Silver Age Legend John Romita Dies

Goodbye To A Superhero Master Artist

The very sad news has reached us that John Romita, Marvel Silver Age legend, has just passed away at the age of 93. Here’s a few tributes from around the industry…

Here’s the tribute from his son and fellow artist John Romita Jr

“I say this with a heavy heart,” Romita Jr wrote. “My father … 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.”

This was just put up by Walter Simonson, industry legend

Scott Dunbier, IDW’s Special Projects Editor, offered this tribute on Facebook

British artist Al Davison gave his own tribute

Flesk Publications founder John Fleskes gave his own tribute too

British artist Des Taylor created a visual tribute to him

Shannon Eric Denton had this to say

Here’s what head of Image Comics Eric Stephenson had to say about his passing

“I think it goes without saying that most everyone at Image, from the founders on down, has on some level admired or been influenced by John Romita, Sr.’s artwork. Even if his particular style wasn’t a direct inspiration, his gift for bringing characters to life and his eye for detail most certainly were. All the Marvel superlatives—“fantastic,” “incredible,” “mighty,” “astonishing,” and most of all, “amazing,” applied to him—both as an artist and a human being. He will be deeply missed.” —Eric Stephenson, Publisher at Image Comics

Here’s a tribute from British chat show host Jonathan Ross on Twitter

A sad, sad day for those of us who grew up adoring and obsessing over Marvel comics. The great John Romita Sr has died. A wonderful artist and a truly beautiful, kind, generous, compassionate and thoughtful man. He was the rock that provided a gloriously rendered foundation to… pic.twitter.com/1R8W0y9lEm

— Jonathan Ross (@wossy) June 14, 2023

Sean Phillips, artist on Image graphic novels like Reckless and Night Fever and regular collaborator with Ed Brubaker at the publisher, put up this tribute too

RIP John Romita, the best Spider-Man artist. pic.twitter.com/dDPGrw7caH

— Sean Phillips (@seanpphillips) June 14, 2023

Mark Millar, Scottish writer, had this to say about his passing

I just heard that John Romita Sr has died. Definitive Spider-Man artist, legendary Marvel art director, father of my great friend Johnny Jr & one of the most beloved human beings in the biz. If we can all end our careers with even A FRACTION of those triumphs we’re doing well. pic.twitter.com/6PdZlXxSov

— Millarworld (@mrmarkmillar) June 14, 2023

Finally from Guardians Of The Galaxy director and head of DC Studios James Gunn he put this up

Sorry to hear about the great comic book artist John Romita Sr passing at the age of 93. My brother & I wrote Mr. Romita when we were young kids & sent him drawings of superheroes we were working on. He wrote us back, telling us what he liked about the drawings! A truly… pic.twitter.com/VV1slBPmwH

— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) June 14, 2023

Here is our entry on Romita from our 101 Greatest Comic Artists of All Time list. We offer our condolences to his friends and family

Tripwire’s 101 Greatest Comic Artists Of All Time: No.56: John Romita