John Romita Jr
How does someone follow in their famous father’s footsteps? I mean, John Romita Sr. was and is a legendary artist known for his breathtaking work and ability to tell a story through his craft. If there was ever a case of trying to “fill someone’s shoes”, John Romita Jr. was it. I can only imagine the pressure that was placed on him.
John Romita Jr. was born on August 17, 1956, in New York City, New York and graduated from advertising art and design in 1976. It was in that same year that he received his first true taste of the comics industry. In this year, he began packaging comics for Marvel UK.
John Romita Jr = Marvel = Art
During the time between 1980 and 1983, Romita Jr. was given the chance to take over and prove to the world that he had the same talent that his father had. During this time, he became a regular artist on Amazing Spider-Man. Proving that he was as valuable as his father, Romita Jr. was then tasked with the studio cash cow, the X-Men. He would stay on the title for the years of 1983 and 1984.
It wasn’t until 1988 that things began to change for him. He, alongside with Ann Nocenti took over the lawyer turned vigilante, Daredevil. While on Daredevil, he was able to further expand upon the already impressive run that Frank Miller achieved.
Along came 1990’s to 2000’s
By the early 90’s Romita Jr. had established himself as one of the best artists out there. He worked on many titles for Marvel including, but not limited to, X-Men, Iron Man, Black Panther, Thor, The Incredible Hulk, and of course, the fan-favorite Punisher title, “Punisher War Zone”.
In 1993, he and Frank Miller created arguably their most iconic work, Sin City. While working away at Sin City, he continued to sprinkle his magic on Daredevil title and create yet another fan-favorite storyline, the five-part series called, “Daredevil: Man Without Fear”.
Recently…
His work in the industry became unparalleled and throughout the years, he continually garnered the attention of many notable industry greats. In 2008, he and fellow great, Mark Millar, created the now twice-turned to a movie, Kick-Ass.
The industry shook when in an unprecedented move, John Romita Jr. decided to take his abilities to rival DC Comics. Understanding his talent, DC wasted no time in giving him their flagship hero in Superman and Batman.
Make no mistake about it, since stepping out of the shadows of his famous father, John Romita Jr. is an industry giant. Very few command the attention and respect that he has earned, and I suspect that his best work is yet to come.
Cheers,
Jeff
