Marvel Comics artist John Romita Sr dies aged 93
Marvel Comics legend John Romita Sr, who helped to make characters such as Wolverine and Spider-Man’s girlfriend Mary Jane Watson, has passed away aged 93.
He even had a hand in other characters, such as Kingpin and the Punisher.
His demise was declared on Tuesday by his son and fellow comics artist John Romita Jr, who confirmed his dad had “passed away peacefully in his sleep”.
“He is a legend in the art world, and it would be my honour to follow in his footsteps,” he shared on social media.
Born in Brooklyn, New York, Romita graduated from Manhattan’s School of Industrial Art in 1947 and was in the military before beginning to art in comics.
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He earned a prestige working on titles for firms that would become Marvel and DC – Timely Comics and National Comics.
From 1966 he was with Marvel editor-in-chief Stan Lee on The Amazing Spider-Man, replacing actual artist Steve Ditko while allowing it to become the firm’s top-seller.
His tenure saw the opening of Spider-Man’s love interest Mary Jane Watson and his enemy Punisher, the assassin, as well as the crime taskmaster Kingpin.
In the early 1970s, Romita became Marvel’s art manager – a position he would serve in for around two decades – contributing to the creation of characters including Wolverine, who first emerged in an Incredible Hulk publication.
He even helped develop Luke Cage, one of the earliest black superheroes to star in a Marvel comic book.
