Per a statement from his son, John Romita Jr., legendary comic book artist and former Marvel art director John Romita Sr. has passed away, aged 93. Romita was perhaps best known for being the second artist to draw “The Amazing Spider-Man,” following co-creator Steve Ditko, which he penciled regularly from 1966 to 1973. Among the characters he helped create were Mary Jane Watson, the Kingpin, Punisher, Shocker, Hobgoblin, Monica Rambeau, Luke Cage, Nova, and Wolverine.
John Victor Romita was born into a Sicilian family in Brooklyn, New York, on January 24, 1930. He graduated from the Manhattan School of Industrial Art in 1947, and made his comics debut two years later in the pages of “Famous Funnies.” He also began working as a ghost artist for Marvel’s predecessor, Timely Comics, that year, where he met and worked with Stan Lee for the first time. He was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1951, but continued to work for Timely (now renamed Atlas) after completing his training, and while off-duty.
He penciled horror, war, and romance titles for the publisher, as well as some of the decade’s Captain America comics, and freelanced on DC’s romantic books too. He drew one of the earliest series with a Black protagonist, the “Jungle Tales” strip ‘Waku, Prince of the Bantu,’ succeeding artist and co-creator Ogden Whitney on the second issue. He went exclusive with DC in 1958, but by 1965, sales of romance comics had declined dramatically, and so Romita returned to what was now Marvel, inking that year’s “The Avengers” #23. Lee assigned Romita 1966’s “Daredevil” #12–19, which included a two-part guest appearance from Spider-Man in issues #16-17.
Impressed by Romita’s work with the wallcrawler, Lee appointed him Ditko’s successor on the character’s own title. He started his run with the seminal 39th issue, ‘How Green Was My Goblin!,’ in which the hero’s nemesis discovers his true identity, and reveals himself to be Harry Osborn’s father Norman. Along with the characters he introduced, Romita brought a more romantic style to the artwork, including rendering a more handsome Peter Parker; partly as a result, sales rose, and the comic overtook “Fantastic Four” to become Marvel’s bestselling series. Among his contributions were the reintroduction of Black Widow, sporting her trademark red hair and black catsuit for the first time, in 1970’s issue #86.
Romita’s success meant Lee often called on him to communicate with other series’ artists, and he was officially named Marvel’s art director after Lee became the company’s publisher and president in 1973. He oversaw many of the iconic costume designs from that decade, including Wolverine and his retractable claws (“If a man has claws like that, how does he scratch his nose or tie his shoelaces?,” he said in an interview), and the Punisher’s oversized chest skull. His role also extended to TV, where he drew concept art for Firestar from Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends. In 1984, he oversaw an art apprentice program, which assigned uncredited newcomers to redraw interiors deemed unfit for print; they were dubbed Romita’s Raiders.
He continued to draw comics, such as 1976’s “Superman vs. the Amazing Spider-Man” (where he and Neal Adams penciled over Ross Andru’s linework), and the Spider-Man newspaper strip, beginning with its launch in 1977 until 1980. In 1982, Romita, along with his son and writer Roger Stern, introduced Monica Rambeau, the first female Captain Marvel, in “Amazing Spider-Man Annual” #16, and Hobgoblin a year later in “Amazing Spider-Man” #238. He contributed the cover for 1986’s “Amazing Spider-Man Annual” #21, featuring the wedding of Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson.
He officially retired in 1996, but continued to pencil work for Marvel, including a 1997 special written by Lee and Tom DeFalco, “Spider-Man/Kingpin: To the Death.” He contributed pages and panels to “Iron Man” #40 (2001), “Captain America” #50 (2002), “Amazing Spider-Man” #500 (2003), “Daredevil” #50 (2003) and #100 (2007), as well as the occasional cover art. In 2014, he returned to DC with a variant cover for that year’s “Superman” #34 (featuring interiors by his son.)
Romita was recognized during his lifetime with an Inkpot Award in 1979, and an induction into the Will Eisner Award Hall of Fame in 2002, as well as the Inkwell Awards Joe Sinnott Hall of Fame in 2020. He is survived by his wife and childhood sweetheart, Virginia Bruno, whom he had been married to since 1952, and their sons, Victor and John Jr. Romita Jr. said his father was “a legend in the art world and it would be my honor to follow in his footsteps,” adding, “He was the greatest man I ever met.”
