John Romita Sr. Trivia | 35 facts about the comic book artist

John Romita Sr. was an American comic book artist best known for his work on “The Amazing Spider-Man”.

Let’s find out some trivia and facts about his life and career.

1. His full name was John Victor Romita Sr.
2. He was born onJanuary 24, 1930
3. He died on June 12, 2023
4. He was an American comic book artist
5. He was best known for his work on Marvel Comics’ The Amazing Spider-Man
6. he was also the co-creator of characters including Mary Jane Watson, the Punisher, and Wolverine
7. Romita was the father of John Romita Jr., also a comic book artist
8. And the husband of Virginia Romita, for many years Marvel’s traffic manager
9. His first comics work was in 1949 as a ghost artist for Timely Comics, the precursor to Marvel
10. Through this Romita met editor-in-chief Stan Lee
11. In 1951, Romita began drawing horror, war, and romance comics for Atlas Comics (previously Timely)
12. He also drew his first superhero work, a 1950s revival of Captain America
13. He began working exclusively for DC Comics from 1958–1965
14. He was the artist for many of their romance comics
15. During these years, Romita further developed his ability to draw beautiful women, which he later became well-known for
16. Romita joined Marvel in 1965
17. He initially drew Daredevil comics
18. In 1966, Spider-Man artist and co-creator Steve Ditko left Marvel, and Romita was chosen by writer Lee as the new artist for The Amazing Spider-Man title
19. Within a year of Romita becoming the Spider-Man artist, The Amazing Spider-Man rose from Marvel’s second-best-selling title to the company’s top-seller
20. Romita brought a new romance style to Spider-Man comics
21. This style soon became the new house style for the character
22. In June 1973, Romita was promoted to Marvel’s art director
23. He heavily influenced the look of Marvel comics throughout the 1970s and 1980s
24. He was inducted into the Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame in 2002
25. Romita received an Inkpot Award in 1979
26. Romita was inducted into the Inkwell Awards Joe Sinnott Hall of Fame in 2020
27. John Romita Sr. married childhood sweetheart Virginia Bruno in November 1952
28. She also worked on staff at Marvel from 1975 to 1996
29. They lived in Brooklyn’s Bensonhurst neighborhood until 1954
30. Then they bought a house in the Queens neighborhood of Queens Village
31. Some years later, the family moved to Bellerose, New York, on Long Island
32. He and his wife had two sons, Victor and John Jr. (born August 17, 1956)
33. John followed in his footsteps to become a noted comic-book artist himself
34. Romita died on June 12, 2023
35. He was 93 years old