Following the announcement of Spider-Man ’94 comic book series, Spider-Man: The Animated Series writer John Semper Jr. broke his silence about the project, revealing that Marvel didn’t reached out to him about the project. The new comic book serves as a continuation of the fan-favorite superhero series, which famously concluded its five-season run in 1998 with a major cliffhanger.
Due to the critical success of the Disney+ revival X-Men ’97, Marvel fans have also been wanting to see a continuation of the classic Spider-Man series, especially after its two main characters Peter Parker and Mary Jane had made a brief appearance on the show’s Season 1 finale. Now, Marvel has answered the fans’ wishes by releasing a Spider-Man ’94 comic book, which hails from writer J.M. DeMatteis and artist Jim Towe.
Posted on his personal X account, Semper has shared a statement in response to Marvel’s Spider-Man ’94 announcement. For fans wondering about his involvement, the writer confirmed that he’s not involved in the creative production of the comic book series. Despite this, he is glad that DeMatteis is the one working on the continuation of his original series, while expressing his respect for the scribe’s amazing body of work.
“No, I am NOT involved with this comic book and no one at Marvel approached me to be involved in any way,” Semper wrote. “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.”
However, Semper admitted that it would have been a nice courtesy for Marvel to have made him aware of the project prior to the announcement. He continued, “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.’”
Check out his full statement below:
Spider-Man ’94 #1 (of 5) arrives in comic shops everywhere on September 3, 2025.