A "Personalized" Spider-Man Story

Background

So you think you own every Spider-Man book? Well, there's one you certainly don't... that's because it has a print-run of one! It's the Spider-Man Personalized Story with MY name in it, as produced by My Create-A-Book.

[Your Name Here] teams up with Spider-Man to stop Dr. Octopus.

Yep, you too can join the adventure! Courtesy of Best Personalized Books, this is one of those funky books where you send in your name, your age, the names of two friends, the name of a pet, etc., etc., accompanied naturally by the appropriate fee, and three weeks later in the mail, your very own story arrives!

Well, I couldn't resist. I sent myself one for my birthday, and I also sent fellow PPP Staffer Al Sjoerdsma one as well, just so I could imagine the big grin on his face.

Story Details

"Jonathan Couper-Smartt, age 36, of Wellington, New Zealand, was very excited as he rode an elevator to the top of the Empire State Building in New York City. When Jonathan reached the top floor..."

Well, to cut to the chase, your part in the story starts with you watching a film crew make a movie of "The Dr. Octopus Story". Actors are playing the parts of Doc Ock, JJJ, and Spider-Man. Naturally, Peter Parker and the real JJJ are there watching. Peter passes a few words with you, but then BAM, the real Doc Ock turns up!

Of course, mayhem ensues. In the following battle, Ock gets the upper hand, until YOU turn the tide at the crucial moment! Yep, you're the hero! Wayhay!

General Comments

Look, let's face it, the story is lame. But like that's a big surprise! This is a book to be read to over-excited eight-year-old boys at bed-time. The story is dumb, and the writing style is pretty functional, but my seven-year-old thought it wasn't too bad.

But on the plus side. Firstly, it's a glossy hard-cover, filled with brightly paged art. For a single-issue printing run, it's pretty well printed. Plus, it has an ultra-cool star... YOU! (Or in my case... ME!)

From a collecting point of view, you can't get much more collectable than a book with a distribution of one. If you consider yourself a serious collector of Spider-Man books, this one has to be on your shelves.

Overall Rating

Gimmick. But a must-own gimmick. Four webs.