One of the biggest Silver Age Comic Book Titans is no longer with us. Legendary comic book creator John Romita Sr passed away at the age of 93 on Tuesday Night.
John Romita Jr broke the news on Tuesday night, confirming that his father passed away in his sleep peacefully on Monday, June 12th. John Romita Senior was a titan in the Comic Book Industry, he co-created characters such as Mary Jane Watson, Frank Castle (The Punisher), and Logan (Wolverine).
John Romita Senior was born in Brooklyn, New York, on January 24th, 1930. He would later graduate from the Manhattan School of Industrial Art in 1947 and would get his first paid gig at the Manhattan General Hospital at the age of 17. After his time as an Inker at a Lithograph company, he would take on the role of a Ghost Artist at Timely Comics, a precursor to Marvel Comics. Romita would continue his work at Timely Comics and another pre-successor of Marvel, Atlas Comics, even when he was enlisted in the US Army. His early work would include the revival of Captain America around 1953-1954 and the creation of M-11, the Human Robot.
Mr. Romita Sr also did some uncredited work for Marvel’s Rival, DC Comics, during the 50s before he switched over exclusively in 1958, working on titles such as Young Love and Girl’s Love Stories. He would then return to Marvel in 1966, where he would succeed Steve Ditko in Marvel’s The Amazing Spider-Man Issue #39 after Ditko’s fallout with Stan Lee. During John Romita’s tenure on Amazing Spider-Man, it would become the company’s best-selling title, introducing memorable characters such as Mary Jane Watson, George Stacy, The Kingpin, The Rhino, The Shocker, and The Punisher. He would then contribute to 56 straight issues of the main title, including iconic covers, newspaper, and Magazine-format spin-offs.
In 1973, Mr. Romita Sr would become the Art Director for Marvel and would have an influential role in the design of characters such as Wolverine, Luke Cage, The Punisher, Bullseye, and Tigra. His later work includes the debut of Monica Rambeau as Captain Marvel in the 16th issue of The Amazing Spider-Man Annual in 1982 and other commemorative issues across Marvel. Our thoughts are with Mr. Romita Sr’s family, his fans, and the Comic Book Industry.
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