Redartz: Any of you who have followed this blog (or the Bronze Age Babies before it) will probably recall that my number one comic character is the ever Amazing Spider-Man. Today we will look at the 1967 cartoon series that made him my favorite.
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| A scene with (probably) Gray Morrow's background work |
The series ran from 1967 until 1970, although many here at the BitBA may recall it best from cable reruns (WGN out of Chicago ran it daily, afternoons in the mid 70's). The show credits list Stan Lee and John Romita as advisors, and you could often see some Steve Ditko influence in some of the poses. The show was produced by Grantray Lawrence, and later by Krantz films (notable for the design work of artist Gray Morrow, and production by Ralph Bakshi). The animation was somewhat crude but serviceable, and looked immensely cool to this youthful viewer. The music was stellar: jazz-inflected, surf guitar, very action-oriented. And it had that classic theme song. After seeing Spidey in action , checking out the comics was an obvious next step.
And speaking of the comics, the show borrowed heavily from them. The cast centered on Peter Parker, J. Jonah Jameson and Betty Brant (no Gwen Stacy, although Mary Jane did appear in an episode). Aunt May was seen frequently, and of course Uncle Ben appeared in the origin episode. As for the villains, much of Spidey's rogues gallery could be seen here. Doc Ock, the Green Goblin, Mysterio, the Lizard, the Enforcers, Electro , Scorpion, Vulture, Kingpin. And there were some new foes created for the program (interesting, but not as noteworthy as the Lee/Ditko/Romita creations). Parafino, Dr. Noah Boddy (yes, rather corny), Dr. Atlantean, and many more. One of the oddest new villains was a game hunter called Clivendon, who hunted the web-slinger for sport. Odd that they didn't just use Kraven the Hunter, who never made an appearance on the show. Here's a look at some of those classic foes...
The first season tended to have more of the traditional villains, while the second and third seasons got rather strange. That said, the second season did adapt some actual scripts from the comics. Among those featured were Amazing Spider-Man 50-52, introducing the Kingpin. There was ASM 65, where the web-slinger was imprisoned. There was the great Mysterio story from ASM 66 and 67 (which for some reason featured Mysterio protrayed as a skinny guy with glasses).. And the second season actually began with an episode entitled "The Origin of Spider-Man", which was a direct adaptation from the origin presented in the 35 cent magazine "Spectacular Spider-Man" #1.
This cartoon ran for three years, finally falling victim to the outcry over tv violence in children's programming. The character I learned to love on screen took me to ever greater heights of adventure on the four color pages. Years after the show went off I still recalled episodes, the song, and the cool music. Finally, decades later, a couple episodes became available on VHS and were instantly added to my want list. The biggest treat was the DVD release of all three seasons (which my generous wife gave to me as a birthday surprise). It remains, to this day, the most frequently viewed dvd in our household.
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12 comments:
It was 'the show' I vaguely remembered around '71/'72, just for it's '60s coolness, which quickly ebbed away with the likes of HR Puffinstuf, Scooby Doo, ad nauseam.
It's like, 'I was just getting into comics and cool action, where did all the cool shows like this, the FF series, and my Marvel Super Heroes go...?' For a 6/7yr old, it was quite frustrating, let me tell you. The hard part was growing up in Wisconsin, the Chicago station with the COOL shows every day were all listed in the TV guide but could never be accessed. Grrrrr.
We had the morning 'Farm/Livestock Report' with the local affiliates. Sheesh.
Like Redartz, I was able to finally get the '60s series on DVD a few years back, and it was pure joy, along with my 'non-official' '60s FF and MSH on DVDs that eBay seems to always sell. As mentioned, most of the 1st Season episodes were extremely cool and captured the slinging webslinger quite effectively.
(HINT, all the '70/80s Marvel and DC hero cartoons seemed waaay too watered down and cutesy/cheesy for me to even watch again, so I won't even consider them..)
Yes, by the second and third year the graphics were a bit disjointed and surreal, but as depicted on today's column, those cityscapes and cloudy horizons were certainly the most dreamy and artistic as you'd get in a relatively-cheap animated production.
Loved the series, in my most beloved memories of youth, I'll always enjoy the scenes of Spidey slinging away on his webs, from side-to-side above the tall buildings.. Pure magic. Not a big fan of the live-action movies from a few years back, I sure am happy they honored the '60s series with the first movie's closing soundtrack over the credits. Very cool gesture.
Probably ranks about the best comic hero's theme song ever. Well Done.
My absolute favorite cartoon of all time, and Redartz, it is the most frequently watched dvd in our household too. The first season is pure magic, I like aspects of the other 2 seasons but I can re-watch the first season (and do) tirelessly.
Jonah and Betty Brant were characterized so well in my opinion, in addition to obviously Spidey/Peter. And yes, the music is fantastic.
Random related memory...as a young child having been born in New York and living in Queens, one morning I was watching the episode where the bad guy levitates the entire city way into the sky, and I recall running to my parents in a panic asking if they had heard about what had just happened (didn't quite have the fiction vs. reality concept down yet, I was REAL small at that point and thought this stuff was actually happening down the street from me!)
That show was a staple of my childhood. I was a little too young for it when it originally aired. But it ran in syndication on UHF when I was a kid, and I never missed it. I did however miss out on the DVD release a few years ago. But you can watch some full episodes on YouTube though.
I happen to play the ukulele, and a couple of times a month I attend a thing called "The Acoustic Java Jam", where a bunch of musicians get together and play songs and drink coffee. Well, the number one most popular song that I play is the theme song to the 60's Spider-Man toon. I always get a very positive reception when I do it. And the head of the group told me "It's become a Java Jam classic." So, I pretty much have to perform it every time.
Just for fun, here's the lyrics:
"Spider-Man, Spider-Man, does whatever a spider can.
Spins a web any size. Catches thieves just like flies.
Look out! Here comes the Spider-Man.
Is he strong? Listen mug, he's got radioactive blood.
Can he swing from a thread? Hey, take a look overhead.
Hey there! There goes the Spider-Man.
In the chill of night at the scene of a crime.
Like a streak of light he arrives just in time.
Spider-Man, Spider-Man, friendly neighborhood Spider-Man.
Wealth and fame he's ignored. Action is his reward.
To him life is a great big bang-up. Wherever there's a hang-up.
You'll find the Spider-Maaaaan! Yeah!"
As kids we used to sing:
Iron Man, Iron Man does whatever an iron can.
Presses pants any size. Shirts and sleeves, clip on ties.
Look out, here comes the Iron Man.
Is he strong? Listen thug. He's got spray stiff 'n' starch for blood.
Can he sew with a thread? Pins and needles for a head.
Hey, there goes the Iron Man.
In the tailor shop, knows wrinkles are a crime,
With his high steam on, he arrived just in time.
Etc
Loved the show by the way. The Scorpion episode was my favorite.
David_b- yes, though there were certainly some fun shows on the 70's on Saturday morning, they lacked the 'punch' ( if you will) of those 60's action shows. Spidey actually got into slugfest!
Ewan- you're right, the characterizations were spot on. Even now, when I read a comic with jolly Jonah Jameson, I still hear Paul Kligman's voice. It was perfect.
William- very cool- Spider-man Theme on a Uke! Glad to hear it's a crowd pleaser; there's hope for the younger generations yet.
Marti- love your Iron Man version! That theme does lend itself to adaptation. The current comic "Unbeatable Squirrel Girl " features the lyrics often, but changed to refer to SG. And of course, Homer sang it in the "Simpsons Movie ", about Spider-Pig...
Loved this show as a kid. Probably my favorite experience of Spider-Man in any medium--comics, movies, etc. Great theme song, and it's fun watching that intro again--funny how he catches that falling beam, stops in midair for a moment, then continues on up! There are some pretty sweet animation actions, and I love his headfirst dive toward the jewelry store as they sing "like a streak of light". Hmm I just noticed the sign in the cartoon says "FINE JEWLERY"-- is that a misspelling?
I didn't know the word "radioactive" as a kid, so I'd sing it as: "Is he strong, listen bud, he's a radio-ackerthud!"
I loved this show as a kid, though I find it harder to watch now. I liked the episodes where they used the classic villains, but some of the new ones were pretty stupid (Dr. Zap, anyone?) I agree on JJJ, I still hear that voice too whenever Jonah talks ("empty-headed teenagers!"); J.K. Simmons was close, but didn't quite get there. I wish they'd used MJ instead of Betty as the "female lead" though.
Redartz - Most of the people I play music with at the Java Jam are even older than me. So much for the younger generation. LOL
Mike Wilson - In 1967 (the year the Spider-Man cartoon started) Gwen Stacy was Peter's main squeeze in the comics. But she had only been introduced about a year earlier in issue #31 (which was the last issue of 1965). So, her character probably didn't even exist when the show went into its early production faze. And MJ didn't come along until even later, (in issue #42 near the end of 1966), so she most definitely wasn't on the show's radar when it started.
So that's likely the reason they used Betty Brandt in the cartoon. Because she had been around the longest of any of Peter's romantic relationships. Plus she worked at the Daily Bugle, which made it even more convenient to have her in the show over Gwen or MJ.
Too many good memories of this cartoon to recount (and fun to revisit, got the box DVD set years ago).
I recently read an Essential Spider-Man volume (vol. 2 I think) and was happily surprised reading the Scorpion issue (roughly issue 28). I recognized so many panels from one of the Scorpion episodes from the cartoon. Many animation cells were clearly lifted right out of the comic.
(and that initial Spidey swing in the opening titles is also right out of a Ditko issue, Spidey Strikes Back, I think...)
By the way, any fans of the cartoon who also liked "Oz" on HBO might enjoy this mash-up tribute.
It is NOT SAFE FOR WORK due to rude language.
Hopefully any sense of besmirching a childhood gem will be overridden by all the crazy cartoon criminal cameos!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akhcUfT5KUg
-david p.
Red – you nailed it!
I recall maneuvering to watch Spidey on ABC TV at 9:00 AM on Saturdays. (With 4 kids under the age of 8, mom and dad were anxious to have us go outside and play, regardless of blizzards, torrential downpours, or heatwaves!)
I was only around 8 years old when I was watching and the voices stuck in my head! To this day, whenever I read Spidey it’s with those voices in mind for Parker and Jonah and Goblin!
For what it’s worth, there was a Spider Man series that ran in the afternoons from 1994 - 1998 that was really quite good (on Fox Network?). Seemed quite true to the comic stories I have read. Recommended!
William – Where is your UKE club? I play monthly in the Chicago burbs with about 50 persons on Saturday mornings. We haven’t done Spidey. (Yet!) Do you have a preferred version of the song or where did you find it?
David_B – Ha! Your not being able to get Chicago stations reminds me of living in Gary, IN and climbing on the roof with my dad to rotate the antennae to get Notre Dame football from South Bend and also northwest to Green Bay / Milwaukee on the weekend. We’d be yelling down to my mom or siblings, “How’s it look now?!” and then running up and down the ladder to confirm. Such fun times!!!
Charlie, you too..?
I played the Uke quite a bit a decade ago, I do need to get set up with another local group here.., I used to do lots of jazz licks on it quite well.
William, David_b and Charlie- wow, we could get you all together for a jam! BitBA unplugged...
Oh, and Charlie- yes, that Fox Spider-man series was pretty good. Adapted many stories from the comic and brought in countless characters. Music was forgettable, but the show was solid.
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