This one’s tough. Last night in a post on Twitter artist John Romita Jr. announced that his father, the legendary artist John Romita Sr., has died. According to Romita Jr., his father “passed away peacefully in his sleep.” Romita Sr. was 93 years old.
“I say this with a heavy heart,” Romita Jr. said in the post. “My father passed away peacefully in his sleep. 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.”
Tributes to John Romita Sr., who for a generation of readers was the definitive Spider-Man artist, have poured in on social media from figures across the comics industry. Here’s just a small handful of them:
John Romita Sr. was a pillar of the Marvel Universe, and his talent defined decades of Marvel's most well-known stories and characters. The Marvel family has lost one of its legends, and we mourn the loss of a creative giant. Our hearts are with his family and loved ones. pic.twitter.com/Wj0I7TPuNs
— Marvel Entertainment (@Marvel) June 14, 2023
Just heard the heartbreaking news that John Romita, Sr. has died. He was the artist who introduced me to the Spider-Man. One of the great joys of my career was working with him on a story called "The Kiss." A wonderful artist, a masterful storyteller…and an incredibly nice man. pic.twitter.com/T5ILZhlBce
— J.M. DeMatteis (@JMDeMatteis) June 14, 2023
I just heard that John Romita Sr has died. Definitive Spider-Man artist, legendary Marvel art director, father of my great friend Johnny Jr & one of the most beloved human beings in the biz. If we can all end our careers with even A FRACTION of those triumphs we're doing well. pic.twitter.com/6PdZlXxSov
— Millarworld (@mrmarkmillar) June 14, 2023
John—it goes without saying that your father was an amazing, beautifully talented draftsman and artist who inspired and entertained so many generations of fans and creators. But for me, he was more than that. Your dad was just an incredible role model whose insightful words… https://t.co/oemxd7Qguz
— Jim Lee (@JimLee) June 14, 2023
John Romita Sr. leaves behind a hell of a legacy. His work epitomized the charm and appeal of comics. He was unquestionably one of the major architects of Marvel Comics.
I met him briefly once and found him to be just as kind and joyful as I expected. A wonderful man.
— Michael Cho (@Michael_Cho) June 14, 2023
John Romita died!? To show you what a nice person he was, a few years back, when I did some work with @heroinitiative, he sent me a small sketch of Spider-Man just to say thank you. In his late 80s and STILL looking out for creators. HE’S the one we should forever thank. pic.twitter.com/59YWXj3a4Q
— Brad Meltzer (@bradmeltzer) June 14, 2023
Big RIP to John Romita Sr. One of the all time greats pic.twitter.com/zrLEM8EO4V
— Villalobos (@RamonVillalobos) June 14, 2023
Rest in Peace, John Romita Sr. There's going to be a whole lot of "Spider-Man No More" today but for my money this is one of the all-time great covers from anybody. Not an obscure pick I'll admit but every time I see this again it knocks me back. pic.twitter.com/Yp8DcmtHaz
— Doc Shaner (@DocShaner) June 14, 2023
The Silver Age doors are closing.
John Romita RIP pic.twitter.com/FVMB3aNKeV— Michel Fiffe • HeroesCon table ii-1309 (@MichelFiffe) June 14, 2023
A master of style, storytelling, developer of the best paper-made-human beings and world building, in a way most of us just will spend our full careers chasing for. Thanks for everything John Romita, your works and influence will live forever. pic.twitter.com/4rjSX3kirq
— Bruno Redondo (@Bruno_Redondo_F) June 14, 2023
RIP John Romita.
Like many, my first Spidey comic was drawn by Romita – a digest reprint of Spectacular Spider-Man Magazine #2, which reprinted one of my favorite Green Goblin stories. I still shudder at the sequence where Norman realizes he's the Goblin. Romita's art was magic. pic.twitter.com/z2nne1EiRh
— Alex Segura won the LAT Book Prize! (@alex_segura) June 14, 2023
John Romita was the biggest inspiration to me at a critical point artistically once I began delving into the history of comic art. His Spider-Man run is THE Silver Age run. This is the first thing I ever bought at a comic-con, I had to have it. RIP to the master. https://t.co/6PdcxhKCWO pic.twitter.com/AZzi3rCixU
— Jordan Gibson (@gibsonagogo) June 14, 2023
Hard to put into 240 characters how much John Romita’s work/legacy means to me. Like…where to even begin? He’s in the same pantheon as Kirby for me. A “profound impact” barely scratches the surface. “The man, the myth, the legend” has never rung truer.
Rest in peace, Mr. Romita pic.twitter.com/hK1n1uKad9
— Mitch Gerads (@MitchGerads) June 14, 2023
Rest in peace legend John Romita! pic.twitter.com/kbZDY5nab6
— Paul Harding (@HardingArt) June 14, 2023
Sorry to hear about the great comic book artist John Romita Sr passing at the age of 93. My brother & I wrote Mr. Romita when we were young kids & sent him drawings of superheroes we were working on. He wrote us back, telling us what he liked about the drawings! A truly… pic.twitter.com/VV1slBPmwH
— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) June 14, 2023
John Romita Sr.’s career, which primarily consisted of work for Marvel Comics, spanned over sixty years. His first comics work came in 1949, when Romita Sr. was 19 years old, on the Eastern Color Printing series Famous Funnies, and soon after he began working for publisher Timely Comics, the company that would become Marvel. Throughout the ’50s and early ’60s Romita Sr. worked on romance and war comics for Timely/Marvel and DC Comics, before joining Marvel full-time in 1966, first as the artist on Daredevil and then taking over for departing artist Steve Ditko on Amazing Spider-Man.
Romita Sr. was joined primarily by inkers Mike Esposito and Jim Mooney during his run as penciller/layout artist on Amazing Spider-Man, which began with 1966’s issue #39 and ran through 1973’s issue #119. During that time Romita Sr. designed and helped introduce Marvel mainstays including Mary Jane Watson, The Kingpin, The Shocker, and more.
In ’73 John Romita Sr. became Marvel’s Art Director, a position he held through the rest of the ’70s and ’80s. In that role, he designed the looks for a number of iconic Marvel characters including Wolverine, The Punisher, Bullseye, and Black Widow, among others.
Romita Sr. remained active as an artist, drawing short stories and doing cover work well into the 2000s. He was inducted into the Will Eisner Awards Hall of Fame in 2002.
The Beat offers its sincere condolences to John Romita Sr.’s family and friends.
