96 pages. Full colour contents.
World Distributors (Manchester) Ltd.
Painted cover by UNKNOWN (uncredited).
Contents:
2 UNTITLED endpaper; a: UNKNOWN (uncredited).
4 Indicia
5 Hanna-Barbera's The Flintstones Annual title page; illustrated by UNKNOWN (uncredited).
6 Contents illustrated by UNKNOWN (uncredited).
7 Introducing Pebbles w: UNKNOWN, loosely adapted from the episode Blessed Event; a: Harvey Eisenberg.
r: The Flintstones (Gold Key) #11 (Jun 1963).
21 Treasure Hunters w: UNKNOWN (uncredited); p: Pete Alvarado, i: Steve Steere.
r: The Flintstones (Gold Key) #10 (Apr 1963).
29 A Star Comes to Bedrock w: UNKNOWN (uncredited); a: UNKNOWN (uncredited).
r: The Flintstones (Gold Key) #11 (Jun 1963).
36 The Beat Beat text story by UNKNOWN (uncredited); illustrated by Pete Alvarado (uncredited).
r: The Flintstones (Gold Key) #10 (Apr 1963).
37 Cave Kids Half a Hero w: Del Connell (uncredited); a: UNKNOWN (uncredited).
r: Cave Kids (Gold Key) #02 (May 1963).
43 Perry Gunnite The Inside-Out-Job w: UNKNOWN (uncredited); p: Pete Alvarado (uncredited), i: Steve Steere (uncredited).
r: The Flintstones (Gold Key) #10 (Apr 1963).
47 Too Many Bongos w: UNKNOWN (uncredited); a: UNKNOWN (uncredited).
r: The Flintstones (Gold Key) #11 (Jun 1963).
53 The Pre-Hysterical Egg w: UNKNOWN (uncredited); a: Guillermo Cardoso (uncredited).
r: The Flintstones (Gold Key) #10 (Apr 1963).
60 Prehistoric Graveyard text story by UNKNOWN (uncredited); illustrated by UNKNOWN (uncredited).
r: The Flintstones (Gold Key) #11 (Jun 1963).
61 Cave Kids Too Many Monsters w: Del Connell; a: UNKNOWN (uncredited).
r: Cave Kids (Gold Key) #02 (May 1963).
67 Cave Kids Flying is for the Birds w: Del Connell; a: UNKNOWN (uncredited).
r: Cave Kids (Gold Key) #02 (May 1963).
72 Ruff and Reddy The Double Ball text story by UNKNOWN (uncredited); illustrated by UNKNOWN (uncredited).
r: Cave Kids (Gold Key) #02 (May 1963).
73 When You Wish Upon a Fish w: UNKNOWN (uncredited); a: Fred Abranz (uncredited).
r: The Flintstones (Gold Key) #10 (Apr 1963).
79 Counter-Fit-Thrower w: UNKNOWN (uncredited); a: Harvey Eisenberg.
r: The Flintstones (Gold Key) #11 (Jun 1963).
83 Ski for Two w: Carl Fallberg; a: Kay Wright.
r: The Flintstones (Gold Key) #10 (Apr 1963).
89 Cave Kids Beastly Band w: Del Connell; a: UNKNOWN (uncredited).
r: Cave Kids (Gold Key) #02 (May 1963).
94 UNTITLED endpaper; a: UNKNOWN (uncredited).
96 UNTITLED painting by UNKNOWN (uncredited).
Being comprised almost entirely of Gold Key reprints doesn't mean that there is a lack of flair to this annual, with a superb cover painting which captures a sense of mad anarchy from the series. The endpaper and title page are slightly off-model illustrations of Fred, which lends an air of oddness to what will follow, but is easily forgivable for the era. Curiously, the contents page - cleverly designed as being written on a stone tablet - offers a much more accurate depiction of Fred and Barney.
Introducing Pebbles does exactly what the title says, and although there is no hint (as yet) of her tendency to get into mad situations, there is enough incident and activity to keep the plot moving. Seeing Barney dressed as a baby is worth the more predictable moments.
Fed up with the penny-pinching Fred displays, Wilma creates a treasure map, which she 'discovers' in an old chest, and Fred is excited to see that it leads to sacks of gold buried by Long John Cooper. It leads, of course, to Stony Springs, which Fred refused to take her to. When they get to Stony Springs Resort Hotel, Fred realises that he has been tricked, and when the opportunity arises to trick Wilma and Betty, with money made from the sale of the trunk, he takes it.
Ralphy Rockem, a television celebrity who Fred knew as Ralph Sanderstone in the army, drops by for a visit, and attempts to keep a low profile.
The set-up tells you everything you need to know, with the ever-unreliable Fred Flintstone yapping his way around town, and events escalating. It may not be the most original, or funniest, script ever written, but the tone is perfectly in keeping with the television series. Concluding with yet another undeserved win for Fred may, given his prior behaviour, seem like he gets away with more than he should, but the story doesn't labour the point.
I'm not overly fond of the Cave Kids, and Half a Hero does nothing to endear them to me - riffing on The Lone Ranger, 'Rocky Ranger' offers nothing we haven't seen before. The rest of their appearances prove to be just as leaden.
The Inside-Out-Job is slightly better, with private eye Perry Gunnite (residing at 77 Stonestep Strip, naturally) finding his stool-pigeons can't always be trusted. Basing stories on characters who are popular at the time might date the stories unnecessarily, though the plot is amusing enough to avoid too much criticism.
Too Many Bongos is one of those painfully 'hip' stories, tapping directly into pop culture of the fifties and early sixties, and was already dated when it appeared in print Stateside.
Prehistoric Graveyard, a non-fiction piece on the La Brea Tar Pits, offers a small reprieve from the comedy, though it is only the briefest of accounts.
Despite feeling packed, and this certainly has a lot of content, there is a lack of depth to much of the reprinted material. That so little original material is present is also disappointing, but the reproduction is far better than Gold Key managed - this is a very attractive book. I could, however, live without the dire Cave Kids strips.
[1963]
The Flintstones Annual
[1965]
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