The Jetsons

The Jetsons is a re- imagining of the classic Hanna- Barbara cartoon, and to say it's visually stunning would be an understatement. I was captivated by the imagery and some of the concepts presented, and while the story is just okay, there are moments of genuine emotion. And did I mention the art? Okay well the art is amazing. The story is set in a post apocalyptic future where the surface of the Earth is underwater, and the remnants of humanity live in floating cities. George is a mechanic and the only person left who understands "old" technology, where his wife Jane is a brilliant scientist who is working on something she can't talk about. Their kids are brilliant as well, and of course there's Astro the dog, who doesn't have a lot to do but act cute. 

Oh, and there's Rosie too, the robot helper who in this iteration is a whole lot more. For spoilery reasons I won't get into that. Suffice to say that some big questions are addressed here- is there an afterlife? If so, what is it like? If you could live on, would you? What happens when you don't have time left? That last question is critical because one of the plot points is a meteor heading straight for Earth, and the suspected impact will wipe out all remaining life. Jane is initially the only one who knows, as she and a small band of scientists work desperately to find a solution. 

I love how they re- imagined this. Jane in particular- if you know anything about the Jetsons cartoon then you know Jane originally was mostly about shopping- it was the 60's after all- so to make her a brilliant scientist here was welcome. Same with her husband- George was kind of a doofus in the cartoon and here he's got it a little more together. I really liked the family- there's a lot of emphasis on their family dynamics. I also liked a lot of the little details- the way they have floating chairs, and how in one scene Astro is curled up in one of them, or the way they can adjust their surroundings so that when they're in bed they can simulate being in space or sleeping in a forest. 

One of the characters likes to read underwater in an air bubble, for example. The artist included a lot of little touches like that. It's a world I'd love to live in, with everything floating in the sky and aircars everywhere. The story has a few different things going, with the meteor threat looming over all, and to be honest the science behind the story is pretty iffy- I would probably give this an A for the art and a C for the story- but the package comes together well, and if this sounds intriguing at all I would highly recommend giving it a shot. And like I said, there are some moments of genuine emotion here. 

My only complaint is this is not an ongoing series. That's a shame, but I'll take it as it is- this is an attractive volume, looks great on my shelf, and the art is a wonder. And I loved the world.