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I don’t think calling this man one of the single most important comicbook creators ever is a misstatement. Neither Marvel Comics nor Spider-Man in particular would be what they are without his contributions. His style defined Spidey’s look even after he left the book, and the characters he had a hand in creating, like Mary Jane, Kingpin, Rhino, and others, not to mention his design input on Wolverine and Punisher among others was key in introducing some of the most lasting, iconic characters ever.

So here’s to one of the greatest of all time. Godspeed, John Romita!

Got any favorite issues or images he worked on? I’ve always been particularly fond of Rhino’s debut. He made the character look imposing and insurmountable - that when Spidey finally overcame him, it felt like an accomplishment.

I was mostly a reader of DC comics in my early youth, but I think it is fair to say that John Romita Sr. is responsible for the following personal (to me) growth in my appreciation for comic book artists, because of the Ditko -> Romita transition on Spider-Man (as experienced via ever-present reprints of the 1970s):

• This guy draws differently from the other guy
• The change isn't so bad

I don't intend those bullets to be insulting, or offering particularly deep insights outside of my own thinking. I simply want to remark that for me as a child, having direct exposure to two different artists that provided palatable(*1) representations of fun comic stories that I wanted to ingest, was almost certainly the seed of me (eventually) developing an appreciation for comic art styles that (at first blush) were not as immediately visually appealing to me. This is not to say that this transition gave me an immediate new love for Jack Kirby's(*2) art, it's just that I think JR Sr showed how fertile the soil could be to allow something different-yet-familiar to bloom.

(*1) The word palatable is chosen because I think it best describes how many children approach new approaches to familiar material that is presented to them... particularly with foods!

(*2) I have a deep meta-appreciation for Jack Kirby's style, but I have to admit that I still have do immediate child-like step-back when I see his work. Mentally, I ascribe this reaction to the dynamism he put on the page that my child-self wasn't prepared for.

There's got to be someone building a "Face it, St. Peter, you just hit the jackpot" obit comic.

With his passing, at his age, I'm starting to think that comic book writers and artists some how can magically live for some time past the average age of a human being.