JOHN ROMITA SR.
Real Name: John Romita
Identity/Class: Human, citizen of the United States
Occupation: Retired, formerly Marvel Comics art
director
Group Membership: None
Affiliations: Fantastic Four (Human Torch/Johnny
Storm, Invisible Woman/Sue Storm, Mr. Fantastic/Reed Richards, Thing/Ben
Grimm), Iron Man (Tony Stark), Marvel Bullpen (Gerry Conway, Archie
Goodwin, Jack
Kirby, Stan
Lee, George Perez, Roy Thomas, John Verpoorten, Len Wein, Marv
Wolfman), Namor, Spider-Man (Peter Parker),
Enemies: None
Known Relatives: Virginia Romita (wife), John
Romita Jr. (son), three unnamed sisers and a brother
Aliases: None
Base of Operations: New York City, New York
First Appearance: Sub-Mariner I#19 (November, 1969)
Powers/Abilities: John Romita possesses no known
superhuman abilities. A gifted visual storyteller with a talent for
handling other creatives, he successfully worked in the comic business
for decades.
Height: 5'10" (by approximation)
Weight: 160 lbs. (by approximation)
Eyes: Brown
Hair: White (formerly brown)
History:
(Marvel Two-in-One Annual I#1 (fb) - BTS) - John Romita
was born in New York City on January 24th, 1930. Growing up in the city,
he became known as Johnny Romita. In his early teens, he worked as a
delivery boy for some Manhattan doctors.
(Marvel Two-in-One Annual I#1) - In 1942, Johnny was in
the city just as the time traveling Thing (Ben Grimm) arrived. The hero
stood out in the city and was about ready to get into a scrape with some
cops who believed he was up to no good. Johnny stood up for the
stranger, claiming he was just a little crazy. Ben thanked the kid for
his help, but it did little good. The cops opened fire and forced Thing
to deal with them. Moments later, the fight ended when an air raid alarm
sounded and the Nazi villain Skyshark and his squadron attacked. Armed
with a pair of binoculars, Johnny told Ben all about Skyshark and then
looked on in amazement as Red Raven, Jack Frost, Thin Man and Blue
Diamond showed up to deal with the menace. Johnny and Ben even had a
brush with Miss America who rushed by them, undressing to reveal her
costume as she went.
(Peter Parker: Spider-Man I#89 (fb) - BTS) - At a certain point,
John met and married his wife Virginia Romita.
(Sub-Mariner I#19 (fb) - BTS) - His talent for drawing landed Romita a
job with Marvel comics.
(Sub-Mariner I#19) - John Romita was enjoying a day at
Coney Island with several of his Marvel colleagues when the Sub-Mariner
washed ashore. Romita watched how police tried to arrest the furious
Namor who attacked them before diving into the water to get away.
(Iron Man I#85) - John, his wife Virginia Romita and
several members of the Marvel Bullpen approached the immobile form of
Iron Man minutes after the golden Avenger's fight with the Freak. John
wanted to see if Iron Man was dead, but noticed the armored hero
gesturing at a nearby transistor radio. Romita made sure Iron Man got
the device which he used to restore minimal power to his armor. The
Romitas, along with Stan Lee and John Verpoorten then watched Iron Man
deploy his built-in rollerblades and skate off towards Stark
International in Queens.
(Fantastic Four I#176) - John Romita was tending to his duties as art
director at Marvel when the offices were besieged by the Impossible Man
who had come looking for Stan Lee to put him in a comic. Impy's arrival
was followed by the Fantastic Four, leading to a brawl in the bullpen
that included Romita's office. Watching the ruckus from a safe distance,
Romita wondered if he could possibly get Thing and the others pose for
some covers while they were there. The altercation ended when Mr.
Fantastic pressured Lee into agreeing to produce a one-off Impossible
Man comic.
(Spider-Man I#89) - In a desperate attempt to get away
from Shotgun, Spider-Man crashed through the skylight of John and
Virginia Romita's apartment. Only briefly stunned to see the Stunned to
see the vigilante hero, John told Virginia to get behind him. Spider-Man
wasted no time, telling the Romitas to inform their landlord 'that no
account scoundrel Spider-Man' had wrecked their place, that way the
insurance would cover the damages. He then kicked open their front door
and dashed off.
Comments: Created by Roy Thomas (writer), Marie Severin (pencils), Johnny Craig (inks).
John Romita is of course the 616-counterpart of the
legendary artist who helped define Marvel's look as art director from
the early 1970s through the 80s and early 90s. "Jazzy John" as Stan Lee
dubbed Romita was a mainstay of the bullpen, renowned for his own
artistry. He was the first to draw Amazing Spider-Man after Steve Ditko
left even though he initially worried he wouldn't be the right fit for
the book. Romita's take on the character helped cement his popularity
for decades.
Profile by Norvo
CLARIFICATIONS:
John Romita should not be confused with
Spider-Man I#89 p6, pans1&2 (main image)
Marvel Two-in-One Annual I#1 p17, pans 3&4 (meets Thing)
Fantastic Four I#176, p18, pan5 (wondering about covers )
Appearances:
Sub-Mariner I#19 (November, 1969) - Roy Thomas
(writer), Marie Severin (pencils), Johnny Craig (inks), Stan Lee
(editor)
Iron Man I#85 (April, 1976) - Len Wein & Roger Silfer
(writer/editor), Herb Trimpe (pencils), Marie Severin (inks)
Marvel Two-in-One Annual I#1 (June, 1976) - Roy
Thomas (writer/editor), Sal Bucscema (pencils) Sam Grainger (inks)
Fantastic Four I#176 (November, 1976) - Roy Thomas (writer/editor),
George Perez (pencils), Joe Sinnott (inks)
Spider-Man I#89 (March, 1998) - Howard Mackie (writer), John Romita Jr.
(pencils), Scott Hanna (inks), Ralph Macchio (editor)
First Posted: 10/20/2021
Last Updated: 10/20/2021
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
Non-Marvel
Copyright info
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