DC comics is taking over Hanna-Barbera characters and giving them all a makeover, which means childhood cartoon characters won’t be looking the same at all.
DC comics announced the release of a new line of comics for 2016 that show re-vamped classic cartoon characters. Well known franchises like “Scooby-Doo”, “The Flintstones”, “Wacky Race Land”, and many more are getting extreme makeovers. Some of the makeovers include an apocalyptic storyline for the Scooby-Doo gang, which shows Shaggy with tattoo sleeves and a handlebar mustache. The visual change in all the classics are striking but also relate to DC’s usual style.
The creators for the new comics include artists such as Amanda Conner, Jeff Parker, and more, even “Mad Max: Fury Road” designer Mark Sexton will also be drawing the new comics.
DC’s Co-publisher Dan DiDio claims to be a big Hanna Barbera fan and states that the revival of the characters is out of love and not to take away from childhood memories. “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?” He states to Entertainment Weekly claiming that many people of the DC fan base would relate to the classic characters. Jim Lee another DC co-publisher wants audiences to embrace seeing childhood characters in different environments, by doing so this will take away the sentiment that the cartoons are only meant for kids.
DC and Hanna Barbera have only revealed a small portion of the line, the “crown jewel” of the line being the apocalyptic Scooby-Doo tale, which takes the gang out of their solving mystery element. The usual grit of DC seems to be applied to all of the characters, which can only mean the stories will also be detailed, dark, and surprising. The decision to re-vamp the classic characters may have come out of DC’s long-term plan to create its own Cinematic Universe. By adding on so many new projects, the creativity at DC is at a high and clearly the company is ready to venture into new places.