Flintstones Weekend Comics, January 1964

Time to study Fred’s expressions in the final panels of “The Flintstones” Sunday newspaper comics 50 years ago this month. The final two comics have a wavy-mouthed Fred, and the first one has a teeth-and-wavy mouthed Fred. The other comic has great layouts of Fred and Dino being attacked.


Either the Flintstones have a new pet or someone has forgotten how to draw Baby Puss in the January 5th comic. Baby Puss doesn’t have stripes. Whoever the cat is in the opening panel, (s)he’s playing with a wind-up mouse. Good use of foreground and background in the various panels.


Don’t you love how there’s ice and snow on the ground in Bedrock but it never affects anyone’s feet? A derby and a turtle neck in cartoons is a sure sign of trouble, isn’t it? The pineapple design on the tough guy’s dinosaur in the January 12th is unique. Fred has a wavy mouth when he flips over in the last panel of the second row. The week before, Barney developed two heads when looking from side to side. Fred does it this week.


No, Fred, chivalry isn’t dead. It hasn’t been born yet. Setting aside the anachronism, there are nice expressions in the January 19th comic. Note the bottom left-hand panel with Barney’s half-closed eyes giving him a sceptical look.


We’ve had to hunt around to come up with all three rows of the January 26th comic. That’s why it’s plain the rows came from different on-line sources. Ma looks to be a distant relative of Wilma. Judging by the leg positions in the final panel, being overcharged for parking makes you need to go to the bathroom. There’s the shock halo around Fred and Wilma like the one around Fred and Barney three week later. Another silhouette drawing with an interesting angle on the car in the top row.

As usual, click on any of the comics to make it bigger.