Kick Ass 3 issue #2 (2013).
John Romita Jr. - also referred to as JRJR - is an American comic book artist, who has worked for Marvel Comics since the 1970s. Just like his cartoonist father John Romita Sr., he has been mostly associated with the 'Spider-Man' series. However, over the years, he has worked with nearly every other Marvel character as well, including drawing 'The Uncanny X-Men', 'Daredevil' and the creator-owned 'Kick-Ass' (2008-2018) with writer Mark Millar. One of Marvel's most productive artists, John Romita Jr. averagely produces artwork for two comic books per month. Since 2013, Romita has branched out with working for DC Comics as well, doing runs on 'Batman' and 'Superman' titles.
Early life
John Salvatore Romita Jr. was born in 1956 in New York City. His father was the famous comic book artist John Romita Jr., who in the 1960s redefined 'The Amazing Spider-Man' at Marvel Comics, before becoming the company's art director. His mother Virginia later worked as Marvel's traffic manager. As a child, Romita Jr. enjoyed watching his father while he was working at his drawing table. One of his first recollections was observing how his dad drew the cover for 'Daredevil' issue #12 (1965), while he patiently answered all his son's curious questions. The younger Romita would spend hours sitting on the floor by his father's side, making his own drawings. At the age of thirteen, he designed character called the Prowler, who inspired the Marvel superhero of the same name introduced by Stan Lee, John Buscema and Jim Mooney in 'The Amazing Spider-Man' #78. It marked the first of many contributions by John Romita Jr. to the Marvel universe.
Early in his career, his father remained the biggest influence on Romita Jr.'s art, particularly his sense for cinematographic storytelling. Through his father, he was also introduced to the work of Jack Kirby and John Buscema, who also became important inspirations. Outside of comics, his influences include illustrator Charles Dana Gibson and the painter N. C. Wyeth.
'The Past... of Future Days' (The Uncanny X-Men #184, 1984), pencils by John Romita Jr. and Dan Green.
Marvel bull-pen
While Romita's father encouraged his son's artistic ambitions, he wasn't keen on him following in his footsteps and preferred him to become a commercial artist instead. As a result, John Romita Jr. studied advertising art and design at Farmingdale State College in East Farmingdale, New York. Graduated in 1976, Romita Jr. still got his way and joined the comic book industry. He got a job as production assistant in the "Marvel Bullpen", a nickname for Marvel staffers working at the in-house art studio. His early years at Marvel were mostly spent logging and correcting submitted comic pages. His first produced artwork appeared in comic books by Marvel UK, the British branch of the company. In England, the American comic books were published in two parts in black-and-white magazines, for which Romita Jr. drew an additional cover and a splash page. His first solo job was the six-page story 'Chaos at the Coffee Bean', written by Steve Edelman and published in 1977 in the eleventh Spider-Man Annual. During these early years, being John Romita Sr's son was hardly an advantage. Many of his colleagues assumed he owed his job to nepotism, pressuring him to prove himself.
Through editor Steve Edelman, Romita Jr. landed his first regular gig on a Marvel comic book, working with intervals on 'Iron Man' between 1978 and 1982. At this point in his career, Romita wasn't doing full art duties yet. He provided lay-outs and breakdowns, after which Bob Layton did the finished pencil art and inking. Between 1990 and 1991, he briefly returned to the 'Iron Man' character, this time doing full pencil duties on John Byrne-scripted stories during the 'Armor Wars II' storyline. In 1980, Romita Jr. did full pencil art on a story for the fourth X-Men Annual, working with writer Chris Claremont and inker Bob McLeod. Between 1983 and 1986, he was doing breakdowns for 'The Uncanny X-Men' on a regular basis, this time with Dan Green providing the finished art. During this period, writer Chris Claremont introduced the character of the mutant weapons contractor Forge, who was first drawn by John Romita Jr. in issue #184 (August 1984).
'Now Strikes the Hobgoblin!' (The Amazing Spider-Man #239, 1983), pencils by John Romita Jr. and Frank Giacoia.
The Amazing Spider-Man
By the time Romita Jr. began doing regular work on the 'X-Men', he was already associated with 'The Amazing Spider-Man'. From 1980 on, he was doing breakdowns for artists like Jim Mooney, with Denny O'Neil writing the stories. Starting with issue #224 (January 1982), Roger Stern became the title's writer, by when Romita Jr. gradually shifted towards doing full pencil art, while Jim Mooney and Al Milgrom did the inking. Until issue #250 (March 1984), Stern and Romita had a popular run on 'The Amazing Spider-Man', that included fan-favorite stories like an epic showdown with the Juggernaut (#229-#230) and the introduction of the Hobgoblin (#239). While working on Spider-Man, Romita Jr. developed his preference for drawing "street level" heroes. Characters like Spider-Man and later also Daredevil were relatable to him, since they came from the same New York neighborhoods. Writer Stern urged the young artist to take inspiration from his own life, and Romita began drawing his own apartment, neighborhood and friends in his pages.
Dazzler #2 (1982).
Short-lived projects
In between his jobs on regular series, Romita Jr. was assigned to several short-lived titles. In the late 1970s, he was involved with writers Tom DeFalco, Roger Stern and editor Jim Shooter in the development of the character 'Dazzler', a mutant superheroine with the ability to convert sound vibrations into light and energy beams. The character was intended for a cross-promotional multi-media project between Casablanca Records and Marvel Comics, but this deal fell through. After her initial introduction in 'The Uncanny X-Men' #130 (February 1980) and a couple of other Marvel titles, 'Dazzler' received her own miniseries written by Tom DeFalco, with the first issue cover-dated March 1981. John Romita Jr. co-drew the first three issues, which also featured pencil art by Walter Simonson and Alan Kupperberg.
John Romita Jr. also penciled the three-issue crossover miniseries 'Marvel Super Hero Contest of Champions' (1982), in which a variety of Marvel heroes engage in a sort of superhero contest. The title was originally intended as a celebration of the 1980 Summer Olympics held in Moscow, but that plan was halted when the United States canceled their participation as a protest against the 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Since most of the work on the comic had already been done, the Marvel team reworked the storyline and released it as a limited series two years later.
In 1986 and 1987, John Romita Jr. worked on early issues of 'Star Brand', an attempt by Marvel editor-in-chief Jim Shooter to establish a new "shared universe" within Marvel Comics, featuring new characters without any connection to the company's already existing superheroes.
'Daredevil - The Man Without Fear' (1993).
Daredevil
By 1987, Romita Jr. was fed up with the comic book industry, since he was still constantly compared to his father. He was about to turn to advertising illustration, when editor Ralph Macchio asked him to become the lead pencil artist of the 'Daredevil' title, working with writer Ann Nocenti and inker Al Williamson. Starting his run with issue #250 (January 1988), Romita later credited both Macchio and Nocenti for helping him improve his storytelling skills. 'Daredevil' was the first comic book in which Romita was actively involved in the creation process, without being limited to doing breakdowns. During this period, his art style matured by becoming more experimental. His collaboration with inker Al Williamson resulted in the introduction of the trademark shadowy textures and gradations in his artwork. As a character, Daredevil also appealed to Romita. The secret identity of blind lawyer Matt Murdock, Daredevil was, like Spider-Man, a typical New York City street hero. During Romita's run, which lasted until issue #282 (July 1990), new characters like Typhoid Mary were introduced. The blind superhero was also confronted with otherworldly supervillains like the Avengers enemy Ultron and the demon Mephisto. In 1990, Romita left the 'Daredevil' title for his second run on 'Iron Man'. In 1993, Romita Jr. and inker Williamson returned to collaborating on the 'Daredevil' character for 'Daredevil: The Man Without Fear' (1993-1994), a critically acclaimed five-issue limited series containing a new origin story for the character, written by Frank Miller.
1990s miniseries
During the early 1990s, John Romita Jr. drew the crossover graphic novel 'Ghost Rider, Wolverine, Punisher: Hearts of Darkness' (1991), written by Howard Mackie, and was the original artist of 'The Punisher: War Zone' (1992), drawing the first eight issues written by Chuck Dixon. He also penciled the two-issue miniseries 'Cable - Blood and Metal' (1992), written by Fabian Nicieza, while doing fill-ins on 'The Uncanny X-Men'. In addition, Romita did artwork on the Marvel/DC crossovers 'Punisher/Batman: Deadly Knights' (1994) and the one-shot 'Thorion of the New Asgods' (1997).
The Amazing Spider-Man vol. 2 issue #36 (December 2001).
Return to Spider-Man
During the 1980s and 1990s, Romita Jr. occasionally returned to the Spider-Man universe for a couple of fill-in issues of either 'The Amazing Spider-Man' or its companion title 'The Spectacular Spider-Man'. During the mid-1990s, he did artwork on a couple of limited series that focused on the Peter Parker clone Ben Reilly, starting with 'Scarlet Spider' with writer Howard Mackie (1995) and then 'Spider-Man: The Lost Years' (1995-1996), with writer J.M. De Matteis. At the time, Peter Parker had given up his secret Spider-Man identity to retire with his pregnant wife Mary Jane, and Ben Reilly became the new Spider-Man in all of Marvel's Spider-Man titles.
Starting with issue #65 (January 1996), Mackie and Romita became the regular writer-artist team on the spin-off title called simply 'Spider-Man'. Even though the change to Ben Reilly as Spider-Man was intended to be permanent, Marvel's new editor-in-chief Bob Harras revoked the plans and ordered the reinstatement of Peter Parker. Starting with issue #75 (November 1996), Peter Parker returned to his role as Spider-Man and the 'Spider-Man' title was renamed to 'Peter Parker: Spider-Man'. Mackie and Romita remained the title's regular authors until its original run came to an end with issue #98 in December 1998. They resumed their roles with issue #1 of the reboot of 'Peter Parker: Spider-Man' in January 1999. Romita drew that title until issue #19 (July 2000), after which Mark Buckingham replaced him as pencil artist.
Later that year, Romita Jr. took over from Erik Larsen as penciler of the rebooted 'The Amazing Spider-Man' title, also written by Howard Mackie. With issue #30 (June 2001), famed television scriptwriter J. Michael Straczynski started his popular run on 'The Amazing Spider-Man', still with Romita Jr. on pencil art. Notable was the December 2001 issue (#36), which served served as memorial to the victims of the September 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City. Another important event during the Straczynski-Romita run was Aunt May finally discovering that Spider-Man is the secret identity of her nephew Peter Parker. With the December 2003 issue, 'The Amazing Spider-Man' resumed to its original numbering, starting with issue #500. To mark this memorable event, the issue had pages drawn by both John Romita Jr. and his father, John Romita Sr. After an extensive four-year run on 'The Amazing Spider-Man', Romita Jr. left the title with the July 2004 issue (#508), after which Mike Deodato took over. In 2008-2009, John Romita Jr. returned to 'The Amazing Spider-Man' once again, drawing the 'New Ways To Die' and 'Character Assassination' storylines, written respectively by Dan Slott and Mark Guggenheim.
'Wolverine' Vol.3 #30 (2005).
Relaunches and reboots
Having settled upon his efficient and personal drawing style, Romita Jr. became one of the few Marvel artists capable of working on two monthly titles at the same time. During his tenure on 'Peter Parker: Spider-Man', he also relaunched the 'Thor' title with writer Dan Jurgens, remaining the regular artist from issue #1 (July 1998) through #25 (July 2000). His work on this mythology-themed title proved that Romita Jr. was capable of creating cosmic adventures in addition to earthbound stories. After 'Thor', JRJR also had regular stints on 'The Incredible Hulk' (2002-2002) with writers Paul Jenkins and Bruce Jones, and on 'Wolverine' (2004-2005), which marked his first collaboration with writer Mark Millar.
'World War Hulk' #1 (2007).
With writer Reginald Hudlin, Romita Jr. originated the reboot of the 'Black Panther' title (2005), penciling the first six issues. In 2005, he also drew the eight-issue miniseries 'Sentry', a superhero originally created in the late 1990s by writer Paul Jenkins and artists Rick Veitch and Jae Lee. In 2006, Romita collaborated with writer Neil Gaiman on a seven-issue miniseries reinterpretating Jack Kirby's 'The Eternals'. After that, Romita returned to the Hulk while penciling the five-issue central miniseries of Marvel's 2007 crossover storyline, 'World War Hulk', written by Greg Pak. In 2007, he also drew the one-shot graphic novel 'The Last Fantastic Four Story', of which Stan Lee was credited as the writer. It was presented as the Fantastic Four's last mission before their retirement. Romita Jr. ended his first Marvel tenure with runs on a new 'Avengers' series (2010-2011), written by Brian Michael Bendis, and penciling the first ten issues of the relaunched 'Captain America' title (2013) with writer Rick Remender.
'The Gray Area' #1 (2004).
The Gray Area
In the early 1990s, Romita Jr. passed on the invitation to join the foundation of Image Comics, a new publishing imprint dedicated to creator-owned comic books. Instead, he stayed with Marvel Comics as one of the most productive artists on their titles. It wasn't until 2004 before Romita first branched out to another company. With writer Glen Brunswick and his regular inker Klaus Janson, he joined Image Comics to do the creator-owned three-issue miniseries 'The Gray Area', about a corrupt cop and womanizer who is executed for double-crossing a drug cartel. Instead of being sent to Hell, he ends up in "The Gray Area", where he is forced to combat evil for an afterlife police force in order to gain a shot at redemption.
Kick-Ass
Four years after 'The Gray Area' (2004), Romita launched another creator-owned series, with Scottish writer Mark Millar and inker Tom Palmer, this time for Marvel's Icon imprint. With its first issue cover-dated February 2008, the black comedy 'Kick-Ass' (2008-2014) gave a whole new, gritty perspective on superheroes and vigilantes. The main character is the teenager Dave Lizewski, who wonders why no one in real life has ever become a superhero and decides to give it a try. With no actual training, he tackles crime in a green suit, ski mask and batons. Despite taking some hard knocks, his actions as Kick-Ass become so popular that more real life superheroes show up, most notably Big Daddy and his daughter Hit-Girl. Unlike the other amateur "superheroes", who mainly parade in their outfit and hand out blankets to the homeless, this duo really knows their stuff. The young teenager Hit-Girl in particular chops up gangsters without blinking an eye. Together with Kick-Ass, they do a lot of damage to the local gangsters.
Kick-Ass vol. 1 issue #3 (2008).
Because of their over-the-top ultra violence, often aimed at underage characters, the 'Kick-Ass' comic books caused controversy, but also quickly gained a cult following. The first eight-issue miniseries was followed by the seven-issue 'Kick-Ass 2' (2010-2012) and eight issues of 'Kick-Ass 3' (2013-2014), as well as a five-issue 'Hit-Girl' spin-off (2012-2013). In 2018, the series was picked up by Image Comics, which reprinted the original series in four paperback graphic novels under the banner 'Kick-Ass: The Dave Lizewski Years'. Millar and Romita made six issues of a new 'Kick-Ass' series (2018-2019), focusing on a new junior mob fighter Patience Lee. From issue #7 on, this series was taken over by writer Steve Niles and artist Marcelo Frusin. That team also produced the next series, 'Kick-Ass vs. Hit-Girl', published between November 2020 and March 2021. In addition, Image Comics launched a separate 'Hit-Girl' series (2018-2020), which had a successive change of writers and artists for each story arc.
A fan favorite in the indie comics scene, 'Kick-Ass' was adapted into a 2010 feature film, directed by Matthew Vaughn. The sequel 'Kick-Ass 2' was releaed in 2013, directed and by Jeff Wadlow.
'Superman Year One' (2019).
DC Comics
In 2013, Romita Jr. had been working at Marvel Comics for 37 years, working himself up to one of the company's A-list creators. At this point in his career, he had found success with 'Kick-Ass' and, as his Marvel exclusive contract was coming to an end, he was toying around with the idea of turning freelance and focus on creator-owned projects. But a meeting with DC Comics publisher Dan Dido changed his plans. Romita was offered a run on DC's flagship character 'Superman' with writer Geoff Johns, and he took the plunge, taking along his inker Klaus Janson. The Johns-Romita run started with issue #32 of August 2014, and took off with the 'The Men of Tomorrow' story arc.
After concluding his 'Superman' run after fourteen issues, Romita Jr. began working with the Batman characer, starting with the graphic novel 'The Dark Knight Returns: The Last Crusade' (2016), written by Brian Azzarello and Frank Miller. He then worked on five issues of the 'All-Star Batman' (2016-2017) series with writer Scott Sndyer and inker Danny Miki, before doing the 'Burning Down the House' story arc in five issues of 'Suicide Squad' (2017), written by Rob Williams and inked by Richard Friend. With Jim Lee and Andy Kubert, Romita Jr. was on the production team of the 'Dark Days: The Forge' and 'Dark Days: The Casting' one-shots (2017).
In 2018, Romita Jr. penciled three issues of DC's 'The Silencer', written by Dan Abnett. With Frank Miller, he made three volumes of the 'Superman Year One' graphic novel limited series (2019), detailing the character's origins. Between 2020 and 2021, he was penciling the Brian Michael Bendis-scripted 'Superman' stories in the Action Comics title, and did occasional fill-ins on 'Batman' stories in Detective Comics and other titles.
Suicide Squad #14 (2017).
Return to Marvel Comics
In 2021, Romita Jr. returned to his original homebase, Marvel Comics. Among his first jobs was the 60-page story 'Death in Four Dimensions', written by Dan Slott and published in 'Fantastic Four' issue #35 (November 2021). Then with writer Joe Quesada, he did the eight-page back-up story titled 'The Four Fives' in tribute to the heroes of September 11, 2001 on the twentieth anniversary. It ran as a back-up feature in a couple of November 2021 Marvel comic books. In mid-2022, John Romita Jr. returned once again as pencil artist on a rebooted 'The Amazing Spider-Man' series, written by Zeb Wells.
Style
Over the years, Romita Jr. developed a very personal and immediately recognizable drawing style, which gained him a large fanbase, but also very vocal critics. Early in his career, JRJR's work was still heavily influenced by his father's elegant drawing style. Gradually gaining his independence, his characters became more angular, and their faces almost cartoony. In interviews, Romita Jr. has stated he's constantly trying to improve himself. Instead of realism, he focuses on the best ways of using visual storytelling. His comics have elaborate establishing panels, dynamic shapes and a strong emphasis on action, emotion and panel-to-panel transition. As shown by Chris Piers on his ComicTropes YouTube channel, Romita Jr.'s pencil art leaves a lot of room for interpretation by his inkers. When working with inkers that suit his style, atmosphere is created by heavy shading, subtle textures and dynamic action lines. But otherwise, the artwork can become too stylized. Regular inkers on John Romita Jr.'s pencils have been Al Williamson, Scott Hanna, Klaus Janson and Tom Palmer. In general, Romita Jr. has been praised for the subtle body language and facial expressions of his characters, and also his meticulous depiction of rain and webbing.
Recognition
With his decades-long career at Marvel Comics, Romita Jr. has become a spearhead in the Marvel stable of artists. In later years, he has also served as a mentor and trainer for young artists that join the company. In 1994, he received the Inkpot Award at the San Diego Comic-Con International. With writer J. Michael Straczynski and inker Scott Hanna, John Romita Jr. won a 2002 Eisner Award for Best Serialized Story, 'Coming Home' in 'The Amazing Spider-Man' issues #30 through #35. In Episode 8 of the 1991–1992 documentary series 'The Comic Book Greats', Stan Lee interviewed both John Romita Jr. and his father.
World's Record for Continuous Cartooning
In 2002, in New York City, Romita Jr. set the world's record for "continuous cartooning" at 48 hours to raise money for his niece Jordan, who at age 2, was diagnosed with a brain tumor, which then spread down her spinal column. Ten years later, Jordan was 12 years-old and free from cancer, but still in need of specific medical attention, including specialized instruction and constant care. Hoping to secure Jordan's lifetime medical and personal needs and assist other children and their families who suffer from cancer and it's residual effects, Romita Jr. set out to break his own record on 4 May 2012 in the Hard Rock Cafe in Las Vegas, Nevada. By continuously sketch characters and sign comics, he set the new world record in support of the Candlelighters Childhood Cancer Foundation of Nevada on 51 hours.
'Spider-Man', artwork by John Romita, Jr.