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Book Review: The Official Tony Dow Coloring Book

Published on Mon, Oct 19, 2020

By: Doug Stokes

This coloring book features artwork from the legendary Fireball Tim Lawrence, who will keep your imagination running wild as you color the detailed sketches.

The Official TONY DOW Coloring Book!

Written by: Tony and Lauren Dow

Illustrated by: Fireball Tim Lawrence

Fireball Publishing

www.fireballtim.com

_____________________________________________________________

Station Wagons Coloring Book
Station Wagons Coloring Book

NOTE:  We’ve done our share of (car) book reviews here in the electronic “pages” of LACar, and have had the good fortune to be able to review a number of interesting books about a pretty good range of subjects that center around intriguing people and intriguing four wheel machines. 

We’ve even talked about and suggested a couple of books for the younger aficionados among us...and this is a bit more of that ...aimed straight at getting kids interested in cars (and Mermaids, and Surfer Girls, and Hollywood Monsters, and other cool stuff) but mostly cars.

Fireball Tim has plenty of coloring books to complete!
Fireball Tim has plenty of coloring books to complete!

Tim Lawrence is the proprietor, owner, artist-in-residence, and general APB for his eponymous-named FIREBALL PUBLISHING outfit that calls Malibu, California home.  “Eponymous” means your own name … right? And, even as Tim is Lawrence’s given name, “Fireball” is his legal (and “Our Man From Malibu” has the papers to prove it) name…so there!

And that name means a bunch of fun coloring books and lots other stuff like wild model car designs, posters, (and, in this time of virus, cool face masks) await the curious and soon-to-be-delighted at www.fireballtim.com.

The Fireball Facemask
The Fireball Facemask

We went to a recent book-signing over at AutoBooks in Burbank for Fireball’s latest v. cool car coloring book, this one featuring TV actor Tony Dow and his journey from playing Wally Cleaver, the older (sometimes wiser, but not always) brother on the classic (still on on METV) sitcom “Leave it to Beaver” which ran seven seasons (1957-63) to his becoming a well-known and collected sculptor.

The coolest thing about the Official Tony Dow Coloring Book for this fan was finding out something that even IMDb doesn’t seem to know about the now septuagenarian. 

Fireball Tim Tony Dow
Fireball Tim Tony Dow

At “18 or 19” Dow played “Riff” in the musical “West Side Story” in Cain Park in Cleveland.  We learn something every day and that was my nugget of knowledge for that Saturday.  (And just in case a fan or two out there needs more) … Dow, at 10 years of age, was a full-time water baby and rated as the number one junior diver on the West Coast.)

Fireball’s other books about the culture are just as ready for young hands to fill in the color in drawings that really WANT, NEED, even CRY OUT to be colorized and brought to life. 

Fireball Tim Bad Mood
Fireball Tim Bad Mood

These books are for the young, but “adult” (not that kind of “adult”!) coloring books with whorls and swirls and complicated designs are now sold as “stress relievers”, so a “graphic book” about a kid star/movie producer/director/sculptor isn’t anything to hide when the gang comes over to watch a ball game or big race at your place. 

Heck, you might even want to leave a box of crayons or an assortment of color markers lying about.  Best coloring job gets the last beer, and does not have to make the re-stock run.

Fireball Tim

These books and all the other Fireball stuff are pure visual creatures, and I’ve just written 498 words about them.  That should do it. -DS

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