14-06-23 | Legendary Marvel artist John Romita Sr. has passed away at the age of 93. Romita was known for his work on Spider-Man and his role as Marvel Comics’ art director. His son, an acclaimed comic book artist is his own right, announced that he died peacefully in his sleep two days ago.
After a stint drawing romance titles at DC Comics, Romita was offered work at Marvel Comics. Following Stan Lee’s falling out with artist Steve Ditko, John Romita took over his illustrative duties on Amazing Spider-Man in 1966. Soon after, sales of Amazing Spider-Man increased significantly. As art director Romita oversaw the design of iconic characters such as Wolverine, the Punisher and Luke Cage. Work on other series included Captain America and many Marvel anthology titles.
Romita left Marvel in 1996, returning for special projects on several occasions. His son, John Romita Jr., has also pursued a career in comics and regularly contributes to current Spider-Man titles. Announcing the death of his father, he added: ‘He is a legend in the art world and it would be my honor to follow in his footsteps. Please keep your thoughts and condolences here out of respect for my family. He was the greatest man I ever met.’