There Does Come A Day...

"So, what did you expect?"

Gene (The Waco Kid) Wilder to Cleavon (Black Bart) Little, from "Blazing Saddles."

I belong to Yahoo's "Velma Dinkley" group, and have been a member since 2006. Now, one of the group members keeps reminding us that "Scooby Doo Is Aimed At 5yr olds." And, in a way, it is aimed at younger kids...but not entirely.

In the animated DVD "Scooby Doo in 'I Want My Mummy!'", Mystery, Incorporated nearly ends up losing a team member in the worst way possible...killed in the line of duty while working a case. Though later revealed to be a cement copy of Velma, the very sight of the diminutive supersleuth "turned to stone" (and, as a result, killed) marked something very new to me.

It was, in a way, an attempt by Warner Brothers to let the viewers know that fighting crime can often exact the ultimate price...the crimefighter's life. It happens all the time in the "Meta-Being" printed comics, as both heroes and villains sometimes pay with their lives for their causes.

The reactions of the other team members told me that they had not prepared for such an eventuality. From Freddy's angry response of "And This Time, IT'S PERSONAL!" to Shag and Scoob blubbering away more than they usually do, the rest of the team was not prepared for the ultimate eventuality of losing one of their own, never to return.

The fact that the statue was merely cement (and Vel had disguised herself as Cleo's Ghost to go after the Von Butch Grave-Robbing Gang) might have lessened the lesson taught (and the reconciliation scene at the Pyramids at The Valley Of The Kings was rather cool), but it was one of many lessons in the DVD.

Still, it was a reminder that being heroes (or villains) is not a hazard-free job. The Angel of Death is never far away...and sometimes, he makes his take and splits the scene!

We cannot protect our kids from learning that their heroes (in print, on the small screen, and the silver one as well) are, indeed, mortal. It's a sad day when a hero must leave this realm unwillingly...but Death is a fact of Life. Stranger still, Death itself will die at the End of Time.

In my "work-in-progress" novel (S.D.--Stand or Fall), the gang is confronted by the fact that Vel ends up taking a bullet meant for Daphne. Though alive (albeit in a coma), she lays helpless as her friends deal with not only her getting shot, but whether or not the team will stand or fall as a result of the incident.

Like I said--a work in progress. It will be a "text-only" book, since I cannot draw for beans. 

I'll check in with you folks another night.

--KV