Scooby-Doo #49

Issue #49 of DC's Scooby-Doo brings a gloriously gooey mystery to the cover, where Shaggy and Fred scramble in alarm as a looming black tar monster takes shape behind them — while a smaller tar creature snarls menacingly at their feet. Fred holds a magnifying glass and deadpans that what they're looking at is merely a footprint, sending Shaggy into disbelieving laughter, and Scooby-Doo clings wide-eyed between them in classic fashion. Cover pencils by Joe Staton and inks by Dave Hunt give the scene a lively, spot-on animated look that fans of the Cartoon Network era will immediately recognize. With the interior story "The Case of the Greedy Tar" penned by Terrance Griep Jr. and drawn by Anthony Williams, this 2001 issue promises exactly the kind of comedic monster-chasing fun the series delivered month after month.