The Flintstones #7 Review

Mankind: Earth’s Disease

Written by: Mark Russell

Art by: Rick Leonardi

Cover Price: $3.99

On Sale: January 4th, 2017

Before I begin, I’ll say I’m not Reggie! Yes, I took over yet another title from his grubby little hands. But thankfully it ain’t no Superwoman. Reggie wanted to stop at #6 so I decided to pick up The Flintstones! So, a kid in the 1990’s who watched a show from the 1960’s will now be reviewing a comic based on said show in 2017. It’s funny how time things work. Let’s get started now on “Another Day On Earth.”

Explain it!

We start with the Flintstones and the Rubbles barbecuing a bronto steak when some random ass alien comes to buy a couple of Earth’s oceans. I love how ridiculous this is already. Gazoo shoos him off since he’s there to keep humanity intact and protect their natural evolution. Marauders come by to try to savagely kill them and Gazoo states that they are the human’s natural evolution. It’s a pretty grim outlook on how things can go with our race. Throughout this issue, we see Gazoo taking notes about the human race and these are my favorite parts about it. He talks about how survival is easy for us, how we try to fill a void we can’t fill so we come back for more, and how we shouldn’t be at the top of the food chain. It’s referring to prehistoric humans, of course, but it fits so well with current social commentary.

Next, Fred is working at the quarry, cursing to himself about the new guy causing problems. Wilma and Betty are trying to find Guillermo, now the reverend of the Church of Gerald, so Wilma can sell her art to try to be a professional artist but that doesn’t work out for her. Guillermo is now trying to scam churchgoers by charging them for spiritual guidance and sin relief. This is quickly ended by the end of the issue as it gets too much for him. I love it regardless how short it is in here, because I can relate to this bullshit happening in churches and I’m glad he realizes how wrong it is at the end.

The new guy does a goof by using dynamite in close quarters in the quarry and comes tumbling down. Before that, the pterodactyl books it to save himself. It was hilarious and I loved it, “Pterodactyl outta here!” Many rocks and rubble now fall on the newbie and he’s stuck. Mr. Slate doesn’t care that he’s there because he doesn’t want to close the quarry to get him out since he has a job deadline. Of course, he’s a fucking dick about it, like everything else, but Fred really insists to get this guy out, even if he has to do it himself. There’s a line here that Fred says that I absolutely love “...If civilization is going to last… it will only be because we’ve learned to do one thing. To care for people who mean nothing to us. For a damn Flintstones comic, this is such a deep, powerful line. Throughout the issue, Fred is contemplating if civilization was even a good idea because of how savage everyone can act. It’s a great setting stone to get people of Bedrock to listen to him for the sake of human survival.

I love the art in this issue as well. Everyone looks really good and I love the designs of The Flintstones. The comic is pretty serious but not too dark, but can get pretty deep too. Regardless of this, there’s lots of hilarity in the background by way of prehistoric parodies of today’s stores like Tarpit, Brontos R Us, Old Uva and many more.

Who would have thought a darker and more socially appropriate take on The Flintstones would be so good? I love the story, the moral values of Fred and Gazoo’s commentary on the human race. The art is terrific as well. I’d say, if you haven’t jumped into this comic, this would be a great place to do so, like I did.

Bits and Pieces:

Even if you’re not familiar with The Flintstones or not even a fan, I still think there’s something here for everyone to enjoy. Unless you don’t like comics with current social commentary, but come on, who doesn’t?

9/10