Friday, March 10, 2017


The current Transformers books are far deeper and more nuanced than anyone would've expected for stories based on toys. Riverdale has taken the wholesome Archie mythos straight into David Lynch's turf. And a comic based on a decades-old cartoon uses the stone age to comment on today, and is dark as all get out: from last week, the Flintstones #9, "A Basket of Disposables" Written by Mark Russell, art by Steve Pugh.

When Mr. Slate tries the new church of the snake Vorp, which encourages ruthless go-getting and reveling in success, he opts to cut costs at the quarry by hiring scabs he can pay less, and firing his regular guys, like Fred Flintstone. With Fred depressed, Wilma tries to cheer him up, with the purchase of a new, personalized bowling ball. The old ball goes into the recycling, but it wasn't just a ball, it was a friend: like the rest of the Flintstones' appliances, Bowling Ball was an animal, an armadillo. His friend, Vacuum Cleaner, rallies the other "appliances" to rescue him.

Although Bowling Bowl is happy to be saved from being turned into cat food, he's not exactly thrilled to go back to his old job...

Bleeding Cool had a pretty big preview of this issue, which absolutely sold me on it. I may have to give the next few issues a go...

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