Meet Hipster Shaggy, Buff Fred Flintstone, And The Other Hanna-Barbera Characters DC Is Rebooting

We must feed the interests of the young with the re-worked artifacts of the old. It’s a fact of life that DC Comics understands. That’s why Batman has no underwear and why the world is about to meet a hipster Shaggy that’s armed with a handlebar mustache, some dope arm tats, and a messenger bag filled with, I imagine, Scooby snacks and artisanal edibles.

Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, DC Comics co-publisher Dan DiDio announced a massive reboot of classic Hanna-Barbera characters while speaking of a need to reinterpret them for today:

“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 fanbase. 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?’ ”

As you can see from the above tweet showcasing the new look from artist (and DC co-publisher) Jim Lee, Shaggy is joined by a heavily armed Fred and Daphne, a pseudo-Google-glass attired Scooby, and plain ol’ Velma. Basic as ever. According to DiDio’s remarks to EW, Scooby Apocalypse will, “excite people and challenge people.”

Besides Scooby Doo, DC will also breathe new life into Wacky Races with the help of Mad Max: Fury Road designer Mark Sexton, and the trio of Jonny Quest, Space Ghost, and Birdman (among others) in Future Quest — which looks as though it is, stylistically, the most gentle reboot.

A new version of The Flinstones is also on the way, thanks to Amanda Conner, though they’re a bit buffer than most of us probably remember and Dino is chilled the f*ck out. According to DiDio’s interview with EW, that book is going to be used to, “really bring out that voice and social commentary that they might’ve brought out in the ’60s and raise it back for today.” Please note the absence of The Great Gazoo in the above image. I have.

The EW article also mentioned Darwyn Cooke, Jeff Parker, Evan “Doc” Shaner, and Howard Porter as talents that are involved with these books — which are set to hit the market in May — in addition to Lee, Sexton, and Conner.

While DiDio didn’t name names when asked by EW if other Hanna-Barbera characters might see their own reboots, he did seem open to the idea. So, fingers crossed for that gritty take on Quick Draw McGraw — a horse with blood on the pages of his past.

For more pics of the redesigns and more info on the new books, check out EW‘s coverage.

(Via Entertainment Weekly)

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