The Flintstones is one of the best comics ever published… And I’m still having a hard time believing that’s true. I’m having a harder time believing that it came from DC Comics. It’s even more baffling that it was my favorite series to read this past year. It’s also gut wrenching to know that this is the last issue in the series, but thankfully The Flintstones ends on a beautiful high note.
Issue 12 is a series of interconnected smaller stories with a narration from The Great Gazoo on how humanity will evolve. The Flintstones is Mark Russell’s biting satire of our world, skewering topics like religion, veterans affairs, social media, and science. However, this issue decides to not attack the usual suspects; instead it simply gives windows into the lives of all these wonderful characters. Russell also uses this issue to wrap up a lot of storylines and themes. I won’t go into any specific spoilers, but the stories are all wonderfully touching and lovely. It’s a much more subdued final issue and ends with less of a bang than other comic series.
The art is still fantastic, maintaining the heightened aesthetic that gave such a unique look to the series. Steve Pugh’s pencils with Chris Chuckry’s colors are just wonderful. The facial expressions and animals are particularly fun, and the backgrounds feel like an old episode of The Flintstones. There’s a lot of vibrance to the series and particularly this issue. Plus the background puns are just hilarious. My favorite was “Whammoth, Bammoth, thank you Mammoth.”
In an industry dominated by superhero action, sci fi, and horror stories, it’s amazing to see a major company take a chance on a smaller comedy series with a unique perspective on our bizarre world. Perhaps this will be the start of more interesting risks from the big two, and the rise of more comedy titles. We’re seeing Amanda Connor and Jimmy Palmiotti take on The Jetsons next, so who knows.
We here at Monkeys Fighting Robots loved this series and could not give it enough praise. It was touching, lovely, and yes, very funny in all of its biting satire, and weirdness. If you haven’t had the chance to start reading it, please pick up the series and start reading. If you’re tired of hearing us rave about it, pick it up anyway, so you can finally see what the fuss is all about. You absolutely won’t regret it.
