As I mentioned last week, some people thought the announced cover for the gala, life-changing Spider-Man #1000 anniversary issue was lacking. Pencilled by John Romita Jr and painted by Paolo Rivera, it was an upshot of Spider-Man swinging along, but drawn from an angle that made it look like he was shrugging. People found it a bit mid and said so in various places online.
I looked at the cover in the context of previous anniversary issues and it wasn’t the worst and it wasn’t the best. It was fine, though. But in typical fashion, social media ginned it up to a genuine kerfuffle. Apparently TikTokers went berserk with disdain, YouTube was afire and Reddit ran with it.
On Thursday of last week, Marvel released more covers for Spider-Man #1000. The PR did list the Romita cover, but seemed to suggest that a more dynamic Pepe Larraz cover was now a co-main cover. But another outlet reported that the Romita/Rivera cover had been pulled, replaced by the Larraz cover.
You may be surprised to learn that the news that the cover had been PULLED led to even more social media conflagration, and by Sunday it was reported that the OG cover was back on the menu, boys, attributing this information to sources at “the highest echelons.”
I have not had contact with echelons at any level regarding this, but I did look at the PRH Comics listing for the issue, which as of this writing (late Sunday) shows the Larraz cover as “main cover.” I shall check back in the morning to see what has changed – and also looking forward to seeing more of those tasty variants!
Meanwhile, French comics blogger Philippe Cordier did the hard reporting, and reached out to JrJr himself and got a copy of the pencils!
Via Google translate:
A John Jr. fan since 1989, I think I know his work very well, and something bothers me; I feel there’s something “off” about this cover.
So I contacted him and he was kind enough to send me the sketch, which I am sharing with you here.
And then everything became clear when he told me that his initial idea was a black sky, with stars, into which the black of the suit would partially blend (as he did, with Klaus Janson, on the superb cover of the 600th anniversary issue).
Whether it was a change of colorist/painter or, more likely, of editor, the result has little to do with this initial intention.
What a pity!
I’m not saying the result would have been amazing, but inked by him or Klaus, it would have looked something else entirely.
As the pencils spread, and social media storm crows took to celebrating the cover being pulled, this kerfuffle then took a detour, and turned into a well-deserved celebration of the work of John Romita Jr with other cartoonists and fans standing up for him and his work. My own opinion here: John Romita Jr is one of the all time greats, and one of the defining superhero artists of his era. Periodt. That’s it. Anyone taking the #1000 cover as a chance to slag him as an artist is totally off base.
But everyone has good days and bad days. Was the Spidey #1000 his defining work? No. And it didn’t have to be. He’s already defined Spider-Man over and over for decades with some of the most indelible comics images of the era.
If there is any controversy here, it has to do with the oft asked question “what does a comic book editor do, anyway?” In this case, the decision was made to have the sketch painted by Paolo Rivera, himself another generational talent, and one of my absolute favorites. I adore his painted covers that reference classic illustration.
It appears JRJr was going for a more dramatic coloring effect, as shown on his cover for issue #600. The result this time was more flat and static, owing to Spidey’s symmetrical pose and the choice of a flatter blue background. Plus the problematic pose which gives the effect of shrugging, even though that’s not what he’s doing.
So entering entirely into the realm of speculation here, but back when I edited comic books, a cover artist would usually submit a very rough sketch or sometimes two. Nothing finished but enough to get the feel and layout. It’s the editors job to give notes at this stage.. In this case, very probably there weren’t any notes because it’s fucking JRJr. (As an example of this process, one tweet purports to show the original sketch and pencils ASM #600 but I can’t confirm the provenance of these images, so look at your own risk.)
This time, the pencils were rough and needed a lot of work to become a cover. This is where editors do what editors do. The decision to get it painted by Rivera was made somewhere along the way; maybe JRJr’s original concept wasn’t conveyed or maybe the editor had a better idea. But it certainly doesn’t look like what the original concept was. I think an underrated aspect of the initial reaction to the cover is also the clunky placement of so many blurbs and so much text. That Spider-Man 1000 logo is cool though!
When a finished cover comes in there are two possible reactions. The first is “Ohmigod I can’t believe I am lucky enough to do this for a living.”
The second is “Hm.” But you’re up against a deadline so, you….shrug.
Anyway, the comics internet rose to John Romita Jr’s defense, as he is a great artist, and now the cover is a new classic. To be honest, it’s growing on me, too.
Just a few samples because X makes it super hard to embed tweets these days.
I like this cover. The internet has now made it famous. If I was JRJR I would sell prints of this at every show. pic.twitter.com/s5UMpRT1BT
— Jimmy Palmiotti (@jpalmiotti) June 20, 2026
Tanto Romita Jr como Paolo Rivera son EXCELENTES artistas, pero sus estilos (el primero expresionista, casi brutalista y el segundo delicado y naturalista) se pegan bastante.
Still, interesante resultado, no había necesidad de retirar la portada. pic.twitter.com/YBgCobgjqm— Álex Montoya (@alexmontoya) June 21, 2026
Translation via Twixxer: Both Romita Jr and Paolo Rivera are EXCELLENT artists, but their styles (the first expressionist, almost brutalist, and the second delicate and naturalist) clash quite a bit.
Still, interesting result, there was no need to withdraw the cover.
People just embarrassing themselves talking that JrJr is a bad storyteller in any way. But let dumb people be dumb.
Just look at those amazing pages. It’s definition of Superhero Comics pic.twitter.com/nsP5b5TsWy— Sergei Titov | Commissions are open! (@ArtSergeiTitov) June 21, 2026
I personally really like the cover, both pencils and paints. I think painting realistically over such a stylized style is always going to be a tall order for any painter that regularly paints realism. I can’t imagine trying to interpret an artist like Jock or David Finch with my… pic.twitter.com/RPC876UQqQ
— The Dread duck Pirate Mark Brooks (@MarkBrooksArt) June 20, 2026
MEANWHILE, Romita himself is just honey badgering it with this tweet!
Very happy with the way this new cover came out! First time I’ve ever done a villain in the rain! Doom quest is out now!#doom #marvel #artwork #comic pic.twitter.com/ViSwPS6RbR
— John Romita JR (@JrRomita) June 20, 2026
Stunning stuff! Back to form! The Cordier blog post actually lists a bunch of projects that Romita Jr. is working on now so the man is busy, as he should be.
To sum up my own opinions on this kerfuffle.
Was the original cover the best Spider-Man anniversary cover ever? NO
Should the cover have been pulled? NO
Is all of this hubbub a reflection of the the ICC (Internet comics community) reaction to the general doldrums at Marvel these days? ABSOLUTELY YES
Are JRJr and Paolo Rivera great artists? HELL YES
Spider-Man #1000 hits shelves on September 16, 2026.
The real crime of this cover is the layout. The magazine-style text, the placement of said text; it all cheapens it and makes it look like some dumpy rag. Do better, Marvel.