They were, as the jaunty theme song is fond of saying, “the modern stone age family”.
But a lot of time has passed between the 1960s when The Flintstones debuted, inspired in large part by The Honeymooners, and while the cartoon re-runs are still a delight to watch with their pterodactyl airlines, feet-powered cars and place names with a decidedly geological edge, if the habitants of Bedrock are still going to use the “modern” tag, they need some updating.
And so DC Comics, which is also rebooting Wacky Races, Scooby Doo and Future Quest, among other Hanna-Barbera properties, has obliged granting us a re-imagined The Flintstones that retains some of the hallmarks of its cartoon predecessor but throws in a whole lot more postmodern angst and social commentary as io9 notes:
“Visual differences aren’t the biggest swerve presented in the book, which is part of a multi-title Hanna-Barbera reboot that includes Scooby Apocalypse and Future Quest. The subtext of this first outing is all about the discontents of living in a post-industrial world. Fred and Barney go to a veterans’ support group where attendees break down in tears over the indigenous people they killed in manifest-destiny land grabs. Wilma frets about buying a dress that will let her properly play the role of artiste.”
Not quite so cute and goofy now are they?
But by all accounts, it works, keeping the novelty of a world with cavemen sensibilities but modern civilised touches and infusing it with a decidedly 21st century mindset.
Modern stone age family? You betcha! Now pass the Prozac will ya?
For more of the art check out io9.
