SPIDER-MAN 2 opens this week, so here comes the complete DVD set of the first animated Spidey series that ran Saturday mornings on ABC from '67-'70. SPIDER-MAN - THE '67 COLLECTION (Buena Vista Home Ent., $59.99) bows on June 29, 2004, with 52 episodes spread across six discs.
Straightforward and sometimes campy, the famed Marvel superhero fights the familiar assortment of villains (Doc Ock, The Green Goblin, Mysterio, The Rhino, Dr. Magneto) and then some (including a menacing fiddler that kills you with his music). The Canadian-produced series enticed the likes of Ralph Bakshi and Clyde Geronimi to direct, and features the catchy title song that SPIDER-MAN 2 pays homage to: "Spider-Man, Spider-Man/ Does whatever a spider can"
Bill Desowitz, former editor of VFXWorld, is currently the Crafts Editor of IndieWire.
