Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm #1

History

The TV series that inspired this comic was itself born of commercial calculation: CBS executive Fred Silverman approached Hanna-Barbera in 1970 seeking a teen-oriented, music-driven Flintstones revival designed to replicate the ratings success of Filmation's Archie cartoons, and assigned Joe Ruby and Ken Spears to radically age the franchise's child characters into high-schoolers. The resulting show debuted September 11, 1971, and Charlton — which had held the Hanna-Barbera comics license since 1970 and was simultaneously publishing The Flintstones, The Jetsons, Yogi Bear, and other properties — moved quickly to put a companion comic on stands, with the first issue appearing within months of the show's premiere. Frank Roberge, a Connecticut-born cartoonist and longtime Charlton contributor who had been working the Hanna-Barbera beat across multiple titles, became the series' primary cover artist and interior contributor, lending visual consistency to the run. The Charlton license for all Hanna-Barbera properties eventually concluded in 1977, after which the rights moved to Marvel Comics.

Trivia · 8 facts

• Published January/February 1972 by Charlton Comics Group as part of its wide Hanna-Barbera licensing program; the cover title reads 'Teen-Age Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm,' which appeared on all 36 issues of the series.
• Issue #1 is the first comic book to feature Pebbles Flintstone and Bamm-Bamm Rubble as teenagers, directly adapting their new characterization from The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show (CBS, debuted September 11, 1971) — itself the first spin-off series of The Flintstones.
• The lead story 'Bedlam in Bedrock' introduces the full teenage supporting cast in comics form, including genius inventor Moonrock Crater, rival Cindy Curbstone, snobby Fabian Fabquartz, Penny Pillar, bad-luck magnet Schleprock, and Bruno Bronto.
• Additional stories in #1: 'Stung Again,' 'Don't Bet on a Pet,' 'The Rubber Worm,' and 'Fun at the Fair' — the last of which features Fred Flintstone and Barney Rubble prominently, bridging the original Flintstones cast with the new teen ensemble.
• Frank Roberge, a veteran American cartoonist best known for the newspaper strip 'Mrs. Fitz's Flats,' served as the principal cover and interior artist across the Charlton Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm series throughout the early-to-mid 1970s.
• The series ran for 36 issues, from February 1972 through December 1976, making it one of the longest-running Hanna-Barbera comics titles Charlton published under its license.
• The TV show's teen-band concept — Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm fronting a group called the Bedrock Rockers — was explicitly modeled on the Archie/Filmation musical-cartoon formula then dominating Saturday mornings; the comic carried that same teen-comedy DNA into print.
• In 1993, Harvey Comics published a revival and reprint collection, the Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Summer Special, reprinting stories from the Charlton run; Harvey also issued a short three-issue series that year.

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