Scooby-Doo Team-Up 40 (2018)
How’s Bayou?

It’s a team-up and reunion of epic proportions for Swamp Thing and his friends. Swampy fans will enjoy revisiting some old friends…

Sholly Fisch kicks the book off with a tip of the hat to Alan Moore and it is wonderful. The elaborate, poetic description works as a fun flashback for Swamp Thing fans, as if revisiting the era of issue 34. I was truly elated opening to the first page to see the writing style.

Fisch provides a number of glorious Swamp Thing moments in this book. He makes my year by creating a fun connection between the Swamp Thing and Scooby-Doo Universes. Below, Shaggy mentions that Chester Williams is his uncle. I nearly fell out of my chair in excitement; such a fun pairing between the two hippies. For those not familiar, Chester is an old friend of Swamp Thing and Abby, since he first appeared in Swamp Thing 43 (1985). He’s one of my favorite characters and am so happy to see him back, sharing pages with Swamp Thing.

Scooby and the crew are down in Louisiana looking to solve the mystery of rumored zombies within the swamp. They’re quickly alerted to a group of brainwashed workers held captive by a Voodoo Queen. It’s a typical, entertaining Scooby-Doo plot filled with numerous special guests. The Swamp Thing themed scenario is a walk down memory lane for fans of Alan Moore era Swampy.

The book has more twists than a pig’s tail. Eluding the zombies, Scooby and crew look for help from an old swamp friend but Solomon Grundy is on the scene as well.
The gang takes a break to introduce the origins of Swampy and Grundy.

Velma and Daphne reminisce about swamp creatures, mistaking Swamp Thing for Swampthing from Scooby-Doo and the Reluctant Werewolf animated movie from 1988. Swamp Monsters have a long history within literature and film.

Swamp Thing puts a stop to Grundy and works on finding a solution to the zombiefied residents of Louisiana.

Velma is picking up on what Swamp Thing is putting down.

The icing on the cake comes when Abby, Chester and Swamp Thing are reunited. The three have not appeared on the same page for decades and it’s a great moment for Swampy fans. The story plays out like a fantastic animated episode. This issue was one of the most fun Swampy related stories I’ve read in a while. It was a great cameo and done very well by the creative team involved.