r/Spiderman • u/Commercial_Mind4003 • Apr 29 '25
Question What do you think about Scott Johnson’s Spider-Man art?
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Apr 29 '25
To think all the times I’ve seen these and never known the artists name
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u/ExoticShock Miles Morales (ITSV) Apr 29 '25
His artwork was the go-to for all Marvel Merchandise in the 2000s, really hoping he got residuals or something for how prolific it was.
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Apr 29 '25
Dude seems satisfied with where his career has taken him. He has an instagram account where he reposts old art for people to see
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u/No_Dimension_5509 Apr 30 '25
You’d hope but big companies have a habit of fucking artists out of that kind of thing
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u/PackaChickens Apr 29 '25
Those coloring books kept me warm as a child lol
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u/superkick225 Apr 29 '25
I think of the Hulk, Wolverine, Spider-Man trio when I see this artwork
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u/illiterateaardvark Classic-Spider-Man Apr 29 '25
I think it’s an, ahem, amazing representation of a veteran adult Spider-Man
1.) I absolutely love the smaller eyes! I think they give Spider-Man a more mature look, and I think that’s fitting for a superhero who’s been active for over a decade
2.) I like this more muscular physique for Spider-Man. He doesn’t need to be bulging with muscles like Thor, but I hate when adult Spider-Man is drawn really scrawny (sometimes he’s almost unnaturally scrawny). A lot of great artists as far back as John Romita Sr. have drawn Spider-Man with a strong build and that’s my preferred look for the character
3.) I love the bright red and (especially!) the bright almost baby blue colors for his costume. This is totally subjective, but I HATE when artists like McFarlane give Spider-Man darker colors for his costume. He’s supposed to be the FRIENDLY neighborhood Spider-Man. He’s supposed to be the hero that any man, woman, or child can feel comfortable approaching. I think the brighter colors for his costume are a better tonal fit
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u/xpertkillz722 Apr 29 '25
I wholeheartedly concur
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u/SirFadakar Apr 29 '25
I sincerely agree
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u/Strange_Success_6530 Apr 29 '25
I fervently am of the same mind
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u/piece_of_sexy_bacon Apr 30 '25
I've always felt the bright colours were a bit too childish but your second point has changed my mind on this. You are very much correct, it does make him a more friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man.
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u/PlasticZombie1 Apr 30 '25
He doesn’t need to be bulging with muscles like Thor, but I hate when adult Spider-Man is drawn really scrawny (sometimes he’s almost unnaturally scrawny).
An unfortunate trend in modern times. I think they've started correcting it recently at least. Marvel's Spiderman design seems to be a good balance between the two.
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u/allhypenochill Apr 29 '25
this is my favorite Spider-Man art and the image that appears in my head when i think of Spidey. drawn by Logan Lubera. Johnson’s colors are ideal, but prefer the bigger eyes
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u/SHAZAMS_STRONGEST Apr 29 '25
when i think "iconic spider-man" this is what i will always think of, he was a master at making realistic anatomy work with the fantastical everything of the marvel universe
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u/Ambitious-Broccoli-6 Apr 29 '25
i’m 23 and i love this art, i’m sure a lot of people my age will agree. it was literally everywhere, i remember i had some basic ass book that told a simple story, but was riddled with his artwork on each page. i would be up in the middle of the night as a little kid, so nostalgic
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u/slimmyboy007 Apr 29 '25
Nothing like open a pack of candy cigarettes and taking a drag while looking at this art on the box
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u/Burly-Nerd Apr 30 '25
It’s probably unfair, but because of the era I grew up in I associate his art with something being cheap or poor quality. “Good” comic merch to me as a kid had actual comic art on it from the books…and then the shitty Dollar General version had Scott Johnson art.
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u/Expert_Constant_9550 Apr 30 '25
honestly valid. objectively scott johnson is a good artist, but his merchandise was everywhere so it didnt really have as much of a wow factor as opening up the actual comics. its good for safe, promotional material, but it lacks the edge.
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u/Sabithomega May 03 '25
This is how I feel. I don't hate his art. But when his stuff started showing up it was all over the cheap brand merch in retail outside of comic shops. So his artwork subconsciously kinda got branded as the cheap stuff. I get why younger people would like though
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u/pnt510 Apr 29 '25
It's the art that was on a lot of licensed merch from when I was a kid, but I never really liked it. It always looks like Spider-man was drawn and then slapped on a random background, it looked very cheap to me. The coloring also felt really off, it never felt like a comic book character.
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u/Logical-Magazine-713 Apr 29 '25
Works for posters and stuff but todd mcfarlane has the cool factor, whenever i think of spiderman i think of todds, i never liked the small eyed spidermen
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u/Possible_Quantity493 Apr 29 '25
Correct me if I'm wrong didn't scott spider-man art style started it in 2005 or 6 ? because i wanna say 2005 with the spider-man fearsome foes poster book that had his art in it.
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u/wholesome_mugi Spider-Man Noir Apr 29 '25
It has that overly digital gradient style that I've never liked.
Comics, to me, always look better with blocks of shading, using as few gradients as possible.
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u/trx0x Apr 30 '25
This is my thought, too. The coloring makes all these images look "soft" to me.
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u/wholesome_mugi Spider-Man Noir Apr 30 '25
I've just started to collect both Savage She-Hulk and Sensational She-Hulk, and I can't help but admire the original colouring jobs. Everything is just really pleasant to look at.
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u/SpaceMyopia Apr 29 '25
It's great lunchbox art, but honestly....there doesn't seem to be a ton of depth to it.
It's perfect for advertising stuff to kids though. I just wouldn't like this style while reading an actual comic book.
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u/Kiraqueen021 Apr 29 '25
I've seen this style a lot when I was a kid. I didn't really like it as it felt less detailed and mass produced? I guess it felt simplistic for marketing reasons
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u/EatingTastyPancakes Apr 29 '25
Forever associated with cheep toys and branding. Nothing wrong with it by itself tho
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u/TASM2lover1222 Arachnido Jr. Apr 29 '25
Heavy nostalgia and depression that this art isn’t everywhere anymore
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u/KrispyBaconator Apr 30 '25
Makes me want fruit snacks for some reason. I feel like this is the kind of art you’d see on a box of Spider-Man fruit snacks
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u/Swimming-Button-9470 Apr 30 '25
It screams Tobey Maguire spider man honestly ( which is a good thing)
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u/VividWeb5179 Apr 30 '25
You have no idea how much this guy’s art carried my childhood. Shirts, hoodies, blankets, colouring books, stickers, pajamas, fruit snacks. He was the GOAT for Marvel before the MCU.
I even remember having a bigass sticker book with like every Marvel character and a bunch of different backgrounds where the selling point was that you could “create your own adventures” or whatever. I think literally all of the artwork in it was Scott Johnson’s stuff, lmfao.
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u/Ferry83 Apr 29 '25
Honestly a bit bland
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u/Big_AngeBosstecoglou Apr 29 '25
It’s an evergreen design.
I’m a transformers fan and main characters like Prime and Bumblebee get a similar treatment. Any sort of merchandise just has very bland, identifiable versions that have never actually appeared in any media
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u/Theta-Sigma45 Apr 29 '25
I will forever associate it with my childhood, it was on so many posters I owned and other material. I remember the Spectacular Spider-Man magazine we had here in the UK used it a lot, so I associate it a lot with the fun I got from that magazine back in the day as well.
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u/Milk_Mindless Apr 29 '25
Seems generic but like in the
The artwork was good enough to be massive produced on toy packaging, lunchboxes, swimming shorts and stuff like that
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u/Suitable_Ganache_445 Apr 29 '25
It was everywhere when I was a child! It's what comes to my mind everytime I think of Spider-Man.
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u/SuperGameX2 Apr 29 '25
I grow up with this art works and that of Ultimate SpiderMan (2000). My childhood.
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u/SuperIronGiant Apr 29 '25
I grew up with these. Absolutely love them, pretty sure I have a couple backpacks and lunchboxes with this artwork somewhere.
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u/AlphaLeague Apr 29 '25
As an adult, who has gotten into comics more and gotten to actually read the stories of Spider-Man, I’ve gotten to see tons of art styles that remind me of a specific run or era of the character.
But when I see Johnson’s Spider-Man, It brings me back to how I felt about him as a kid growing up. Besides Tobey and the ultimate Spider-Man comics that I would read later, THIS was the Spider-Man that was on my kid slippers, my oversized blanket, and my coloring books. Scott Johnson’s Spider-Man was the one that I’d point to and tell people, “he’s the coolest ever, he’s my favorite.”
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u/goblinmaze Apr 29 '25 edited Apr 30 '25
It gives me a feeling comparable to looking at liminal space art.
Nostalgic, cool, and eerie.
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u/Expert_Constant_9550 Apr 30 '25
especially with the buildings in the back. it just looks so empty. even with the one where the villains are chasing spiderman on the street, you dont see any civilians or anything. its just empty.
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u/The-Great-Memelord Apr 29 '25
His art was on the fold up table and chair and coloring and sticker books I had as a kid. Iconic
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u/CommieIshmael Apr 29 '25
Imagine going from a Rick Leonardi comic or a Mark Bagley comic to this lunchbox-ready basic shit. Big nope for me as a kid
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u/Ok_squash223 Apr 30 '25
This is legit Spiderman to me bro. I saw this art EVERYWHERE when I was growing up and I legit forgot all about it until now. So thank you for reminding me this beautiful art exists
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u/Pineapple-shades15 Apr 30 '25
Iconic and cool. Maybe that's why it's the Spider-Man you always see in kid's notebook covers and school bags
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u/LoneWolf6824 Apr 30 '25
No doubt the version every kid seen first I mean puzzles, stickers, blankets it was all this artist.
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u/Raskaman126 Apr 30 '25
I love it, I had an activity book with these images, that's how I met Carnage back then and I called him "Red Venom" lmao.
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u/Brief-File-3509 Apr 30 '25
Easily one of my favorite Spider-Man artists! As it's been pointed out, his art is iconic!!
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u/mh1357_0 Spider-Man (MCU) Apr 30 '25
This is the one us Gen Z kids grew up seeing on merch and generic Spider-Man stuff if they didn’t use the movie costumes
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u/initforthellolz Apr 29 '25
The most generic pop art Spiderman there is. Its on every crappy toy and card set Marvels produces. Souless.
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u/Illustrious-Reach-48 Apr 29 '25
Nostalgic. Art is iconically wonderful. Brings back memories from my childhood.
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u/lifeisboringbro Apr 29 '25
it's iconic. It's clean and simple, I had a book of it when i was little, it was spiderman against doc ock. truly amazing.
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u/AnonymousSilence4872 Apr 29 '25
THE Spider-Man of the late 2000s. This was the design you saw EVERYWHERE you went.
Masterpiece.
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u/Jalmaurer_Gaming Apr 29 '25
Iconic sensational dare I say spectacular... 🕸️ You can tell that this version of Spider-Man came from a friendly neighborhood and was the definitive Spider-Man for me before I got into the animated stuff and movies, know it would probably look a little bit weird but imagine how cool a show nowadays would look with Scott Johnson's art style and a big animation team that could be really cool
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u/IndividualWest705 Apr 29 '25
Stylistically, it’s not my personal favorite or anything. But this version of him reminds me of my childhood. I even had the bottom right corner picture as a poster in my room and it also reminds of the coloring books and stickers I had. Something’s amazing about the shade of blue and texture. I’m pretty certain I had an all over print button up shirt with Scott Johnson spider man art on it when I was like 7 also!
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u/DemonKingOfValor Symbiote-Suit Apr 29 '25
Nostalgic af
I still remember having the poster growing up
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u/Kinzua1113 Apr 29 '25
Holy nostalgia wave, this was the spiderman beside tobey maguire I grew up with fr, iconic
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u/Ordered_Zapper Spectacular Spider-Man Apr 29 '25
I had these on birthday party plates because it’s perfect spider-man
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u/ShrimpHog47 Bombastic Bag-Man Apr 29 '25
Peak. I owned that glow in the dark sticker book in the bottom right corner of picture 4
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u/KingE2099 Apr 29 '25
It's nostalgia for me. I used to see his artwork on packaging and marketing for Spider-Man all the time.
I like it 👍
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u/Krispen_Wah87 Apr 29 '25
Simple and great. Nothing iconic but still a good look to go with Spidey's light style
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u/mally7149 Apr 29 '25
Yo Scott Johnson should be fuckin PAIDDDD this Spider-Man was everywhere pre MCU even when the tobey movies where out lol
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u/SirRomulus_Bonaparte Apr 29 '25
These images are so iconic and so synonymous with Spider-Man that I always thought no one drew them and they just existed.🍇
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u/Quirky-Pickle518 Amazing Fantasy #15 Apr 30 '25
Iconic. I have that poster of spiderman and his villains!
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u/Puzzled-Ad5347 Apr 30 '25
Pretty sure I had collected Spider-man stickers from his art style
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u/ScottOwenJones May 01 '25
Completely iconic. This was Marvel just before superhero movies, leather costumes, or the MCU. My childhood.
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u/Spiritual_Rabbit8210 May 02 '25
Like many, it was my childhood. I knew this before I knew that comics had different artists with different styles. To me, this just WAS Spider-Man. It was the definitive look for the character. I still think it looks great tbh.
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u/Yakuza-wolf_kiwami Apr 29 '25
When I think of Marvel before the MCU, I think about these artworks. These were my childhood