He may not be the best superhero in the world, but your friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man is the most relatable one in the whole universe. He is not only a student-turned-superhero, but also had an aunt to look after, is usually broke and always lands into trouble without even trying.

In Spider-Man Storybook Collection, you get to know more about him through 20 stories and over 200 illustrations featuring the best heroes and the worst villains from Spidey’s closet.

This collection has one huge edge over the others and that’s the length of each story; every adventure is limited to a handful of pages so you don’t get bored and some even tell you something new about the Web Slinger from Queens. Every story features Spider-Man and a Spidey Villain and in some of the stories, there is another superhero (sometimes more) to lend Spidey a hand even if he thinks he doesn’t need it. So don’t be surprised if you find The Incredible Hulk, Ant-Man, The Falcon and Black Widow helping Spider-Man to make it a level playing field.

Be it the story from Peter Parker’s science fair at the school to the fierce battle with the Venom or the sudden arrival of the Sinister Six, Spider-Man is always there to save the day. However, he doesn’t have the answer to some questions such as why J. Jonah Jameson hates him, how Peter manages to get the best clicks of the superhero and how much Aunt May cares about her nephew who masquerades as the friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man.

Even Spider-Man’s trip to the past, his adventure as a miniature superhero or his first adventure with Ms Marvel, aka Kamala Khan, don’t help him find the answers but one day he will know it all.

The classy illustrations in this collection will surely make you want to read the whole book in one sitting, but that’s not the best way to go through a treasure trove of Spider-Man stories. Read them or make your parents read them to you while you are going to bed, as it will make you go to sleep with a smile on your face.

Published in Dawn, Young World, September 15th, 2018