Legendary comic book artist, John Romita Sr., who co-created some of Marvel’s most iconic characters, has passed away at the age of 93. His death was announced Tuesday night on Twitter by his son, John Romita Jr., a successful comic book artist in his own right.
During his time as Marvel’s art director, he also produced artwork for some of the books, consisting of the cover of 1987’s The Amazing Spider-Man Annual No. 21.
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One Of The All-Time Greatest Artists Of The Superhero Genre
Mary Jane Watson, Wolverine, and The Punisher are just a few of the well-known superhero comic book characters that John Romita Sr. co-created.
“I say this with a heavy heart,” Romita’s son, fellow comic artist John Romita Jr. wrote. “My father passed away peacefully in his sleep. He is a legend in the art world and it would be my honor to follow in his footsteps. Please keep your thoughts and condolences here out of respect for my family. He was the greatest man I ever met.”
Before Marvel was even Marvel, Romita Sr. worked as a ghost artist at Timely Comics, where he began his comics career. In the early 1950s, Romita returned to the business—now Atlas Comics—after serving in the Army. He began illustrating combat, horror, and romance comics, as well as contributing to Atlas’ relaunch of Captain America.
Following a brief stint at DC, Romita returned to Atlas, now known as Marvel, and illustrated for Avengers and Daredevil until the project that would ultimately define his career for years to come fell into his lap: Steve Ditko had left The Amazing Spider-Man, and Stan Lee wanted Romita to take over in his place.
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As Marvel’s Art Director
The Amazing Spider-Man was the subject of Romita Sr.’s five-year collaboration with editor-in-chief Stan Lee, which became his greatest contribution to Marvel. He succeeded the late Steve Ditko, a comic book veteran who had co-created the character with Lee in 1961 before walking away after a war of words. Spider-Man rose to the pinnacle of Marvel’s bestseller listing for the duration of Romita’s tenure as an artist, and he additionally created some of the iconic characters, which include Mary Jane Watson and Kingpin.
Even though he made an extensive contribution to Marvel Comics as an art director, he would never forget the lasting influence he had on one of its most recognizable characters. In his later years, he regularly returned to Spider-Man to continue illustrating the character’s well-known comic style.
Romita Sr. expressed regret for not being born earlier so he might have been a member of the first generation of comic book creators and writers in interviews. However, he took delight in elaborating on others’ ideas, asserting that he could always make them better.
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Source: Comic Book
