DC Comics reboots Hanna-Barbera with a whole new look for ‘Scooby-Doo’ and more

Scooby Dooby Doo, what happened to you? The apocalypse, apparently. Along with sleeve tattoos, and a handlebar mustache for Shaggy. Yes folks the Hanna-Barbera classics have been updated, for better or worse.

DC Comics has announced a brand new slate of comics featuring classic Hanna-Barbera characters with titles that include “Scooby Apocalypse,� “The Flintstones,� “Wacky Race Land� and “Future Quest� set to launch in May.

“I think what you find right now is there’s so much material on pop culture, and these characters resonate with so much of our fan base,� self-professed Hanna-Barbera fan and DC copublisher Dan DiDio told Entertainment Weekly. “It was so fun to go out and look at them, but not just bring back versions that existed 40, 50 years ago and really look at it the way of saying, if these characters were created and interpreted today, how would they exist?�

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The announcement and DiDio’s subsequent tweets reveal that in this modern reinterpretation the Scooby gang is involved in an apocalypse rather than mysteries, “Wacky Races� goes “Mad Max: Fury Road,� Jonny Quest meets Space Ghost and even the Flintstones gets an updated look.

“I think we think of these characters so much as our childhood, and I want people to kind of embrace these updated versions of the characters and really understand that at the core, these concepts are not just limited to little kids,� added Jim Lee, DC copublisher and artist. Lee was also announced as part of the “Scooby Apocalypse� creative team along with Keith Giffen and Howard Porter.

DiDio and Lee refer to “Scooby Apocalypse� as the “crown jewel� of the lineup. No details about the actual story were revealed, but did you see Shaggy’s earplugs and facial hair? Jinkies. And speaking of jinkies, it appears as if the character Velma has been shrunk down for some inexplicable reason. Clearly these are early renderings of the reboots, but it’s definitely a departure from the classic.

Other creators announced were Mark Sexton and Ken Pontac on “Wacky Race Land,� Evan “Doc� Shaner and Jeff Parker on “Future Quest� and Amanda Conner and Mark Russell on “The Flintstones.�

While the initial lineup features these four titles, DiDio and Lee did acknowledge there is a vast reserve of Hanna-Barbera characters in existence that they’d love to tap into in the future.

For more images of the new look from the classic toons, check out Entertainment Weekly.

Twitter: @tracycbrown