528 ROMITA, JOHN, SR
Romita Jr. is most synonymous with Spider-Man. Th ough he has long since moved
out from his father’s shadow, the infl uence of the elder Romita can be seen in the
energetic layouts and dynamic poses of Romita Jr.’s pages. Romita Jr.’s linework is
distinctive in its angularity and grittiness; his comics are also recognizable for their
eff ective use of shadow and detailed backgrounds.
Romita Jr. possesses a remarkable range; he has proven himself adept at creating both
the grand, often cosmic scale required for the adventures of characters like the X-Men
and Th or, as well as realistic urban environments. His fondness for New York — the city
of his birth — shines through in much of his work (and perhaps helps to explain some of
his fondness for Spider-Man). Romita Jr.’s work on Spider-Man is enriched with many
of the city’s identifying characteristics: majestic skylines, crowded streets, water towers,
intricate networks of fi re escapes, endless rows of brownstone buildings. Even the fi lthy,
dangerous corners of Hell’s Kitchen that were so integral to his work on the monthly
Daredevil series in the 1980s and the limited series exploring the hero’s origin, Daredevil:
Th e Man Without Fear (with writer Frank Miller in 1994), speak to his commitment to
detail. Shortly after the September 11, 2001 attacks on New York City, Romita Jr. and
writer J. Michael Straczynski devoted an issue of Amazing Spider-Man to memorializing
the victims; in it, Spider-Man, along with numerous Marvel heroes and villains, surveys
the horrors of Ground Zero and attempts to comprehend the damage done to his city.
Romita Jr. entered creator-owned comics with Th e Gray Area , a three-issue limited
series involving a dead New York cop exploring supernatural realms, co-written by
Glen Brunswick and published by Image Comics in 2004. More recently, Romita Jr.
has collaborated with writer Mark Millar on Kick-Ass , a creator-owned venture from
Marvel’s Icon imprint. Th is series, which has subsequently begun development as a
major motion picture, involves violence that is more graphic and disturbing than most
of Romita Jr.’s previous work.
Of contemporary artists working in mainstream comic books, Romita Jr. is among
the most prolifi c. His ability to produce issue after issue without the assistance of a
fi ll-in artist is becoming increasingly rare. During one span from 1998 to 2000 he was
doing full pencils on two monthly series — Peter Parker: Spider-Man and Th or. Th is
kind of productivity is almost unheard of in modern monthly comics. He returned to
Amazing Spider-Man in 2008, becoming one of a rotating team of creators contributing
to the title’s weekly publication schedule. In yet another testament to his capabilities,
Romita Jr. is set to pencil a 60-page story in an upcoming anniversary issue, Amazing
Spider-Man #600.
J. Gavin Paul
ROMITA, JOHN, SR. (1930–). Born in Brooklyn, New York, John Romita graduated
from the School of Industrial Art (now known as Art and Design) in 1947. Milton
Caniff and Noel Sickels were his primary early infl uences and he was a great admirer
of Jack Kirby and Gil Kane. His fi rst work was penciling a 15-page romance story
for Famous Funnies which was never used. In 1949 he was asked by a friend who
