The Flintstones: 10 Things You Didn’t Know About The DC Comic Series

There are many classic touchstones of pop culture that are still looked at lovingly and hold a tremendous amount of weight with the public. The Flintstones was one of the most iconic television programs of the 1960s, animated or otherwise, and it’s been amazing to see the legacy that the property has left behind. Hanna-Barbera’s larger brand contains many memorable characters, many of which even act as superheroes within Hanna-Barbera’s universe.

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DC Comics has found refreshing ways to breathe life into old properties through their Hanna-Barbera Beyond line. The 12-issue reimagining of The Flintstones is one of their most successful efforts and there’s a lot about it that will surprise audiences.

10 It Makes Fred Flintstone A War Veteran

The Flintstones in its original form was a clever cartoon that found ways to be satirical about society every so often, but DC’s Flintstones comic really allows the material to mature. It’s able to tackle modern topics in a surprisingly powerful way that gives everything a lot more depth.

One such example is that Fred is a veteran from fighting within the Paleolithic Wars. It gives his character a much heavier past, but it also re-contextualizes the Loyal Order of Water Buffalos into something that feels more relevant than a rotary group.

9 It Pokes Fun At The Flintstones Vitamins

The Flintstones comic has more than enough material from the many episodes of the television series to draw from for inspiration, but it’s impressive to see the other corners of the extended Flintstones universe that it also pulls from.

The characters from The Flintstones have strangely turned into a very popular brand of vitamins for children that have been continuously sold for decades. Issue #2, “Buyer Beware,” features a sly dig at the whole idea when Fred calls out the uselessness of the Shamrock Vitamins that he shills. It’s a satisfying angle for the series to take, which adds an extra level of reflexivity to the series.

8 Superhero Booster Gold Shows Up In Bedrock

DC Comics decided to pair together many of their superheroes with properties from their Hanna-Barbera series and it resulted in some very unusual stories. Booster Gold/The Flintstones Special features the one-off crossover story, “Booster Trouble,” where Booster Gold shows up in Fred’s territory to investigate the motives of some aliens that are causing trouble for him in the future.

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Booster Gold and Fred make a really enjoyable team and it’s a crossover that’s so absurd that it manages to work. Somehow all of the meddling that’s done in the past doesn’t leave the time-space continuum in shambles.

7 The Art Style Is Based Off Of The Live-Action Films

The original animation style for The Flintstones TV show was appropriate for the time, but it makes sense for DC Comics’ take on the series to utilize an updated look that speaks to the headier subject matter that it approaches. The series still looks comical and has a softness to it, but it’s much more realistic.

In fact, Amanda Conner’s character designs for the cast are modeled after the actors from the live-action feature film adaptations of The Flintstones, which adds a strange level of verisimilitude to the comics’ look.

6 It Deconstructs The Animal Appliances

The Flintstones features beloved characters, but one of the most popular running jokes from the series is how this prehistoric time period uses animals in place of various household appliances. In DC’s interpretation of the material it actually uses these animal appliances to challenge norms about what’s important.

It examines objects during a time that’s pre-context and allows something like a bowling ball to gain a larger importance by stripping away its associations and rebuilding it as something unique. It questions many of the tools that society now deems as essential.

5 It Features An Alien Invasion

The Flintstones is set in prehistoric times, but the animated series eventually introduces extraterrestrial The Great Gazoo into the mix. Issue #3, “A Space Oddity,” deals with aliens in a very different way within The Flintstones universe. Aliens recklessly treat Bedrock like a Spring Break destination and larger concerns brew that they may want to colonize the area.

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Fred decides that they can defeat the aliens with their mass numbers if they need to resort to warfare. It’s surprising that DC’s The Flintstones can find a unique angle on aliens in the past that still meshes together with everything else.

4 It Criticizes News And Journalism

The original Flintstones doesn’t get overly critical with the larger messages that it pushes. Since The Flintstones transitions over from television to comics, it’s interesting to see how it turns a critical eye to its former medium. DC’s The Flintstones has some very thoughtful ideas about how to reflect the skewed priorities of news and journalism.

The comics frequently show segments from Bedrock News, yet both the anchors and the audience are more preoccupied with what they want to hear as opposed to the actual facts and problems. Priorities are skewed and what’s important about these news stories gets lost.

3 It Explores The Consequences Of Consumerism

DC’s The Flintstones cleverly uses the idea of animal appliances in conjunction with consumerism to turn it into more than just a punchline. The Flintstones creates pathos for these creature appliances and their designs are intentionally more realistic so that they can convey greater emotion.

In modern society it’s wasteful to continually upgrade to the newest product, but that takes on a new meaning when these products have feelings. This neglect of emotion even carries over into people with low status jobs whose feelings mean may not be valued as much as the utility that they provide.

2 It Maturely Tackles Same-Sex Relationships

Mark Russell and Steve Pugh’s The Flintstones really helps elevate an innocuous story into something more prescient. There are plenty of aspects from the established series that receive updates, but the comic also brilliantly examines subject matter that would have been impossible back during the series’ original run.

One of the most moving stories from the entire 12-issue run involves the same-sex relationship of Adam and Steve, two cavemen “non-breeders” who are presented as cherished and valuable members of society. Fred shows a lot of affection for these two and it turns an ignorant aside into a thoughtful character piece.

1 It Explores The War Between Religion And Science

Part of the fun of The Flintstones is how the series finds ways to comment upon modern customs, but through a prehistoric context. Some of the most volatile subjects in the world are politics and the war between religion and science.

DC’s The Flintstones narrows in on these areas and presents them in a fresh way. What’s important is that the material doesn’t mock the zealots that push religion or science on others, but rather it tries to look at them from an honest perspective. It’s more concerned about how complex all of this would be, especially during its infancy.

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About The Author Daniel Kurland (204 Articles Published)

Daniel Kurland is a freelance writer, comedian, and critic, who lives in the cultural mosaic that is Brooklyn, New York. Daniel’s work can be read on ScreenRant, Splitsider, Bloody Disgusting, Den of Geek, and across the Internet. He recently completed work on a noir anthology graphic novel titled, “Sylvia Plath’s The Bell Noir: A Rag of Bizarre Noir and Hard Boiled Tales” and he’s currently toiling away on his first novel.

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