Whoever worked on the layouts managed to fit a lot of things to look at, even if they have nothing to do with the main action, but it’s not filler and the panels don’t look crowded. Ironically, I’ve seen comics today that remind you of the early ‘60s Hanna-Barbera TV cartoons—characters locked in the same position in every panel with a flat background.
Alas, 50 years ago this month, poor Baby Puss remains AWOL in the Flintstones Sunday comics. Evidently Betty was busy, too, as she’s not included. And Pebbley-poo has little to do, though I noticed in some of the dailies during this month she was chatting away to the audience via thought balloons.
Here’s an instance where Barney is working with Fred at the quarry. The last panel in the June 7, 1964 comic is fun. Note the almost straight-on version of Wilma in the middle row. And why couldn’t Wilma call a repairman? Why’d she bother Fred with it?
Could that be Gene Hazelton in the second panel of the June 14th comic? Gene eventually had a home next to a golf course in Del Cerra. This comic is probably my favourite of the month, especially the expressions of the animals bashed by Fred’s ball. The lettering in the Barney and angry Fred panel in the last row is a nice change.
Hey, is that Cary Granite now playing at the Bedrock Theatre? Nice use of distance in the last panel of the June 21st comic with a large dinosaur standing behind a mesa.
The lettering and the streamlined pre-historic hot-rods are the best part of the June 28th comic.
As usual, click on each comic to enlarge it.
Can't Thank You Enough For Posting These Flintstones and Yogi Strips.
ReplyDeleteI read them with the voices from TV
Best,
-Sam
Yowp writes:
ReplyDelete“Evidently Betty was busy, too, as she’s not included.”
Given the time of these strips, relative to the show, perhaps this is the shadowy, unknown period during which Betty mysteriously vanished and was inexplicably transformed from Bea Benederet into Gerry Johnson… draining her of all her early-seasons personality.
The dark time of “Rock-Pod-People” replacing ordinary citizens is one never spoken of aloud in Bedrock! …Alas, poor Betty! Once Wilma’s best, and most spirited, friend (who even gave her Judo lessons), now a lifeless “Step-stone-ford Wife”!
Men were not immune to this scourge either. Compare the “Partying, Daws Butler (Lippy the Lion / Peter Potamus)-voiced, Joe Rockhead” of “The Baby Sitters” (episode title?) to any version that came later! Joe was most likely taken and replaced several times!
Shifting gears, that looks like “Rodney Rocktop” as the drag-racer in the final panel of the final strip!
Rodney was an unusual character in the Dell and Gold Key comic books of the early-mid sixties because we first saw him as a BOY… and he grew-up to be a teenager and a beatnik!
To me, he resembles Sully, Fred and Wilma's boarder from the Rooms for Rent episode.
DeleteBoth Rodney Rocktop and Sully are the same type of character--beatnik-type teen who plays bongos and uses 60's slang. Sully only existed for one episode on TV, but Rodney was a recurring character in the comics for several years. Rodney was unusual in having a kind of history--starting out as a kid and morphing into a beatnik teen later on. He even romanced Ann-Margrock in one story!
DeletePiggybacking off of Joe's comment, it's interesting to note that the last season featuring Bea Benadaret as Betty also provided more stories in which Betty was central to the plot--i.e. "Little Bamm-Bamm," "Old Lady Betty," and "Ladies' Night at the Lodge" to name a few. There was a definite difference between Bea's Betty and Gerry's Betty...as a kid, I noticed right away that Betty had a different voice and seemingly a slightly different personality as well.
Seeing Sully, the percussionist boy in the Rooms for Rent episode playing bongos and congas, has everything to do with the Cuban/Caribbean beats which were in vogue in the early 60s, as the cha-cha-cha, mambo, rhumba and watusi.
DeleteAll these materials were drawn by Dick "Bick" Bickenbach.
ReplyDeleteAt this same month, 50 years ago, the TV Guide magazine, in the issue from June 13, 1964, brings a cover with Fred Flintstone carveling the TV Guide logo.
ReplyDeleteThis cover appears on the following link:
http://timstvshowcase.com/640613.jpg
Enjoy to give a peek on this link.