I should have read this book months ago. Yet somehow it wound up in my pile of books that I had already read and needed to review. Imagine my surprise when I started to write a review and I didn't have any clue about the contents. Last night, I rectified this and gave it a read that was a delight.
The comic is from 1973. The Flintstones have already been a TV staple for 13 years. And yet you'd think that the artists behind this book would have gotten Wilma's costume right! She wore a white furry thing with black stripes. Not a jet black cave woman evening gown!
Earlier this year I did a review of an Easter comic starring various Hanna-Barbera characters including Fred and Barney. I had pointed out in that review thanks to writer Mark Evanier that Charlton's books weren't well received by the animation studio. Mostly because of the likenesses. And I think Wilma's appearance is proof of that statement. But other than that, I didn't think this was that bad of a comic book.
The focus of the stories and one-page gags is the Flintstones' prehistoric pet, Dino. Unlike on the show, we get to see just what's on Dino's mind. Mostly it's food. Though he does at one point bring up a very good point: in the days of the caveman 'what's a dog?'
Fred calls Dino, in one story, a 'very poor excuse for a watch dog!' It's after a burglar distracts Dino with a steak. With Fred's insult, poor Dino wonders just what his master wants of him. I very much thought Dino was a dinosaur. Yet Fred and Wilma seem to think of their pet as a dog. The Flintstones have a sabertooth tiger, named Baby Puss, that is their house cat. Thus it's assumed that kitties evolved from those fierce predators. Since I have no recollection of wolves nor dogs ever appearing on the show, are we to assume that whatever breed of thunder lizard Dino is will eventually morph into the pooches of the 20th century?
I laughed at least once every story. Each gag made me chuckle. Sure, one of these tales got me thinking. But I really don't see what Hanna-Barbera didn't like about the Charlton books. The biggest error seems to be a coloring misstep that might have to do with the printing process as a whole. Maybe pure white didn't show well on newsprint? Maybe this just isn't the best example of Charlton Comics at its worst. Personally, I thought that this was a great dollar bin rescue.
Worth Consuming!
Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.
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