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| I would question why Fred looks drunk on the cover, but we have less than one week to go in the election. We all have our coping strategies. |
The Flintstones #5 has a wonderful message about our changing times, along with more information on the foundation of Bedrock. A strong theme in the issue is the repeating of history. It’s a cycle of revolving events and we have to learn from our mistakes in order to avoid repeating them. So, if any of the issue sounds familiar to anyone who has been following the current presidential election, there’s a reason for that.
As the mayoral race is going on, the middle school is also having their own election. Ralph the Bully is running a campaign based on fear and violence, threatening to “punch you in the beef” if you don’t vote for him. Catchy, right? Meanwhile, Clod the Destroyer is running his official campaign on destroying the lizard people, similar to his father’s conquering of the tree people.
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| The lizard people... they're vicious, they're smugglers. When you're a powerful nation, you can do whatever you want. I say we just grab them by the tail! |
Running parallel to the electoral events, Fred and Barney flash back to their ultimately pointless battle against the tree people. It’s a harsh story, showing the fears that Wilma and Betty have for their safety, as Wilma is currently pregnant and Betty is despondent over her inability to conceive a child. As Fred and Barney get more and more involved in the training, they begin to realize just how ill-conceived the war was in the first place. They were tricked into massacring innocents.
If you’ll allow the understatement, they were ‘bullying’ a smaller, weaker tribe that simply wanted to defend themselves and live in peace. That brings us right back to the present, with Ralph the Bully seemingly running unopposed, as he manages to get his only opponent, Portnoy, to leave the race after some insults. Fortunately, Pebbles manages to talk some sense into the crowd, sowing the seeds of hope for a future generation. Despite Clod the Destroyer winning in a landslide, it’s still possible that the next generation can fix his mistakes. But, like I said, history repeats itself, so you never know.
And on that depressing note, here’s a picture of baby Bam-Bam!
I hope that Bam-Bam’s status as a tree person appears in more issues. It has the potential to create more thoughtful discourse, as is the norm for this series.
The Flintstones #5 is written by Mark Russell and drawn by Steve Pugh. You can find it at your local comic book shop.
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| Is it just me or does Fred look like Superman in this picture? |
And on that depressing note, here’s a picture of baby Bam-Bam!
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| I hope that cheers you up! Not as cute as baby Dino, but still a baby! |
The Flintstones #5 is written by Mark Russell and drawn by Steve Pugh. You can find it at your local comic book shop.
Zachary Krishef is an evil genius. Do not question his knowledge of Saturday Night Live trivia or Harry Potter books.
