John Romita Sr: Man behind one of the most iconic Marvel comics passes away at 93

John Romita Sr was one of the greatest comic book artists from the Golden Age of Comics. He refined Spider-Man for multiple generations. He also served as Marvel's Art Director from 1973 until the early 2000s. He passed away on Wednesday, June 14, at 93 due to old age. John Romita Jr, his son, broke the news of his demise. "I say this with a heavy heart," Romita Jr wrote. "My father is a legend in the art world, and it would be my honour to follow in his footsteps. Please keep your thoughts and condolences here out of respect for my family," he added.

Romita hailed from Brooklyn and graduated from the School of Industrial Art, Manhattan, in 1947. He started his career with Famous Funnies and went on to work with a lithograph company. In 1951, Romita got drafted into the United States Army. Stationed in New York City, he introduced himself to Stan Lee, the Editor-in-Chief at Goodman's comic book company. He worked for the company for the next seven years and helped in the relaunch of Captain America in 1953.

Romita also worked in DC, where he became their most famous romance comic book artist. Later, Romita joined Marvel Comics and became a regular artist on Daredevil. He soon moved to Marvel's second-largest title, Amazing Spider-Man, succeeding Steve Dikko in 1966.

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John Romita Sr's re-designs made Spider-Man a global icon. He turned Peter Parker into a heartthrob. His versions of Gwen Stacy and Mary Jane were also a hit. He gave resonance to the action and drama scenes.

As the Art Director, Romita designed many characters like the Wolverine and Punisher. His art became essentially the signature style for Marvel from a licensing perspective. He designed the comic pages to create powerful imagery. Romita's methods led to many iconic sequences in his issues. Due to the Marvel Method, Romita co-wrote the series while making the comics. Spoiler alert! Romita and Gerry Conway decided to kill Gwen Stacy 50 years ago. In 2002, he received a place in the Will Eisner Hall of Fame.

John Romita Sr's wife, Virgina, would also come to work at Marvel in 1975 and remained there until the mid-1990s. His son, John Romita Jr, is also one of Marvel's most notable artists in the past 40 years.

(With inputs from agencies)

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