Spider-Man vs. Hydro-Man

Background

Harper Collins has been producing these little "Level 2" reading books for a while now. They published nearly a dozen movie tie-in books in this format, and then this is (by my count) number ten in the post-movie era.

Story Details

The format is 6" x 9", 32 full-color pages. Each features full-page art (with several two-page spreads), plus a paragraph of story. Though, perhaps "story" is too strong a word for it. Even "sequence of events" is perhaps a little generous in this case.

It's a hot day, and Spider-Man is on patrol, but somebody has stolen nearly all the water in New York.

Oh, no! It's Hydro-Man, and he won't give it back!

Spider-Man fights Hydro-Man. Hydro-Man is very powerful!

Spider-Man leads Hydro-Man to a building site where there is lots of cement.

Hydro-Man mixes with the cement and instantly "sets" solid. The police take the villain away.

General Comments

And... that's it. I would like to remind you that this is a THIRTY-TWO page book.

Yet the events could have easily been covered in an eight-page story. I tell ya, if I had just "learned to read", I'd be wondering why the heck I bothered!

Overall Rating

The format is perfectly adequate, and the art is sound. But the writing is inadequate at best.

One and a half webs. Really rather a waste of paper.