Scooby-Doo...Where Are You! - Gold Key - Issue 3 - Comic

Scooby-Doo...Where Are You! - Gold Key - Issue 3

Released September 1970

Episode Premiere

The Backstage Rage November 8, 1969

The Puppetmaster is shown as a silhouette 
regardless of the lighting until he's shown
unmasked.

Tricky Treats - Original to the Comic

Thoughts and Details

This issue was released near the time of the second season premiere. The cover doesn't have Velma on it. The whole gang, aside from Velma, is there and they're looking at the Puppetmaster.

Stories

One Spook Too Many

This is an adaptation of the first season episode the Backstage Rage. The gang stumbles upon a counterfeit operation in a puppet theater.

As with the other adaptations, the plot is the same but the story is streamlined. Some scenes are cut for brevity.

The comic continues with the convention of having Scooby create thought bubbles instead of talking. This seems to have been borrowed from the Archie comics convention of having Jughead's dog Hot Dog use thought bubbles. There may be other comics that followed the convention. This connection stands out to me because of the connection between Archie and Scooby-Doo. Reportedly, one of the inspirations for Scooby-Doo's development was Archie's success.

The comic made me realize that Shaggy and Scooby steal money from the theater when they take a brand new bill that they think might be counterfeit. It wouldn't be quite as clearly theft if Shaggy's first thought upon finding out it was real wasn't to spend it. Even if he still thought it was fake, that's not cool, it's just a different crime. 

A few nuances change between the cartoon and the comic. 

• The witch puppet that falls and scares Scooby instead hits him over the head and I don't like this because it forces me to question who worked the witch puppet.  
• Scooby jumps after the phantom in the pit in front of the stage. In the cartoon episode, he's tricked into jumping after a Scooby snack. In the comic, he goes after the phantom for attacking Daphne. I prefer the comic here.
• The mystery resolves a little more sensibly. They find the printing press in a secret room under the stage. Then Scooby traps the Puppetmaster by attacking him. It cuts a few details like the plate getting found then stolen.
• The character design for Pietro and the puppets is much different. I prefer the designs in the episode because the comic aesthetic is cuter and sillier than the creepy vibe of the tv show. 

Tricky Treats

There's mystery here. There's barely a story. Shaggy and Scooby scam for food. First from a doughnut shop, second from an employer who hires them in good faith then they ditch him.

It's kind of like a preview of the future Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo shorts.  Shaggy and Scooby are at their best when they're part of a team. There's no team here. It just feels like someone got told that they needed a couple pages to fill out the issue.

Rogue's Gallery

The Puppetmaster