1960s – Page 3 – About Comics

Dear President Johnson

What do you get when Bill Adler, creator of such best-selling books as The Kennedy Wit, teams up with Charles M. Schulz, creator of Charlie Brown, Snoopy, and the whole Peanuts gang, and they draw from the creativity of the millions of kids in America? You get Dear President Johnson –a collection of the letters kids sent to the White House, facing the President with their questions, their wishes, and their dreams. Originally published during the LBJ administration, this book has been brought back to print to delight a whole new generation.

List Price: $9.99

6″ x 6″ (15.24 x 15.24 cm)
Black & White Bleed on Cream paper
102 pages

ISBN-13: 978-1936404568
ISBN-10: 1936404567
BISAC: Humor / Topic / Political

Order Dear President Johnson from Amazon.

Bridge Players’ Coloring Book

Genuine bridge humor from the 1960s! America had its first love affair with adult coloring books during the Kennedy administration, when the point was not ornate drawings but comedy, as the form was used to poke fun at politics, business, and leisure activities… and bridge was not immune. Back in print for the first time in half a century is this lighthearted look at bridge and the people who play it!

5.25″ x 8″ (13.335 x 20.32 cm)
Black & White on Cream paper
48 pages
ISBN-13: 978-1936404599
ISBN-10: 1936404591
BISAC: Games / Card Games / Bridge

List price: $6.99

Order Bridge Player’s Coloring Book from Amazon.com!

Classic Slams: Bridge Humor of the ’50s and ’60s

From the golden era of the home bridge party comes this trio of classic books, now under one cover. Meant to be given away as either top prizes or booby prizes, these books entertained winners and losers alike!

Doubled and Vulnerable: The cartoons of Wesley Thompson illustrate the fun and foibles of getting together with the neighbors for a friendly little game.

Bridge Babies: Dorothy W. Wilson’s charming photos of tiny tykes showing the expressions of bridge players will win your heart.

Bridge Players’ Coloring Book: This example of the adult satirical coloring book craze of the early 1960s is aimed straight at the bridge player’s funnybone.

List Price: $9.99

5.25″ x 8″ (13.335 x 20.32 cm)
Black & White Bleed on White paper
148 pages

ISBN-13: 978-1936404605
ISBN-10: 1936404605
BISAC: Games / Card Games / Bridge

Classic Slams is available for immediate ordering from Amazon.

The Saga of Dr. Anton Pazu: A Coloring Book for Dentists

From the first golden era of adult coloring books comes The Saga of Dr. Anton Pazu. Created by a dentist for dentists, this is a satire of dentistry, with a look at the work, the tools, the office, and the lifestyle. This went through several printings in the 1960s, but has been out of print and unavailable for decades. It was successful enough to have a sequel, 1969’s The Incredible Story of Dr. Anton Pazu and the Internal Revenue Service: Another Coloring Book for Dentists.

8.5″x11″, 36 pages, black and white paperback, list price $6.99.

Order The Saga of Dr. Anton Pazu from Amazon.com!

Kids’ Letters to President Kennedy

Genuine letters sent from the kids of the early 1960s to JFK show you the dreams, obsessions, and general attitude of America’s children. New York Times best-selling book creator worked with the White House mail department to find letters that were delightful, intriguing, and representative of the thousands of letters that would stream in each week. The book is augmented by dozens of delightful illustrations by Louis Darling, better know for this work on Beverly Cleary’s Beezus & Ramona books. Out of print for half a century, this book is now back in this paperback edition!

5″x8″, 162 pages, black-and-white on cream paper, list price $14.99 US.

This book is part of our Presidential Bookshelf line.

Order Kids’ Letters to President Kennedy from Amazon.com!

Cold War Coloring: Political Adult Coloring Books of the Kennedy Era

The first time adult coloring books swept america, they weren’t therapeutic… they were satiric.
In the early 1960s, the first wave of parody coloring books used the form to mock the culture of the day. Here are five prime examples that took on the politic conflicts of that era. Most of these have been out of print for half a century.

JFK Coloring Book – a genuine New York Times-certified best seller, this look at the Kennedy White House, the Kennedy friends, and especially the Kennedy family contains beautiful art by Mort Drucker, master caricaturist from Mad.
New Frontier Comic Coloring Book – an all-out attack on the Kennedy administration, produced by Arthur J. Weaver, a Republican politician from Nebraska and a four-time delegate to the Republican National Convention
Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev Coloring Book – a look at the notorious but colorful Soviet leader, written by Amram Ducovny, father of actor David Duchovny.
Khrushchev’s Top Secret Coloring Book – with Gene Shalit on the writing and Jack Davis of Mad fame handling the art, the communists take it on the chin.
The John Birch Coloring Book – a poke at the right-wing John Birch Society, who were concerned with communists abroad and communists (real and perceived) at home.”Overall, Cold War Coloring is a remarkable volume. It reminds me of an era I barely understood as a child and clarify those times for me. It’s a perfect gift for coloring book buffs, nostalgia fans and political memorabilia collectors” — Tony Isabella, Tony’s Tips

8.5″x11″, 148 pages, black and white, paperback, list price $9.99 US.

Order Cold War Coloring from Amazon.com!

Adult Coloring Books of the 1960s

The first time the adult coloring book craze hit, it wasn’t about therapy or even coloring. It was about satire.

The adult coloring books of the early 1960s were used to poke fun at the world of the day. Sometimes, it was the gentle mockery of a friend, other times it was the sharp elbow of the political satirist. They were used to ridicule the commerce-driven world, and they were also used to sell products. Some were “adult” solely in their fascination with politics, while others were adult in a more naughty manner.

Here are eleven of those coloring books, many back in print for the first time in half a century. It includes the one that launched the satirical coloring book craze, the New York Times best-seller The Executive Coloring Book.

Also included are:

The Skier’s Coloring Book
The Bridge Player’s Coloring Book
The Original Campus Coloring Book
The 1963 Car Buyer’s Coloring Book
Mother Goose is Loose!
The Therapy Coloring Book
A Coloring Book for Fishermen
The Saga of Dr. Anton Pazu: a Coloring Book for Dentists
The Bureaucrat’s Coloring Book
…and one produced by a pro baseball team.

Order Adult Coloring Books of the 1960s from Amazon.com!

8.5″x11″, 290 pages, paperback, list price $15.99 US.

Khrushchev’s Top Secret Coloring Book

In 1962, during the first adult coloring book craze, Khrushchev’s Top Secret Coloring Book hit the shelves to take a stab at the Russian leader. Written by Gene Shalit and drawn by EC Comics and Mad Magazine superstar Jack Davis, it paints a hilarious picture of world politics of the day. (Note: this material is also included as part of the book Cold War Coloring.)

8.5″x11″, 24 pages, black and white paperback, list price $6.00.

Order Khrushchev’s Top Secret Coloring Book from Amazon.com!

What to Name Your Jewish Baby

Are you going to have a Jewish baby, and do you need a name… or just some laughs? Then this book is for you!

New York Times best-selling book creator Bill Adler teams up with Mad Magazine‘s killer team of Arnie Kogen and Mort Drucker to deliver not only over 300 possible names for your little blessing, but also an explanation of what strange or interesting sort of person you’ll get if you give them that name! Peppered with more than 50 of Drucker’s great illustrations, this is perfect book to use as a gift, or to whomp spiders with! Just buy it!

6″x9″, 120 pages, black and white on cream paper, paperback, list price $9.99 US.

Order What to Name Your Jewish Baby from Amazon.com