Joseph Barbera, one half of the legendary animation team of Hanna-Barbera, died this past Monday, at the ripe old age of 95…and I want to offer him my heart-felt thanks…but NOT because he created, with his partner, cartoons that have become icons of North American pop culture, such as The Flintstones, The Jetsons, and Scooby-Do…
…and NOT because he gave the world characters as diverse as Yogi Bear and shows such as The Wacky Races…
I want to thank Joseph Barbera for Super Friends!
In today’s world, episodes of the Super Friends look positively quaint and camp. The plots are earnest, simplistic, and the dialogue can be positively overwrought…especially compared to its modern-day successor series, the magnificent Justice League. But to me, the Super Friends speaks of a time when I was 7 years old, and bursting with happiness at the high-flying adventures of Superman, Aquaman, Wonder Woman, Batman & Robin…
…and God-help-me…the WONDER TWINS! I can’t even begin to count how many times my friends and I would pretend to be the strange, alien teenage heroes-in-training, touching fists and shouting “Wonder Twin powers….ACTIVATE!”
But the less said about their space monkey, Gleek (no, I DIDN’T make this up!), the better…
So…thank you, Joe Barbera, from the bottom of my heart. You gave me some of the happiest, most exciting moments of my childhood, and I am forever in your debt. May you definitely rest in peace…and may there be a parade — in front of a gleaming Hall of Justice — to welcome you into heaven. 
