Yahoo Finance John Romita Sr., Marvel artist who co-created Wolverine and Mary Jane Watson, dies at 93
John Romita Sr., an influential comic artist who co-created several beloved Marvel characters including Wolverine and Mary Jane Watson, has died. He was 93.
News of his death was announced on Twitter by his son, John Romita Jr., who followed in his father's footsteps and is himself a celebrated Marvel comic artist.
"I say this with a heavy heart, my father passed away peacefully in his sleep," Romita Jr. wrote on Twitter. "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."
I say this with a heavy heart, 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. pic.twitter.com/Pe2K3ywbWX— John Romita JR (@JrRomita) June 14, 2023
Born in New York City in 1930, Romita Sr. graduated from the School of Industrial Art in Manhattan in 1947 and soon entered the fields of commercial illustration and comic book art. Back then, comics were not as defined by the superhero genre as they are today, and after working with Marvel on a brief '50s revival of Captain America, Romita Sr. began to work on DC's then-popular romance comics.
When Romita Sr. returned to Marvel in 1966, he brought the style of romance comics with him to his work on Spider-Man. Following the Marvel departure of Spider-Man co-creator Steve Ditko, Romita Sr. took over as the regular artist on Amazing Spider-Man and helped make it Marvel's single most popular comic over the following years. Ditko had given Peter Parker a nerdy, alienated look, but Romita Sr. drew him as a romantic hero — and gave him a beautiful new love interest in the form of Mary Jane Watson, whom Romita modeled after actress Ann-Margret. Romita Sr. is widely credited with transforming Spider-Man into Marvel's most iconic character.
John Romita JR/Twitter John Romita Sr.
Romita Sr. later transitioned into being Marvel's art director for the next few decades. In that capacity, he helped design characters like Wolverine, the Punisher, and Luke Cage. He also served as a mentor to younger artists.
"When I started at Marvel back in '91, John was there to help out guys like me if we had questions or needed any help with what we were working on," comic writer/artist Jimmy Palmiotti recalled in a Twitter thread.
A Story about JOHN ROMITA: When I started at Marvel back in 91, John was there to help out guys like me if we had questions or needed any help with what we were working on. Always handy with tracing paper and a pencil to guide us to a better place in our drawings. He did this...
— Jimmy Palmiotti (@jpalmiotti) June 14, 2023
For a number of years, Romita Sr. worked at the Marvel offices alongside his wife, Virginia. They both resigned in 1996 amid Marvel's bankruptcy crisis, disillusioned after being forced to fire talented employees. In Sean Howe's Marvel Comics: The Untold Story, Romita Sr. compared the "intolerable" situation to scenes in the 2009 film Up in the Air, in which George Clooney plays a traveling corporate "downsizer."
One detail not showing up in obituaries is that loyal-to-the-company, tie-wearing, 9-to-5 professional John Romita quit comics in 1995 because Marvel was forcing him to personally fire employees (he compared the process to scenes from UP IN THE AIR). He was 65 years old. pic.twitter.com/bgk4Rgykrg
— Sean Howe / seanhowe.bsky.social (@seanhowe) June 14, 2023
Romita Sr.'s Marvel legacy lives on to this day. For one thing, Romita Jr. is currently the artist on The Amazing Spider-Man.
"John Romita Sr. was a pillar of the Marvel Universe, and his talent defined decades of Marvel's most well-known stories and characters," reads a statement from Marvel shared on social media. "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."
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
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