Look & Find The Amazing Spider-Man

Background

In the spirit of 'Where's Waldo?' we now have Spider-Man starring in his own look & find book. I should tell you now, this book is geared more toward children (as if you couldn't tell), if that makes any difference whether or not you wish to read on. Come to think of it, I've reviewed about twice as many Spidey childrens books as I have regular comics, maybe its got something to do with having a 5 year old, who knows.

Story Details

I have to confess that I have never seen a 'Where's Waldo' book, but I am pretty sure this is the same sort of premise. We do get a little story, as the gimmick in here is the huge detail-filled pictures, of course. I think it helps out a great deal to have some sort of plot going on and a story to follow as you try to find all the items listed on each page.

The story centers around Mysterio, and Spider-Man giving chase which explains all the different locations depicted in the book. While Spider-Man isn't hard to spot at all, the challenge lies in the listed items, which are clues to Mysterios next location. Are they difficult to find? I'd say some sure are! I could have sworn up and down they didnt draw something in because I couldn't find it after 20 flippin minutes!

*Ahem* For the most part, its not too bad, as this book will keep anyone occupied for quite literally, hours. See, if you go through the book once (medium difficulty as they give you pictures of the items), on the last 2 pages they have yet another list of items to find for every location! AUGH!! And no pictures either for those lists which makes it something more of a challenge, and it gives the book a higher value being able to go through it at least twice instead of memorizing all the objects the first round. Sort of a mixed-feeling surprise I guess.

Not only that, but for the eagle eyes out there, it tells of some hidden keys at each location for diffusing each one of Mysterios bombs. That challenge will almost make you pull your hair out.

General Comments

Not bad at all. I would have to say pretty entertaining, but only if you are the type of person who either has a lot of patience, or enjoys this kind of challenge. The art is pretty well done, considering all that is going on, some pictures can seem overwhelming. Expect plenty of familiar Marvel character faces to show up in these pages, and not just Spider-Man.

For the true Spiderfan, you gotta have it. For your children, well... thats going to be a judgement call of the parents. I cannot really suggest this book for the younger crowd (for them to try alone anyway), as my own son will get frustrated easily when he can't find an object inside of 10 seconds, so be prepared to deal with that.

On the other hand, you can make your own challenges with this book, in the tradition of 'I spy'. I would ask my son if he could find the Rhino for example, and he would pick him out fairly quickly, or he would describe an object to me and I would try and guess what it is, yet another way of squeezing mileage out of this fine book.

With that said, I do believe most kids will enjoy this book, and give their parents at least either a few hours of blissful silence, or some time well-spent with their child.

Overall Rating

Im always so keen with the kids books. The plus here is because of the format, you can make up your own games with this book which really adds to its life. 4 webs.