Bestselling author Chuck Palahniuk, who has penned fourteen novels including Fight Club, Choke, Invisible Monsters and Beautiful You, will be combining a novella with an adult styled coloring book in a new publication being produced by Dark Horse Books this fall. His novella will be a dark but colorful fable with aspiring immortals, an amoral banker and his despicable family, a stalker and the kind of extreme storytelling and biting social satire that his readers have come to expect. It will feature colorable illustrations by artists Steve Morris and Mike Norton.
Norton is the creator of the Eisner and Harvey Award-winning webcomic Battlepug and Morris is best known for his artwork from the Buffy the Vampire Slayer comic books. Legacy: An Off-Color Novella For You to Color will be an 8.5 x 11 inch hardcover book with a cover illustrated and colored by Duncan Fegredo (Hell Boy) and designed by Nate Piekos (Blambot). The colorable illustrations within the book will allow people to transform the novella into their own unique, personalized piece of artwork.
Legacy follows last year's release of Bait. That book contained eight bizarre short stories by Palahniuk each paired with colorable original black and white artwork by some of the comic book industries leading illustrators including Fegredo, Morris, Joelle Jones (Lady Killer) and Lee Bermejo (The Suiciders). In all Bait provides 50 images to color in this hybrid adult coloring book. Here are some examples of a few of the tales being told within Bait:
A passenger on the Titanic who finds a surgical solution to the obstacle of "women and children first”
A Hollywood star, whose fading brand faces a viral (and scatological) internet campaign
An animal psychic who coaxes a statement from a fish that witnessed a political assassination
Increasingly terrible birthday gifts that place a girl at the center of an extinction-level event
Legacy: An Off-Color Novella For You To Color will be joining Bait at comic book shops, bookstores and online retailers beginning November 7, 2017. Legacy looks to be an interesting item that fans of pulp fiction fans and adult coloring aficionados will want to pick up. To learn more about Palahniuk and his past literary work, please visit ChuckPalahniuk.net.
This Christmas a whole bunch of people in our family received coloring books for presents and none of them were children. My college-aged niece, wife, and mother-in-law all received coloring books during our family's gift exchange. Coloring books aren't just for kids anymore. Many adults are beginning to take coloring up as a hobby and books with intricate patterns and detailed drawings are beginning to skyrocket up the publishing industry's best seller lists.
Health professionals are encouraging this new trend noting that for adults taking some time out to color can reduce stress, spark creativity, maintain fine motor skills, help keep your mind sharp, and can be just plain fun to do. Several studies have shown that coloring can also have a therapeutic value in dealing with anxiety, cancer, depression, and post-traumatic disorders. We have a cupboard full of coloring books that my kids are always using but I can't recall the last time I spent some time doing some coloring. During my last routine doctor's visit, my physician warned me that my blood pressure was starting to become troubling so maybe I should take some time to relax a bit with one of these new adult focused coloring books.
This video shares some information about the benefits for adults when it comes to enjoying a coloring book:
While many of these adult focused coloring books are marketed to the ladies there are plenty of selections that will appeal to guys as well. Plus with the popularity, and profitability, of this new trend a bunch of new coloring books are on their way to retailers to join the existing ones that are already on store shelves. Here are a few suggestion that dads, and moms, who enjoy the geeky side of life will probably appreciate:
This coloring book is filled with pen-and-ink illustrations that portray exotic sci-fi landscapes, elaborate patterns inspired by the movies, and memorable characters from the Star Wars universe.
This coloring book is filled with fantastic imagery of these mythic beasts from John Howe, the concept artist for the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit movies.
Comic books aren't just for kids anymore and neither are coloring books. Marvel has published a coloring book aimed at adults who enjoyed last year's blockbuster Avengers: Age of Ultron movie. Also coming out in 2016 will be Color Your Own Deadpool and Color Your Own Civil War based upon those two upcoming movies.
Ideal for any fan of George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire and HBO's Game of Thrones, this coloring book contains forty-five exclusive illustrations of the characters and places in Westeros.
Wonderful pen and ink illustrations take you on an underwater adventure through coral reefs and barnacle-studded shipwrecks to discoverintricate shells and lost pirate treasure.The sea life and backgrounds are as colorful as you want to make them.
My grandma who was a librarian used to always give me a Highlights Magazine subscription for my birthday when I was a child. Now this iconic children's brand has a publication featuring a nostalgic collection of Hidden Picture puzzles meant for a grown up audience. Color the puzzles for a relaxing activity that will remind you of the fun you had as a kid doing the hidden picture puzzles in Highlights Magazine.
This book features 96 pages filled with some of the best quotes from the television series and out-of-this-world images featuring the escapades of Doctor Who that will delight any Whovian.
Discover the magical beings and extraordinary beasts from the world of Harry Potter in this 96 page coloring book. It also includes a selection of concept art and film stills from the making of the Harry Potter films to your coloring creativity.
There is even a Walking Dead coloring book based upon the AMC television show coming out in the Fall of 2016.
If you haven't colored in awhile with selections like the ones mentioned above you won't need to use your child's Care Bears, Paw Patrol, or Scooby Doo coloring book to have some fun....although there's nothing wrong with using a kiddie one if you want to. Hey its all about relaxing and having fun! So get out those crayons, markers or colored pencils and embrace your inner artist.
