Spider-Man: The Animated Series Head Writer Reveals Marvel Comics Never Approached Him About Their New Spider-Man '94 Series
Reboots of 1990s nostalgia are all the rage at Marvel both with their comics and studios, and a comic book of Spider-Man ’94 is on the horizon just like X-Men ’97 received a cartoon reboot, but the head writer of the 90s show, John Semper Jr., says Marvel never reached out to him about their comic.
Spider-Man: The Animated Series is a bright spot for Marvel for any screen adaptation of their beloved comics. It presents a version of Peter Parker that closely mirrors the 1990s comics, bringing it up to date and is a great spot for anyone to get to know the character of Spider-Man and his supporting cast.
With X-Men ’97 getting the reboot treatment on Disney+, many fans speculated Spider-Man would be something they’d look at as well, though Disney Marvel went a different direction doing a Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man cartoon that made a lot of questionable choices to reboot the character.
This last week, Marvel Comics announced they would be putting out a Spider-Man ’94 limited series in comics form to bring back the nostalgia of the animated series, bringing in 1990s Amazing Spider-Man writer, J.M. DeMatteis to do the writing work. While this would generally please a lot of fans, the head writer of the original show took to X to let fans know he was blindsided by the announcement. Apparently, Marvel Comics didn’t even attempt to contact him about it.
He posted to X with an image saying “So, about that new SPIDER-MAN '94 comic book...”:
I got a text message this morning from my good friend, Matt Dunford, telling me that Marvel is "continuing" my SPIDER-MAN animated series in comic book form in a four-issue limited series called SPIDER-MAN '94. Since I will no doubt be asked about it by fans of the series: NO, I am NOT involved with the comic book and no one at Marvel approached me to be involved in any way. Matt's text message was the first I heard of it. The Internet tells me that J.M. DeMatteis is the writer of the comic book, and I have nothing but the greatest respect for him. His amazing body of work over the years in both animation and comic books speaks for itself, and I'm positive this new comic is in great hands. I hired him years ago to participate in writing one episode of my series (which ran for 65 episodes) and I thoroughly enjoyed working with him. Where he now chooses to take the series story-wise is entirely his decision. But, for the record, they are NOT my creative choices, nor do they represent any oversight by me.
Yes, it would have been nice (some might even say, respectful) if Marvel had reached out to me at some point as a courtesy. But I have long ago abandoned all expectation that Marvel would acknowledge any of my contributions to the Marvel universe - like, for instance, my creation of what is now known as the "Spider-Verse." So, I wish them well and encourage us all to celebrate with good cheer this 30th anniversary year of SPIDER-MAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES. And keep your eye on all my socials, especially Youtube, because I intend to launch my own celebration of my series in the very near future! In the immortal words of my mentor, Stan the Man... 'Nuff said!
P.S. If you're still reading this far, since I have your attention, I would be remiss not to mention that my latest animated series, WEATHER HUNTERS, for which I am one of the Executive Producers and the one and only head writer, will be debuting on PBS in September. Created by AL ROKER, it teaches kids the science of weather and boasts an all-star cast that includes LeVar Burton, Sheryl Lee Ralph and Holly Robinson Peete. Also in the cast is Rodney Saulsberry who was the voice of "Joe Robby Robertson" in Spider-Man: TAS! So, gather your kids together and check it out this Fall. Excelsior!
-John Semper
Producer, Head Writer of Spider-Man: TAS
This puts a big asterisk on the project as it’s clear Marvel Comics is continuing with their tradition of not respecting creators or keeping them involved in projects. While the limited series might be well done given the writer they chose, the business practices at Marvel leave a lot to be desired for the comic industry to right itself.
What do you think of the Spider-Man ’94 comic book? Leave a comment and let us know.
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