DC Comics are celebrating a fifth week in their monthly scheduling plan with a set of one-shot crossovers between some of their best-known characters and those of the classic Hanna-Barbera cartoons. These 40-page issues each feature a pair of heroes pulled together through dimensional portals or other sci-fi hijinks that would give Wacky Races a run for its adjective. While the premise may seem silly, it’s not the first time DC Comics has pulled off a stunt like this. Last year they published a collection of crossovers with famous Looney Tunes characters to wide acclaim, specifically for a noir-influenced tale featuring Batman and Elmer Fudd. Another round of special issues featured other Hanna-Barbera characters for the first time, including an encounter between Space Ghost and Green Lantern.
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It’s certainly strange, but that’s the great thing about comic books. They are a medium where anything is possible and all of the Hanna-Barbera stories being published this week show off why the strangest ideas are perfectly at home in comics. We have had the opportunity to read all of the new crossovers and are here to tell you they are a wild bunch. If you’re looking to check some out this fifth and final Wednesday of May, we’ve put together a ranking of all the stories. Click ahead to find out which concepts succeeded best and are worth the extra time and money as DC Comics’ normal array of monthly issues take a break.
6. Speed Buddies
The Flash / Speed Buggy Special #1
Written by Scott Lobdell
Art by Brett Booth, Norm Rapmund, Mark Irwin, Marc Deering, Mat Banning, and John Livesay
While the quality of these crossovers is likely to surprise skeptics in general, this issue is the exception to the rule. More than half of the pages inside are used to introduce both of the characters featured on the cover and create a new origin story for Speed Buggy in order to introduce him to DC Comics. When readers walk into a one-shot like this, they already know what to expect and probably have some familiarity with the characters. Every page spent describing what could happen is a distraction from the actual fun of what will happen. Unless Speed Buggy is sticking around for future issues of The Flash, most of what is done here is wasting the premise and all of its possibilities.
5. A Bigger Beat
Aquaman / Jabberjaw Special #1
Written by Dan Abnett
Art by Paul Pelletier and Andrew Hennessy
This issue gets off to a great start with a two-page homage to the classic opening scene of Jaws. It’s a gag that will leave fans of that film and Jabberjaw alike busting a gut. Unfortunately, that’s the one note that this comic knows how to play. While the humorous approach is absolutely necessary, the majority of jokes in this issue are either based on the original Jaws or play on Aquaman’s less-than-stellar reputation. They are both sources of comedy that have been milked before, and are absolutely drained here. That having been said, this crossover is still a lot of fun and Pelletier’s depiction of Jabberjaw as a standard Great White Shark makes many of these moments equally captivating and hilarious.
4. Revenge of the God Fist
Black Lightning / Hong Kong Phooey Special #1
Written by Bryan Hill
Art by Denys Cowan and Bill Sienkiewicz
Playing along with the talents of two artistic legends in superhero comics, this issue takes its characters back to their genre roots. Black Lightning and Hong Kong Phooey fill the familiar roles of a Heroes For Hire style team-up, working within the blaxploitation and kung fu styles of the 1970s. It works well as a callback to the decade in which they were both created. No time is wasted explaining how these two heroes know one another either. Instead, it’s all action as a cadre of villains attempt to bring about the apocalypse. The only thing to fault this issue for is an overt focus on Hong Kong Phooey, who often makes Black Lightning feel like a sidekick in his story.
3. A Funky Phantom Fable
Black Lightning / Hong Kong Phooey Special #1
Written by Jeff Parker
Art by Scott Kolins
This backup story (one of two by this creative team) manages to merge the supernatural elements of the Funky Phantom and Etrigan, The Demon. Going as far back as the Phantom’s origin during the Revolutionary War, it provides a poetic approach to history that pairs perfectly with Etrigan’s penchant for rhyming. Backgrounds with skulls and other dark imagery help to amplify the horror, but that doesn’t remove the fun elements of Hanna-Barbera. It’s a surprising short story that elevates one of the lesser known cartoon characters in this series of one-shots.
2. Captain Caveman
Aquaman / Jabberjaw Special #1
Written by Jeff Parker
Art by Scott Kolins
There is a very familiar structure to Captain Caveman’s story, but one that proves to be classic in nature. Caveman finds himself as a pawn between two debating gods, the Wizard Shazam and Spectre, as they contest the nature of humanity. That structure allows Captain Caveman’s wild antics to take on a new glow of heroism, transforming silliness into an honorable tradition that arose before its time. It’s strange to consider a Captain Caveman tale poignant, but this backup story does the trick.
1. The Dog Knight
Super Sons / Dynomutt Special #1
Written by Peter J. Tomasi
Art by Fernando Pasarin and Oclair Albert
While all of the new Hanna-Barbera crossovers are fun, none reaches the same heights as “The Dog Knight.” This issue dives right into a story that deals with mortality, friendship, and the very special souls of dogs. There are some great gags and fun action as Damian and Jonathan team up with Dynomutt to save his master the Blue Falcon. However, this story, like so many about dogs, is really a tear-jerker. The boys learn a lesson and readers will find themselves thinking about their own best friends as it reaches its conclusion. This is surely the can’t-miss issue from this round of crossovers.
Final Thoughts
In the third event of its kind, DC Comics has shown us yet again that comics can and should be fun. The pairings between their great heroes and those of the classic Hanna-Barbera cartoons mostly bring out the best in one another. Readers are shown the surprising depth of two-dimensional characters through adventures filled with humor and some moments of pathos. After the Looney Tunes and original round of Hanna-Barbera crossovers, it’s clear this concept has legs, and we can’t wait until the next fifth week to be celebrated with a new round of oddball team ups.
