Sunday Funnies

Of course The Flintstones did not originate on the comics page, but rather as the first prime-time cartoon on television. But cross-marketing being what it is, it didn't take long for the folks at Hanna-Barbera to get it into the Sunday papers too. I don't know how long it lasted in that format, but I have fond memories of reading it as a kid, and here are a few samples from that period.

I wouldn't put thses in the classic category, but they were fun. And you can see that there was a time, not so long ago, when artists could put a bit of detail into their work-- certainly much more than you see today in the funnies.

Although Hanna and Barbera signed the strips, I imagine the work was actually done by folks working in their studio. One difference between the strip and the show is that I don't recall any celebrity cameos in the former, but that could just be my faulty memory.

Maybe next week I'll post some examples of The Flintstones sister strip, Yogi Bear, also produced by the folks who brought us youngsters the well-known cartoon (and appearing, at least in the Buffalo Courier Express, on the same page in the Sunday funnies).