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Today (June 14) the comic book world mourns as one of its most revered comic book artists/creators/legends has passed away.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, OG Marvel comic book artist and creator, John Romita Sr. has died at the age of 93. With a “heavy heart,” his son, John Romita Jr. took to Twitter to announce the sad news this past Tuesday night (June 13) while giving his father his flowers writing, “He is a legend in the art world and it would be my honor to follow in his footsteps.”
For those who aren’t familiar with John Romita Sr.’s career, the man wasn’t just a talented comic book artist, but also co-created some of your favorite iconic superheroes such as Wolverine, The Punisher, Luke Cage and Spidey’s wifey, Mary Jane Watson.
The Hollywood Reporter reports:
One of five kids, Romita Sr. was born in Brooklyn, the son of a baker. He graduated from the Manhattan School of Industrial Art in 1947, served in the U.S. Army and was working in comics by age 19, getting published in Eastern Color’s Famous Funnies.
For a decade and a half, he split time between the companies that eventually would become Marvel and DC — Timely Comics and National Comics, respectively — working on a number of titles and gaining a reputation for his romance comics.
In 1966, Romita began a five-year run working Marvel editor-in-chief Stan Lee on The Amazing Spider-Man. He took over for artist Steve Ditko, who had created the famed webslinger with Lee in 1961 before leaving in a spat with the comic book legend.
Luckily for the comic book universe, his son, John Romita Jr. has already been carving out his own niche in the comic book world for a while now and seems to be properly carrying the Romita legacy into the next generation and beyond. His father must be proud.
After news of his passing hit social media, many of his peers and others who’ve worked in the comic book industry took to their pages to pay homage to the comic book legend with kind words and appreciation for his work. Check out some of the tributes below and let us know your feelings in the comments section below.
