The Flintstones’ 2016–17 Comic Was The Rejuvenation The Series Needs
For decades, The Flintstones have cruised off nostalgia. When the 1960s cartoon was released, a generation accepted Fred, Barney, Wilma, Betty and the gang into their lives with open arms. Long after the show has ended, it’s been rough for the town of Bedrock. There have been other TV series, but nothing since the ’80s. By contrast, Scooby-Doo has never experienced a long break. The live-action Flintstones movies were forgettable, and Seth MacFarlane’s attempt at a rebooting for Fox failed. The only thing that was even remotely good was a crossover movie with WWE that you may have never known about.
While the future of The Flintstones in the world of Hollywood is uncertain, there is hope for a new generation to experience the wonderful family and their town. From 2016 to 2017, DC comics launched an amazing interpretation of The Flintstones. Written by Mark Russell and drawn by Steve Pugh, the series takes everything we loved about the original cartoon and takes a more mature approach to it all.
The term social satire perfectly describes The Flintstones. It’s done in a way that also feels important to the time period. There’s chapters about consumerism, elections, war, and even religion. While this sounds like heavy subject matter, Russell writes it in a way that never comes off as preachy. Everything has a purpose that adds to the living, breathing, and evolving city of Bedrock. I liked that The Great Gazoo has a serious role in that he’s monitoring Bedrock’s development and reporting back to his community. His small appearances add up to a satisfying ending of the series.
Throughout the stories, we witness the development of religion. In issue #7, two ideas are created pretty much on the spot: the half-thought of hell to the church taking money for forgiveness. It might be the most in-your-face material if you’re religious, because the message I took away is that a lot of religion was making it up as they go. No real long-term plan in place.
Despite the content being full of messages, The Flintstones brought non-stop laughter throughout the pages. Some of it felt like deleted scenes from the 1960s cartoon, some certainly have a more modern feel and others combine the two. Animals were always a big part of the cartoon, so in this comic series we see a lot of it. Particularly, there’s a moment in issue #6 where the armadillo, Fred’s bowling ball, explains to the elephant, the vacuum cleaner, what his job is. After trying to make sense of it, he has an existential breakdown.
As mentioned, religion plays a medium role in the issues. For instance, in issue #2, the pastor presents their long-running God, Morp, a stork, who starts to spin rap-inspired lyrics on a record player. The following week, a new God is introduced: Peaches, the lovable, pink Elephant. Only problem is Peaches can be found in the vacuum aisle. “Does it matter which form God takes,” the pastor asked. “I don’t know, let me ask my vacuum cleaner,” Fred responds. It’s quick-witted humor that makes for a few chuckles.
There’s even jokes to be enjoyed in the background of the art. Steve Pugh does a wonderful job at making the scenery feel alive. Who doesn’t want to eat at Outback Snakehouse? Or laugh uncontrollably at the perfect joke of Wammoth Bammoth Thank You Mammoth? It’s little things like that combined with the various animal inventions that make each panel worth viewing with a keen eye.
The biggest letdown is that The Flintstones only got a 12 issue run. You could Google the series and see countless articles praising the work created by Mark Russell and Steve Pugh. If there was ever a time to get put The Flintstones back on TV, I’d trust the vision of these two to make a compelling series. It needs a revitalization in the same way people now care about Archie and the gang with Riverdale. I believe the social commentary shown in The Flintstones comic could go over well on TV if it remains the same style. Not too preachy, but also full of the humorous jokes to balance it out.
In a world where many beloved cartoon characters fade as decades pass, The Flintstones have been able to remain relevant even if they’re just hanging on by a thread. Everybody needs to reinvent themselves at some point, and what better time to do so than to a new generation. There are still many stories lurking down every street of Bedrock. Hopefully, someone will be able to tell them one day, and younger kids can meet The Flintstones, the modern stone age family.
