Spidey’s greatest artist turns 86!
If Spider-Man is my favorite Marvel hero and John Romita Sr. is my favorite Spidey artist, then I suppose John Romita is my favorite Marvel artist of all time.
I never really thought about it in those terms but I guess it’s true. Because man, I do love Jazzy John Romita’s art.
Romita the elder was born Jan. 24, 1930 and we’re here with our patented 13 COVERS salute.
This and the album cover are bonuses. I included them last year because I will pretty much include them every single time I do a Bronze Age Spidey salute.
Now the thing is, last year I did 13 Spider-Man covers. And Romita did so much more than Spidey. But his Spider-Man speaks to me on such a basic level that I’m going back to that particular well (and I figure I will again and again until there are no covers left.)
So here are 13 COVERS to celebrate the incredible legacy of one John Romita Sr. And if you want to see the 13 COVERS from last year, click here.
(My standard caveat: This is a subjective list and not a ranking of any kind. This is pretty much what I dig and you may feel very differently. So, rather than beef about a cover you don’t see, instead join in the fun and share your own choices in the comments section or in whatever social-media thread you saw this.)
Frank Giacoia inks
Cover images and credits from the amazing Grand Comics Database.
January 24, 2016
Dan, your first paragraphs capture my feelings perfectly. The selections are poster material. This period should be considered the Romantic period of Spider-Man, or perhaps some play on the Romita name, as all the characters images were etched into canon.
January 24, 2016
Sometimes it’s impossible to explain why art affects you the way it does. All I can say about this is “it just does.” Beautiful.
January 24, 2016
Romita is such the consummate draftsman. Truly the house look and style of Marvel. Guess that’s why he was art director. Plain and simple, Romita is the man! Happy Birthday.
January 24, 2016
The back cover of the album is the real treat.
January 24, 2016
When I was a kid growing up, my mom would bring me a bundle of comic books from the thrift store. This bundle of comics always had Spider-man comics. Mr. John Romitas art was the reason I was hooked on Spider-man even up to this day. I am now 61 years old and still look back to those (like gold) back issues that Mr. Romita created back in the day. Thank you Dan for the flash back. And Happy Birthday to greatest comic book artist ever.
January 25, 2016
My all time favorite run of comic books is ASM #39-56 which just happened to be the beginning of John Romita’s run on the book. You made good cover choices (there aren’t many bad ones to choose from) but you left out what I feel is the best cover on any comic book in history; ASM #50: Spider-Man No More! Happy birthday Mr. Romita!
January 25, 2016
One of my absolute heroes and greatest artistic influences. I’m proud to have a copy of ASM #50 hanging on my living room wall.