My Golden Age

Although I am a fan, collector and historian of the Golden Age of Comic Books, my personal Golden Age was much later.  As a child of the 1960’s and 70’s, I read a lot of the comics that Pat Curley features on the Silver Age of Comic Books Blog.  Not only did I read Silver Age comics, I spent a lot of time in front of the TV on Saturday mornings watching the cartoons of the same era.  In a way, these cartoons influenced me just as much as the comics that I read.

I was therfore thrilled when Warner Brothers asked me to review a series of DVD sets that will be available in stores in the coming weeks.  These sets took me down memory lane and were just plain fun to watch.

Saturday Morning Cartoons - 1960's - Volume 1

I first watched WB’s Saturday Morning Cartoons, 1960’s, volume 1.  This two disk set will be in stores on May 26, 2009 and features over 5 hours of classic 1960’s Hanna-Barbera cartoons.  Of the thirty-three ‘toons on these disks, you will laugh to the antics of Porky Pig, Secret Squirrel (my personal favorite!), The Flintstones, Top Cat, Peter Potamus, Magilla Gorilla, Quick Draw McGraw (with a great El Kabong episode), Atom Ant, Space Ghost and many others.  You will find bonus features of “The Herculoids: First Family of Planet Quasar” with the subperb art of Alex Toth, and “Monster Rock: The Adventures of Frankenstein Jr. and the Impossibles”.  This is a great set of classic 1960’s cartoons, and a must have for collectors.

Saturday Morning Cartoons - 1970's Volume 1

Next up was WB’s Saturday Morning Cartoons, 1970’s, volume 1.  This is another great set that will also be in stores on May 26, 2009.  How can you resist the adventures of Batman and Scooby-Doo?  What about Josie and the Pussy Cats, Yogi and Boo-Boo, Speed Buggy, and many others?  With 17 cartoons and over five hours of fun, you can’t go wrong with this  2-disk set.  As a bonus, you’ll find, “Solving Crimes the Chan Clan Way” with Charlie Chan,  and Scooby-Doo’s “Heavens to Betsy Ross: The Spirit of Funky Phantom”.  This is classic 1970’s cartoon fun!  I can remember watching many of these shows when they first aired.

The Jetsons - Season 2 - Volume 1

As if the 1960’s and 1970’s series weren’t enough, on June 2, 2009, WB will release another great collection, The Jetsons, season 2, volume 1.  If you are a fan of George Jetson and his family (don’t forget Astro, the dog of the future!), you’ll love this 3 disk set that presents 21 episodes of this classic cartoon series from the 1960’s.  You can’t go wrong with the zany misadventures of George, Jane, Judy, Elroy and Rosie (their robotic maid).  As a bonus, you will be treated to “The Jetsons Return to the Future” that explores the evolution of the series.  It’s cool when you think about the Jetsons being the first TV family to have a big-screen home entertainment center and other futuristic themes such as floating cities, flying cars and androids, long before these regualry apppeared in many Sc-Fi blockbluster films.  This is great entertainment!  Do you have The Jestons theme song in your head yet? “Meet George Jetson…Jane, his wife…daughter Judy…his boy Elroy...”  I bet it will take you a while to get that song out of your head!

All three DVD sets are in standard format to preserve the aspect ratio of the original televsion exhibition of these shows.  I found the menus on these disks easy to use, and welcomed the table of contents on the inside of The Jetsons case.  I was a little disappointed that the 1960’s and 1970’s sets did not have similar tables of contents, but I did like the slipcase packaging on all three sets.  The 1960’s and 1970’s packaging compliments each other, so they will look good side by side on your shelf.  One word of caution to you parents out there; WB has placed a warning on the 1960’s and 1970’s sets that they are intended for adult collectors and not suitable for children.  Go figure.  To learn more about these great DVD sets, go to the official Kids WB site.  You can also get the inside scoop on WB movie and DVD releases at wbreelnews.com.  Want to buy one of these sets online?  Click here.

I loved these DVD sets as they took me down memory lane on a visit to my Golden Age.  I can’t wait for other sets in these series to be released!