The Weird A-Coloring to Al Comes Out Today!
You never where or when inspiration will strike. For example I got the idea of writing a coffee table book with and about “Weird Al” Yankovic from Al himself. A decade ago I got a direct message via Twitter from my childhood hero informing me that of all the writers in the world, he had chosen me to tell his story in coffee table book form.
Was I overjoyed? Try delighted! An honor? It certainly was, and a joy as well! Was it a career highlight and a life-changing moment? You bet your sweet ass it was!
The inspiration for The Weird A-Coloring to Al came from a less auspicious source. I belong to a Facebook fan group called Close Personal Friends of Al, where someone posted about a “Weird Al” Yankovic-themed coloring book they’d found on Amazon.
My initial response was one of intense jealousy. What a great idea! Why I hadn’t thought of it? Thankfully for me, the coloring book in question was a quickie cash-in consisting of bad replications of images of Al that happened to be in the public domain.
I thought a “Weird Al" Yankovic coloring book was a great idea that, if done correctly, would find a large and appreciative audience that would include me.
Then I realized that in publishing The Weird Accordion to Al: Ridiculously Self-Indulgent, Ill-Advised Vanity Edition, a book with over eighty amazing black and white drawings of Al throughout every phase of his career from the great Felipe Sobreiro I had essentially created an unbeatable “Weird Al” Yankovic without intending to.
Inspired, I asked Felipe if he wanted to create a bunch of new “Weird Al” Yankovic-themed artwork and alter his existing illustrations to make them more coloring-friendly for a brand spanking new coloring book and he agreed.
We’ve been diligently working on the book for months now and I could not be happier with it.
The Weird A-Coloring to Al takes fans inside the gala grand opening of Albuquerque’s own Rock and Roll Hall of Al, the only museum where you’re SUPPOSED to write on the walls.
But don’t just take our word for it! Here’s what a random dude I showed it to had to say about The Weird A-Coloring to Al:
"In my completely unbiased opinion, this is unquestionably the greatest coloring book of all time. It’s the perfect gift for hardcore Weird Al fans, casual Weird Al fans, and… you know, people who just like to randomly color in stuff.”
— “Weird Al” Yankovic
The Weird A-Coloring to Al goes on sale today. It’s 100 sturdy pages of coloring magic that is literally hours of fun for the whole family.
You can buy a new copy signed by me from this beautiful website for 10.50 for one book, taxes and shipping included, or three books for the low, low price of 27 dollars (recommended), which comes with a free pack of colored pencil. Alternately, you can buy it from those monsters over at Amazon, which is NOT recommended but honestly, I want you to buy the book no matter where you get it from.
I would love to do a series of “Weird Al” Yankovic coloring parties around the country (or at least my hometown of Atlanta, my former home town of Chicago, New York and Los Angeles) where folks can gather to color books, listen to “Weird Al” Yankovic music and talk about Al so if you have a book store and/or coffee shop and would like to make that happen email my high-powered and VERY real, very powerful and experienced publicist Barron LaBarron in my name over at nathanrabinauthor@gmail.com and we can set something up.
Alternately, if you would like to write about The Weird A-Coloring to Al or talk to me about it or invite me on your podcast you can reach me at the same email address.
This is going to be great! Felipe really knocked it out of the park with his work on this one and I’m very proud of the 100 all new captions I created specifically for the book.
I’ve got to agree with Al that The Weird A-Coloring to Al is literally the greatest coloring book of all time.
Best of all, Felipe was very eccentric and unexpected in what he chose to illustrate, as I gave him complete freedom, knowing that whatever he came up with would be absolutely amazing.
That means that while obscurities like “Toothless People” and “Don’t Wear Those Shoes” are documented for posterity, “Amish Paradise”, “Eat It” and “Jurassic Park” are not.
You’ve got to leave the people wanting more. Besides, this just gives us plenty left to cover for the sequel!
Buy an autographed copy of the Weird A-Coloring to Al NOW for CHEEP from me directly over at https://www.nathanrabin.com/shop or from those monsters over at Amazon over HERE
Pre-order The Joy of Trash, the Happy Place’s upcoming book about the very best of the very worst and get instant access to all of the original pieces I’m writing for them AS I write them (there are NINE so far, including Shasta McNasty and the first and second seasons of Baywatch Nights) AND, as a bonus, monthly write-ups of the first season Baywatch Nights you can’t get anywhere else (other than my Patreon feed) at https://the-joy-of-trash.backerkit.com/hosted_preorders
and of course you can buy The Weird Accordion to Al here: https://www.nathanrabin.com/shop
AND of course you can also pledge to this site and help keep the lights on at https://www.patreon.com/nathanrabinshappyplace