Fold Up Some Fun with DC Super Heroes Origami

When I was a kid, I learned how to make paper airplanes. I can now make three different kinds -- the basic kind, the skinny basic kind, and the one that somewhat looks like a Star Trek scout ship. When pressed, I can make a paper sailboat (or maybe it's a hat), and once I made a swan. I don't think paper fans count.

That's me.

And then there's John Montroll.

John Montroll is the author and designer behind DC SUPER HEROES ORIGAMI. Which I absolutely had to have, because I'm a fifty-years-in-the-making fan of all things DC Comics. And I thought it would be fun to share this with my seven-year-old through art projects of origami.

I learned that I knew nothing about folding paper -- but that I could be taught.

Montroll begins by demonstrating the basic types of folds -- all eleven of them, for those of you who thought a fold was bending paper and making a crease. So while this book contains 96 printed sheets of pull-out pages that are uniquely illustrated to make your finished product really pop, this reviewer suggests that you work initially with some regular square sheets to practice some of your folds before taking on the real thing.

The real things, by the way, are super cool. (See what I did there?) I'm truly impressed at the effort Montroll put into this to create a truly diverse set of projects. The book is divided into four major sections -- Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, and Justice League. Among these projects, you will create standup versions of the three listed characters as well as Green Lantern, Hawgirl, and Aquaman. Yes, I'm as disappointed in the lack of The Flash and Green Arrow as you probably are. But that's okay, because the other projects in this book (which include a Flash symbol and Green Arrow's hat) are truly fantastic. In addition to the previously mentioned characters, you will also create Robin, Lex Luthor, and the Atom -- as well as Krypto, Green Lantern B'dg -- and Jumpa the Kangaroo and Storm the seahorse! Talk about someone reaching into fandom history!

Some of the projects are simple, like the Bat Symbol made of paper yellow on one side, black on the other.

Others are more... complex. The Batwing, Wonder Woman's Invisible Jet, and Hawkwoman's Mace are incredibly cool looking in the photographs, but these should not be your first attempted projects, especially if you're just starting out with origami.

DC SUPER HEROES ORIGAMI takes cool, adds cool, and produces awesome. This one's definitely recommended for hours of fun, once you get comfortable with the techniques.