of the Secret Agent Squirrel back up stories but I'm sure some readers enjoy them.

Still a good series but it just seems to drag slightly to me. Hopefully things pick up as we near the end.

[Stephen Newell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Better than volume 3, although this one made me realize how incredibly underused Scooby-Doo is in a series called "Scooby Apocalyspe." Hopefully that will continue to improve....

Side Note: I finished this literally 7 minutes before my Hoopla loan was up, and that is as close to living life on the edge as you'll ever see me get!

[EM Harding · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love all the obscure references these make, even in the midst of a rather horrific apocalypse scenario, and the way the side stories weave in other parts of the wider universe. Onto the next vol!

[Scott Rhee · Rating 4 out of 5]

It took me awhile, but I finally caught up to what has become a guilty pleasure. Volume 4 of “Scooby Apocalypse” continues the silly monster-filled fun of a series that I feel almost embarrassed to say that I love. Embarrassed because I’m a 47-year-old grown man who is still reading comic books featuring a talking dog. I do love it, though. And I’m not going to apologize for it.

Anyway, in this issue: Scooby and his posse are in Halcyon, Montana, a town that seems to be perfectly immune to the nanite plague that has transformed the world population into vicious monsters; Cliffy meets a young girl named Carrie who has a secret, one that may be a game-changer for the handful of human survivors around the world; Velma has run the numbers over and over and keeps coming to the horrifying conclusion that the effects of the nanites are irreversible; the gang come across a shopping mall that would be a great place to hole up for awhile if it weren’t for the monsters inside that have taken the phrase “shop ‘til you drop” quite literally; and Fred’s latest proposal to Daphne has resulted in a surprising answer. (Hint: it’s the opposite of “no”.)

Granted, Fred’s happiness at the prospect of marrying the fiery redhead that he’s been in love with since college may be short-lived...

[blake · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is the most 2018 comic book I've ever read (well, 2016-2018, technically): Take a beloved property and make it conform to what passes for standards in the current industry, and you wind up with a grindingly predictable set of circumstances that quickly becomes a chore to read. I had picked it up in the bargain bin for one of my kids and found it overpriced at over 1/2 off.

This book is half the Scooby adventure and half Secret Squirrel. The latter is utterly incoherent as a hyper-competent "sidekick" Honey Bea ushers Secret Squirrel to be rejoined with Morocco Mole on a case where people's brains are being literally removed. After risking life and limb to reunite the two because of their vital importance, Honey then opens the last issue with confessing that she would've preferred to work alone.

Of course you would have. But nobody would buy that book.

It's supposed to be fun and funny, I guess, but the art ranges from "a few good moments" to "cave drawing" level, which detracts from any fun, and I don't recall anything that actually rises to the level of a joke. There are some goofy spy elements that feel like pale imitations of Austin Powers movies, but without even the charm or energy of that franchise.

The main story is the Scooby Doo one which starts with the gang being welcomed, and then immediately ejected, from a small town that escaped the ravages of the apocalypse and winds up with them fighting for control of a mall where zombies from JC Penny war against zombies from Sears.

Velma calls them consumerites, which is about the level of intellect you get throughout. Obviously calling back (and called out in the book) to George Romero's "Day of the Dead", the idea is that they represent the worst traits of consumers. But wait, they're not consumers, they're employees! Not to throw shade on department store employees but the vast majority probably would go work for the competition with relatively modest incentives.

So you've taken Romero's misanthropic gag/metaphor and shoved it into a situation where it doesn't make sense. Just like the first story takes a Twilight Zone episode ("It's a Good Life") and speculates on whether the kid who kills/mutilates people who mildly displease him might really be not so bad.

And yet this predictability pales in comparison to the horrifying predictability of the characters, revamped for modern comic industry sensibilities. If we're being honest, the original "Scooby Doo" is a thin gruel on which to base anything, but amazing things have been done with the property over time based on a few core elements.

But by the edicts of our Current Year, the beautiful but klutzy Daphne Blake in is a literal psychopath, both the leader of the group and prone to violence not just against the apparent infinite enemy but against her own party. In various incarnations (though not the original show, I note), she has been smitten with Fred while here she has nothing but contempt for him, while at the same time assuming a hyper-masculine desire to protect him. Velma, too, is robbed of any humanity, except that of foil to Daphne.

Daphne and Velma argue about strategies in hyper-aggressive tones while Fred and Shaggy just sit back and passively follow their leads. They've basically gender swapped the characters without gender swapping them. Once you've realized that, the various story and character beats are grimly predictable.

For example, there's a love interest for Shaggy. Once a brilliant career woman, she was turned into a trophy wife by Velma's charming but manipulative uncle (apparently). So while Fred and Shaggy are sitting on their asses, she turns out to have been a chemical/electrical engineer, rigging the elevator with explosives. Because of course she is. And of course she would. And there couldn't possibly be any need for, you know, anyone to guard you or help you do this in a mall overrun with zombies.

If anything emerged from that dumb little cartoon 50 years ago, it's that "Mystery, Inc." was a team. Most of the (better) interpretations have revolved around that, fleshing out the characters' strengths and weaknesses, but (particularly with Scooby Doo himself) prizing loyalty and friendship above all.

Scooby's barely in this thing. I presume it's because he's a poor vehicle for the walls of dialogue the author favors (and even calls out in the credits). But in the entire story arc, he has one brief moment with Shaggy. The dialogue is late-model Whedonesque, where it serves to break the tone and make you dislike the characters, without actually being funny.

If we assume that the first issue of the floppy debuting at an impressive 11th place (about 60K copies) was due to industry shenanigans of overshipping, the issue #2 drop to under 30K makes more sense as the book's natural base, and still quite good. By issue #6, though, it's down to 23K, and it closes out with around 10K shipped, which I assume is mostly habit.

The art wasn't all bad, though the faces were wildly inconsistent. The monsters were actually nice call backs to the goofiness of the various shows without being utterly laughable. (A tricky thing.)

But like so many modern interpretations of old properties, it feels a bit like watching Glen or Glenda?: It's entirely about the author's psychology, which is of highly limited interest.

[Yani · Rating 2 out of 5]

Okay, I'm brining up something I keep forgetting to bring up...

This series just being clandestinely religious. I mean it's not really hard core in any way, but the number of times that praying, faith, God (and Buddah) have been brought up is a much higher ratio that it feels like it should be for this particular book. It slightly pulls me out every time it happens.

The art continues to slightly get on my nerves, so much so that I actually wish Porter would come back. Because this book needs some style and slightly less realism than it currently has. I did quite like Ron Wagner's work early in this volume, but I think part of the problem is that nobody gets Daphne's hair right. But Wagner is definitely the front runner right now.

Also, as much as they might like to hang a lampshade on the fact that this whole book is overwritten by adding in little gibes on the credits page like "horror, comedy and entirely too much dialogue", it doesn't stop it from being true.

The other thing that continues is two or more characters having a conversation about another character as though they're not in the room when the other character is literally a foot away from them.

I continue to completely ignore the Secret Squirrel pieces because they just seem fucking awful. Not least of all because of all the bikini clad women who seem to show up for no real reason.

[Tamara · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Scooby Gang is back for more post-apocalyptic thrills that I would have given 5 stars if not for the inane Secret Squirrel back-up story.
In "Child's Play" we learn more about Cliffy as he mourns Scrappy Doo and bonds with Scooby who takes the new role of his protector. We also get a glimpse into the mind of a monster who may or may not intend harm.
"Scooby Doo Christmas" is especially poignant as Fred tries to give the gang a little holiday spirit and Velma learns devastating details about the nanite plague that has mutated humanity.
But the gang presses on and grows into more of a family as the series develops. And the characters in their new reboot as perhaps humanity's last hope keep endearing readers to them, even when they fail.
The rest of the story takes place at the Henry Hudson Mall as the gang tries to set up a base of operations and avoid the war between groups of monsters divided by the mall's anchor stores (Mears vs. CJNickel clever twists on Sears and JCPenney as Velma nicknames them the "Consumerites"). Again this volume ends on a cliffhanger as Daphne and Fred go on a recon mission into CJNickel territory and Daphne finally says "yes" to Fred's proposal with the two facing "the shortest engagement ever" if the monsters hear them.

[Norman Cook · Rating 4 out of 5]

This volume is better than Volume 3, but probably not as good as the first couple of volumes. One of the better stories was the gang meeting a little girl named Carrie who had strange powers, but turned out to be one of the infected. But after Daphne kills Carrie, there is not much self assessment by the gang as to what form the monsters can take. When the gang arrives at a shopping mall a couple of months later, there are again indications that not every infected person is a mindless zombie, but little is made of it. This volume also takes a bit of a turn when the gang realizes that there is no cure for the infection and that they will have to somehow start rebuilding humanity some other way. The core of this book is the relationships between the characters and how they cope with almost certain annihilation. This is done seriously, but with enough humor and action to keep things interesting. The artwork is overall good, although it's not consistent among the various artists.

The Secret Squirrel backup is amusing, but not much more than that. The rotating group of artists are quite good. Even Howard Chaykin takes a turn.

[Ondřej Halíř · Rating 5 out of 5]

Do posledního sešitu tohoto volumka jsem byl přesvědčen že hodnocení dám na 4/5, ale prostě nemohu. Jasně Scooby Apocalypse v podstatě pořád šlape na místě. Daph s Velmou se hádají, pořád se neví jak zvrátit nákazu a hlavní hrdinové se opět pokoušejí někde najít bezpečí.

Ale prostě už jen kvůli postavám které kupodivu mají nějaký charakterový pokrok vás to bude pořád bavit. Navíc si dovolím říct že takové TWD šlape na místě mnohem neúnosně. Tady si to aspoň na nic nehraje. A máme tu v obchoďáku příšery ze dvou obchodů, kteří proti sobě bojují protože to dříve byli konkurenční obchody apod. Navíc se tu posune dokonce i vztah Daphne s Fredster.

Do toho tu ještě pořád je mini příběh o Agentovi Veverčákovi na který každej nadává, ale mě mega baví. Odehrává se před nákazou a Giffen s Demattiasem se tu pořádně pouštějí z řetězů a dávají nám takového zvířecího Austina Powerse 😀

Jo, fakt mě to bavilo

[Philmore Olazo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finally!

Shaggy doesn't look like an idiot!

This is of course cause for celebration, but moving on. This volume is great, the dread gets real, not that it wasn't before but you know...

The new members of the cast, Daisy and Cliffy, don't really feel like part of the group and more like an afterthought in the story. To me at least they don't feel really necesary in the story being told.

Something that caught my attention was the first signs of the gang finally breaking, they start to get snappy with each other and stress and fear are beggining to get the better of them, specially with a revelation by Velma.

For a story named "Scooby Apocalypse" we don't see much of Scooby-Doo, funny enough. An I guess the emoji thing was just for volume 1, since there's no reference to that ability in this volume at all.

[Aaron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Time has started to pass quickly for the surviving Scooby gang. After celebrating their first Chirstmas together, they head their way across country. They end up in New York state and locate a possible new home in the Henry Hudson Mall. They have unique neighbors in the forms of two sets of monsters who are fighitng an ongoing war. Each side is made up of monsters who were formerly employed by two separate stores in the mall. Cliffy and Daisy are still working into settling into the gang.

Secret Squirrel and Agent Bea have also brought Morocco Mole out of retirement to take on a case for ISS that might be their most difficult yet ... if they survive.

The comic series definitely still keeps moving along and is enjoyable.

[Langston Lardi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another solid volume. I just can’t get enough of the Scooby world and this unique twist on it just gets better and better. Our characters continue to not only become fleshed out with backstory, but grow and evolve. We get to see shaggy and Fred develop, Fred getting the most here and Daphne and Velma are basically best friends at this point in a hitting each other and arguing 25/8 kind of way. Even the newcomers like Daisy and Cliffy get chances to grow and we learn more about them. The town of Helcyon was an interesting little chapter and raises a good question about Good vs Evil. And even the Christmas tie in was very welcomed (and well timed on my part). As the gang continues to fight for survival and to find a way to restore/save humanity, I find myself glued to each page and can’t wait to see how it evolves in volume 5.

[Brylliams · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like the the group has evolved and are learning to be a family unit after being on the road for more than a year.

This volume follows the surprising event revealed at the end of the last issue, where the gang stumbled upon a town full of people free from the nanite plague.

Without spoilers, the gang eventually moves on, spending Christmas looking for answers, and infiltrating an abandoned mall, leading up to another cliffhanger.

I know volume 5 is on the horizon, and I wouldn't be surprised if it's the last volume, but I sincerely hope not, as I thoroughly enjoy reading this ridiculous--yet endearing--take on Scooby-Doo.

[Min · Rating 2 out of 5]

Even the Secret Squirrel story line has fallen into the Entirely Predictable arena of story along with this Apocalypse. It should never have lasted this long. A single montage panel or two would suffice for time passage, and movement across the country.
The Gang continue to reheat the same leftover arguments from all the volumes before. One would imagine after months, and months on the road, confined in a small space, these issues would be resolved or decided that survival was much more important. Secret Squirrel has become resurrection of past annoyances, and macho talk that is so over-the-top to feel wrong for this character.

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pro: I really enjoyed the continuation of the story line from Volume 3, "Child's Play". BUT, Con: again, TOO SHORT!

Pro: The current mall story line makes for the basis of a great arc BUT, Con: enough with the constant arguing! A year has passed already. Be done with it.

Con: The main story is continuously interrupted by the Secret Squirrel story. It has absolutely no bearing on our main story and totally takes the reader out of our apocalyptic world.

Pro: "A Scooby Doo Christmas" 🎄

Pro and Con: that cliffhanger 😍

[Johnnysbookreviews · Rating 5 out of 5]

Solid book. It's weird seeing Scooby and the gang fight zombies, but it's also pretty cool. The gang pick up two other survivors, so the gang's actually seven instead of five. They might pick up more people, but we'll see.

Scrappy hates Scooby, but they made up in this book.

Overal, great series so far. I can't stop reading this series. It took me a little bit to read this book, but I still enjoy it and love where this series is going. If you like Scooby-Doo, I would suggest these books. They're amazing.

[Diogo Muller · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was... good?! Not great, but surely an improvement over the previous editions: The characters are working better with each other and are becoming little by little more complex and interesting. There wasn't any bad parts or anything, and the plot is ramping up quite a bit. We got some answers to a couple questions, and even resolutions for some plot points! This volume gives me some hope that the story could finish strong.

[Raymond · Rating 3 out of 5]

The ongoing storyline is an excellent progression of the characters.
They continue to grow and change in ways that are sometimes unexpected but are presented very well.
The Secret Squirrel Backup feature is an interesting take on the old cartoon and gives a nice levity to the sometimes dark Scooby material

[J.R. · Rating 3 out of 5]

As usual, love the Scooby story. Giffen and company do a great job of making things emotional but not too serious. Really starting to feel the "Walking Dead" vibe in terms of the weight of the situation.

The reason this gets three stars instead of four is the beyond stupid Secret Squirrel back-up stories. Garbage.

[Ian Morales · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I enjoyed the series more in the earlier volumes, this fourth installment features a cool "trapped in a shopping mall with zombies" scenario that I always fall for as an old school horror/zombie movie fan. I wish the characters development would evolve and the squirrel character would devolve into its own series so that it would stay out of this one.