Colouring Book Theatre: The Fantastic Four

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I picked up this 1979 Whitman coloring book at one of my "Wishbook haunts" (a smelly room full of used books at a truck stop where the guy also guesses my height and weight) and paid a whole dollah for it.



To be honest, I think I spent too much as this has to be my least favourite book of all time. The art is fine, it even seems to be based on Kirby who did some work on the animated series this was based on.



The problem with this book is that it's just awful, it isn't even at the level of the disappointing animated series that was airing at this time.



What are my main beefs with this? Well let's a take a look inside.

Problem number one: H.E.R.B.I.E the robot annoys the living hell out of me, I know the Torch was licensed to someone else at the time but honestly, this was the best character? I would have added Medusa or Namor over this character. This book is H.E.R.B.I.E centric too, the other, he dominates this book. He's the Jar-Jar Binks of 1979.

Then there's the story, the FF are in one of their stereotypical fights which without Johnny seems kind of hollow. Then Sue and Reed (Who should get their blood pressure checked) suggest renting a farm for a vacation. I was expecting the next twenty pages of them feeding pigs.

Hoo Boy, maybe I'm too sensitive but the FF was such a cool comic when I was a kid, could this get worse?

Oh but it can! Enter the villain of the piece, the Pink Fink. I'm not going to bother.

So the Pink Fink uses all kinds of embarrassing things like a pink ray and pink vision goggles to stop the FF, he captures them pretty easily I might add. It seems the FF rented the farm he was holing up in, who knows why. This of course, makes it important for H.E.R.B.I.E to save the day with his eye rays, which means the heroes and their powers are useless but a gadget can save the day.

I give up too......

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[ThatBatmanGuy]

The Pink Fink must of been a leftover villian that fought Spidey on the Electric Company. I always heard it wasn't the fact that the Torch was licensed out to another company, but that TV producers were worried that kids would set themselves on fire to be like the Human Torch. Stupid solution to a stupid idea.

Bob

Yeah, I can't stand herbie either.

[HardyGirl]

I'm not a huge fan of the FF, but even I know that just sucked! The Pink Fink? Oh brother!

[Raydeen1]

I have this one!

I loved it when I was younger. Haven't pulled it out in many years. I forgot all about the Pink Fink. LMAO......Good stuff.

[Earth 2 Chris]

I always heard it wasn't the fact that the Torch was licensed out to another company, but that TV producers were worried that kids would set themselves on fire to be like the Human Torch. Stupid solution to a stupid idea.

That's the urban legend. I believe its been confirmed it really was a licensing entanglement that kept Johnny off that series.

This artwork looks very similar to some Spider-Man coloring books I have from that same time. Everyone has jaws so square Dick Sprang would be jealous.

Chris

[Brown Bear]

Still one of my favorite things about this Forum. Thanks for the flashback.

[cjefferys]

That's pretty stinky. I loved the FF when I was a kid, but even I would have been disappointed in that book (I hated Herbie too. I think nearly everyone did). My favourite non-comic FF book from the 70s was the Big Little Book ("House of Horrors" or something like that?). I must have read that thing a hundred times when I was a kid.

[mego73]

That was rich! I love seeing how they dumbed down stuff for smaller kids in these things. How in the world can a licensing entanglement not involve all the Fantastic Four characters and not just Torch.

[Marvelmania]

That's just embarrassing to all superhero fans. Pink Fink? The villian could have at least been Paste Pot Pete!

[toys2cool]

cool,I like the colored arm like Iron man

[ThatBatmanGuy]

That's the urban legend. I believe its been confirmed it really was a licensing entanglement that kept Johnny off that series.

This artwork looks very similar to some Spider-Man coloring books I have from that same time. Everyone has jaws so square Dick Sprang would be jealous.

Chris

If it's an urban legend, it's an old one. I remember reading about this during the original broadcast. Hollweird TV producers are this stupid.

Bob

[palitoy]

It's an ancient rumour, I think in a twomorrow's publication somebody who was involved in this series explains that the Human Torch was part of the deal with CBS to produce a TV movie.

[goldenryan]

yeah i got this book lol. i know the target audience was under 8 but even the kids back then should have known that this was a piece of crap "The pink fink c'mon" lol. herbie was the worst thing ever to happen to the ff (until the movies came out,of course)

[Raydeen1]

Being a fan of robots like R2D2 and not much of an FF fan as a kid, I loved HERBIE. I liked the movies. Well, I liked the FF and Surfer.

[LOU]

LOL! Great post! As soon as I saw this thread title I was hoping it would be the same FF coloring book I had as a kid...and it was! I also hated HERBIE! Great memories though!