Colouring Book Theatre: The Fantastic Four

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……