Amazing Spider-Man 2: Paint with Water - Tangled Webs

Background

This pair of "paint with water" books came together in a single clear plastic bag which also contained a cheap green paintbrush. The bag had nothing printed on it apart from "keep out of the reach of young children" warnings.

The books come from the series of 2014 "Amazing Spider-Man 2" movie tie-in activity books by Modern Publishing, Inc. (a division of Kappa Books). They do not have ISBN's.

Story Details

Both books are identical format, 32 pages staple bound in a glossy cardboard cover.

There is no text, no introduction. Each sheet of paper has a picture on only one side, meaning that each contains 16 paint-with-water images featuring Spider-Man or Electro.

General Comments

The first thing you'll notice immediately is that the coloring technology here does nothing to conceal the color of what the finished image will look like. The "magic painting" doesn't feel very magic at all!

But it's when you begin to look at the pictures themselves, that you start to wonder if the designer for these books perhaps wasn't entirely familiar with Spider-Man.

For example, check out this image in which Spidey's suit has no lines on the webbing on his chest, as Spider-Man yells his famous battle-cry "Swing On!"

Other poses just feel "un-Marvelly", and some images are just plain weird. Note the "SMNY" fireman's helmet with a Spidey symbol. Personally, that feels just a touch disrespectful.

Oh, and yeah, what's up with those stylized icons of Spidey and Electro that make them appear like symbols indicating which lavatory each is supposed to use?

Overall Rating

I'm a HUGE fan of paint-by-numbers books, or anything with a decent gimmick.

But these books are just not right. I give each one Two Webs and a slightly dubious glance.