John Romita Sr., the influential comic book artist who illustrated Spider-Man in the superhero’s early years and helped create some of Marvel’s most beloved characters, including Mary Jane Watson and Wolverine, has died. He was 93.
Probably the best and most influential comic artist after Jack Kirby, Romita has left many of his fans heartbroken by his demise. The news was broken on Tuesday night by Romita’s son, fellow comic artist John Romita Jr., who confirmed that he passed away peacefully in his sleep on Monday, June 12th. “I say this with a heavy heart, My father, John Romita Sr passed away peacefully in his sleep this Monday morning,” the post reads. “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,” his son wrote on Instagram.
Born in 1930 in Brooklyn to a family of five children, Romita Sr found early success in the comics industry. Two years after graduating from Manhattan’s School of Industrial Art, he began contributing to the series Famous Funnies, at age 19. Romita had an illustrious career in the sphere of superhero comics, co-creating loved characters such as Mary Jane Watson, Wolverine, and The Punisher.
He gained a reputation working on titles for companies would become Marvel and DC – Timely Comics and National Comics. It wasn’t until 1966 that he began drawing for Marvel’s The Amazing Spider-Man – a gig that would last five years and become his most well-known work. He replaced the artist Steve Ditko, and started working with the late Marvel stalwart Stan Lee on the series. Within a year, the comic had become Marvel’s top seller, overtaking Fantastic Four.
Other enduring Spider-Man characters he was involved in originating included the villainous Vulture, mobster Hammerhead and the sonic-powered Shocker, as well as the Hobgoblin, journalist Robbie Robertson and Gwen Stacy’s father George Stacy.
Guardians of the Galaxy writer and director James Gunn also paid tribute to the “great comic book artist“.Gunn, now DC Studios boss, revealed that Romita had encouraged him as a child. “My brother and I wrote [to] Mr Romita when we were young kids and sent him drawings of superheroes we were working on,” he wrote.
Romita Sr was inducted into the Eisner Awards hall of fame in 2002 and the Inkwell Awards hall of fame in 2020. He is survived by his wife, Virginia, and his sons Romita Jr and Victor.
