"I'm bored. Let's take our challenging commentary elsewhere"
May 6, 2017 2:14 PM Subscribe
"The most emotionally devastating comic book in recent memory features a man coming to grips with his obsolescence, questioning humanity’s squandering nature and gross consumerism, and coping with the scars of war." It's DC's new (2016) Flintstones (Steve Pugh, Mark Russell)
"The 2016 comic book take on The Flintstones is similar in form and function—juxtaposing modern life with prehistoric aesthetics for great jokes and sharp satire—but it takes things even further. "
"Read as a whole, this new iteration has a satirical bite that the more toothless earlier versions lacked. When it engages in topical parody—say, by satirizing consumerist impulses or electoral politics—it doesn’t feel especially novel or sharp. Instead, such sequences work as emotional snares: Russell and Pugh will spend most of a chapter stacking up dopey jokes about a familiar topic, only to ambush the reader with a sudden shift into unexpected poignancy."
"I laughed at a lot of its dark humor and then smirked at the idea that those beats might be a performative commentary on the comic’s own existence. We’re at the end of history, reading a comic that reboots a sitcom rip-off cartoon about the beginning of civilization. Laugh it up, pterodactyls, we’re all dying eventually."
"The 2016 comic book take on The Flintstones is similar in form and function—juxtaposing modern life with prehistoric aesthetics for great jokes and sharp satire—but it takes things even further. "
"Read as a whole, this new iteration has a satirical bite that the more toothless earlier versions lacked. When it engages in topical parody—say, by satirizing consumerist impulses or electoral politics—it doesn’t feel especially novel or sharp. Instead, such sequences work as emotional snares: Russell and Pugh will spend most of a chapter stacking up dopey jokes about a familiar topic, only to ambush the reader with a sudden shift into unexpected poignancy."
"I laughed at a lot of its dark humor and then smirked at the idea that those beats might be a performative commentary on the comic’s own existence. We’re at the end of history, reading a comic that reboots a sitcom rip-off cartoon about the beginning of civilization. Laugh it up, pterodactyls, we’re all dying eventually."
I've had some pages from this tossed into my twitter feed and I've always found them to be pretty insightful and not at all what I'd expect from The Flintstones. I'm glad it's getting some recognition because, while I'm not a reader, what I have read has been pretty great.
posted by hippybear at 2:35 PM on May 6, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by hippybear at 2:35 PM on May 6, 2017 [4 favorites]
I'm both curious and scared at the prospect that they might get around to some Great Gazoo storylines at some point.
posted by radwolf76 at 2:44 PM on May 6, 2017 [6 favorites]
posted by radwolf76 at 2:44 PM on May 6, 2017 [6 favorites]
Rather excited to read this, I’ve got to admit. I suspect it will end up being a big ol’ fatalistic moan and rather shallow justification for popular liberal social mores, but that sounds just fine.
posted by Going To Maine at 3:03 PM on May 6, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by Going To Maine at 3:03 PM on May 6, 2017 [1 favorite]
Recently, in the new DC Jetsons, [SPOILER].
posted by Guy Smiley at 3:38 PM on May 6, 2017 [8 favorites]
posted by Guy Smiley at 3:38 PM on May 6, 2017 [8 favorites]
Holy crap, Guy Smiley, that'll teach me to do a quickie search before I joke about something like that.
posted by Halloween Jack at 4:01 PM on May 6, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by Halloween Jack at 4:01 PM on May 6, 2017 [4 favorites]
Good grief! Are there any fun comic books these days?
posted by shapes that haunt the dusk at 4:29 PM on May 6, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by shapes that haunt the dusk at 4:29 PM on May 6, 2017 [4 favorites]
See though- this stuff is sort of fun, like in a "take a fun house mirror to a previously kinda sexist and very dated intellectual property" kinda way, and I appreciate that. Like this=okay.
Taking a fun house mirror to a property that wasn't sexist/racist/dated and turning them into Nazis?
NOT OKAY.
So once again comics DC>comics Marvel.
posted by Homo neanderthalensis at 4:34 PM on May 6, 2017 [3 favorites]
Taking a fun house mirror to a property that wasn't sexist/racist/dated and turning them into Nazis?
NOT OKAY.
So once again comics DC>comics Marvel.
posted by Homo neanderthalensis at 4:34 PM on May 6, 2017 [3 favorites]
> Good grief! Are there any fun comic books these days?
A couple years ago I asked for lightheartedy-friendly reboots of gritty mature movies. Let's do the same thing for comics now. To broaden the field you can riff off specific interpretations, like Frank Miller's Dark Knight Returns version of Batman.
(He would, of course, be a Marine Corps DI-type stern father figure to his adoptive daughter Robin, whose boundless curiosity and energy lead to no end of wacky trouble. After too many debutantes and mobsters alike have gotten pies in the face from The Joker, Batman finally rouses from semi-retirement and calls his old buddy Superman for one last big adventure!)
posted by ardgedee at 4:45 PM on May 6, 2017 [8 favorites]
A couple years ago I asked for lightheartedy-friendly reboots of gritty mature movies. Let's do the same thing for comics now. To broaden the field you can riff off specific interpretations, like Frank Miller's Dark Knight Returns version of Batman.
(He would, of course, be a Marine Corps DI-type stern father figure to his adoptive daughter Robin, whose boundless curiosity and energy lead to no end of wacky trouble. After too many debutantes and mobsters alike have gotten pies in the face from The Joker, Batman finally rouses from semi-retirement and calls his old buddy Superman for one last big adventure!)
posted by ardgedee at 4:45 PM on May 6, 2017 [8 favorites]
While comics DC>comics Marvel, movies Marvel>movies DC for essentially the same reason, and in the most ironic twist, it's the impossibly lightweight Hanna-Barbera characters that are getting the best "grimdark" treatment these days.
But is DC going too far? They've already done "crossover" comics, the most mind-breaking being "The Banana Splits Meet the Suicide Squad", and their next step into the void is coming next month with:
DC/Hanna-Barbera WARNER BROS. LOONEY TUNES Specials—Get ready for a new wave of crossover shenaningans as DC’s greatest team up with some cartoon classics:
Batman/Elmer Fudd Special #1—When Elmer Fudd has a random encounter with Batman, he slowly descends into an obsessive madness that leads the hunter to stalk the Dark Knight through the streets of Gotham. (Tom King, Lee Weeks)
Jonah Hex/Yosemite Sam Special #1—After a lifetime of digging for gold in Yosemite, Sam finally manages to strike it right and, as the nouveau riche are wont to do, he hires a bodyguard to protect himself. Enter one Jonah Hex. (Jimmy Palmiotti, Mark Texeira)
Legion of Super-Heroes/Bugs Bunny Special #1—When the Legion of Super-Heroes try to pull an iconic hero from the 21st century, they unwittingly pull a superpowered rabbit out of their time-portal hat. (Sam Humphries, Tom Grummett, Scott Hanna)
Lobo/Road Runner Special #1—Sick and tired of never being able to catch and kill the Road Runner, Wile. E. Coyote hires Lobo to assassinate the speedy bird once and for all. (Bill Morrison, Kelley Jones)
Martian Manhunter/Marvin The Martian Special #1—Torn between his desire to save the earth and the guilt of having to defeat one of his own kind, the Martian Manhunter faces off with Marvin the Martian, who has decided that the earth must be destroyed. (Steve Orlando, Frank Barbere)
Wonder Woman/Tasmanian Devil Special #1—Wonder Woman has fought many mythical beasts and savage monster plucked right out of Greek legend but now she must face the dreaded Tasmanian Devil in an epic battle of swords and spit. (Tony Bedard, Barry Kitson)
Some of these are quite dubious, but I'm totally behind a Martian Manhunter/Marvin The Martian battle (with the winner taking on My Favorite Martian?) and I CAN imagine Fudd as a Batman '66 villain named "The Hunter"...
posted by oneswellfoop at 5:01 PM on May 6, 2017 [6 favorites]
But is DC going too far? They've already done "crossover" comics, the most mind-breaking being "The Banana Splits Meet the Suicide Squad", and their next step into the void is coming next month with:
DC/
Batman/Elmer Fudd Special #1—When Elmer Fudd has a random encounter with Batman, he slowly descends into an obsessive madness that leads the hunter to stalk the Dark Knight through the streets of Gotham. (Tom King, Lee Weeks)
Jonah Hex/Yosemite Sam Special #1—After a lifetime of digging for gold in Yosemite, Sam finally manages to strike it right and, as the nouveau riche are wont to do, he hires a bodyguard to protect himself. Enter one Jonah Hex. (Jimmy Palmiotti, Mark Texeira)
Legion of Super-Heroes/Bugs Bunny Special #1—When the Legion of Super-Heroes try to pull an iconic hero from the 21st century, they unwittingly pull a superpowered rabbit out of their time-portal hat. (Sam Humphries, Tom Grummett, Scott Hanna)
Lobo/Road Runner Special #1—Sick and tired of never being able to catch and kill the Road Runner, Wile. E. Coyote hires Lobo to assassinate the speedy bird once and for all. (Bill Morrison, Kelley Jones)
Martian Manhunter/Marvin The Martian Special #1—Torn between his desire to save the earth and the guilt of having to defeat one of his own kind, the Martian Manhunter faces off with Marvin the Martian, who has decided that the earth must be destroyed. (Steve Orlando, Frank Barbere)
Wonder Woman/Tasmanian Devil Special #1—Wonder Woman has fought many mythical beasts and savage monster plucked right out of Greek legend but now she must face the dreaded Tasmanian Devil in an epic battle of swords and spit. (Tony Bedard, Barry Kitson)
Some of these are quite dubious, but I'm totally behind a Martian Manhunter/Marvin The Martian battle (with the winner taking on My Favorite Martian?) and I CAN imagine Fudd as a Batman '66 villain named "The Hunter"...
posted by oneswellfoop at 5:01 PM on May 6, 2017 [6 favorites]
It's sort of like the people at DC decided to go with the same take on stuff as Lisa and Bart Simpson.
posted by shapes that haunt the dusk at 5:03 PM on May 6, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by shapes that haunt the dusk at 5:03 PM on May 6, 2017 [1 favorite]
Good grief! Are there any fun comic books these days?
In case someone wants recommendations:
posted by Anonymous at 5:12 PM on May 6, 2017
In case someone wants recommendations:
- Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur (though there were a few issues with painfully awkward Lego plugs)
- All-Star Superman
- Nearly everything involving Squirrel Girl
- The latest Great Lakes Avengers series (and the original series, though sometimes it took a darker tone)
- Nextwave: Agents of HATE has a completely incongruous (intentionally so) tone compared to the title
- Lumberjanes
- Goldie Vance
- The various Adventure Time comics
- Some runs of Blue Beetle and Booster Gold
- The 80s run of Justice League International (with Giffen and DeMatteis) (not the case for all series involving the JLI characters--for God's sake avoid anything involving the "Identity Crisis" storyline
- Gotham Academy (though can get a bit young-adult drama at times
posted by Anonymous at 5:12 PM on May 6, 2017
And of course like all of the "Archie Meets the [X]" series, where [X] is a traditionally grimdark character. Archie Meets The Punisher? GOLD.
If you want to get extremely weird, check out Doom Patrol and the fabled single-issue Doom comic. It's got such classic lines as "You are huge! That means you have huge guts! Rip and tear!"
posted by Anonymous at 5:17 PM on May 6, 2017
If you want to get extremely weird, check out Doom Patrol and the fabled single-issue Doom comic. It's got such classic lines as "You are huge! That means you have huge guts! Rip and tear!"
posted by Anonymous at 5:17 PM on May 6, 2017
I would like to add: John Allison's series Giant Days is fantastic and hilarious, centered on three college girls navigating life. There's much more out there than what Marvel and DC are putting out.
posted by Mr.Encyclopedia at 5:20 PM on May 6, 2017 [6 favorites]
posted by Mr.Encyclopedia at 5:20 PM on May 6, 2017 [6 favorites]
Looking for worthy comic/graphic content? Check out this year's Eisner Award Nominees. A few go in the wrong direction but most are well award worthy.
posted by oneswellfoop at 6:11 PM on May 6, 2017
posted by oneswellfoop at 6:11 PM on May 6, 2017
I'm now getting a vision of Richie Rich -- driven to poverty, homelessness and near-madness by an orchestrated campaign of hostile takeovers and character assassination by Scrooge McDuck and his slicked-back-Gordon-Gecko-featherstyled nephews -- waging a bloody vendetta with the help of Cadbury his former butler (with a heretofore undisclosed talent for 3 Gun) and Irona, his former robot maid, now reprogrammed as a death machine using stolen North Korean parts.
Sort of a Harvey Comics meets Trading Places meets The Punisher.
posted by darkstar at 6:16 PM on May 6, 2017 [3 favorites]
Sort of a Harvey Comics meets Trading Places meets The Punisher.
posted by darkstar at 6:16 PM on May 6, 2017 [3 favorites]
"Holy crap, Guy Smiley, that'll teach me to do a quickie search before I joke about something like that."
What if nostalgic reboot but too much?
posted by traveler_ at 6:28 PM on May 6, 2017 [1 favorite]
What if nostalgic reboot but too much?
posted by traveler_ at 6:28 PM on May 6, 2017 [1 favorite]
Years ago a friend and I planned out a grimdark reboot of Inspector Gadget. Think RoboCop, only with even more body horror and existential angst.
posted by Faint of Butt at 6:31 PM on May 6, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by Faint of Butt at 6:31 PM on May 6, 2017 [3 favorites]
This opens us up to the massive collection of "intellectual property" owned by Comcast, under the "Classic Media" banner... including all the Harvey Comics (Richie Rich, Casper, Baby Huey), Jay Ward/Bill Scott (Rocky and Bullwinkle, Mr. Peabody & Sherman, George of the Jungle), UPA (Mr. Magoo, Gerald McBoingBoing), Tribune Media comics (Dick Tracy, Brenda Starr, Gasoline Alley, Broom-Hilda), the Filmation cartoons not based on something else (He-Man, BraveStarr), Rankin-Bass's Christmas shows (Rudolph, Frosty), Felix the Cat, Lassie, The Lone Ranger, Underdog, Tennessee Tuxedo, Voltron, Where's Waldo, Veggie Tales, specific versions of Shari Lewis & Lamb Chop and Godzilla... throw in Comcast-owned Illumination's Minions and Dreamwork's Shrek, Kung Fu Panda and Dragon Trainers, and you have enough mashup-able content to melt brains for generations...
posted by oneswellfoop at 6:44 PM on May 6, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by oneswellfoop at 6:44 PM on May 6, 2017 [2 favorites]
Casper the Ghost, Who Was Friendly Until They Killed His Friends And Pushed Him Just A Little Too Far
Sad Sack Faces A Court-Martial
Khemically Imbalanced Kat
posted by delfin at 6:45 PM on May 6, 2017 [3 favorites]
Sad Sack Faces A Court-Martial
Khemically Imbalanced Kat
posted by delfin at 6:45 PM on May 6, 2017 [3 favorites]
Beetle Bailey at Bagram.
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 6:55 PM on May 6, 2017 [6 favorites]
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 6:55 PM on May 6, 2017 [6 favorites]
I go all the way back to Beetle Bailey at My Lai.
posted by oneswellfoop at 7:04 PM on May 6, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by oneswellfoop at 7:04 PM on May 6, 2017 [2 favorites]
Scooby Doo, but as they travel around rural America in the Mystery Machine, they realize what they're really seeing in all the abandoned amusement parks, theaters, and mansions are grim reminders of the economic collapse from which huge swaths of the country have never been able to recover. The real monster wasn't Old Man Weatherby in a mask, it was the impending bank foreclosure that forced him to take such desperate measures.
posted by shapes that haunt the dusk at 7:09 PM on May 6, 2017 [18 favorites]
posted by shapes that haunt the dusk at 7:09 PM on May 6, 2017 [18 favorites]
I'm baffled at calling Flintstones "dark". There's dark humor sometimes, but mostly in service to a larger point. It's immensely funny and insightful and I'd recommend it to anybody.
posted by Pope Guilty at 7:21 PM on May 6, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by Pope Guilty at 7:21 PM on May 6, 2017 [3 favorites]
(Also one of the better jokes is a runner from the issue where movies are invented. Fred and Barney start going to films where women "bare themselves"... only to make it clear, in a conversation with a fellow Veterans of Paleolithic Wars member, that what they're so enthralled by is emotional baring, as the film titles are all puns on Steel Magnolias, Bridges of Madison County, and the like.)
posted by Pope Guilty at 7:27 PM on May 6, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by Pope Guilty at 7:27 PM on May 6, 2017 [1 favorite]
The real monster wasn't Old Man Weatherby in a mask, it was the impending bank foreclosure that forced him to take such desperate measures.
MERS. That's the monster. You can't get a clear title.
posted by rough ashlar at 7:28 PM on May 6, 2017 [2 favorites]
MERS. That's the monster. You can't get a clear title.
posted by rough ashlar at 7:28 PM on May 6, 2017 [2 favorites]
More fun Hanna-Barbera reboots for DC to consider:
Birdman fights crime, but he cannot stop the few remaining oak groves in Florida, the last remaining habitats of the severely endangered Florida scrub jay, from being bulldozed to make way for housing developments.
Space Ghost tenderly lays Jan and Jace to rest after a tragic accident, as he ponders the cruel loneliness of being immortal and outliving any companion he will ever have.
Yogi Bear is shot by U.S. Fish and Wildlife officers after he mauls a hiker who startled him while he was attempting to steal pic-a-nic baskets.
posted by shapes that haunt the dusk at 7:29 PM on May 6, 2017 [1 favorite]
Birdman fights crime, but he cannot stop the few remaining oak groves in Florida, the last remaining habitats of the severely endangered Florida scrub jay, from being bulldozed to make way for housing developments.
Space Ghost tenderly lays Jan and Jace to rest after a tragic accident, as he ponders the cruel loneliness of being immortal and outliving any companion he will ever have.
Yogi Bear is shot by U.S. Fish and Wildlife officers after he mauls a hiker who startled him while he was attempting to steal pic-a-nic baskets.
posted by shapes that haunt the dusk at 7:29 PM on May 6, 2017 [1 favorite]
Going the opposite way, let's never forget Saturday Morning Watchmen.
posted by Halloween Jack at 7:45 PM on May 6, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by Halloween Jack at 7:45 PM on May 6, 2017 [3 favorites]
Yogi Bear is shot by U.S. Fish and Wildlife officers after he mauls a hiker who startled him while he was attempting to steal pic-a-nic baskets.
not quite, but there is this (TW: violence):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6w0r-ScEG4
posted by bitteroldman at 8:28 PM on May 6, 2017
not quite, but there is this (TW: violence):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6w0r-ScEG4
posted by bitteroldman at 8:28 PM on May 6, 2017
You can rent the first trade of this for free from Hoopla Digital, which could have the unthinkable effect of a thirty-comment thread about a book that someone, at least one person, has actually read
posted by kittens for breakfast at 9:15 PM on May 6, 2017 [10 favorites]
posted by kittens for breakfast at 9:15 PM on May 6, 2017 [10 favorites]
Years ago a friend and I planned out a grimdark reboot of Inspector Gadget. Think RoboCop, only with even more body horror and existential angst.
I had my own Inspector Gadget idea, where Gadget was a rejected prototype Army android, Penny was a young AI programming wiz with ties to the FBI, and Dr. Claw was a brilliant prosthetics designer with secret plans to use his prosthetics to tap into the minds of his patients. It would've been better than the live-action movies they made.
posted by Mr.Encyclopedia at 10:11 PM on May 6, 2017 [3 favorites]
I had my own Inspector Gadget idea, where Gadget was a rejected prototype Army android, Penny was a young AI programming wiz with ties to the FBI, and Dr. Claw was a brilliant prosthetics designer with secret plans to use his prosthetics to tap into the minds of his patients. It would've been better than the live-action movies they made.
posted by Mr.Encyclopedia at 10:11 PM on May 6, 2017 [3 favorites]
So when does Quick Draw McGraw get the Fight Club treatment with his alter ego El Kabong?
posted by JoeZydeco at 10:28 PM on May 6, 2017
posted by JoeZydeco at 10:28 PM on May 6, 2017
Waiting for the "Wacky Racers / Fury Road issue.
posted by boilermonster at 10:51 PM on May 6, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by boilermonster at 10:51 PM on May 6, 2017 [1 favorite]
I'm both curious and scared at the prospect that they might get around to some Great Gazoo storylines at some point.
*SPOILER* That's issue no. 3.
posted by bryon at 11:14 PM on May 6, 2017 [1 favorite]
*SPOILER* That's issue no. 3.
posted by bryon at 11:14 PM on May 6, 2017 [1 favorite]
I would just like to point out to shapes that haunt the dusk’s comment that Scooby-Doo Apocalypse is currently being published. And while the DC take on Hanna-Barbera properties is very far afield, the reason the Jetsons live in the sky is because they are in the same universe as the Flintstones but the Earth was hyper-polluted between their generations: that was the point Jetsons: The Movie. If someone in this thread is looking for a mix of light-hearted revamps which also have a serious bent, see everything published about Archie since c. 2015.
posted by koavf at 1:14 AM on May 7, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by koavf at 1:14 AM on May 7, 2017 [1 favorite]
see everything published about Archie since c. 2015
uh, everything except Chilling Adventures of Sabrina and Afterlife With Archie, which are very good but are definitely are not light-hearted.
posted by Anonymous at 2:09 AM on May 7, 2017
uh, everything except Chilling Adventures of Sabrina and Afterlife With Archie, which are very good but are definitely are not light-hearted.
posted by Anonymous at 2:09 AM on May 7, 2017
Years ago a friend and I planned out a grimdark reboot of Inspector Gadget
That's pretty much the recent Deus Ex games.
posted by BinaryApe at 2:59 AM on May 7, 2017
That's pretty much the recent Deus Ex games.
posted by BinaryApe at 2:59 AM on May 7, 2017
Waiting for the "Wacky Racers / Fury Road issue
It exists. Wacky Raceland ran 6 issues before being cancelled. I'm reading the TPB now. It's a bit of a mess but YMMV.
The Future Quest series, OTOH, has been an enormously fun read. Jeff Parker nails all the fun of the old HB adventure cartoons in one big glorious All-Ages crossover event. Turns out Darwyn Cooke was supposed to be the principle artist and co-plotter, but he had just gotten diagnosed with cancer just as it came time to start working on the series and he opted to pass the art chores on to the more than capable hands to fellow Alex Toth disciples Evan "Doc" Shaner and Steve Rude, among others.
posted by KingEdRa at 5:45 AM on May 7, 2017
So again I'm seeing a reaction against the straw man of "grim-n-gritty" in a discussion of comics titles where that description doesn't really apply. Like, at all. Same thing happened reference to the new "Archie" comics when metafilter discussed that.
There's always a sense behind these comments that somehow the trend has gone TOO FAR AND ONLY I CAN SEE THIS FOR HOW RIDICULOUS THE NEVER ENDING PURSUIT OF "DARK" TAKES ON INNOCENT CHARACTERS IS WHY CAN'T ANYTHING REMAIN SIMPLE AND FUN ARRRRR. And that's nonsensical.
I mean, if nothing else: who really gave a fuck about the "Flintstones" before this comic came out? You've gone a giant media mega-corporation in possession of a library of cultural abandon-ware, stuff like "The Flintstones". They've tried to capitalize on it for years and years. Bad comics. Bad movies. But the only real successful use they've made of the characters is as mascots for a line of breakfast serials. And the source property, the original series itself, was fucking terrible.
So why this rush to dismiss when someone picks that detritus up and does something interesting with it? Why the immediate jump to "oh, I see, grim-n-gritty reboot #1,231,212". That isn't what the book is, and it isn't what any of the linked articles are describing. kittens for breakfast provides info in a comment up above about how you can read the first several issues of the book for free. I suspect that if people took a look, at least some will be surprised to learn that it is indeed possible for something like this to be worth reading. Fun, even.
posted by Ipsifendus at 5:54 AM on May 7, 2017 [7 favorites]
There's always a sense behind these comments that somehow the trend has gone TOO FAR AND ONLY I CAN SEE THIS FOR HOW RIDICULOUS THE NEVER ENDING PURSUIT OF "DARK" TAKES ON INNOCENT CHARACTERS IS WHY CAN'T ANYTHING REMAIN SIMPLE AND FUN ARRRRR. And that's nonsensical.
I mean, if nothing else: who really gave a fuck about the "Flintstones" before this comic came out? You've gone a giant media mega-corporation in possession of a library of cultural abandon-ware, stuff like "The Flintstones". They've tried to capitalize on it for years and years. Bad comics. Bad movies. But the only real successful use they've made of the characters is as mascots for a line of breakfast serials. And the source property, the original series itself, was fucking terrible.
So why this rush to dismiss when someone picks that detritus up and does something interesting with it? Why the immediate jump to "oh, I see, grim-n-gritty reboot #1,231,212". That isn't what the book is, and it isn't what any of the linked articles are describing. kittens for breakfast provides info in a comment up above about how you can read the first several issues of the book for free. I suspect that if people took a look, at least some will be surprised to learn that it is indeed possible for something like this to be worth reading. Fun, even.
posted by Ipsifendus at 5:54 AM on May 7, 2017 [7 favorites]
This is one of only two currently-published comics I care about. Seriously, read those free bits and buy some if you like them.
posted by Pope Guilty at 6:34 AM on May 7, 2017
posted by Pope Guilty at 6:34 AM on May 7, 2017
In the banana splits spinoff I was disappointed that they seem to have changed Snorky from some sort of Mastadon into a African elephant, and where are there trademark red helmets?
posted by boilermonster at 8:51 AM on May 7, 2017
posted by boilermonster at 8:51 AM on May 7, 2017
Thank you for posting this. I hadn't heard about this, but now I've gone and read all the issues. It's shockingly good, especially considering that it's deconstruction of an old show nobody was very interested in. I think this title is great.
posted by MythMaker at 8:52 AM on May 7, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by MythMaker at 8:52 AM on May 7, 2017 [1 favorite]
Nobody "grimdarked" the funny papers better than Jason Yungbluth’s "Weapon Brown".
posted by oneswellfoop at 2:16 PM on May 7, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by oneswellfoop at 2:16 PM on May 7, 2017 [2 favorites]
Adult remakes of Peanuts have a long history going back at least to Bring Me the Head of Charlie Brown. I would not be surprised if that property has the most ironic gritty re-imaginings of any media franchise.
posted by koavf at 3:45 PM on May 7, 2017
posted by koavf at 3:45 PM on May 7, 2017
Peanuts was pretty dark to begin with. Like, from the very first strip.
posted by hippybear at 3:52 PM on May 7, 2017 [5 favorites]
posted by hippybear at 3:52 PM on May 7, 2017 [5 favorites]
Yes, but it progressively un-darkened and un-funnied itself.
posted by Going To Maine at 4:03 PM on May 7, 2017
posted by Going To Maine at 4:03 PM on May 7, 2017
Let me offer NutPeas, which I believe was in National Lampoon at least around "Bring Me The Head...". It starred Cholly Brown and Loosey.
posted by rhizome at 4:10 PM on May 7, 2017
posted by rhizome at 4:10 PM on May 7, 2017
Guys, guys. The best is The Great Old Pumpkin, available in both text and audio form.
posted by JHarris at 4:52 PM on May 7, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by JHarris at 4:52 PM on May 7, 2017 [2 favorites]
Scooby Doo, but as they travel around rural America in the Mystery Machine, they realize what they're really seeing in all the abandoned amusement parks, theaters, and mansions are grim reminders of the economic collapse from which huge swaths of the country have never been able to recover. The real monster wasn't Old Man Weatherby in a mask, it was the impending bank foreclosure that forced him to take such desperate measures.
The Venture Bros are a pretty excellent cartoon send-up of a whole host of different comic book tropes and super heroes, and they had a pretty grim and hilarious version of the Scooby Doo gang in this vein: The Groovy Gang.
The Venture Bros are a pretty excellent cartoon send-up of a whole host of different comic book tropes and super heroes, and they had a pretty grim and hilarious version of the Scooby Doo gang in this vein: The Groovy Gang.
The group consists of the insane, violent-tempered, and self-righteous leader Ted, the weak-willed kidnapping victim Patty, the angry, feminist-extremist lesbian Val, the paranoid, jittery hippie Sonny and the terrifying, possibly possessed dog Groovy. While the Gang purportedly existed to solve mysteries, Ted never seemed to have a clear definition of "mystery", and, in reality, the Gang seemed to make their living by looting the buildings they would break into during their adventures.posted by Existential Dread at 8:14 PM on May 7, 2017 [1 favorite]
The Venture Brothers are indeed the prime example of how to do grimdark right... and for laughs. And most of the failed similar efforts to follow are no doubt at least partly inspired by Venture.
posted by oneswellfoop at 10:15 PM on May 7, 2017
posted by oneswellfoop at 10:15 PM on May 7, 2017
So why this rush to dismiss when someone picks that detritus up and does something interesting with it? Why the immediate jump to "oh, I see, grim-n-gritty reboot #1,231,212".
Because there were 1,231,211 grim-n-gritty reboots before it.
posted by Halloween Jack at 10:32 PM on May 7, 2017
Halloween Jack, I'd love to hear more about what storylines from what issues of this new Flintstones you consider "grim-n-gritty."
posted by the man of twists and turns at 10:35 PM on May 7, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by the man of twists and turns at 10:35 PM on May 7, 2017 [1 favorite]
Since The Flintstones was in fact a reboot of The Honeymooners, but for kids, is this a reboot of a reboot? How much does this version reflect our times?
Although I find this concept intriguing, and it seems well done, the idea of deconstructing fluff (the animal appliances now have feelings?) feels heavy-handed.
Now I'm picturing Yogi Bear being darted and euthanized for taking pic-a-nic baskets from tourists, and Mighty Mouse dying graphically from warfarin poisoning.
Pardon me while I chase those dang kids off my lawn.
posted by kinnakeet at 2:09 AM on May 8, 2017
Although I find this concept intriguing, and it seems well done, the idea of deconstructing fluff (the animal appliances now have feelings?) feels heavy-handed.
Now I'm picturing Yogi Bear being darted and euthanized for taking pic-a-nic baskets from tourists, and Mighty Mouse dying graphically from warfarin poisoning.
Pardon me while I chase those dang kids off my lawn.
posted by kinnakeet at 2:09 AM on May 8, 2017
I dunno, the human-Neanderthal war? The vet from that war with PTSD? The aliens who are just sort of casually killing people?
posted by Halloween Jack at 4:58 AM on May 8, 2017
posted by Halloween Jack at 4:58 AM on May 8, 2017
Those things might qualify as black humor, but the treatment is in no sense grim, and and the very fact that we're talking about a satirical prehistoric civilization's mistreatment at the hands of spring-breaking alien brosephs would seem to argue against labeling the material "gritty". Or maybe you don't mean that the book is actually described by either of those individual words, but instead falls into a category that is identified by the entire phrase "grim 'n gritty"? But in that case, you'd have to make an argument for some significant overlap between what this book is trying to do, and what, say, Frank Miller's "Daredevil" was trying to do.
It's just just not a useful way to talk about comics anymore...even as a way to criticize them. It's a reflexive cliche that obscures any point one attempts to make more than it helps to express that point. The same thing goes for the word "edgy". And if your point is just "this version of the Flintstones seems to incorporate a lot of material that wouldn't have flown in a prime time cartoon in 1960", I guess you're right, but I don't know why it matters. You could say exactly the same thing of every bit of pop culture, whether original or remade, that's been created since 1980.
posted by Ipsifendus at 6:29 AM on May 8, 2017
It's just just not a useful way to talk about comics anymore...even as a way to criticize them. It's a reflexive cliche that obscures any point one attempts to make more than it helps to express that point. The same thing goes for the word "edgy". And if your point is just "this version of the Flintstones seems to incorporate a lot of material that wouldn't have flown in a prime time cartoon in 1960", I guess you're right, but I don't know why it matters. You could say exactly the same thing of every bit of pop culture, whether original or remade, that's been created since 1980.
posted by Ipsifendus at 6:29 AM on May 8, 2017
This came out of my writing group many years ago:
"02:00 [Movie] (**) Inspector Gadget: Pretty Hate Machine
(Color; 2005) Dark reworking of the classic cartoon series into a violent dystopian nightmare where the animal sidekick is an evil mastermind and the bionic hero is cyberpsychotic. Soundtrack by Vengeance Weapon No. 2. Gadget: Henry Rollins."
(It's that last bit that, for me, really makes it over the top.)
posted by mephron at 8:26 AM on May 8, 2017 [2 favorites]
"02:00 [Movie] (**) Inspector Gadget: Pretty Hate Machine
(Color; 2005) Dark reworking of the classic cartoon series into a violent dystopian nightmare where the animal sidekick is an evil mastermind and the bionic hero is cyberpsychotic. Soundtrack by Vengeance Weapon No. 2. Gadget: Henry Rollins."
(It's that last bit that, for me, really makes it over the top.)
posted by mephron at 8:26 AM on May 8, 2017 [2 favorites]
I have to be honest here, I am just not interested in this thing enough to debate the finer points of "gritty" or "edgy" with you. If you like the comic, that's perfectly fine; I didn't, which is kind of funny because, as someone who both watched the original cartoon quite a lot and has enjoyed any number of reboots and alternate takes on existing characters, this should be right in my wheelhouse... but it's not. YMMV, of course.
posted by Halloween Jack at 8:28 AM on May 8, 2017
posted by Halloween Jack at 8:28 AM on May 8, 2017
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