Does Whatever a Cartoon Can...

I haven't seen too many people yapping about this, so let me be the first to say: The Spectacular Spider-Man cartoon on Kids' WB rocks.

It debuted last Saturday with a special 2-episode premiere, and man o man, it surpassed my already high expectations.

Why high expectations? Because the supervising producer/show-runner is Greg Weisman, who was the guiding light behind Disney's Gargoyles cartoon back in the '90s. Gargoyles was, in my opinion, the pinnacle of Cartoons Too Good For Snotty Kids®. The depth of characterization, the complexities and twists of the plot...sheer excellence. Don't take my word for it. Season 1 and the first half of Season 2 are out on DVD, so go watch. Amazon's got them, Netflix has them...just go give them a try.

So when I learned Weisman was taking on Spidey, well, I just had to be on board. And my hopes weren't dashed. We're basically at Spider-Man Year One. Peter's still in high school, and has been Spidey for about 4 months or so.

Now, Weisman has written comics before, and you can tell he looooves early Lee-Ditko Spider-Man, because he's just swimmin' in the fun, wallowing in the stuff.. In just the first hour, we've got: The Vulture, Flint Marko before he gets powered up, Elektro, Curt Conners injecting himself with lizard DNA, The Enforcers, Hammerhead, a mysterious unseen boss who's gotta be the Kingpin, Norman Osborn pre-Goblin but still a dickweed, Eddie Brock, Gwen Stacy, J. Jonah Jameson...and it all works.

So figure out who's got Saturday AM Kids' WB in your area, set your TIVOs, and enjoy. I promise you won't be disappointed.

The only drawback? Aunt May is...well...kinda hot. And that makes me feel real weird...