FF Big Little Book Mysteries

  Note: This is a revised post that was originally published on November 30, 2013  

Big Little Books began publication in 1932, telling stories with pages of alternating prose on the left side and a single illustration on the right. The books were geared to children and starred popular characters from comic strips, cartoons, movies and television, including Popeye, Dick Tracy, Little Orphan Annie, Tarzan, Donald Duck, Lassie, Flipper, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Man from Uncle, Bugs Bunny, Yogi Bear and many others.

You can read more about the history of Big Little Books here:

http://www.biglittlebooks.com/learning.html

William Johnston is credited with writing the 1968 Big Little Book featuring the Fantastic Four, which was distributed by Whitman Publishing. Curious about Johnston's background I searched online and discovered his fascinating history:

 http://iamtw.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/news-1-10.pdf

The first four pages provide you with Johnston's bibliography. He was a prolific writer whose books included a plethora of television tie-ins. His most successful run was on Get Smart, but other titles included Dr. Kildare, Room 222, Bewitched, Ironside and novelizations of movies such as Klute. Surprisingly, he left the field of writing and became a bartender in the 1970's.

All the images of the FF Big Little Book are taken from my copy, which I've owned since its original publication way back in 1968! If memory serves correctly, my Mom bought this first edition at Woolworth's in our local neighborhood, the Bushwick section of Brooklyn, where we resided. For the youngsters in the audience it was a popular chain of retail/variety stores that existed throughout the United States, similar to Wal-Mart. It is one of the earliest comics-related items I own; the paperback version of All In Color For A Dime is a close second. Herb Trimpe pencils, John Verpoorten inks.

Johnston, who is credited as author, had no association with Marvel and was assigned the book by Whitman's editors as one of his typical freelance assignments. It's quite possible he was unfamiliar with Fantastic Four lore, but became exposed or brought up to speed on Lee and Kirby's material, since, although greatly simplified for a young audience, Johnston did a worthy job of retaining their characteristic quirks; in particular the Thing, whose wisecracks remained intact. 

Two artists from Marvel's bullpen were recruited, although they did not receive credit in the book. Herb Trimpe, who penciled the story, was a relative newcomer to the field (see my sensational sidebar post: Werner Roth, Herb Trimpe and Kid Colt Outlaw) and one might wonder how he got the job when Jack Kirby, the co-creator and artist of The Fantastic Four, did not. I asked him that question once and he explained quite simply that Kirby was too busy on his monthly titles and didn't have the time to produce outside work. Trimpe was readily available and had the ability to mimic Kirby's style. It's worth noting that Trimpe's efforts on this project was the first instance of a non-Kirby FF story (guest appearances in other titles notwithstanding) until John Romita took over the monthly title upon Kirby's departure from Marvel in 1970.   

John Verpoorten, who was then production assistant at Marvel (and would later become head of production, replacing Sol Brodsky, who moved up to VP of Special Projects) inked Trimpe's pencils. Verpoorten's ink-line mirrored that of Kirby's monthly FF delineator, Joe Sinnott. Trimpe and Verpoorten were solid craftsman and produced a professional job.  

 

Trimpe's illustration from the FF BLB was re-used by Whitman for a jigsaw puzzle produced around the same time. The image of the team approaching an ominous gothic house may have been inspired by the success of the supernatural daytime serial Dark Shadows, which was overwhelmingly popular with the youth market, selling an array of related bubble gum cards, games and magazines. I bought the puzzle too, although, sadly, it has been lost to the ages.

 A Kirby-esque image of Reed and Sue by Trimpe and Verpoorten. Although he was originally inspired by the more cartoonish Jack Davis, Trimpe was encouraged to follow Kirby's storytelling techniques early on. He would take that straightforward approach to great heights, most notably on his long and successful run on the Incredible Hulk.

As can be seen by his illustration of the Torch, Trimpe understood dramatic focus, putting the reader in the center of the action. While some of his drawings were not as confident, and he occasionally relied on Kirby swipes, overall the nascent artist rode the wave with gusto!  

There were a few drawings of the FF throughout the book that were replaced with stats of Kirby artwork. This was likely due to the editor striving to keep the characters more closely aligned with Marvel's bombastic approach.  

      
The above Jack Kirby/Joe Sinnott figures of the Thing, Reed and Johnny were originally presented on page 3, panel 3 of Fantastic Four # 77, August 1968. For the BLB Trimpe and/or Verpoorten likely added Sue and produced additional art.  

While I have no conclusive proof, there are a few pages throughout the book that  appear to be crafted by someone other than Trimpe or Verpoorten. The example above depicts a confidence of line that is evocative of Kirby's concurrent work;  the Thing's rocky countenance in particular, so the figures may have actually been taken from an FF issue. Its also not out of the realm of possibility that Kirby was asked to fix-up a drawing while he was in the Marvel offices.     

Here is another scene with the FF in poses that appear to be drawn by Kirby/Sinnott, although Reed's face may have been altered by another hand. Again, this could be a stat from an FF issue, and if anyone finds where it originally appeared I'll add that info. Aside from these two illustrations, I don't see signs of any other new Kirby artwork. The rest of the page is clearly composed by Trimpe/Verpoorten. 

The evidence of other artists participating in the book's production appears to my practiced eye a certainty. While John Verpoorten was the primary inker, there are a few illos that were touched-up by a different individual. Dr. Weird may have had some corrections rendered by John Romita, Stan Lee's go-to man.

This close-up of Dr. Weird is another example of a face/figure altered from Trimpe's original. My guess is that Bill Everett, veteran artist and creator of the Sub-Mariner, was called on to make the character more sinister-looking. This would not be unusual, since Everett was working on staff at the time. The eyebrows, nose and mouth in particular have stylistic touches that point to Everett's involvement.

In my youthful days, some fifty-plus years ago, it was quite a novelty to discover the Fantastic Four appearing outside their monthly title. It made sense for Whitman to produce an FF Big Little Book, since the team had received its own Saturday morning cartoon on ABC a year earlier (as had Spider-Man.) Books, puzzles and the like were sources of delight, and often quite affordable. Today comic books are an adjunct to merchandising, movies and all sorts of ephemera. What was unique and unexpected then is commonplace now. And, perhaps, some of the magic is gone.           

It's been a long time since I've opened that well-worn FF Big Little Book, and, like most artifacts from the past, it brings back memories of people, places, events, and a world that is far away, yet somehow crystal clear. It is a trip we all take, I suspect, every time we watch an old movie, pick up a dog-eared book from our library, or gaze at the cover of a comic from our childhood. Perhaps they resonate with us in ways we'll never quite understand. What we had can never be duplicated - it was of the moment - but it can be reflected on, and preserved.         

You can see more of Herb Trimpe's work on a later Hulk Big Little Book at Jon B. Knutson's blog: https://randomactsofgeekery.blogspot.com/2016/10/cbt-incredible-hulk-in-lost-in-time-big.html?fbclid=IwAR1pPsMd-avw-zqsgP2ocTrIxfzG_XAZAHcdCZctqQvKdSZLNJ5lk2CdFTY