The Jetsons #6 – Jimmy Palmiotti, Writer; Pier Brito, Artist; Alex Sinclair, Colorist
Ratings:
Ray – 10/10
Corrina: Must Buy
WARNING: SPOILERS BELOW
Ray: As the crown jewel of DC’s Hanna-Barbera line wraps its first (but hopefully not last) miniseries, The Jetsons #6 sticks the landing in a way that ensures this will likely be a classic for years to come. When we last left off, George Jetson and Rosie had seemingly sacrificed themselves to destroy the meteor coming for Earth – only for the meteor not to be budged, and George and a human-again Rosie to wake up in some sort of limbo space. The issue opens with a powerful segment as Jane, Judy, Elroy, and those closest to them say goodbye to each other as the meteor draws closer to impact – only for it to simply stop right before hitting Earth. As the science team is assembled to investigate this strange outcome, Jane is caught between relief and grief over George’s sacrifice. Meanwhile, George and his mother try to figure out when and where they are, and wind up becoming the first people to ever make first contact with an alien species.
As it turns out, Earth has been a long-time participant in an exercise in alien controlled evolution, one of the most clever twists I’ve read in a while. And the administrator of the planet, a benevolent alien scientist, explains the history of the planet to them before making contact with the shuttle back on Earth and delivering the lost Jetsons back to their family. There’s a tendency of a lot of science-fiction to be about the end of the world, or about humanity destroying itself, and to leave us with a generally pacifist take on the world. This is the exact opposite, showing that basically everything that happened in this series was for the benefit of Earth, even if it was terrifying for the small creatures who have been living on it for a sliver of time. It worked so brilliantly because the family felt genuine, and every character – even minor ones like Mr. Spacely and his assistant – felt like real people. And that extends to O, the alien we meet in the last act. There’s so much more to explore in this world, and I hope the creative team gets the chance. This series should get an Eisner nomination.
Corrina: I’m in complete agreement with Ray: this series should get an Eisner nomination.
If you’re thinking “how can a story that was inspired by a two-dimensional shallow cartoon like The Jetsons win an Eisner?” Well, I’ll count the ways.
Characters. Oh, so many characters, and all of them different, and all of them three-dimensional, and all of them full of all kinds of emotions from love and hate and despair and greed and sacrifice.
A great science fiction concept. This series decided to base the plot on why the Jetsons were living in cities floating above the Earth, taking the answer in unexpected directions.
It wasn’t afraid to wear its heart on its sleeve. The Jetsons as a family were earnest, good, people. Not perfect people-Elroy seemed to awaken the alien tech that was part of the problem, Judy could be shallow, Rosie a little bit demanding, Jane too wrapped up in science, and George sometimes cranky, but they loved each other and were not afraid to show each other that love.
If dismiss this as “eh, stupid cartoon spin-off,” then you’re the one missing out.
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Disclaimer: GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
Thank you both for giving the series a solid read and the wonderful reviews and feedback. The entire team appreciates it.