Amazing Spider-Man: Deluxe Colouring/Activity Book (Scholastic Australia)

Background

This is another coloring book released only in Australia/New Zealand by Scholastic Australia. I'm not quite sure why we get such special treatment down under, but I guess I can't complain!

Story Details

This book is 7.9" x 10.8", 48 pages with a square-bound glossy cover. Interior paper is clean white high-quality. Inside is a deluxe colouring/activity book, exactly as is claimed on the cover.

There is a Spidey vs. Electro story running through the book. About half of the pages consist purely of a full-page black and white line-art panel suitable for colouring, along with a caption underneath which advances the plot. The other half of the pages are activity pages, with a puzzle, word-game, spot-the-difference, or such like.

The activity pages are also black-and-white line-art and are generally also suitable for colouring, and many of them also have a caption or instructions. However, in general the activity pages don't generally advance the story directly. Instead the activity pages tend to pause the story, or emphasis a specific scene.

General Comments

The plot of the story is a fairly silly running battle between Spidey and Electro. However, the line art is superb, and the mere fact that the creators have taken the time to provide a genuine plot for this colouring book instantly gives bonus points as far as I'm concerned.

The activities are generally excellent, and include a wide variety of puzzles. The production quality is excellent too, with a sturdy and glossy cover. Overall, this book harks back to days of old when people actually gave a damn about Spider-Man tie-in product.

Overall Rating

This book isn't cheap... selling for around AU$10 or more. Then again, nothing is cheap in Australia.

But there's no substitute for quality, and this is a very nice book. Despite the hefty price tag, I'm going to give it a solid four webs.

Footnote

Much of this content was recycled later in Amazing Spider-Man: Colouring Book (Scholastic Australia) and in the Activity Pad that came in the Amazing Spider-Man: Activity Bag (Scholastic Australia).