Rather than a conventional comic, Big Jim and Big Jack – Play Figures with Sports Outfits is an activity book built around paper versions of the two Mattel characters. The figures could be cut out, placed on their stands and dressed with the different uniforms provided in the book.

The choice of Big Jim and Big Jack is significant. Big Jack belonged to the original group of characters developed around Big Jim during the Sports Series era, and shared the same emphasis on athletic action and interchangeable equipment.

The Big Jim Concept in Miniature

This makes the book particularly interesting from a collector's perspective. The original Big Jim line was designed around a basic articulated figure whose identity could be transformed through separate uniforms and equipment. Sports such as baseball, football, basketball, skiing, diving and martial arts provided an extensive range of possibilities.
The Whitman book translates exactly that principle into paper. Instead of dressing the 9½-inch action figures, children could dress their illustrated counterparts.
It is therefore more than a simple piece of licensed merchandise. It is a compact paper interpretation of the original Big Jim Sports Series philosophy: one character, many outfits, and an almost unlimited number of sporting roles.

The cover immediately establishes the theme. Big Jim and Big Jack appear surrounded by illustrations representing baseball, basketball, American football, martial arts and other sporting activities. Their clothing uses the familiar visual language of the early line, including the distinctive three-star All Star emblem.

Inside, the concept continues with two paper figures and four pages of clothing, with outfits designed for both Big Jim and Big Jack. The child could therefore change their roles simply by replacing their paper uniforms — essentially reproducing, in two dimensions, one of the central ideas behind Mattel's action figures.

The book is generally identified as 1976, and surviving copies carry Mattel trademark information dated 1976. This date is worth noting because it places the publication at a transitional moment in Big Jim's American history, when the original sporting identity was giving way to the more action-oriented P.A.C.K. concept.

In this Whitman publication, however, Big Jim and Big Jack remain firmly rooted in the colorful world of the original All Star Sports Series.

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