George Jetson has issues;
over-worked and under-paid, he’s been tapped for a mission to investigate an
undersea disturbance – a sea that now covers about 90% of the planet, thanks to
meteor striking the Pacific and wiping out a good portion of humanity. The
continents flooded, and more than a century later, the descendants of the
survivors live in a high-tech antiseptic world.
But now a second meteor threatens to
finish what the first one started. Only a handful of strategists – including
Jane Jetson – are privy to this knowledge, for fear of inciting panic. But
Jane has other concerns, not the least of which is what to get George for his
birthday (assuming he lives that long).
Within the world of the Jetsons are
secrets and clues that may or may not contribute to the solution of the meteor
dilemma. His boy, Elroy, has a plan for his dad’s birthday that intrigued me at
first, but ultimately failed to pay off. Daughter Judy seemed to be the least
developed member of the Jetson family – yes, even less so than Rosie the robot
– but there’s room for exploration later (I hope).
This was an enjoyable series, but even if I had read in monthly installments rather than a single sitting, I still believe I would have enjoyed it. It's a fresh take on an old idea, and shares the kind of optimism for the future usually reserved for Star Trek.
The
Jetsons was only a six-issue series, but that’s not to say there
won’t be more. True, die-hard fans may not fully appreciate this
reinterpretation/re-imagining/remake of the animated TV series. But the truth
is, the show is more than 50 years old, and some evolution of the franchise is
inevitable. The difference reminds me of the creative chasm between the
original Lost in Space and its more
modern version.
Pier Brito’s artwork is simple but not
cartoony. His rendering of the Jetsons’ world is clean and streamlined, with
some obvious inspiration from Hanna-Barbera. It takes the polish of Star Trek
and raises to a new level, a new world.
Jimmy Palmiotti has done a remarkable
job of taking the characters created by Hanna-Barbera and creating a world for
them to inhabit. Not just merely a vision of the future, but an environment
with a backstory, and many corners to explore. And that’s the great appeal of
science fiction tales of the future: anyone’s version of the future is as
legitimate as the next
Rating: 8/10