The Flinstones and the Jetsons #18

I've still got a few books from this past holiday season to review. This one from 1999 was a DC series that had both Flintstones and Jetsons stories in the same issue; but aside from the occasional cover that had Fred and George interacting together, never seemed to have the two actually meeting in a story. 

There are 2 Christmas themed stories here. The cover carol is a parody of It's a Wonderful Life, though Wilma and Barney don't get married as the illustration would imply. It's Christmas Eve and Fred was expecting a big bonus in order to buy Christmas dinner and presents for everyone. However, he didn't get that bonus and instead of asking his boss why, Fred is wishing he was never born. So the Great Gazoo grants his request and Fred views life without him ever being a part of it. However, it all seems like his friends and family are much better off without him... on the surface.

The Jetsons tale was a slapstick farce. Elroy doesn't believe in Santa Claus anymore. Naturally, George rents a Santa costume and tries to restore his boy's faith in Christmas magic. Too bad for George, he forgot to disarm the elaborate alarm system to his home, the robot maid Rosie!

I enjoyed both stories with the Jetsons story probably being my favorite. Not because the first story was bad. As Christmas story aficionado, of not just comic books, it drives me crazy that the Flintstones celebrate Christmas! How is this possible?!? Jesus wasn't even born yet! Who's birth are these cavemen commemorating? 

I'd be okay with a situation similar to Star Wars. They celebrate Life Day, which with the decorating of trees and wearing of red, surprisingly looks a lot like Christmas but isn't. If the cave people of Bedrock celebrated the solstice and it just happens to look very festive like Christmas, I would be okay with that! Just don't call a pre-Christianity holiday Christmas! 

Sorry, but I have to acquiesce to my pet peeve and rate this issue a bit lower than I would normally.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

Scooby-Doo Team-Up Volume 2

It's like this: I absolutely love Scooby-Doo Team-Up. But I came to the show a little bit late. In fact, I didn't even fully commit to this series until around issue #17. It was then that I wised up and subscribed through my favorite comics shop so I didn't miss an issue.

For one reason or another, this series is on fire. Kids and adults love it. The series is actually more popular than the regular DC kids Scooby comic. SDTU is a monthly issue. Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? is a bi-monthly release.

For this very reason, (plus this is a kids comic book), it is nearly impossible to find back issues of Team-Up. That's why I broke down and finally bought this trade release despite having a couple of the issues in reprinted inside. It was more important to me to get to read all of the issues in this series than getting double-helpings of some tales. In fact, when I reread those issues, I still had a ton of fun reading them!

Along with a costume swapping caper involving Jimmy Olsen as Elastic Lad and Lois Lane as Superwoman, this volume contains the critically acclaimed 2-parter in which the Mystery Inc. gang go back in time to meet the Flintstones and then forward in time to pal around with the Jetsons. 

Writer Sholly Fisch is a master at this genre. And I just love Dario Brizuela's art-style. The characters are superior and his repetitive use of backgrounds and certain characters has grown on me. It's not that he's a lazy artist. Instead, Brizuela is trying to capture the feel of those early morning Hanna-Barbera cartoons of the 60s, 70s and 80s.

Very Much Worth Consuming!

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

Booster Gold/The Flintstones Special #1

Dating in the 25th century is hard enough without having prehistoric aliens invading. In order to investigate their misjudgment of the time stream, Booster Gold and his alien sidekick Skeetz must travel millions of years into the past. Booster arrives in the prehistoric past where he must seek the help of Fred and Barney. 
   
Mark Russell continues his exciting run with the modern stone age family. While the story was quite entertaining it wasn't the best of this book.

 In the second feature was a modern look at the Jetsons. While I absolutely hated their sleek look, the story was fantastic. In it, George's mother is dying of some dread disease and with daughter Judy's help, Mother Jetson has her consciousness transferred into a robot. Oh, and Grandma's name? Would you believe, Rosie???

Yes- I gave away a big spoiler but if you've been keeping up with the forthcoming releases on social media, you'll know that this giant plot point has long been revealed. 

I've gotten really behind on my reviews. This book dropped in March and I probably read it within a week of it's release. But when I read the Jetsons story I just knew that this was setting up a new offering in DC's Hanna-Barbera Universe line of reboots. I for one will be first in line for it when it arrives in stores this November.

A good first act. An amazing second feature. 

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Cartoon Network Free Comic

  Free Comic Book Day didn't start until 2002. With this free comic being issued in 1997, I'm not sure why DC issued this book. Most freebies before the rise of FCBD usually were released in conjunction with an event- like the first day of the World's Fair or during the release of a new movie. Sometimes collectors could send away for a free comic if they collected enough UPC codes or you could garner a freebie by stopping by a car dealership or other business.

    With those comics, the sponsor was listed on the cover. Since you couldn't physically stop by Cartoon Network to pick one of these up and there isn't a barcode on the cover, it's a bit of a mystery as to how this book was obtained. (I found it in a grab bag a few months ago.) This comic contains three stories- all reprints from previous Cartoon Networked licensed comics published by DC Comics. So my guess is that you could get this book at your local comics shop either for free or with the purchase of another title.

   The first story starred the characters on the books cover- Cow & Chicken. It's reprinted from 'Cartoon Networks Presents #6,' an anthology showcase of other CN shows like Dexter's Laboratory, Johnny Bravo, and of course Cow & Chicken. In this adventure, Cow teaches her brother Chicken about recycling. The art looked like it was from the creator's of Ren & Stimpy. It's got some gross humor like on the classic 90s show as well. It's a good thing I'm a fan of Ren & Stimpy. But can somebody explain to me just how a cow and chicken are brother and sister?

   The next tale stars the Mystery Machine gang as they try to save Daphne from an obsessed fan. Added to the mix, this stalker originally was the suspect of one of the gang's earliest cases. So instead of blaming those meddling kids, this guy decided to create more monsters for the team to investigate so that he could get closer to the gang's fiery red head. An interesting story but it's a little creepy if you get to the bottom of it.

   The final yarn is set in the distant future. Here, Mr. Spacely tests out a robot George Jetson in hopes of replacing his human workforce. Things seem to go great when the unit is beta tested at the Jetson home. It makes poor George feel a little unwanted.  But at work, the robot goofs off more than the Jetson family patriarch saving George's place at Spacely Sprockets at least.

    Cartoon Network was a fun trip down memory lane. I didn't buy these when I was younger, but my sister, who was 12-years younger than I, did. I'd often read these to her or I'd find her old copies lying around and I'd read them if I was bored. These days, I might find an issue or two in a dollar bin and donate them to the reading program I started at my wife's work. But now that I remember the quality of these Cartoon Network comics, I'm going to make use I read them first before handing them off.

    Worth Consuming

   Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Scooby-Doo Team-Up #8 (Family Comic Friday)

  When I was a kid, the coolest thing in the world was the team-up. I thought all-star games were wicked fun, especially the baseball one in which each player wore his own team's jersey. In keeping with that annual event, I feel in love with other types of team-ups, especially those in comic books. Every month Batman, Superman, the Thing, and Spider-man would match up with heroes, villains, even real life people in the pages of Brave and the Bold, DC Comics Presents, Marvel Two-In-One, and Marvel Team-Up.

  And yes- I said real people meet up with these heroes.

    In 1978, the Man of Steel faced off against the Greatest of All-Time, Muhammed Ali. Just a few months prior, Spider-Man and the Silver Samurai traded blows amongst the Not-Ready-For Prime-Time Players of Saturday Night Live! And let's not forget the original king of the team-up, and perhaps the one who inspired DC and Marvel to issue team-up comics, one Scooby-Doo!

    It's the fall of 1972 and Scooby-Doo and his gang of human detectives have spent the last 4 years solving supernatural crimes. During those original episodes, the gang would team up usually with distant relatives or good friends to solve a slew of crimes while battling spooks, monsters, and aliens. Usually, the bad guy was really Old Man MacGregor in disguise. But on September 9th, Scooby, Shaggy, Fred, Daphne, and Velma battled a giant Bat while teamed with the Three Stooges. Over the next two years, the team would meet up with Sonny & Cher, Don Knotts, the Harlem Globetrotters, and some fellow cartoon characters such as Josie & the Pussycats.

    The most famous Scooby-Doo team-up are with a pair of superheroes, of course; the Dynamic Duo: Batman & Robin. They were so popular they worked together twice and have been parodied and tributed frequently, most recently on an episode of the animated Batman: Brave & the Bold series on Cartoon Network. There the Scooby-Doo gang, Batman & Robin, and Weird Al teamed-up to put the kibosh on the combined might of the Joker and the Penguin.

    So, that brings us to today's Family Comic Friday selection- the new series 'Scooby-Doo Team-Up." Fittingly, the first match-up had Scooby with the Caped Crusader and the Boy Wonder. Over time, the gang would team-up with Superman, Wonder Woman, and other members of the Super Friends. Last month the gang went back in time and solved a spooky mystery with the Flintstones. Well, if Scooby went back to prehistoric time, you know what's coming in the future...

   Meet George Jetson, Jane his wife, daughter Judy and his boy Elroy.

   This series has been on my radar for some time. I usually wait till my comics go on discount. But I'm glad I caved in. This issue was super nostalgic and it will delight both kids and adults alike.
   Right now the series is only covering Hanna-Barbera properties. Yes, Superman, Wonder Woman and the rest of the Justice League are DC characters. But, Super Friends is the Hanna-Barbera version of those heroes. DC is owned by Warner Brothers so maybe we'll see Elmer Fudd or the cast of the Big Bang Theory. If this title decides to do like the original series did in 1972 and use real people, the skies the limit with possible team-ups!

    I'm a fan of the series and it's now on my wish list. Even more, I'm seriously considering buying first run future issues at regular price. I might even start a subscription. That's how fun this series is.

(note: along with the story, there were about 5 pages of fun activities for kids. That included a pizza party with Teen Titans Go!, some secret files on a DC hero and a villain and a listing of other all-ages DC releases.)

Worth Consuming

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Scooby-Doo Team-Up was released in stores on 1/7/15 and is still available in stores. It is released bi-monthly.