Every week How to Love Comics spotlights a comic book artist that should be on your radar. I present you a gallery of their work and then leave you some reading recommendations if you are starving for more. I’ve cleverly titled this Artist of the Week.
This week’s artist is Mr Marvel himself, John Romita Jr. Starting his career in the late 70s, Romita Jr has work on almost every Marvel character over the years. I’m not joking, he’s worked on characters such as Spider-Man, Iron Man, The Avengers, Daredevil, The Hulk, Punisher, Thor, Black Panther, Captain America and Wolverine just to name a few – with many of those on multiple lengthy runs. Although, early in the year he moved to DC Comics and has been working on Superman.
John Romita Jr has a signature style that’s energetic and has a strong attention to detail. As you’ll see throughout the gallery below, he puts plenty of detail into every page – whether it be the flying debris from a fight or the movement and flow of water. You’ll also see plenty of Jack Kirby influence throughout his work of which it’s most obvious through his character’s and minimal use of straigh lines.
Below is a gallery of his work from various points in his career. Enjoy!
John Romita Jr Reading Recommendations
If you’ve enjoyed this gallery and want to read some of John Romita Jr’s work here are 3 comics I highly recommend.
Superman
Written by Geoff Johns and Gene Luen Yang. Art by John Romita Jr. Published by DC Comics.
This is Romita Jr’s current project and is the first title after leaving Marvel. Teaming up with Geoff Johns, they gave Superman a classic vibe, full of heroics, big action but also plenty of smaller moments in between.
John Romita Jr is able to go all out with this story portraying big action, full of destruction and showing off Superman’s wide range of powers with his signature style. He’s also been able to show Superman’s newest power, the explosive Solar Flare, which is portrayed above.
You can see more of his art in the preview for Superman #32.
The first batch of issues (#32-39) on John Romita Jr’s Superman run will be available in the hardcover format as well as digitally.
Daredevil: Man Without Fear
Written by Frank Miller. Art by John Romita Jr. Published by Marvel Comics.
This particular Dardevil story, which heavily influenced the Netflix TV series, goes through the early days of the character when he first dons the mask. It’s a great story full of moral choices that explore Matt Murdock’s motivations and the gritty world that he lives in.
Unlike his other Daredevil work, Man Without Fear is much more grounded with a dark and sprawling urban landscape. Also present in this story is the black costume, which was featured in the TV series. Romita Jr uses this new costume to show the darker side of Matt Murdock with the character looking more threatening and bigger.
Daredevil: Man Without Fear is available in trade paperback as well as digitally.
Kick-Ass
Written by Mark Millar. Art by John Romita Jr. Published by Icon.
Kick-Ass is Mark Millar’s take on the street level vigilante. It’s violent, sweary and takes everything just that little too far. But, if you’ve seen the movie that’s based on this comic then you’d already know that. The series follows teenage Dave Lizewski, who is desperate to become a superhero. Fighting crime on the street, he meets other heroes and teams up with them to take on the local crime boss.
This is probably the bloodest work that John Romita Jr has ever done. There’s lots of blood. Once you’ve gotten past the blood you’ll see that Romita Jr still has plenty of energy in his work. It also stands off the page more than normal thanks to a watercolour wash from colouritst Dean White.
Kick-Ass is collected in trade paperback as well as digitally.
Check out previous Artists of the Weeks.
Have Your Say
Did you enjoy John Romita Jr’s art? If so, will you be checking out any of the comics recommended? You can let me know in the comments below or via Facebook or Twitter
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