The Romita Legacy

by Spurgeon, Tom

• ISBN13: 9781933305288
• ISBN10: 1933305282
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2010-05-18
• Publisher: Diamond Comic Distributors

Summary

While Steve Ditko and Stan Lee may have created Spider-Man, it was John Romita Sr. who defined him... Romita came to the book as a replacement for Steve Ditko, bringing his clean, romantic style of illustration to the book. Romita once expected Ditko to return to the book within a few months and when he didn't, history was truly made. A history that is now fully explored by writer Tom Spurgeon and this presentation of the definitive book - lavishly illustrated with classic and unseen art -- starring Jazzy John Romita! From his days before Marvel, through the Sliver Age, and his days designing and creating the characters we know and love still today (including Wolverine, the Punisher and many, many more), Romita: Generations covers it all. Spurgeon's exhaustive interview includes not only Romita Sr., but the second beloved artist in the family, John Romita Jr.! About Tom Spurgeon Tom Spurgeon is one of North America's best-known experts on the comic strip and comic book art forms and the industries that service them. The son of a newspaperman in East Central Indiana, Tom and his brothers helped their father select new strips for the paper's comic-book page, making the Muncie Star-Press one of the first publications to carry "Calvin and Hobbes" and "The Far Side," as well as sone of the few to carry "Rudy." After receiving a broad education at Washington and Lee University and a focused one at Garrett seminary on the campus of Northwestern University, Tom worked briefly for QVC, Inc. Drawing on experience in his nepotism-fueled career as a beat writer, editor and entertainment reporter, Tom in 1994 took the position of managing editor at The Comics Journal in Seattle, Washington. Tom edited the Journal for five years, first as managing editor and then as executive editor. During that time, the magazine won multiple industry awards, increased its focus on world comics and encouraged the comics community to see small press and mini-comics as legitimate artistic outlets rather than a training ground for traditionally published works. In forcing the magazine to build on the breadth and depth of its coverage, Tom helped improve the magazine's general mainstream profile as one of American Arts' most unique and valuable publications. When literary comics began to make a major impact in the late 1990s, the Journal was the gateway publication for many editors and writers to understand the phenomenon. Tom also edited the magazine's infamous "Stan Lee issue" (October 1995) and helped launch its popular companion Web site. In 1999, Tom left the magazine to become a freelancer. He remains a columnist, reviewer and occasional newsman for the publication he previously edited. He has written about comics and a variety of arts-related subjects for Suck.com, Feed, The Stranger, and more than a dozen newspapers and regional magazines. From 1999 to 2002, he wrote the critically lauded newspaper comic strip "Wildwood," which enjoyed a daily presence in more than 18 million homes. He currently lives in Silver City, New Mexico.