The Flintstones Annual [1966]

[1965] Annual. Original price NA.
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 At the Boy Scout Jamboree w: UNKNOWN (uncredited); a: UNKNOWN (uncredited).

r: The Flintstones (Gold Key) #18 (May 1964).

28 The Crystal Caper text story by UNKNOWN (uncredited); illustrated by UNKNOWN (uncredited).

r: The Flintstones (Gold Key) #19 (Jul 1964).

29 One Gun Too Many w: UNKNOWN (uncredited); a: UNKNOWN (uncredited).

r: The Flintstones (Gold Key) #19 (Jul 1964).

37 Getting the Message w: UNKNOWN (uncredited); a: UNKNOWN (uncredited).

r: The Flintstones (Gold Key) #20 (Aug 1964).

43 Mr. & Mrs. J. Evil Scientist The Case of the Creepy Car w: UNKNOWN (uncredited); a: UNKNOWN (uncredited).

r: The Flintstones (Gold Key) #18 (May 1964).

47 Mother Was a Mechanic w: UNKNOWN (uncredited); a: UNKNOWN (uncredited).

r: The Flintstones (Gold Key) #19 (Jul 1964).

54 Perry Gunnite A Hair-Raising Caper text story by UNKNOWN (uncredited); illustrated by UNKNOWN (uncredited).

r: The Flintstones (Gold Key) #18 (May 1964).

55 The Butler Didn't Do it - No Butler w: UNKNOWN (uncredited); a: UNKNOWN (uncredited).

r: The Flintstones (Gold Key) #18 (May 1964).

61 Just for the Record w: UNKNOWN (uncredited); a: UNKNOWN (uncredited).

r: The Flintstones (Gold Key) #20 (Aug 1964).

68 Perry Gunnite Going Batty text story by UNKNOWN (uncredited); illustrated by UNKNOWN (uncredited).

r: The Flintstones (Gold Key) #20 (Aug 1964).

69 The Orbit Bit w: UNKNOWN (uncredited); a: UNKNOWN (uncredited).

r: The Flintstones (Gold Key) #20 (Aug 1964).

75 Mr. & Mrs. J. Evil Scientist TV Or Not TV w: UNKNOWN (uncredited); a: UNKNOWN (uncredited).

r: The Flintstones (Gold Key) #20 (Aug 1964).

79 Small But Mighty w: UNKNOWN (uncredited); a: UNKNOWN (uncredited).

r: The Flintstones (Gold Key) #19 (Jul 1964).

84 The Normal Genius w: UNKNOWN (uncredited); a: UNKNOWN (uncredited).

r: The Flintstones (Gold Key) #20 (Aug 1964).

89 A Slight Case of the Frights w: UNKNOWN (uncredited); a: UNKNOWN (uncredited).

94 UNTITLED endpaper; a: UNKNOWN (uncredited).

The slightly uneven earlier annuals were bound to give way to a top-notch selection of choice strips sooner or later, and it is a pleasure to see lessons having been learned - this is an almost perfect outing for the characters. Cave Kids reprints have gone extinct, and in their place we get a quite odd, though thematically suitable, monster strip. While Mr. & Mrs. J. Evil Scientist may not be immediately recognisable, the stories are so great an improvement as to freshen up the entire package. Even the cover steps up to the challenge, with a great (albeit rather stark) image.

The back cover isn't as good, and seems to depict a much younger Fred - or maybe he's just had some bonetox?

Having taken every cent in their checking account to pay all their bills before their vacation, Wilma and Betty bemoan their prospects for a proper holiday. Remembering the fun they had as boys, Fred decides that camping is the solution to their woes, although the news doesn't go down well. After talking with the Bedrock Car Club, Fred settles on Camp Shangri La De Da Valley, After setting up their tents, with help from Bamm-Bamm, they settle down for a quiet camping trip - only to be woken by a bugle, boy scouts having arrived.

There is always fun to be had from seeing Fred dig himself deeper and deeper into trouble, but this is a strangely muted tale. Barney displays a great talent for mimicry, emulating the sound of a sabretooth tiger - a skill which comes out of nowhere, and will be forgotten at the conclusion of the story - which leads to the strip's funniest moment, making Fred a hero in the eyes of the scouts.

An essentially summertime event taking the lead in a title sold at Christmas is, however, a poor choice. Surely there must have been one wintry story to open proceedings.

Fred and Barney are the first to sign up for Bedrock's Annual Turkeysaurus Shoot, but remember that they don't have guns... Fred's memory has been professionally tested before, and found to be lacking, so this isn't the surprise it might be. After purchasing a suitable marksman-type rifle, they head to the bank, which owes Fred money. Unfortunately they take the firearm into the bank, giving the cashier cause to think that they are robbers, and he hands Fred two bags of cash.

Once again Wilma and Betty come to the rescue, though they, also, might need rescuing. There's a lot of amusing little moments in the story, though the whole isn't quite the sum of its parts - almost a shaggy dog story, which is largely redeemed by how amusing the individual incidents are.

When the Flintstones' house is lit up at midnight, weird sounds pour from the windows and rockacycles are parked all over the front lawn, you can be sure of two things...

One, that Rodney Rocktop is in town...

Two, that Fred is miserable...

I'm not a fan of the beatnik stories which infested American television throughout the sixties, and the inclusion here is just as irritating. Bongos aren't an immediately attractive musical instrument. Finding that I have something in common with Fred is, it must be said, rather horrifying.

Fred gets rid of his musical nephew, Rocktop, but is soon regretting his decision when a singing telarock delivers news that Rocktop has inherited ten thousand dollars. Rushing out to fetch him back, Fred hopes that by treating Rocktop well he will receive a portion of the money.

Because treating people well because it is the right thing to do would never occur to a lunk-head such as Fred.

The Case of the Creepy Car, the first Mr. & Mrs. J. Evil Scientist strip, sees J. and his wife head out to purchase a car from Variety Used Cars, which guarantees people will find a car they like. Naturally, there isn't anything to their taste, and they are determined to ruin the company due to it making claims it can't back up.

Fred attempts to fix a leak in Mother Was a Mechanic, though his attempts to stop the torrent of water pouring into the house is less than successful. Wilma's mother, visiting Pebbles, manages to get things turned around, and is soon repairing other things Fred had "fixed" - not at all to his pleasure. In an attempt to win over his mother-in-law, Fred enters her into a Most Typical Mother Contest, which ought to interest her womanly instincts.

There ought to be an analysis of the sexual politics of this story somewhere. Cross-dressing, "typical" womanly interests, and a focus on appealing to a narrow bracket of hobbies as appropriate - The Flintstones never really engaged in serious social commentary, often preferring to mock, and having such a rich tapestry around the central characters often hghlighted characters who existed outside of the norms. By forcing the characters back into preconceived notions of proper behaviour for the sake of a few gags seems a retrograde step.

At least there is a sense of surreality to offset events.

An annual dance is scheduled at the Dinosaur Lodge, so Fred and Barney are volunteered to find an orchestra in two days - with a grand budget of thirty-two dollars. Their attempts at securing a suitable band is, however, far from easy. It is interesting to compare the various depictions of bands in the franchise through the years, with developments in popular music altering the look of fictional musicians. Attempts to appeal to contemporary audiences, in stories set so far in the past, raise so many questions.

The Orbit Bit, originally published with a cover date of August 1964, is likely a response to NASA sending the first Apollo command module into orbit. Its final image, of Earth orbited by two dinosaurs, would have made an amazing NASA patch.

If there is one thing to take away from the annuals, it is how often annual events in-universe crop up. Likely unintentional, though amusing to see all the same.

[1965]

The Flintstones Annual

[1967]