Another Paint By Numbers set, this one giving you the chance to color the classic Aquaman stock art pose!
I like how the kid colored Green Lantern(lower left) in mostly flesh tones, and how the classic Infantino/Anderson Batman and Robin pose(bottom-most right) has been rejiggered to where they're fighting robots!
While this is obviously mostly a Superman item, when I saw the box and all the Super Friends/Aquaman ancillary stuff that came with it, I picked it up.
The set is made up of blank cups and bowls, and sets of b/w art that you color yourself and apply. Its the usual assortment of stock art, with a few unusual choices: --On the Aquaman strip, we have shots by Curt Swan and Jim Aparo, who you didn't see on merchandise much. --The Super Friends piece by Alex Toth does not feature the retouched Superman face(by Murphy Anderson) that was seen on the Limited Collectors' Edition cover. Somebody in Licensing was out sick that day. --Enjoy the traced-over Toth Super Friends group shot with the awkward addition of Batgirl, Green Arrow, Flash, and Green Lantern.
One other thing I noticed--on the box cover, you see the cup, bowl, etc. already colored, when of course you'd have to be friggin' Tatjana Wood to color them as well as you see them on the box, thereby instilling a sense of failure in children early on in their lives. Thanks Avalon and DC Licensing! __________________________________________________________
Update:I got a response from DC regarding my AquaPetition to get the 1986 Pozner/Hamilton mini-series collected. It was from an assistant of Dan Didio's saying thanks for my interest, and my letter was being forwarded to the Collected Editions Editor, who by now has gotten a copy, too.
I have to admit, I was a little disappointed. Though any response short of "Great Idea! The books are being put together right now and we want you to write the intro!" was going to be a let-down. I'm just glad someone at DC read the thing.
Speaking of, if you're reading this and did send a letter(or two) in, please leave a comment and let me know, ok? Thanks, Aquafans!
Let's all paint the Super Friends! Including Batman and Robin, whom you don't see on this package!
Younger comic fans probably can't imagine an environment where, given the choice of characters to put on your product, someone would choose Aquaman or Wonder Woman over Batman. And yet, in 1974, Batman was about on par with his other Super Friends in terms of merchandisability.
Oddly enough, while the Superman and Wonder Woman drawings look original, the Aquaman is clearly lifted from the cover of Aquaman #56 by Nick Cardy. Why you wouldn't just use the beautiful Alex Toth Super Friends piece--the very one awaiting you inside the box--is beyond me.
When I first came across this set on ebay, it went for over $100.00 MIB and I simply wasn't willing to pay that much. When I found it again in another auction two weeks later, I prepared myself for a bidding war. Surprisingly, I was the first, last, and only bidder, and took it home for only $25.00. Ah, the mysteries of ebay!
