“Adult” coloring books are everywhere — including the upper echelons of Amazon’s best-seller list.
Science says they’re good for anxiety.
The commentariat are less enthused.
As for us, well, we just embrace any and all opportunities to divorce ourselves — however fleetingly — from the demands of the real world and return to that sweet, blissful state-of-mind they call childhood. Especially insofar as coloring in pictures of sex positions, Game of Thrones characters and dinosaurs who think they’re people are concerned.
So while we don’t wholeheartedly endorse this “color picture, feel better” movement, we do see the merits of some of the headier, more tongue-in-cheek volumes.
Here are eight of our favorites.
Fantastic Cities: A Coloring Book of Places Real and Imagined
Canadian artist Steve McDonald takes readers (drawers?) on a journey through some of the world’s most recognizable cityscapes, from Rio to London to San Francisco and beyond.
Coloring for Grown Ups: The Adult Activity Book
Two YouTube comedy vets teamed up on this volume, which can be approximated as Cards Against Humanity meets those activity books your parents used to give you on road trips.
Dinosaurs with Jobs: A Coloring Book Celebrating Our Old-School Coworkers
Spinosaurus grooming pets! Argentinosaurus teaching driver’s ed! Dilophosaurus reciting Shakespeare! No one knows what it means, but it’s provocative.
Thrill Murray: A Colouring-In Book
Twenty-four illustrators were conscripted for this ode to the silver-screen roles of one William James Murray. Above: Lost in Translation.
Playtime for Couples: The Sex Position Coloring Book
This “interactive intercourse guide” features 101 color-able (and educational!) pages for you to browse. Makes a great wedding white elephant gift.
George R.R. Martin’s Official Game of Thrones Coloring Book
Ever wonder what the hell’s taking Martin so long on the next chapter of ASOIAF? Here’s your answer: a 96-page coloring book from Penguin due out October 27th but now available for preorder.
A Coloring Book for Lawyers
A personal favorite, this downloadable PDF asks the reader the help the titular lawyer get through the corporate drudgery of his day, from putting on his suit in the morning (“Color it gray or I will lose my job”) to taking his meds (“This is my pill. It is round. It is pink. It makes me not care.”).
Color Me Sad: A Coloring Book of Melancholy Artists
A sendup of bestseller Color Me Happy, this recently Kickstarted tome features some of history’s “saddest” artists, from David Lynch to Lee Marvin to Thom Yorke.
This article was featured in the InsideHook newsletter. Sign up now.
