When DC decides to cross its Hanna-Barbera properties over with its main line of comics, what do we get? Why, everyone’s favorite time traveler traveling to Bedrock, with all the mayhem that ensues. Yes, it’s Booster Gold meets The Flintstones. Can the greatest hero you never heard of save the past and future? Let’s find out, with some spoilers here and there.
Written by Mark Russell
Illustrated by Rick Leonardi
Inking by Scott Hanna
Colors by Steve Buccellato
Letters by Dave SharpeWelcome to the twenty-fifth century, where the Earth is a polluted postindustrial nightmare, most animals are extinct and reptilian aliens are invading cities across the planet! In their time of need, the world’s citizens turn to the time-traveling Booster Gold to save the day. To learn why these aliens are seeking revenge, Booster dives deep into the prehistoric past to see what happened the last time they hit the planet. In this bygone era, Fred Flintstone and Barney Rubble must help Booster learn the truth and return to his own time armed with the information that will bring down the invaders—if Booster can convince them to help him. No problem—we all know how persuasive Booster can be, right? Right?!
Now, I am a big fan of Booster Gold; I love the character arcs he’s been through, the comedy, his bromance with Blue Beetle, and of course, I love analyzing the mechanics of time travel in his series. The Flintstones comics have been interesting, using the stone age setting to look at modern issues and really delve into the Bedrock society. So putting them together should be a hit, right?
Seeing as time travel is a big part of Booster’s story, the “Booster Gold/The Flintstones” comic is split pretty evenly between the 25th century and Bedrock; in spite of Booster operating primarily in our modern day, he appears to be doing some super heroics in his own home time.
The “Booster Gold/The Flintstones” comic does a nice job at setting up what kind of future Booster is from. There’s constant mentions of everyday animals going extinct, leaving barely over a dozen left alive, but that’s a plot point that’s commonly mentioned. What really builds the scene are the smaller details, like the future Gotham City having a Crime Alley tourist trap, complete with photo stands of the Waynes with targets on their chests. ATMs with AI, rat meat being a delicacy, and a sign in the background proclaiming the air as only “mildly toxic,” all set the stage for a future that’s just a little dystopic, but taken in stride.
Contrast that with the scenery in Bedrock, which is barren but brighter. The technology of the future gives way for the Flintstones’s world of animal appliances, serving as a decent foil for the time periods. As per “The Flintstones,” there’s some clever uses of animals as tools, such as using electric eels to jump start Booster’s time sphere, while still maintaining the limitations that such “technology” would present.
There’s one scene that I particularly enjoyed, in which Booster sends out a call from the past for any other time travelers who he could hitch a ride from. Among the time travelers he hears from is a “Dr. Clocker,” who happens to be clad in a brown suit and long jacket, a clear shout-out to “Doctor Who.” More amusingly, he’s by Mt. Vesuvius, which may be a reference to a specific “Doctor Who” episode, save for the fact that this Doctor is somewhat more unprepared for the eruption. The “Booster Gold/The Flintstones” comic handles that in a rather amusing way, as we see Booster’s look of frustration while the sound effects from the communicator feature a rumble and scream of horror, as part of a series of time travelers getting themselves killed via lack of historical knowledge before they can help him. Mark Russell was clearly having fun with all the ways time travel can go wrong, and as a result, it works quite nicely.
Artistically, the issue looks nice; the artwork is bold and clear, thanks to the great synergy between artist Rick Leonardi, inker Scott Hanna, and colorist Steve Buccellato. They blend the styles of the two series well, maintaining the more properly-proportioned design of the “Flintstones” comics to properly match with Booster Gold.
Continued belowAlong with the city scenes and character designs, the aliens they’ve designed are rather neat as well. While they’re mostly lizard-like, there are minor differences between each one to give them more distinct looks. Along with that is the time traveling alien Crabulon, who I’m fairly certain is at least distantly related to Doctor Zoidberg, but it makes for a great design. The dinosaurs look very nice too (it wouldn’t be “The Flintstones” without dinosaurs and humans living together), combining the bright colors of the cartoon with a somewhat more realistic design.
The art is a little goofy at times, but it works, especially given the tone. Sometimes we get a closer look at the characters, where the details can really come through, and we can see the emotion in Booster’s eyes behind his yellow visor. The color work is often bright, even during the nighttime scenes in 25th century Gotham, making it visually enjoyable. And whether they’re in the past of future, there’s plenty of little details in the scenery that add to the location.
However, we can’t look at a comic about time travel without analyzing how it works, which will involve a little in the way of spoilers. In “Booster Gold/The Flintstones,” we see Booster travel back in time to stop an alien invasion in the future, but in doing so accidentally causes it. So that’s a predestination paradox, right? Attempting to change the past causes it to happen, thus preventing time from changing.
Yet the conflict is resolved by another time traveler saving the prophet who Booster accidentally cuts in half and bringing him to the future. So he was taken out of the timeline before he could be killed, but everything still carries on as though he were killed in the first place, thus making him need to go to the future to tell everyone to chill out. But if he was never there to get killed, having been taken to the future, there wouldn’t be a conflict at all.
You see where things get all wibbly-wobbly and timey-wimey. So I’m just going to repeat to myself “It’s just a comic, I should really just relax.”
Either way, it does lead to two very amusing scenes. In one, Booster attempts to convince the alien invaders that their prophet is alive and well… by using the body as a puppet. It’s quite hilarious when the dead half of a body falls off his hand, and it’s illustrated perfectly, with each equally-sized panel showing the body getting closer and closer to slipping until it goes. A tad bit dark, yes, but hilarious nonetheless.
Finally, there’s the resolution. The prophet is saved via time travel, and goes to the future to tell his followers off for waging war in his name, considering his was a message of peace. “You didn’t listen to a word of my teachings, you just used my death as an excuse to go on being the same old buttholes you were before” is a line I hope to see used more often, and while it may be a bit of a jab at anyone who uses their religion as an excuse to be a “butthole” to others, it works well enough in the context to fly.
Overall, “Booster Gold/The Flintstones” is goofy, but it’s fun, clever, and looks very nice. They set up and execute plenty of good moments of humor while keeping the plot flowing smoothly, it’s well-paced, and manages to cross-over the two comics in a way that just works. Sure, we could nit-pick at the little details of time travel, or why Booster is still a time-jumping hero in the 25th century, but I choose to enjoy the comic for what it is: good entertaining fun.
Final Verdict: 8.2 – Excellent artwork, entertaining characters, good humor, and fun with time travel. What more could one ask for out of a crossover like this?
