Spider-Man 2: Funfile (Funfax/DK)

Background

I remember when the "filofax" trend hit town. It was the mid/late 1980's, and a leather filofax was the low-tech predecessor to the Blackberry and iPhone. No aspiring business man could afford to be seen without his handy-sized ring-bound personal organizer. This 2004 kid's version is a sturdy cardboard-bound version for the up-and-coming young professional teenage Spider-Fan.

Produced by Funfax (an affiliate or division of Dorling Kindersley, a.k.a. DK Books), this "funfile" is 5.5" wide by 7.5" tall, and about 1.25" thick. In comparison to the later 2007 The Amazing Spider-Man: Funfile (Funfax/DK) version, this one is smaller is the same height and depth, but not as wide (the later one was 6.5" wide instead of 5.5").

Both of them feature a magnetic clip to keep the outer folder closed, and nifty 6-ring spring binder clips inside to firmly hold the loose-leaf pages in place.

Story Details

There are six sections in this Filofax. "Personal", "Diary", "Characters", "Pullout", "The Laboratory" and "Equipment". All the artwork is themed around the "Spider-Man 2: Movie" which came out in 2004.

The "Personal" section has info for your name, address and phone numbers, as well as information for your "Friends & Allies".

The "Diary" section has space for birthdays and a 12-month calendar.

In "Characters" there are seven profiles of the key characters in the 2004 "Spider-Man 2" movie. Peter, Spidey, MJ, Doc Ock, Jameson, Aunt May and Harry Osborn.

The "Pullout" section features a single poster which unfolds to A3 size. A Spider-Man photo is annotated with details of his Spider-Powers.

The "Laboratory" features a dozen games and puzzles to amuse you - a maze, a wordfind, a quiz, and similar.

Finally in "Equipment" there are two or three pages of stickers, a couple of door-hangers, and a couple of pullout bookmarks.

General Comments

The artwork and content isn't exactly deep, but it is all of a high production quality. The physical construction of the package seems good. My copy has some tearing on the paper lining, but I suspect that was due to handling and not any specific flaw in the product.

I have no doubt that this would have been a well-received gift for any young Spider-Fan at that time. The £5.99 price tag seems more than fair.

Overall Rating

Novel, interesting, well constructed. Four full webs for this bundle of fun.