The classic 1994 Spider-Man animated series is back in comic book form! Here's the scoop via ign.com:
"Spider-Man '94 is a four-issue limited series that picks up where the show's infamous cliffhanger ending left off in 1998. The series brings Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson back to New York and promises to pit the wall-crawler against two iconic villains who will be making their debuts in this animated universe. The series is written by long-time Spidey veteran (and a writer on the original animated series) J.M. DeMatteis, with art by Jim Towe (Spider-Verse vs. Venomverse) and covers by Nick Bradshaw, Ron Lim, and John Tyler Christopher." (I should also mention that the fantastic color work is by Jim Campbell.)
You can read the whole story here. Spider-Man '94 will be out in September!
And while I have your attention: I only share a newsletter a few times a year and I just unleashed the latest. You can read it (and subscribe) by clicking this link.
(By the way: the Vonnegut quote in the newsletter came from Eliot Rosewater, not Kilgore Trout. There was clearly a glitch in the mental matrix when I wrote it. (And if you've never read God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater—do it now.))
(By the way: the Vonnegut quote in the newsletter came from Eliot Rosewater, not Kilgore Trout. There was clearly a glitch in the mental matrix when I wrote it. (And if you've never read God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater—do it now.))
Congrats Dematties! I've always loved your writing! How would you describe the tone of this series is it similar to shadow of the green goblin or the latest ben reilly? Can't wait and please state that this Spider-Man is married and is actually older, we need more older Spider-Man stories!
ReplyDeleteThanks! I'm aiming for the flavor of the show merged with a comic book sensibility. Less heavy narration (as is my wont; although Peter will be doing his "voice overs," as he did in the cartoon), more dialogue driven.
DeleteAnd, yes, Peter and MJ are very much a married couple!
Is Peter going to be narrating this story decades later or will he narrate it in the present, I loved the narration you gave him in shadow of the green goblin.
DeleteHow old is Peter in this story by the way? I noticed in the press release it stated you are using Morlun in the story, what's your opinion of j michael straczynski run on Spider-Man (Morlun appeared in his run), I'm asking because its another grown up take on Spider-Man.
Best wishes sir see you soon and I can't wait to see Kaine as well (did you read his tenure as the Scarlet Spider in 616 by Christopher Yost? I've always wanted to know your opinion on it)!
It will be first-person, present-day narration, the same as the animated series. And Peter is pretty much the same age as the show. It's just a little while after the events of the last episode.
DeleteStraczynski is a great writer. I first encountered him many years ago when I wrote an episode of the REAL GHOSTBUSTERS cartoon...and he was the story editor!
What drew you to this project by the way? You don't really write a lot of alternate Spider-Man stories do you, was the fascination because (lets be honest here) this Spider-Man adaptation is only one that feels more like the comic or did you enjoy new unique spins on the characters like the fact that Peter is older at the beginning of the series, Hobgoblin came before the Green Goblin or the fact that this show a version of reality of the Clone saga because lets be honest we probably won't see it on film (laughs!).
DeleteAlways a great pleasure talking to you dematties your work lifted me up in dark times and it still does.
What drew me to the project? I love working with my Spidey editor, Danny Khazem, and I love writing Spider-Man. Put those two together and I couldn't say no. Simple as that!
DeleteI am torn.
ReplyDeleteON one hand, I DO approve of J.M. Dematteis's writing.
ON the other hand, I don's approve of nostalgia.
I will probably just buy it and hate myself for it. Self-loathing is my generation's M.O.
Jack
I guess the key isn't to look at it as nostalgia. Just look at it as a new Spider-Man story. I hope that folks with little to no familiarity with the show will be able to enjoy it.
DeleteThat is fair enough, but the larger point is Marvel almost assuredly doing this project in hopes of nostalgia driving up sales.
DeleteSpeaking of animated series, I went to the Detroit Historical Society last weekend.
They were having a special exhibit on Detroit's history with comics. AS you might expect, Dwayne McDuffie and Milestone were mentioned. But his time on the JLU was also represented.
Jack
Dwayne was so young when he left us. Can you imagine all the amazing work he would have done if he was still around? What a loss.
DeleteThe first comic McDfuffie wrote that really drew my attention was his Fantastic Four run. I say comic, because I had already seen Static Shock and JLU... even if I was unaware of his name, given the style of the media.
DeleteWhen he wrote Fantastic Four, Reed and Sue were gone, and replaced by Black Panther and Storm. Given McDuffie's actual history with science, writing a T'Challlla or Reed Richard seems natural.
it is not hard to imagine a world where when the Black Panther movie became the biggest thing in the world, they handed him the reigns to punch him to being a bigger presence in the comics. Given the type of stories he wrote at Milestone, ot would have been a natural fit.
Of course, I would have also loved to see his take on Iron Man. Given his noted view on corporate America... shown in his own armored character Hardware... it would have if nothing else would have been interesting.
Who knows, he may even have helped steer DC animation ino taking more risks, and partnering wit Adult Swim.
I will always personally regret that I did not read Milestone until after he died.
But if you want to get jazzed up for that new F.F. movie, and you have not read his run, it is worth a check. It is also only 12 issues, so not too hard to fit it into a reading schedule
Jack
Thanks for the recommendation. I'm sure it's great!
Delete