Marvel Heroes 3D (Scholastic Australia)

Background

This book is available in Australia/New Zealand only, where it was created and distributed by Scholastic Australia. I can't even seem to find a UK variant, which is quite unusual.

Even more unusual, this book uses the "Marvel Heroes" logo with Hulk + Spidey + Wolverine eyes beneath it that I've seen on a couple of "Alligator" branded books in the UK, but which I don't believe I've otherwise seen down here in the southern hemisphere.

All very strange. But here it is, so let's review it!

Story Details

The book is standard U.S. magazine size - 8.5" x 11", and contains 24 pages. That count includes a double-wing centerfold.

The content consists of fact-file profiles of major Marvel characters. The profiles vary in size. Hulk gets 2 pages, Spider-Man 2, Dr. Doom gets 1. Green Goblin & Mysterio share 1 page. Wolverine 2, Phoenix & Storm & Cyclops share 2 pages. Mystic & Magneto & Sabretooth share 2 also. Invisible Woman, Mr Fantastic, Human Torch & The Thing get 1 page each. Daredevil 1, Elektra 1 finish the run.

The double-centerfold features all the heroes in a massive fold-out spectacular.

General Comments

The "facts" are pretty basic. Height and Weight are given for each character. Then there's a paragraph for background, and a paragraph for powers/weapons. Interestingly, Spider-Man's powers description states "His spider-sense has increased from giving him early warning to include a psychic alignment with his environment, specifically to insects."

Yes, technically Spider-Man did gain those powers back in 2004 following the events of the Changes storyline. However, he hasn't used them since. Kaine used the ability to talk with spiders in Scarlet Spider (Vol. 2) #5, but normally it's something that the writers tend to not promote at all!

Even more painful is the fact that "Mystique" has been named "Mystic" on her appearance! That's an embarrassing little slip-up on the proof-reading front which really makes it abundantly clear just exactly how little the creators of these kinds of books really know or care about the product they're producing.

So the written content is a bit suspect. What about the 3D?

Well, actually it's not too bad. The foreground pops quite nicely from the background. The red and blue lenses take a fair bit of the brightness out, so you probably want a nice strong lamp nearby to get the maximum effect. But overall, the technical appearance of the images is perfectly adequate.

Overall Rating

The solid 3D technical product is slightly undermined by the uninspiring written content.

What the heck. It's got 3D. Let's give it 3 webs as well.