Renowned comic book artist John Romita Sr., known for co-creating iconic Marvel characters such as Wolverine, the Punisher, and Mary Jane Watson, has passed away at 93.
The news of his death was announced on Tuesday night via Twitter by his son, John Romita Jr., who is also a celebrated comic book artist. Romita Jr. expressed his grief, stating that his father passed away peacefully in his sleep.
He described his father as a legend in the art world and expressed his desire to honor his legacy by following in his footsteps. Romita Jr. requested that people share their thoughts and condolences on the platform, out of respect for his family, acknowledging his father as the greatest man he had ever known.
Born in Brooklyn, John Romita Sr. was the son of a baker and grew up as one of five children. He graduated from the Manhattan School of Industrial Art in 1947 and later served in the U.S. Army. Romita Sr. began his career in comics at the young age of 19, with his work being published in Eastern Color's Famous Funnies.
Over the course of his career, Romita Sr. contributed to both Marvel and DC, working for Timely Comics and National Comics, respectively. He gained recognition for his contributions to romance comics and worked on various titles for over a decade and a half.
In 1966, Romita Sr. embarked on a significant five-year collaboration with Marvel editor-in-chief Stan Lee on The Amazing Spider-Man. He took over from artist Steve Ditko, who had co-created Spider-Man with Lee in 1961 before parting ways with the company. Romita Sr.'s tenure on Spider-Man introduced several iconic characters, including Mary Jane Watson, a love interest for the web-slinging superhero, and the crime boss Kingpin.
Under Romita Sr.'s artistic direction, Spider-Man surpassed Fantastic Four in popularity and became Marvel's flagship title, solidifying the character's status as the face of the company.
In 1972, Romita Sr. assumed the role of Marvel's unofficial art director, which was officially formalized a year later. During this time, he played a pivotal role in the design of characters like Luke Cage, the Punisher, and Wolverine. Additionally, Romita Sr. mentored a group of in-house artists known as "Romita's Raiders," who would correct or replace pages that were deemed unusable, often without receiving credit for their contributions.
Romita Sr. served as Marvel's art director for over two decades, while also producing artwork for various titles. One notable accomplishment was his cover art for The Amazing Spider-Man Annual No. 21 in 1987, depicting the long-awaited wedding between Peter Parker and Mary Jane. After departing from Marvel in 1996, Romita Sr. entered semi-retirement but continued to work on numerous Spider-Man projects for Marvel, as well as contributing a cover illustration for DC's Superman, marking his first collaboration with the rival company in over 50 years.
