Loving the JRJr art! What is your favorite run of his?
To me, Johnny is the quintessential modern comic book artist.
You could take literally ANY book he has ever drawn, remove all of the dialogue and lettering, and the story would still be pretty easy to understand. Ever seen his Marvel Tryout pages? Even as a teenager, his plotting and his pencils were perfect.
The key with comics -as you know- is storytelling. Johnny can tell a story better than anyone I can think of, and he can do it in less time. According to popular legend, he once penciled an entire 22 page issue of Spider-Man in a WEEKEND. Think about that. 2 days to plot and pencil an entire issue, and it was good enough to publish. (I have heard the legend repeatedly but I have never heard the specific issue, so please let me know if you know!)
In the “Marvel Art of John Romita, Jr.”, the forward (written by Brevoort, I think) says something like there being plenty of artists who are better at one aspect of comics than Johnny… But nobody can hold a candle to him as a complete package. The guy can draw anything, and make it fun to read and easy to understand.
There are not many people who can do that. Johnny represents a synthesis of the best of the Marvel Bullpen in the 60s and 70s, because it is where he learned and spent his childhood.
He draws figures and fights like a mixture of John Buscema and his Dad, John Romita Sr. Johnny draws machinery and science fiction like Jack Kirby.
John Romita, Sr., Big John Buscema, and Jack Kirby all rolled into one equals John Romita, Jr.
And Johnny spent his childhood family vacations discussing comics with his Dad, and helping his Dad plot out stories. The guy lives and breathes storytelling - and I (clearly) love his work.
As for my favorite JRJR runs:
Wolverine, with Mark Millar. Thor, with Dan Jurgens. Spider-Man, with JMS. Daredevil, with Al Williamson Inks and Frank Miller’s Script. Daredevil, with Al Williamson Inks and Ann Nocenti. Punisher/Batman: Deadly Knights, with Chuck Dixon. Punisher: War Zone, with Chuck Dixon. Hearts of Darkness. And the list goes on and on.
“Wolverine: Enemy of the State” is my current favorite of his.
Agreed! He’s amazing. I really respect his work ethic and I don’t always think he gets the praise he deserves from the fan base. He’s an incredible story teller. Enemy of the State definitely ranks high on my list. Having re-read Man Without Fear recently, that is also at the top of my list. I’m also a big fan of his Uncanny X-Men run with Chris Claremont.
Yes, his original Uncanny X-Men tenure - 176 or 177 until 200-Something - was great stuff. His return arc, beginning with Uncanny 300 was also fantastic. Kinda hard to pick just one or two books he has done as favorites. Johnny AWAYS brings the awesome.
I cannot help but mention his Black Panther work too. Those six issues made me a fan of the character.