John Semper Jr. is an African-American screenwriter, producer and story editor with numerous credits in animation for television. He has worked for miscellaneous companies as Walt Disney Studios, Warner Bros. Animation and Hanna-Barbera Productions during a career which has involved the development of projects for Jim Henson,

George Lucas George Walton Lucas Jr. (born May 14, 1944) is an American filmmaker. Lucas is best known for creating the ''Star Wars'' and ''Indiana Jones'' franchises and founding Lucasfilm, LucasArts, Industrial Light & Magic and THX. He served as chairm ...

Stan Lee Stan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber ; December 28, 1922 – November 12, 2018) was an American comic book writer, editor, publisher, and producer. He rose through the ranks of a family-run business called Timely Publications which ...

, Rob Minkoff and others. Semper created the English-language dialogue for two of Hayao Miyazaki's anime feature films ''

Castle in the Sky , titled ''Laputa: Castle in the Sky'' for release in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand, is a 1986 Japanese animated fantasy adventure film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki. The first film produced by Studio Ghibli, ...

'' and '' Kiki's Delivery Service'', and co-wrote the screenplay for the live-action comedy ''

Class Act ''Class Act'' is a 1992 American comedy film directed by Randall Miller and starring hip-hop duo Kid 'n Play. An urban retelling of Mark Twain's ''The Prince and the Pauper'', the film was written by Cynthia Friedlob and John Semper from a sto ...

''. During the 1990s, Semper was producer/story editor of '' Spider-Man: The Animated Series''. which ran from 1994 to 1998. In 2016, he began writing a Cyborg series for DC Comics drawn by Brian Stelfreeze.REBIRTH CYBORG's Greatest Danger: ‘Being a Black Man Living in Detroit’
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''Creeporia''

Semper's most recent creation is the family comedy-horror webseries ''Creeporia''. The character of Creeporia was first introduced in the webseries titled ''Crypt of Creeporia'', a live-action/animated blend of humor and horror. The title role in the original webseries was played by Kommerina DeYoung.

Books

His books include ''The Singular Affair of the Missing Ball: A Sherlock Whippet Mystery'' (Lulu Press, 2005), as well as several books based on his scripts for the PBS preschool series ''Jay Jay the Jet Plane'', and Kids' WB action/adventure series ''Static Shock''.

Awards

"Day of the Chameleon", an episode Semper wrote for ''Spider-Man: The Animated Series'', earned him a 1995

Annie Award The Annie Awards are accolades which the Los Angeles branch of the International Animated Film Association, ASIFA-Hollywood, has presented each year since 1972 to recognize excellence in animation shown in cinema and television. Originally desi ...

nomination for Best Individual Achievement for Writing in the Field of Animation. In 1996, the series was nominated for an NAACP Image Award in the category Outstanding Animated/Live Action/Dramatic Youth or Children's Series/Special. In 2004, Semper was nominated for a Daytime Emmy for his work on '' Static Shock''.

Screenwriting credits

* series head writer denoted in bold

Television

* '' Shirt Tales'' (1983) * '' The Biskitts'' (1983) * '' The New Scooby and Scrappy-Doo Show'' (1983-1984) * '' Pink Panther and Sons'' (1984) * '' Super Friends: The Legendary Super Powers Show'' (1984) * ''

The Smurfs ''The Smurfs'' (french: Les Schtroumpfs; nl, De Smurfen) is a Belgian comic franchise centered on a fictional colony of small, blue, humanoid creatures who live in mushroom-shaped houses in the forest. ''The Smurfs'' was first created and in ...

'' (1984) * '' Snorks'' (1984-1985) * '' The Jetsons'' (1985) * '' The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo'' (1985) * '' Kissyfur'' (1985) * '' MoonDreamers'' (1986) * '' Bionic Six'' (1987) * '' DuckTales'' (1987) * '' Fraggle Rock: The Animated Series'' (1987) * '' The Jim Henson Hour'' (1989) * ''

Kid 'n Play Kid 'n Play is an American hip-hop duo from New York City that was most popular in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The duo was composed of Christopher Reid ("Kid") and Christopher Martin ("Play") working alongside their DJ, Mark "DJ Wiz" Eas ...

'' (1990) * ''

Spider-Man Spider-Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appeared in the anthology comic book '' Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in the ...

'' (1994-1998) * ''

The Puzzle Place ''The Puzzle Place'' is an American children's television series produced by KCET in Los Angeles and Lancit Media in New York City. Although production was dated and premiered on two Los Angeles PBS stations, KCET and KLCS, on September 15, 199 ...

'' (1995) * '' Rugrats'' (1996-1998) * '' Extreme Ghostbusters'' (1997) * '' The Incredible Hulk'' (1997) * '' Clifford the Big Red Dog'' (2000) * ''

Jay Jay the Jet Plane ''Jay Jay the Jet Plane'' is an American live-action/CGI-animated musical children's television series which aired on The Learning Channel, PBS Kids, TBN and Smile. The series aired for a total of 4 seasons and has 62 episodes. The series is cen ...

'' (2001) * '' Kong: The Animated Series'' (2001) * '' Static Shock'' (2003-2004): season 3-4 head writer * ''

Betsy's Kindergarten Adventures ''Betsy's Kindergarten Adventures'' is an American animated television series intended for young children. The show aired from January 12 to September 27, 2008 on PBS Kids. Plot The show follows a five-year old girl named Betsy as she starts out ...

'' (2008) * '' Pink Panther and Pals'' (2010) * '' The Adventures of Chuck and Friends'' (2010-2011) * ''Creeporia'' (2014) * '' Justice League Action'' (2017)

Films

* ''

'' (1992) * '' Green Lantern: Beware My Power'' (2022)

Spider-Man website

As of November 2014, to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the '' Spider-Man: The Animated Series'', Semper started cartoonspiderman.com, which includes behind-the-scenes content, a Facebook page, podcasts about the show, and more information about his work related to the 1994 animated series.

References

External links

John Semper official siteMarvel Animation Age: John Semper interviewsJohn Semper Talks ''Static Shock''

John Semper
at ComicBookDB.com * {{DEFAULTSORT:Semper, John American comics creators African-American film directors African-American screenwriters African-American comics creators American television producers American television writers Place of birth missing (living people) American film directors American male screenwriters Living people Year of birth missing (living people) American male television writers 21st-century African-American writers African-American male writers African-American television writers 20th-century African-American writers