I know I shouldn't talk a lot about comics but I just need to address this issue. Overtime, there has been a lot of complaints regarding the artwork of one of the great comic artists John Romita Jr.
There has been a lot of talk about how ugly his art has become through the years. They said it's a bit chunky and blocky type. Though I may agree with some of these posts, I really think that there are some things that contributed to it.
I collected comics in the Speculator Boom of the 1990. At this particular period, comic art has been defined by Image Comics, a new company formed by former Marvel comics artists who wanted more creative freedom over their creations. The market then followed art trends from the likes of McFarlane, Lee, Liefeld and others. Soon, Campbell and Turner followed. These fantastic works ofart are what dominated the market at that time. If they don't draw the way they draw, then their art is considered sucky. John JR., who made numerous works at that time, was overshadowed by these hotshots that they never thought that he produced good comics. He worked on a Punisher comic, and had some runs on X-Men and Spider-Man. The first time I looked at his art, since being new to comic collecting, I also felt that it is also ugly. I shied away from comics that he is doing. However, As I matured in my taste of comic art, John JR. did one his best work to date: Daredevil: The Man Without Fear limited series with Frank Miller. His art here was top notch. From the struggles of a young Matt Murdock that lost his sight,to his training with Stick, to his first run-in with the Kingpin, John JR. delivered. Great facial expressions, fight scenes, and even a uniform used by Murdock, that was used in the NetFlix series, He gave strength to Miller's script. See, we were conditioned by the market to follow these so called "Hot" artists and that if they don't draw that way, then it's a fluke.
Another factor is that John Romita Jr. also works really fast. He never skips a monthly title and keeps up with the schedule. he does his best to render the pages clearly. This maybe one of his pitfalls though, as he maybe giving us more of a layout type of art, in which I agree with some critics of his art being lazy. He does not do full detailed pencils, and relies on inkers to do the art for him. Thisn however, cannot be faulted to him as the editor oversees everything before the final product rolls out. He still has the last say on this. The editors should have demanded John tighter pencils rather than let inkers work their magic. Klaus Janson, for my opinion did a really great job, but in issue 7 and 8 of the Punisher War Journal series, Mike Manley and some other inkers did the inking job. The result: a thing of beauty. Also, John did an amazing job on that series, specially issue 7. Other series or storylines that he did great art was the Incredible Hulk: Return of the Monster story arc. The silent issue is one of his bests, as he detailed how the Hulk transformed while inside a car, ripping the car to shreds.
This is John Romita Jr. in a nutshell. For me, he is one of the best artists in the industry. Sure, he has misses, but doesn't everyone have? They say he rendered Superman really bad, but didn't he have a run with Thor? If he is doing bad art, shy is he still working. I guess that the editors should encourage him to give more tigther pencils, and pay more attention to details. And yes, since he draws faster than others, he maybe also missing out on some important details. Let him be advised not to do quantity over quality.
But bad art: NO!!!
Brian Luciano
07/04/17
BTW Happy Independence Day USA!!!!
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