"Spider-man"-The ''67' Cartoon Series (The Classic 1st Season)

On Sept. 9, 1967," Spider-Man" comic book fans were given a real treat!!! ABC TV and Grantray Animation introduced us to their 'classic' animated version of Spidey's exploits. I've chosen to talk mainly about the 1st season, because it captured the feel of the comic books, in the very best sense (including epic battles with all of the truly classic villains from the pages of  "The Amazing Spider-Man"). It also greatly helped to have Marvel's Stan Lee (one of Spidey's original creators) as a story consultant and John Romita Sr. (one of Spidey's truly classic artists) as an art consultant! The 2nd & 3rd seasons were done on a vastly reduced budget by a different production company (run by animator Ralph Bakshi, who helmed many animated feature films after that time), but hardly any of the classic comic book villains were used (mainly monsters, aliens and unknown sorcerers). The animation style was altered and the series was given a somewhat psychedelic look (with strangely colored skies in the background).

MEANWHILE, let's get back to our subject; the classic 1st season! The "Spider-Man" series had a very catchy theme song by Paul Francis Webster (lyrics) and Bob Harris (music); along with great music in the background, to punctuate the action. The characters were voiced by Canadian actors, which included---Paul Soles (perfect as Spider-Man / Peter Parker); Paul Kligman (excellent as J. Jonah Jameson); Peg Dixon (as a sweet and supportive Betty Brant, who had a crush on Peter); and wonderfully narrated by Bernard Cowan. The voices for the villains and supporting characters, were also very effective.

The Classic Villain Rogues Gallery was in full force here! Included were greats like---The Green Goblin; The Lizard; Dr. Octopus; Electro; The Vulture; The Rhino; The Scorpion; Mysterio; and The Sandman. There were also some interesting villains created just for the show (like The Human Fly brothers, for an example). The 1st season was packed with excitement and colorful battles with all of the classic villains you could ask for. Many of the stories followed very closely to those in "The Amazing Spider-Man" comic magazine. The show gave the feel of watching a 'living' Spider-Man comic. Spider-Man's origin story wasn't shown until the first episode of the 2nd season, though.

Several years ago, "Spider-Man--The '67' Collection" was released on DVD (including all 52 episodes from Seasons 1,2 & 3). I proudly own this collection and enjoy it immensely (especially the classic 1st season, Of Course). Seek it out. I'm sure you'll enjoy it!

Note: I wish the image above could have been from the original series, but I think this picture more than adequately captures the essence.