The Flintstones #2
Written by: Mark Russell
Art by: Steve Pugh
Cover by: Amanda Conner
Variant cover by: Emanuela Lupacchino
Bone Depot, Tarpit, and other big box stores get Bedrock whipped into a buying frenzy while Fred gets trapped in a vitamin pill scam. Plus, Fred and Wilma experience a crisis of faith when they discover the bird god they worship also makes a great record player needle.
Prez, God is Disappointed in You, Apocrypha Now, all written by the hilarious Mark Russell. Now, along with artist Steve Pugh, the writer is taking us to Bedrock with the new The Flintstones comic series from DC Comics.
I got a chance to talk to him at San Diego Comic-Con about how he came on to the series and jokes even he’s surprised he gets away with.
The weekend is almost here! We’re gearing up for San Diego Comic-Con still… and then Gen Con! It’ll be a busy July and August!
While we hunker down, here’s some comic news and reviews from around the web.
Around the Tubes
CBR – The Mission: Single Black Female Iron Man, and the Competing Narratives – As always, Joe’s a must read.
Funko – Funko at SDCC 2016 – Booth Procedures – Important info if you’re going to SDCC and want figures.
The Beat – SDCC ’16: lots o’ news about badges, Conan, Wifi, Lion Forge, $300K trolley wraps and more – More helpful info!
ICv2 – ‘Batman: The Killing Joke’ Playing in Record Number of Theaters – Lots of anticipation for this. Will we see more DC animated films on the big screen?
Around the Tubes Reviews
ICv2 – Corpse Party: Blood Covered Vol. 1
Nothing But Comics – The Flintstones #1
Talking Comics – Kim & Kim #1
It was new comic book day yesterday! What’d folks like? What’d you dislike? Sound off in the comments below!
While you decide on that, here’s some comic news and reviews from around the web in our morning roundup.
Around the Tubes
The Beat – This Jim Woodring animated SPX poster is the trippiest thing you’ll see today – This is awesome.
Press Telegram – New comics store opens in Long Beach’s Shoreline Village – Always great to see new shops!
CBLDF – Virginia Lawmaker Wants Librarians Fired for Summer Reading Lists – Looks like we may need to head to Richmond… grumble grumble.
London Graphic Novel Network – Crown on the Ground / the View from Facility One – Emma Houxbois offers her take on why trans representation is broken in comics.
Black Girl Nerds – BGN Interview with Jeremy Whitley on “Civil War II: Choosing Sides #2” – Check it out people!
Around the Tubes Reviews
Newsarama – Amazing Spider-Man #15
Newsarama – Aquaman #2
The Beat – Aquaman #2
Newsarama – Batman #2
Comic Vine – Batman #2
The Beat – Batman #2
Newsarama – The Flintstones #1
Comic Vine – The Flintstones #1
Newsarama – Future Quest #2
Newsarama – Green Arrow #2
The Beat – Green Arrow #2
Newsarama – Green Lanterns #2
The Beat – Green Lanterns #2
Newsarama – Justice League: Rebirth #1
Comic Vine – Justice League: Rebirth #1
The Beat – Justice League: Rebirth #1
Comic Vine – Moon Knight #4
The Beat – Shadoweyes
Newsarama – Superman #2
The Beat – Superman #2
Comic Attack – Switch #4
Welcome to Bedrock, where Paleolithic humans head to dinner for a taste of artisanal mammoth after shopping at Neandertall & Big Men’s Clothing, where Wilma shows her modern art, and where, if you take a plane, you could literally end up sitting ON the tail section. Join Fred and Barney as Mister Slate sends them on a mission to show some Neanderthals a night on the town in hopes of luring them into this new system called “working for a living.” In Slate’s Quarry, of course. Is Fred’s ship about to come in? Find out when the gang finishes out the evening at the employee hot tub party, where they learn how the one percent lives here in Bedrock, home to the world’s first civilization and the modern stone-age family—The Flintstones.
Out of all of the new Hanna-Barbera comics by DC Comics, The Flintstones was the most intriguing to me mostly due to writer Mark Russell. Russell has proven he’s a master at brilliant commentary in series like Prez and God is Disappointed in You and Apocrypha Now.
The Flintstones #1 has some of what I expected with Russell’s writing. There’s some jabs at class, worker relations, war, and consumerism, but it’s all very subtle and quite some time between the jabs. It feels more like a tease as to what’s to come and hopefully, we see more of the sly observations like in Prez. But, there’s a lot here and out of all of the releases so far, this comic feels closest to its animated roots.
The art by Steve Pugh is interesting. It feels like all of the cartoon characters have taken a lot of steroids, which I’m not quite sure about. Barney doesn’t feel as short, and Mr. Slate looks more intimidating in look. It’s an interesting style and I’m sure it’ll be a few more issues before I’m used to it. But Pugh nails the goofy use of animals from the cartoon series as well as a lot of the other background jokes it’s known for.
The first issue is a solid one, though doesn’t quite knock it out of the park. It feels a lot like the classic cartoon and Russell is holding back the smart-ass humor he’s shown elsewhere. Hopefully, we see more of that going forward, and if we do, it’ll be a huge winner.
Story: Mark Russell Art: Steve Pugh
Story: 7.75 Art: 7.75 Overall: 7.75 Recommendation: Read
DC Comics provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review
The Flintstones #1
Written by: Mark Russell
Art by: Steve Pugh
Cover by: Steve Pugh
Variant cover by: Steve Pugh, Daniel Hipp, Dustin Nguyen, Walter Simonson, Ivan Reis
Welcome to Bedrock, where Paleolithic humans head to dinner for a taste of artisanal mammoth after shopping at Neandertall & Big Men’s Clothing, where Wilma shows her modern art, and where, if you take a plane, you could literally end up sitting ON the tail section. Join Fred and Barney as Mister Slate sends them on a mission to show some Neanderthals a night on the town in hopes of luring them into this new system called “working for a living.” In Slate’s Quarry, of course. Is Fred’s ship about to come in? Find out when the gang finishes out the evening at the employee hot tub party, where they learn how the one percent lives here in Bedrock, home to the world’s first civilization and the modern stone-age family—The Flintstones. Don’t miss this extra-sized debut issue!
Wednesdays are new comic book day! Each week hundreds of comics are released, and that can be pretty daunting to go over and choose what to buy. That’s where we come in!
We’re bringing back something we haven’t done for a while, what the team thinks. Our contributors are choosing up to five books each week and why they’re choosing the books.
Find out what folks think below, and what comics you should be looking out for this Wednesday.
Alex
Top Pick: 4001 A.D.: Shadowman #1 (Valiant Entertainment) – 4001 A.D. has been a pretty great event so far, and while it isn’t the best miniseries Valiant are putting out right now (Divinity holds that title), it’s still better than most other . As with the Bloodshot tie-in comic, this one looks like it can be read independently of the main series; so if you’re not reading the main series, you can sill pick this up no problem.
Batman #2 (DC Comics) – I really enjoyed the first issue – much more than I expected I would – and so naturally I’m looking forward to this. Tom King’s take on Batman has been solid, but at only an issue in it’s probably too early to pass fair judgement on that, eh? Plus, there’s David Finch on pencils, and as I’m a big fan of his work, it’s hard not to jump on this book.
Moon Knight #4 (Marvel) – Honestly, this series hasn’t been as good as the 2014 series, but we’re also only four issues in. I’ll give it a couple more before I do cancel it, because it feels like there is potential here for a great story… but we haven’t really seen that yet. That said, the artists’ are probably the best part of this book.
Vote Loki #2 (Marvel) – The first issue was brilliant fun. Is it particularly faithful to the Presidential election process? I honestly don’t know, but I absolutely loved it nonetheless. It’s a fun comic that doesn’t take itself too seriously at all, and sometimes that’s exactly what you need.
Anthony
Top Pick: Roche Limit Monadic #4 (Image Comics) – Roche Limi has been a great, cerebral, neo-noir, sci-fi ride right from the beginning. This is the final chapter of the trilogy that will feature the philosophical, thoughtful words of Michael Moreci, Kyle Charles’s expressive, flowing illustrations, and Matt Battaglia’s moody colours.
The Fix #4 (Image Comics) – Last issue ended with a literal bang that could potentially swing this series into an even darker direction. Nick Spencer, Steve Lieber and Ryan Hill have been crafting quite the hilarious and poignant series so far. It will be interesting to see what arises before this series takes a little break and check in on Mac (and Pretzels?!) since last issue focused more on Donovan.
Paper Girls #7 (Image Comics) – Brian K. Vaughan, Cliff Chiang and Matt Wilson continue to present an inventive, fun and entertaining ride and are introducing a whole new set of unexpected directions after the last issue. With its colourful aesthetic, imaginative images and grounded characters, this has been a monthly treat.
Tokyo Ghost #8 (Image Comics) – Rick Remender is one of the most exciting creators out there right now whose Image titles are all stellar in their own right. Working alongside the incredibly detailed line work of Sean Gordon Murphy and one of the best colourists in Matt Hollingsworth make Tokyo Ghost one of those titles that is firing on all its creative cylinders. This is also one of the most relevant titles on the stands poking at the multiple distracting vices that surround us, even though this is a futuristic setting. Now that the character of the Tokyo Ghost has been revealed, it appears that Constable Dent will have his hands full.
Moon Knight #4 (Marvel) – The best Marvel titles are the ones not directly under the sway of events and Moon Knight stands tall amongst the bunch. Jeff Lemire, Greg Smallwood and Jordie Bellaire continue the push/pull of whether Marc Spector is insane in the membrane but either way, this continues to be one of the more entertaining and visually spectacular series Marvel is releasing.
Mr. H
Top Pick: Batman #2 (DC Comics) – King and Finch had such a great and unique opening installment, so naturally I am back. Like Snyder did on his run, King seems to be focused on putting the Man back in the Bat. We had a whopper of a cliffhanger last time and I am so curious to see what Gotham and Gotham Girl (Sounds like she should be on the CW) are up to. Are they run of the mill Superpowers? Or something more. Really enjoyed Finch’s pencil’s last time too. Well rounded issue that I’m looking forward to seeing more.
The Amazing Spider-Man # 15 (Marvel Comics) – While I hate the whole Regent character. I thought we were done with him back in Amazing Spider-Man: Renew your Vows, this issue looks to have MJ all front and center. Anytime a writer uses her right is a treat for me. Let’s hope that’s what Slott has on his mind here.
Green Lanterns # 2 (DC Comics) – Buddy cop drama with other worldly ramifications? Yup. I’m on board. Plus I am digging this Red Dawn plot line. Eager to see where it goes.
Brett
Top Pick: Sheriff of Babylon #8 (Vertigo) – Easily one of the best comics on the market right now. This murder mystery set in the Green Zone in Iraq is a fascinating behind the curtain look at life in the war zone in 2014 and each issue is a master class in character study and how to use imagery to enhance the spoken word.
Civil War II: Kingpin #1 (Marvel) – What’s the Kingpin been up to? We find this out with this Civil War II tie-in, my most anticipated one. The talented Matthew Rosenberg is at the helm which has me really excited to see what Marvel’s king of crime is up to.
The Flintstones #1 (DC Comics) – The recent reworking of Hanna-Barbera characters has been interesting, and this latest one tackles the classic cartoon characters. I’m not sure at all what to expect but Mark Russell has delivered hilarity in Prez, God is Dissapointed in You, and Apocrypha Now. I expect no less from this.
Kim and Kim #1 (Black Mask Studios) – Kim & Kim are twentysomething besties out to make a name for themselves in the wild world of interdimensional cowboy law enforcement. That’s the description and it sounds awesome. The artwork looks fantastic too.
Solarman #1 (Scout Comics) – Joseph Illidge, Brendan Deneen, and N. Steven Harris bring back the classic character and gives him a modern facelift. I’ve read the first issue and it’s a must get.
Paul
Top Pick: Civil War II X-Men #2 (Marvel) – Magneto is ready to go to war against Inhuman and mutant alike to ensure the future seeing Inhuman, Ulysses, doesn’t jeopardize the future for mutants. This is typical Magneto, doing what he thinks is right to ensure the survival of mutants; nothing really ground breaking, but I did enjoy the first issue and it’s always fun seeing Magneto take matters into his own hands.
Batman #2 (DC Comics) – Not being an avid DC reader, I really enjoyed the start of this Rebirth title. I’m curious to learn more about this new Gotham hero and to see how Batman reacts to him; because Batman always plays well with others.
Green Arrow #2 (DC Comics) – Yup, another DC title on my list. The first issues were fun, and I’m really enjoying seeing Ollie and Dinah together again. This new iteration of Dinah is going to take some getting used to though (rock singer chick). And the ending from issue #1! Damn, gotta see what happens with that.
Justice League: Rebirth #1 (DC Comics) – Yup, this is the third DC title on my list (Marvel is having a quiet week) and I’m a sucker for a team book. Going in not knowing anything about these characters post New 52 but I am intrigued by the synopsis; a ‘new’ Superman that Batman and Wonder Woman are suspicious of? Interesting. And a couple new Green Lanterns I see. Well, here’s hoping!
