USA: John Romita Sr.

John Romita, Sr. (better known as simply John Romita) (born January 24, 1930) is a comic book artist best known for his work on The Amazing Spider-Man for Marvel Comics in the 1960s. He came to the book as a replacement for Steve Ditko, bringing his clean, romantic style of illustration into the book, after a brief period of attempting to ghost Ditko. Romita has been quoted as saying that he expected Ditko to return to the book within a few months. When Ditko did not return, Romita had the opportunity to make the character his own. Romita was appointed Art Director when Stan Lee assumed the position of publisher. In that capacity, Romita played a major role in defining the look of Marvel Comics and in designing new characters. Among the characters he helped design are the Punisher, Wolverine, and Brother Voodoo. His son is the comic book artist John Romita, Jr., with whom he collaborated in the 500th issue of The Amazing Spider-Man, drawing the last few pages of the issue. Today, Romita sits on the board of directors of the charity A Commitment To Our Roots.