There lots of neat little things in some of the comics. The opening panel of the April 7, 1968 comic has a blue background with characters and settings that are simply lines, kind of like a UPA cartoon. There’s a little dog yapping at Fred in his car and what I guess is a bird stop light. Fred is enjoying a beer (yes, this is the year he was plugging Busch in an industrial film) and a guest appearance at the end by Yogi Bear. Niece Annie, an exclusive character to the comics, who spends most of her time dancing, shows up as well. Note some panels have a solid colour as background.
April 14th has more panels with just a solid buff colour as the background. Hanna-Barbera loved those motorcycle traffic cops, didn’t they?
Pops, Fred’s dad, shows up on April 21st. He’s a real wolf-asaurus, ain’t he? There are no other Flintstones characters in this one (Fred generally appeared unless it was a Pebbles exclusive). I’ve always liked volcanoes that go “poof;” they showed up through the ‘60s in the newspaper comics.
The taxi in the opening panel on the April 28th comic has a great expression. So does the dopey bus at the end. Fred shows athletic abilities he’s never been noted for. I like the set up for the gag at the end. The final panel is well laid-out by Gene Hazelton or whoever.
Once again, Richard Holliss can be thanked for opening his archive and providing these colour versions.
Materials 100% Gene Hazelton.
ReplyDeleteIt's fun to see Pops get a page of his own. Interesting how he became a regular, or at least a semi-regular character in this medium. Similarly with Annie. Each recurring support character changes the dynamic slightly from the ambiance of the TV series. Speaking of the regular cast from the TV series, this month we have no visits from the Rubbles. (Maybe they demanded too much compensation to appear regularly in the comic strip!)
ReplyDeleteIt's also nice to see a cameo from our favorite smarter-than-the-average bear. This is not the first time the Flintstones have watched Yogi Bear on television. One of the strips reprinted a couple of years back showed Yogi on TV--and Boo-Boo if I recall correctly. Even on the TV show, Fred said "If I want laughs, I'll call Yogi Bear." Not to overlook Yogi's cameo in the "Swedish Visitors" episode. Love that H-B cross-pollination!
And it's also interesting to note how frequently motorcycle cops played a role in an H-B production, whether set in the past, the present, or the future. They usually would hide out behind billboards to catch unwary speedsters. Bill and Joe must have received a fair share of speeding tickets over the years.
Thanks again, Yowp, for the monthly Flintstones fix! And thanks to Richard for giving us the color versions!
Wilma, wearing the robe as disguise to persuade Fred to go out with her (and the niece Annie bringing the hat and the coat for the uncle), in the Flintstones Sunday page from April 7, 1968 (drawn by Gene Hazelton).
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