Marvel Superheroes Sticker Album (Age Books)

Background

This 1980 oversized sticker album from A.G.E. books in Canada appears to be the first Marvel sticker album to feature Spider-Man. I have seen only one copy in the last decade, making it rather rare indeed.

Story Details

The book is soft card cover, and is quite large at 9" x 11.8". It contains a mere 16 pages of black/blue/white printed material. Specifically, there are pages (see image) with spaces for 180 Marvel stickers, plus an order form on the final page for requesting up to 25 additional stickers to complete your collection.

The stickers are 2.5" x 1.8". Unfortunately my copy came with no stickers, so I can't say anything about the quality of the images.

General Comments

The text in the book is in English, although the publishers "A.G.E. Canada Ltee" are based in Quebec. Clearly, they are French-speaking Quebecois, judging by the several spelling errors!

The internal illustrations are few, and unappealing. Spider-Man appears on the cover, and then also as a floating head on an inside page.

Overall Rating

I usually end up heaping praise on these early books, for their extreme collectability, kitsch factor, and because most of the content from the 70's and 80's was accorded a higher level of attention to detail than modern productions.

Unfortunately this book is a rare exception. Yes, it's deliciously collectable. But there the appeal stops. It is is a cheap, scruffy and ill-assembled work which has little appeal other than its rarity and historical value.

Two webs.