While DC Comics has had a great 2016 largely thanks to its DC Rebirth initiative, the success of its updated Hanna-Barbera titles such as Future Quest and The Flintstones has been one of the most surprising hits of the year. Next year, DC is doubling down on its classic cartoon characters by teaming them up with some of the most iconic heroes in the DC Universe in a number of special annuals set for release in March.
We live in politically charged times, and it seems that more people are finding their voice and speaking out about the very many negative aspects of modern politics and politicians. If you have someone in your life that seeks to shake up the system and speak truth to power, we've assembled a holiday gift guide packed with comics perfect for the dissident in you life.
Superhero comic books are a great way to get kids of all ages reading, while teaching solid moral lessons and giving them something to aspire to. However, it can be difficult parsing which titles are suitable for kids and teens, and which titles most assuredly are not, so ComicsAlliance has put together a list of some of the best choices.
Today we're looking at DC Comics, which has been making increasing attempts to be more inclusive and provide a wider range of comics for all audiences over the past couple of years. Whether it's comics for fans of TV shows, new spins on classic franchises, or a Young Adult take on political satire, there's something for everyone these days at DC.
Of all the titles coming out of DC's current Hanna-Barbera line, I don't think that any of us really expected that The Flintstones would be the most unexpectedly mystifying. If you missed the first issue, it took television's stone-age Honeymooners and turned it into a satire that got unexpectedly dark, casting Bedrock as an amoral prototype for all of our modern failings and conflicts.
And in the second issue, they're going shopping.
Writer Mark Russell and cartoonist Shannon Wheeler hope to bring readers the very best Bible stories that didn't make it into the Bible (or perhaps just lost something in translation) in their informative but disrespectful adaptation Apocrypha Now, the follow up to their previous Biblical adaptation, God is Disappointed in You.
Published by Top Shelf, the book features Russell's prose accompanied by Wheeler's New Yorker-esque cartoons, and we have an exclusive preview of their take on the destruction of Sodom.
All the WonderCon buzz this weekend is about DC Rebirth, but DC Comics dropped some more information about another line of comics this weekend in Los Angeles, namely the new Hanna-Barbera titles. At a panel on Friday, we got a closer look at some of the titles, including Amanda Conner’s designs for The Flintstones, and a detailed look into how bizarre Wacky Raceland is going to be.
Listen, I gotta tell you about this dream I had last night. It was so weird 00- DC comics had launched a line of comics based on Hanna-Barbera cartoons, but they were doing these completely bonkers takes on all of them. Like, Scooby-Doo was set in the apocalypse and Scooby had a techno-monocle that allowed him to communicate through emojis, and Wacky Races was mashed up with Mad Max: Fury Road, and they even got one of the designers from the movie for it, and there was a big crossover with Space Ghost and Jonny Quest. And the weirdest thing of all was that the Flintstones were just the Flintstones, but drawn by Amanda Conner. Bizarre, right?
Wait a second... I'm just catching up on the news, and --- holy cats. It wasn't a dream. DC Comics is actually doing a Hanna-Barbera line with post-apocalyptic Wacky Races and emoji-monocle Scooby-Doo. This is actually happening.
Prez is an ongoing political satire set in a world so bonkers it could only be an outgrowth of our own. Satire has to sweat to keep up with a 2015 where a reality TV star who looks like he angered his barber has a chance at being elected President of the United States, and the creators of Prez decided the best way forward was to look back to the 1970s, to the Prez series by Joe Simon and Jerry Grandenetti.
The eclectic cast of the new series includes Tina, the President's Christian transgender robotic bodyguard. Is this a well-intentioned attempt at diversity and crafting an interesting supporting character, as with the original series' Eagle Free, FBI director? Or does it miss the mark, as with the original's Eagle Free, FBI director?
Mark Russell and Ben Caldwell's revival of Joe Simon and Jerry Grandenetti's Prez was probably the single most unexpected launch of the entire "DC You" initiative --- and so far, it's been one of the best. As it stands, Beth Ross is a teenager in a dystopian (but not entirely unfamiliar) near future where corporations have the right to vote and viral marketing can control a campaign, who got on the ballot as a joke and now stands a chance of becoming the first president elected by Twitter.
This week sees the release of the second issue, and as the House of Representatives is in deadlock, Beth's father's illness takes a turn for the worse --- and if that's not enough, we're introduced to the Sensational Character Find of 2015, Carl The End-Of-Life Bear. Check out a sharp and surprisingly heartwarming preview below!