Gallery: DC Comics to reboot Hanna Barbera legends (and Scooby Doo) Gallery Gallery: DC Comics to reboot Hanna Barbera legends (and Scooby Doo) + 6

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This spring, DC Comics will revamp dozens of classic Hanna-Barbera animated series as part of a new line, updating the likes of Scooby-Doo, Jonny Quest, Space Ghost, and The Flintstones for more contemporary tastes. Fans of the originals, brace yourselves though -- some of the new takes on the characters are radical departures.

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Perhaps the strangest update is the new Scooby-Doo. In Scooby Apocalypse, the familiar gang of meddling kids -- Freddie, Velma, Daphne, Shaggy and, of course, Scooby-Doo himself -- are reimagined as the only group able to put right an experiment gone horribly wrong. There are no eccentric loners in horror masks here -- instead the group are facing "a world full of mutated creatures infected by a nanite virus that enhances their fears, terrors and baser instincts."

Written by Keith Giffen and Jim Lee, with art by Howard Porter, the most striking change is the new look for the Scooby Gang. Redesigned by Batman artist Jim Lee, they're no longer inspired by 1960s hippies and beatniks, but tech-savvy millennials. Hipster Shaggy is already a contentious choice amongst fans, but design-wise actually makes a lot of sense for a modern day interpretation. We're not sure about Velma though -- she now looks more like The Incredibles Edna Mode.

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If that's not weird enough for you, maybe Wacky Raceland will be. The comedic antics of the 1968 animated series are swapped for a world inspired by Mad Max: Fury Road. Yes, you read that right -- Dick Dastardly and Muttley, Penelope Pitstop, The Ant-Hill Mob and more will be given a "dark and gritty take".


The synopsis for the series is amazingly bonkers too: "A time of hope and innocence with Utopia at the finish line has given way to planetary Armageddon and a desert wasteland full of radioactive lakes, nanotech dust storms, and cannibalistic mutants. Against this backdrop, the Wacky Racers and their sentient vehicles continue their contest, but now the competition is for survival, and there can only be one winner when the checkered flag falls."

The series will be written by Ken Pontac with art by Leonardo Manco, with vehicle designs by Mark Sexton, a storyboard artist on Fury Road. We're wondering if there's any connection to the nanites of Scooby Apocalypse too.

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Traditionalists take heart though -- Bedrock's first family, The Flintstones, is sticking closer to the classic cartoons. Well, mostly -- the new comic by writer Mark Russell, with designs by Amanda Conner (no series artist is yet confirmed) will "shine a light on humanity’s ancient customs and institutions in a funny origin story of human civilisation". Ultimately though, it's still centred on Fred, Wilma, Barney, Betty and their kids Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm, as they navigate modern life through a stone age lens.

Conners' slightly more realistic look for the families works really well, while Russell's recent series Prez proved a sharp and hilarious deconstruction of modern society through a near-future satire. It'll be fascinating to see what he can do by looking at The Flintstones' proto-culture.

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Most interesting of all though is Future Quest, a crossover series bringing together Hanna-Barbera's "lost" superhero and adventure characters. Younger viewers may know the likes of Space Ghost and Birdman from latter day re-imaginings aimed at cynical older viewers, such as Space Ghost Coast to Coast and Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law. While these comedy outings are great in their own right, the original material is a treasure trove of potential.


Many of the original 1960s Hanna-Barbera action cartoons were created by the legendary Alex Toth, including both of the above two, plus space heroes The Galaxy Trio and weird fiction monster heroes The Herculoids. These, along with other Hanna-Barbera creations such as prehistoric superhero Mightor, Frankenstein Jr and his giant robot monster, and The Impossibles, a trio of superhero rockstars, will be brought together thanks to teen adventurer Jonny Quest.

DC hasn't announced much in terms of story details for Future Quest, but expect time travel and planet hopping to play a part, just from the title and mix of characters involved. The creative team is exciting for comics fans though -- Justice League and Thunderbolts writer Jeff Parker pens the series, while Shazam artist Evan 'Doc' Shaner is turning in some of his most impressive work to date.

Exact on sale dates for the Hanna-Barbera revamp haven't yet been announced, but the DC blog confirms they will all launch in May.