John Romita Sr., the influential comic artist who defined the look of Spider-Man and his alter-ego Peter Parker and helped create some of Marvel’s most beloved characters, including Mary Jane Watson and Wolverine, on Monday. died. His home in Floral Park, Long Island, New York. he was 93 years old.
His death was announced by his son, John Romita Jr., who is also a cartoonist.
“Millions have come to know Marvel through his art, and millions more have come to know Peter Parker through the undeniably bold strokes that Romita brings to the page.” said in a statement.
Romita took over art direction for Stan Lee’s “Spider-Man” in 1966 after original artist and character co-creator Steve Ditko left Marvel. Within a year, the title became Marvel’s top seller.
That year, Mr. Romita painted a striking image of Mary Jane Watson, who would later become Peter Parker’s lover. In it she makes her famous declaration. (In 1987, after she said “I will,” Mr. Romita painted the cover depicting her two weddings.)
Mr. Lee and Mr. Romita also introduced many villains such as Rhino, Shocker and Kingpin to the Spider-Man villain gallery. Romita served as Marvel’s art director from 1973 until his retirement in 1996.
“His version of the character became the format for the international and merchandise characters,” said John Romita Jr. in an interview.
John Victor Romita was born in Brooklyn on January 24, 1930, the eldest of five children to Victor and Marie Romita. His father was a woodworker and his mother a homemaker.
His early interest in drawing was encouraged both at home and at school, according to a 2007 biography by Sue L. Hamilton. In 1938, he purchased two copies of the first Action Comics issue, the first appearance of Superman. He kept one of his safely in his bag and used the other as a drawing guide.
After graduating from Manhattan’s Craft School in 1947, Romita began working as a commercial artist. However, a chance encounter with her friend and high school classmate who worked for Stan Lee led to her first break. Mr. Romita began secretly sketching a cartoon in pencil for his friend, who later inked the cartoon and advertised it as his own work.
Mr. Romita, who took his career into his own hands in the 1950s, revealed the arrangement to Mr. Lee, who recalled in an interview that he gave him the opportunity to work part-time under his name. Partnered with Comic Reporter in 2002.
Arlen Schumer, author of The Silver Age of Comic Art (2003), told The New York Times in 2017 that Romita was a fitting successor to Ditko, noting his “unique personality” as art director. He also added about hands. “You can see it on everything from the cover to the interior panels and pages, effectively supplanting the Marvel style once dominated by Jack Kirby, the company’s first chief artist in the ’60s.”
Romita Said He was most proud of his work on the two Spider-Man books in the early 1970s when he began to differentiate between Spider-Man’s artistic vision and Mr. Ditko’s.
‘I always felt like a Spider-Man visitor,’ he told the Syfy channel in a 2017 interview. “Like I was always Dikko in some way. I tried to keep the characters consistent.”
But by the time the 108th and 109th scripts hit his desk, he said he was a different person, approaching the work from a new angle. He began adding more solid black to his own art, as well as adding embellishments to the characters’ clothing.
Mr. Romita is also known for creating the look and demeanor of his character, Mary Jane Watson. he said he was based Partly about actress and singer Ann-Margret. “We were trying to create a very forward, very modern girl,” he said.
John Romita Jr. said in a phone interview: Thanks to that, we were able to put our feet on the ground. But his father was very proud of his work on Spider-Man, he added.
Talking about Spider-Man, he recalled, became a family event for driving around Queens, which Peter Parker called home. In the car, the family discussed upcoming Spider-Man stories. “I don’t know if he was playing comedy or if he really needed an opinion,” Jon Jr. said.
In addition to John Jr., Romita is survived by his wife, Virginia, who worked as a production manager at Marvel. Another son, Victor. grandchildren. and two granddaughters.
Mr. Romita defined or refined the look of many memorable Marvel characters. He gave Black Widow her sleek black bodysuit, designed Wolverine’s first look, and adopted a sketch of the Punisher’s skull emblem to cover her torso, with white teeth resembling teeth. Added a belt. .
Although primarily associated with Marvel, Romita also worked for DC Comics from 1959 to 1966 on the company’s romance comics rather than on superhero titles. Former DC Comics publisher Paul Levitz posted a memory of Romita on Facebook. He “he smiled as he remembered John calling me to thank him for giving me a very low DC Comics reprint fee for his romance story.” Romita said he got paid more than he was originally paid for the story.
Even after Romita retired, he continued to take on individual projects for both Marvel and DC, including the cover of 2014’s Superman after John Romita Jr. took over art for the series.
Romita told Comic Reporter in 2002 He said he regretted not being part of the first generation of professional cartoonists and thought he was following the lead of others.
“No matter what success I’ve had, I’ve always considered myself a guy who can improve other people’s concepts,” he said. “Writers and other artists can make something and I can make it better.”
