John Romita was one of the most significant comic artists of Marvel. He passed away recently at the age of 93. In addition to The Amazing Spider-Man, the artist also created cult figure Wolverine.
On June 14, 2023, John Romita Junior sadly announced in a Twitter post that his father, John Romita Senior, had passed away at the age of 93. He had fallen asleep peacefully.
John Romita shaped the appearance of several heroes in the Marvel universe with his drawings. For several years, he worked on the “The Amazing Spider-Man” comics. The mutant Wolverine is also from his pen.
With Spider-Man, a Marvel hero is currently taking over the cinemas. Here you can see a trailer for Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse:
“When I design something, I want it to be practical and functional”
In an interview with the American newspaper Newsday, John Romita shared insights back in 2009 about the creation process of Wolverine aka Logan.
When the artist first heard the name of the hero, he momentarily thought of a “she-wolf,” he explained with a laugh. He was initially only given a name to work on the design.
However, John Romita quickly realized through the encyclopedia in the office that a Wolverine, in English: wolverine, is a small, aggressive, cat-like creature with claws.
Thus, John Romita made the character Logan somewhat grumpy. In the first draft, the superhero was also a smaller figure: “‘He’s wild and small,’ so you make him an angry little guy.”
John Romita also designed the hero’s trademark: the retractable claws. Behind the special feature was a pragmatic thought. The artist explained:
If I design something, I want it to be practical and functional. I thought: ‘If a man has claws like that, how can he scratch his nose or tie his shoelaces?
via Newsday
The character Wolverine made his first appearance in “The Incredible Hulk” issue #180 in 1974. Later, the mutant became one of the most iconic heroes of the Marvel universe through various X-Men comics and solo appearances.
When the special claws were finally brought to the big screen, the artist was very pleased: “When I watched the first X-Men movie, I was sitting in the theater with [my wife] Virginia. When he first retracts his claws, I almost jumped out of my seat. The biggest thrill I got was when I realized that something I created was used on the screen.”
John Romita also gave other characters their recognizable suits and trademarks. He was the one who designed the Punisher’s skull emblem or created the super-villain Bullseye.
Here you can find another article about the celebrated Marvel artist: One of the most significant comic artists of Marvel has passed away, who brought you The Amazing Spider-Man
