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1. Divine says

   With the popularity of comic book super heroes abundantly evident in the box office grosses and DVD sales of recent years, therefs no end to some peoplefs interest in the fabled crusaders for good. Consequently, therefs no end to the marketing possibilities, either. The Marvel Super Hero Fact Book, a tough board book designed for ages 9-12, walks a fine line between a fun super hero book for kids and propagation of the super hero as a lucrative product.

   Featuring profiles of five popular super heroes: Wolverine, Spider-Man, The Incredible Hulk, Storm, and The Fantastic Four, the books glossy pages are sure to impress their target audience. Itfs a bit confusing as to why Daredevil, Captain America and Cyclops, who arenft mentioned in its interior, grace the bookfs cover, while Storm, one of the profiled heroes, is clearly missing. But this slight oversight is easily forgiveable for two reason: 1. The cover looks super-cool and 2. Kids are not going to be paying that much attention to the cover once they open it.

   Though the information provided is brief – a few paragraphs on each hero and a short bio on three of their enemies – kids are sure to find something to enjoy here. And in this day and age, getting them to read at all is an accomplishment. Also, the pages fold out to form a 16 X 16 poster of each profiled hero in a classicaly heroic pose. Kids with former knowledge of Marvel heroes may not find much new information here, and perhaps a more in-depth book should be found, but for those who found their kids enjoying the Spiderman, X-Men, Fantastic Four, and Hulk movies, this could be the gateway to getting your kids reading.

   Older kids wonft be as impressed with this book, aside from the giant fold-out posters, but younger ones can both admire the art and maybe learn a few simple facts about their favorite heroes. This idea might have worked better as a series, with one book chronicling the X-Men, the next covering a few loners like Spidey and Hulk, and another for The Fantastic Four, etc. but as a starter book for reluctant readers, this seems like a good way to draw them into the world of the printed word. One suggestion to parents: the advertised age range for this book might need to be lowered a little (from 9-12 to 7-10), as there arenft many words and the thick cover and pages are more the stuf of younger kidfs books.

   October 9, 2009, 5:20 pm
2. Frankel says

   Featuring five large fold-out poster pages, the “Marvel Super Hero Fact Book” will delight young readers with profiles of some of Marvel comic’s most famous superhero characters that include Spiderman, The Incredible Hulk, Daredevil, Wolverine, Captain America, the X-Men, and the Fantastic Four. The profusion of ‘infobits’ about the various and diverse characters range from the Hulk’s real name, to how Spiderman gained his superpowers, to a list of Woverine’s most dangerous enemies. Enhanced with Marvel’s distinctive comic book art and sturdy construction, the “Marvel Super Hero Fact Book” is especially recommended to young superhero fans everywhere!

   October 10, 2009, 5:37 am
3. Gearheart says

   The first review on this page is clearly written by the publishers of the book and is hardly objective. I thought I’d add my own review, copied with permission from the SpiderFan website.

   The cover of this hardback book features the Fantastic Four, Spidey, Wolverine,
   and The Hulk. There are five fact files in this book, one for each of those
   characters, plus another for Storm (who doesn’t grace the cover). Also features
   on the cover is Daredevil, Captain America, and Cyclops, none of whom feature
   inside.

   The lack of accuracy on the cover gives you a pretty good taste of what you might expect inside. The back cover promises that you will discover facts such as the Incredible Hulk’s real name and the secret of how Spider-Man gained his super powers on the super-surprise 16″ x 16″ foldout pages contained inside. Wow.

   The book is 8.25″ x 8.25″. Inside are five card pages, each of which can be unfolded into a four-panel super-page of the advertised 16″ square. It turns out that you get a full 16″ x 16″ glossy poster shot – which despite being attached to the book and having the page folds in the middle is still an impressive enough sight.

   In addition there are two pages of “facts”. For Spider-Man we learn that he gained his powers from a Spidey, that he has speed, strength, agility, stickiness and his spider-sense – plus his mechanical web-shooters. He lost his Uncle Ben (his guilt in this act carefully omitted) and learned that with power, responsibility, yadda yadda.

   Repeat four times for the other stars.

   The interest in this book hinges entirely on the fold-out page gimmick. Otherwise the accuracy and detail of the book is laughable, the art is the same repeated art that we’ve seen on countless coloring books recently, and the price is pretty hefty for the handful of dubious “facts”. This book sells for US $10, and you can buy the Marvel Encyclopedia (Vol. 4) Spider-Man for only double that. So if it’s facts you really want, then look elsewhere.

   In summary, the foldout pages are glossy and will amuse kids, but even with that in its favor, I can’t give this book more than a couple of webs. Content is skimpy and accuracy is poor. Let’s be generous and call it two webs out of five.

   October 10, 2009, 5:38 pm
4. Hemming says

   CAPTAIN ACTION IS THE BEST HOBBY BOOK EVER!!! Captain Action:The Original Super-Hero Action Figure by Michael Eury is a beautiful book about Captain Action, the action figure of the 1960s that could be transformed into a variety of superhero characters through the unique use of available costumes, like Superman, Spiderman, The Green Hornet, Flash Gordon, The Phantom, and the Lone Ranger. From spectacular front cover to spectacular back cover it’s one of the best written, best photographed, and best researched books I’ve ever seen, and that doesn’t just mean for hobby books, but of all the books I’ve ever read!

   Michael Eury does it all with this book–he talks about his own experiences as a child when from the time he got his first Captain Action figure–with two left hands!–and then he goes through all sorts of details about the creation of Captain Action in the 1960s, the accessories, the stories behind the characters used for his costumes–like Superman, Batman, Flash Gordon, and all the rest, and the failed line of Super Queens, female action figures designed as a companion line for Captain Action–and well, there’s really nothing like this I’ve ever seen before:a book where the writer covers everything!

   But Michael Eury keeps right on going, to the Captain Action comic book of the 1960s, and into the future with the resurrection of a smaller Captain Action in the 1990s, to the customized versions of Captain Action suits by fans to create new characters never used by the manufacturers, like Green Lantern and Dr. Doom.

   If there’s a flaw in the book, it’s that Eury doesn’t do enough analysis about why Captain Action failed, not once, but twice, probably due to poor design the first time–despite all the great costumes and marketing, CAPTAIN ACTION HIMSELF NEVER LOOKED LIKE A SUPERHERO!!!–and probably because he was smaller and weaker looking when he was reproduced in the 1990s!!!

   But even so, MICHAEL EURY’S CAPTAIN ACTION IS THE BEST HOBBY BOOK EVER!!!

   Chari Krishnan RESEARCHKING

   October 11, 2009, 5:19 am
5. Uttrapatriyakul says

   Captain Action represented an enigma to me, as I have vague memories of Batman and Superman costumes in boxes high on store shelves but never knew what they were all about. It was only much later (as an adult) that I learned the odd – but irresistable – concept behind this strange plastic hero.

   Michael Eury presents the story of Captain Action in an impeccably researched, illustration-packed book that presents the information collectors want (”silver shirt variations,” etc.) without crowding out the intriguing tale detailing the toy’s journey from toy shelves to comic pages (a short 5-issue run with art by Wally Wood and Gil Kane), then on to oblivion and back.

   HIGHLY RECOMMENDED for fans of pop culture.

   - JOHN MICHLIG, author of IT CAME FROM BOB’S BASEMENT, GI JOE: THE COMPLETE STORY OF AMERICA’S FAVORITE MAN OF ACTION, and creator of THE GI JOE MASTERPIECE EDITION

   October 11, 2009, 5:30 pm
6. Frederico says

   I bought two of these capes to give as Christmas gifts to my grandsons. They were a great hit! Even though each of them got several fun gifts, they said these capes are their favorites. The five-year-old can flip the cape over his head and put it on for himself and the two-and-a-half-year-old was not far behind!

   October 12, 2009, 5:17 am
7. Bickler says

   I bought this cape for my son’s 3rd birthday party, which had a superhero theme. We gave him his cape the morning of his party and I do not think he has taken it off since. He LOVES this cape and mask and I love watching his imagination as he plays out his superhero fantasies. Thank you for such an adorable product, it was the best present he could have gotten! P.S- He is even wearing it at preschool right now!

   October 12, 2009, 5:37 pm
8. Hirano says

   I bought this for my grandson, age 4. He absolutely loves it; he took it to school for “Show and Tell”. My son raved about the quality of the cape and he has bought several others for my grandson who loves being a “hero” day and night. Wonderful product!

   October 13, 2009, 5:40 am
9. Nickel says

   THIS CAPE IS TERRIFIC. I PURCHASED IT FOR MY 4 YEAR OLD GRANDSON AND MY 2 YEAR OLD GREAT GRANDSON. THEY ARE HAVING A BLAST. THE CAPE IS SO WELL MADE AND DURABLE. I CAN’T SAY ENOUGH GOOD THINGS ABOUT THIS PRODUCT. IT MADE ME WANT TO PUT IT ON AND TRY TO FLY.

   October 13, 2009, 6:02 pm
10. Siu says

    Cape is perfect for my 3 yr old son. Not much to it. Clasp is velcro so easy to put on and off. Very simple. Mask is awful and will fall apart almost immediately. Buy this only for the cape. Cape is a heavy material. This is not elegant or beautiful, pure simple and fun.

    October 14, 2009, 5:42 am
11. Pistillo says

    i had just watch yhis movie and it is the best comedy movie, it’s is so funny, i would recomend every customer to get this movie.

    October 14, 2009, 5:39 pm
12. Dewey says

    True, it`s not one of their best efforts. It`s not in the same class as “Airplane” or “An American Carol”, but it`s worth watching.
    It does a fairly good job of spoofing the superhero movies like Spiderman.
    It will never be a classic, but there are a lot worse stuff out there you could blow your hard earned cash on. It does have more than a few good laughs in it, but the Spiderman type movies are such an easy target for a spoof that I really expected better.
    The bits about Stephen Hawking were in bad taste. Picking on a guy confined to a wheelchair who cannot even talk without mechanical aid is more than a little over the top even if it isn`t intended to be malicious.

    October 15, 2009, 5:49 am
13. Tanious says

    What a waste of time. The Scary movie’s were great, but this one just sucks. The first 10 mins are funny then the movie stinks except for a few comic reliefs but comedy master Leslie Neilson. Neilson is the only saving factor in this film, and even he, the lord of laughs cannot keep this stinker afloat. Waste of time, fast forward to the Leslie Neilson parts, other the that pass.

    October 15, 2009, 6:02 pm
14. Elliot says

    **1/2

    The “movie-genre parody” is often the option of last resort for Hollywood screenwriters who`ve run out of inspiration. Having already skewered such popular genres as the disaster movie, the sword-and-sandal epic, romantic comedies, horror films, spy thrillers, crime dramas etc., they now take aim at the “superhero movie,” with a flick ingeniously entitled – yea, you guessed it – “Superhero Movie.”

    In a time span of eighty-minutes that feels more like eight hundred, “Superhero Movie” lumbers from one unfunny joke and sight gag to another, barely taking time out for such apparently dispensable elements as originality or wit. However, in all fairness, one should at least note that writer/director Craig Mazin saves most of his best material – such as it is – for the last half hour.

    Drake Bell is the Peter Parker to Sara Paxton’s Mary Jane Watson in what is essentially a flatfooted parody of the “Spiderman” franchise, with the nerdy high school student in this case being bitten by a genetically-engineered dragonfly, turning him into the crime-fighting figure known as – what else? – The Dragonfly. The movie also makes the occasional obligatory nod to other comic book adaptations such as “Iron Man,” “X-Men” and “Batman Begins,” but, since it was released before “The Dark Knight,” there is no reference to that landmark work – or to its iconic Joker character – in this film, a real lost opportunity.

    We’ve indeed come a long way from the glory days of “Airplane” (a fact further emphasized by the presence here of David Zucker as co-producer and Leslie Nielson as one of the movie’s co-stars), but “Superhero Movie” is substandard even by “Epic Movie/Date Movie” standards.

    October 16, 2009, 5:39 am

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