Posted By Dan Greenfield on May 14, 2026 | 1 comment

HOPE YOU LIKE IT: The Art of DAKOTA ALEXANDER…

By DAKOTA ALEXANDER

You all know the music. You all know the words that follow. It’s playing inside your head right now. That crashing brass section blasting through your screen as the words “SPIDER-MAN” zoom back and forth toward you in a frenetic fury, captivating you with its iconic intensity.

Much like the theme to the 1966 Adam West Batman TV show, the theme to the 1967 Grantray-Lawrence Spider-Man cartoon is ingrained in all of us as an integral part of pop culture.

Furthermore, if you are a fan of the cartoon, as I am, then you are also well acquainted with the “look” of the show. The chaotically colorful backdrops and that slicing “ZIP!” sound as Spidey swings across the screen. It’s iconic and unforgettable, and despite being of a later generation, the Grantray-Lawrence Spider-Man cartoon was as much a part of my introduction to the wall-crawler as any of the other Marvel media available in my early childhood.

As stated in my previous article celebrating the legendary José Luis García-López, I was a child of the early ’80s. As such, my introduction to the world of superheroes occurred long before I could read a comic book. Instead, it came from all the media and merchandise presented by Marvel and DC. For my exposure to the 1967 Spider-Man cartoon, this introduction was via the Marvel Comics Video Library, released by Prism Entertainment.

Prism Entertainment also had a pretty rad intro. It’s soooo 80’s.

Ironically, the “Origin of Spider-Man” episode was, in fact, the first installment of the second season, which was produced by Krantz Films under Ralph Bakshi. As this was my introduction to the series, I was more closely connected to some of the original characters that appeared in the subsequent episodes of the second season. One character that stood out, in particular, was Sky Master, from Season 2, Episode 4,  “Criminals in the Clouds.”

You’re looking a little green there, bud. Someone forget to take their air-sickness pills?

Over the years, I have made a handful of attempts to do a piece that celebrates my love for this show, and that character, but I never could quite get the look right. If I was going to do a Spidey ’67 piece, then by golly I’d better get that look right! And after all these years, I think I finally got it!

So here it is! My version of a Grantray-Lawrence Spider-Man comic! (To distinguish it a bit from its regular Marvel counterpart, I decided to go with a Gold Key style cover dress.)

Hope you like it.

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Want more of THE ART OF DAKOTA ALEXANDER? Come back in a few weeks! He’s going on a brief hiatus!

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MORE

— The 1980s MIKE ZECK Ongoing PUNISHER Series You Never Knew Existed — Because It Didn’t. Click here.

— What if CARMINE INFANTINO Drew NEAL ADAMS’ Classic BATMAN #251 Cover Instead. Click here.

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DAKOTA ALEXANDER is an American artist living in Japan. He’s worked on many projects, such as The Liberty Brigade, The Masters, Charon 13, and G.H.O.S.T. Agents. His latest is his love letter to Bronze Age superhero-horror comics, The Hunter, which is now available at his Etsy, Drums of the Serpent.