I have to call you on the Kirby "Jalopy" shot though. That FF issue was on a skrull world that had a 1920s gangland culture. That flying fliver was right on the money.
John Romita Jr is such a formative artist to me. I don't think I would've fallen in love with Spider-Man as a character if it wasn't for his run in the early 2000s
@@BruceWayne-ri4wr I disagree. I still like his work on all star batman and his more recent work on Spider-Man as well. I don't think he was a great fit for superman but otherwise I still like him. I just think he's an acquired taste so I get why people aren't always fond of him
@@BruceWayne-ri4wr I pretty much place him in the same category as Ed McGuinness. All depends on which characters he is drawing. It's kind of weird honestly lol. Some characters he can do well, and others...not so much.
Love JRJR, I will say that he draws the weirdest kids tho. Big adult heads on little bodies. I can see how people think his art quality has dipped in recent years but he is getting old so it's bound to happen. I especially loved his art on the Kick-Ass series. His recent work in asm is still good in my opinion although I think it could benefit with a good inker.
@Dcam Aag I agree with everything you said except the part about a good inker. Scott Hanna is a great inker and worked with JRJR on his original ASM run with JMS in the early 2000s, (Which I believe was when his art was the best). In fact I met him at a con, really nice guy. But other than that you're spot on, in my personal opinion :)
While JR, Jr's art has declined some in recent years as we have seen, I would not say that decline is inevitable - some artists do not decline as much ( like Art Adams or Neil Adams ).
Kick-Ass & his work on All Star Batman with Scott Snyder are the comics that got me into comics. I ADORE his art. Especially when he's put in a dark,gritty,street level titles. Also,his style is very blocky. And I happen to like that. He's also a damn good storyteller.
People seem to forget how important storytelling is in art. Romita Jr can tell a story super efficiently with clean, charismatic art. That is not an easy task
I like when someone else gives due credit to inkers: not to take anything away from JRJR, but his Al Williamson inked stuff achieved something unique for both of their careers. A while back you already noticed that Williams is half of Jim Lee’s career. Inkers matter, a lot.
I started comics with JRJrs first X-Men run, and then followed him to Daredevil (with gorgeous Williamson inks!). I think his evolution to his blocky style laid the groundwork for me to fall in love with Kirby's Fourth World Era art, which struck me as extremely ugly until my late 30s/ early 40s. Now I "get" it.
No one achieves anything in life completely on their own. His name absolutely 100% got his foot in the door, but his talent and his professionalism gave him his career. In an era when a lot of "top" pencillers were struggling to turn in two issues a year, he was turning in two issues a month that were as good or better.
Great video as usual, Chris! Romita Jr is one of my favourite comic book artists of all time, and I think that sometimes readers might overlook the superb storytelling because of the more angular style. I think another great book of his was his 6 issue run on Black Panther back in 2006
One of the best of all time. His blocky draftsmanship ,his meticulous line work has made him one of the most unique ones artists that have ever graced mainstream consciousness👍😛😃
Jr Jr's work on Uncanny Xmen from 175-311 is phenomenal. Uncanny Xmen #207's cover, is to me at least, THE most iconic Wolverine art EVER. Juniors art simply gets the job done in the best way sequential art should be; precise, easy to read and flowing in its storytelling. One of my major influences for sure
I started reading comics in 2013, so my introduction to JRJR was his run on Superman. I remember hating all the promo stuff and not understanding what people saw in this guy. I changed my mind on him when the book came out and I got to see his storytelling. He instantly won me over. I even got the Director’s Cut of Superman 32 signed by him at the first con I attended! That said, I feel like he also needs a good colorist that complements his style for his work to really pop. Awesome video. Glad you made it!
I like Rominta Jr's style. Reminisent to the artists that I grew up with: John and Sal Buscema, Ross Andru (wondered if you covered his Spider-Man run in the 70s?) Great synopsis as per usual. UK fan.👌
Grew up with the Andru/Esposito Spidey, but we can't forget about Gil Kane and his incredible Spidey work especially with John Sr inking. Gil had his style and tropes, but they were sharp and dynamic.
John Romita Jr really brings the pages of a comic book to life. His art is so profoundly wonderful, I couldn't possibly say enough about him! ❤️ Great video Chris ❤️👍🏻
John Romita Jr. is maybe my favorite artist and inspired me as a kid to start drawing myself. I absolutley love his art and I am so glad that you made this video.
I have always loved John Romita Jr art. He was the very first comic book artist I learned the name of, his art was some of every first from the medium I was exposed to and he'll always hold a position in my Top 5 comic artists of all time. His art is absolutely beautiful, deceptively simple and really drove me to try drawing comics as a kid. A true legend of the industry.
Met Romita at London comic con and have a Hit Girl sketch he did for me hanging in my office at home. All the money he collected that day he donated to retired artists. Top man. And for a man older than Miller, he looked half Miller's age.
Gotta respect a man of his talents. I thought his blocky style didn’t look so great when I was a younger comic fan. But when I look at it now I appreciate that he was making a unique vision. Now I prefer his younger work. Such is art.
I love John JR, specially his Spider-man and mostly his HULK run with bruce Jones. his style looks great on a bulky character like the hulk. With Superman beeing my favorite, his work really didn't meshed with me on Superman, seeing i feel that he needs to look a very sertain way, where people can experiment with someone like the hulk, make him look brutal and gnarly etc, felt his style worked on spider-man as well..
You said it all better than I could! 100% agree with everything here. John is my favourite artist of all time and there’s a indescribable feeling of comfort and nostalgia whenever I see his work.
Romita JR is on my top 5 favorite Spider-Man artists list. His work can sometime look odd? But I can never say I hate his work as I love his blocky art style.
I feel like people tend to exaggerate JRJR's individual drawing and say thats bad but somehow downplaying his biggest strength of readability....his comic reads so well! I read Neil Gaiman/JRJR Eternals run and even though Neil's dialogue and such was kind of clunky imo JRJR's storytelling and transitions b/w panels were so great....I never had to go back and double check anything because I could understand the story pretty ok. imo the comic doens't really need individual beautiful panels....as long as it reads good and has good stories that's what's most important.
One of my very favorite. I had a lot of his work from when I was a kid but it wasn't until I was sick at 12 that Uncanny 300 came out and I made a point to know his name. And like you, Man Without Fear has kept me on board ever since. I know some of his DC stuff got messy, but if the new Amazing stuff is the sign of him going forward than I'm happy to see it. Great piece. Makes me want to finally go back and read that Nocenti/JRJr run.
The way Jim Shooter tells it JRJR left his first run on X-Men to do the art for Starbrand because Shooter was such a swell guy. JRJR said Shooter offered him more money and promised that the character was going to be the "Superman" of the New Universe. I tend to believe the latter!
Star Brand's slightly 'cartoony' style is great! My favourite JRJR is the Daredevil run with Ann Nocenti, but he continues to produce fantastic work. The recent variant cover of Daredevil #1 by JRJR inked by John Romita is fantastic!
i remember JRJ's runs on Spidey and Xmen in the 80's. I didn't really follow him after that until i picked up Punisher War Journal No.1 in the 90's....i was really amazed by how much his style had changed. And i absolutely loved it.
Came to point out that you'd credited Paul Smith's Storm to John Romita, Jr and relieved to see you posted the correction already yourself. I appreciate the passion that you have for him as an artist and you definitely pointed out some things I hadn't noticed before about it. I'm in the middle of re-reading Claremont's run on Uncanny X-Men and I was curious what you'd have to say about his work on that title. I'm not surprised to find not a lot there...I don't think that's his strongest work nor do I think he was a good fit for the title. Paul Smith was definitely my most pleasant surprise in revisiting the title, elegantly conveying more emotion with one or two lines than any other artist on the title before of since has been able to display with many more. Dave Cockrum's wonderfully fluid character work almost stands completely opposite JR JR's...I never stop being surprised by how many characters Cockrum's inventive figure work can fit into a single panel and the ways in which the fluidity really draws the eye gracefully from panel to panel. JR JR's blocky figure work creates much more bombastic action but I think sacrifices some of that gentle flow of action in the process. I think he was an excellent fit for Daredevil, however, and one thing I'm surprised you didn't mention was the way his artwork captures many of the conventions of the film noir tradition with deeply immersive urban environments that seem on the edge of swallowing their characters whole and characters that almost always stand cloaked in deep shadows.Overall great video, though!
JR Jr really got me to appreciate comic book art and sent me down a rabbit hole of finding out more about the artist themselves and that led me to your channel 😄
Romita Jr is a complicated artist for me. I admit I did not enjoy his work on the X-Men (there are exceptions), but I think he was absolutely *perfect* for Daredevil Man without Fear! I can still internally visualise so many of his images from those comics. But as you say - the final product is very dependent on the Inker adapting his work. As for nepotism, sure it doesn't hurt having an early introduction but it is clear he had to do the work and prove himself. It's what you do with the opportunities offered to you that makes the difference.
I have been saving this episode for over a year in my "Back up Chris Rations Cannister" . I am about 5 minutes into it and I am glad I saved it. Chris is obviously a genius with this stuff. You can tell it brings him genuine joy 👍 You did indeed gush, Chris, but did so in an adult refined manner which my spazzy presence would have impossible "Oh my god!! Dude!! Look at the foreshortening on this panel!!! "Look at at the adorable yet frightened look on Kitty's face in this full page spread" "Dan Green's inks finally let his actual style breath!!" Blah, blah, blah...so thank you Chris, for being the grown up in the room....WHO ALSO TOTALLY LIKES MY GEEKY KID STUFF!!!😂🤣🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘 PS. Nepotism. Bah! Next thing you know some pundit over in the world of rock music will attempt to suggest that Wolfgang Van Halen enjoyed the benefits of... whoops, my point seems to be getting away from me, so I will just slowly remove my fingers from this keyboard and slowly slip out of the room....
I Totally agree with JR ^2 .. I think that is why I decided to jump back into the current ASM. I think his connection to the past and future is what makes him so important with comics today.
John Romita Jr . gave his style of how Spidey look for that time but like Todd McFarlane said,” that any artist could have updated Spider-Man physique and appearances , so that did make me a genius”? No! It didn’t, because any artist could have done it''. I agree with Todd on how it up to the artist imagination on how a character should look.
I mean, one thing is for sure, any artist could have done what Todd did, and most would do it better. I'm talking about his work as a comics artist - he's one of the most overrated artists of all time, absolute Liefeld-level lack of fundamentals. As a businessman, he's obviously great.
I was a HUGE fan of JR Jr's style during the eighties on X-Men, Star Brand and, to a slightly lesser degree, some of the DareDevil stuff. His work was very naturalistic and organic in those days. I don't care for his later more blocky, graphic and, admittedly, more dynamic works that followed. My favorite inks on John, for better or worse, was Dan Green. Dan may not have been particularly masterful but he was very fluid and still strong. John's past work was subtle and gorgeous and never over the top. He was my first artistic inspiration as I didn't discover comics until I was on my way to highschool and was seeking out things that didn't use the same visual language that I had been exposed to (in marketing and advertising) before I started reading/collecting.
Had him sign his first Spidey story, and when I handed it to him, he shook his head and sarcastically said “Thanks SO much for bringinging this to me.” He thumbed through it just shaking his head🤣
I absolutely LOVELOVELOVED JR jr's art back then (started with UXM) and still absolutely LOVELOVELOVE and respect his art style today. I fully appreciate an artist's need and propensity to change and adapt and develop their style over the course of their career. I think that's only natural, as creatives we are never the same month to month, year to year...and stagnation can be a form of death. You are absolutely correct that a lot of the "issues" I've had with his evolving style lay with the inker and or colourist. Crediting mistake aside...Romita Jr. drew a stunningly beauty-full Punk Storm throughout his initial X-Men run.
I liked John Romita Jr.'s artwork back when he was on Daredevil and X-Men back in the 1980s, but it looks so different nowadays that it doesn't appeal to me anymore.
I was just thinking if there were any Marvel characters that JR JR hadn't done and couldn't think of a one. I totes agree on the top 3 inker pairings, with Dan Green a close 4th place. Great video on a very talented creator AGAIN!
I've never exactly been a fan of JR Jr's art, bur I've never straight up hated it either. Thus video really highlights how important a good inker is, though, especially with his work. The inking definitely has a giant impact on whether his art looks good or bad.
I like his Uncanny Xmen run in the 80s the best. he was the artist for the last best run before the team started to break up. lots of cool designs like Nimrod, Forge, the updated Hellfire Club, and the Fenris Twins.
Honestly, I liked his art to a degree way back in the day, but I've disliked his work with a passion pretty much going forward from the 80s. Just don't like those blocky shapes, exaggerated elements (for some reason the way he draws lips and mouths, especially on women really irks me) that emerged in the 90s. Like at 7:04...to me that basically sums up the style over most of his run, and I don't like it. I understand he does convey a lot of action, movement, etc., but I don't like the specific elements.
I remember there being a comic cover from that era and it had bishop holding a gun that I thought was Herbie from the fantastic four because it was so exaggerated. Man without fear is definitely his magnum opus
JRjr was the artist that drew the very first comic, Ucanny X-Men 301, I bought. His style has always been dynamic, and I’ve really come to appreciate his takes on different characters. I first didn’t like his 80s X-men art, but as I’ve gotten older, that attention to detail with clothes and environment is very very good. You did make a good point that subpar inkers make his art look very off. Dude always draws a commanding and powerful Colossus, and I’m always happy to see that.
JRJR was on Spider-Man when I first got into comics about 20 years ago. I started with trades of Silver Age Spidey, so it was cool to see the generational continuity. Now we need a John Romita III to take over ASM in about 15 years!
always loved JR JR thought the way he combined his dad's style plus jack kirby plus a little joe kubert and made it his own thing was awesome. and yes, he has problems drawing little kids
John Romita Jr. is definitely talented (better than I’ll ever be), and, like Jack Kirby, I learned a lot from his art. Hell, my first X-Men drawings was using his art as reference. But, like Kirby, I’m not that big a fan of his art style. Less so the more blocky it became. I actually have no problem with his style on Kick-Ass because those are original characters and really no other style to compare it to. But I’m a HUGE fan of Romita Sr. When it comes to anything Spider-Man, he’s my go to.
Has anyone checked berserk? That late art, that was digital,the faces of some characters reminds me of John Romita jr. Has anyone noticed some similarities?
A lot of people are complaining about jr's art in the current Amazing Spider-Man. I totally disagree, issue #3 is a masterful example of Romitas panel layouts, panel symmetry ,and his dynamic action sequences. It's massively underrated!
John Romita jr has remained on my Mt. Rushmore of greatest comic book artist of all time since the 80’s and his artistic storytelling has only improved. I appreciate the block style, that and his faces are unique and easily identifiable, qualities that separate the popular artists from the unknowns.
I was lucky enough to have subscribed to Iron Man just before JR Jr took over on the book. That run (Michelinie, JR Jr, and Layton) remains in my mind one of the best runs in the history of comics. I agree with many people that his art isn't what it used to be, but for my money his work in the late '70s and 1980s ranks up there with the greats.
While I understand why some won't like JRJR's art, I always felt he did his best stuff on Spidey… probably because my introduction to him was through JMS' Coming Home.
I absolutely adore Romita Jr's art in the JMS run of Spider-Man (one of the hands down best eras for spidey in my opinion) His stuff may be too stylized for some, but there's a charm to it that sets him apart from his father's stellar work. Now, i don't really think i like too much of the stuff in Zeb Well's current run on ASM. The Tombstone stuff was cool and i have mixed feelings on Good Guy Norman, but Romita Jr. doing the art keeps me coming back for each new issue
Romita, Jr. is my favorite artist at Marvel. His panels flow well and his style is extremely unique. He has a way of telling stories without the aid of dialogue. Much like the great Jack Kirby.
I’ve seen an interview with JRJR in which he tells us about some advice his Dad gave him fairly early on about the need to give his characters ‘weight’; imagining that they were almost leaving footprints in the concrete as they were walking. John took this advice very literally, and this was the beginning of his evolution into a more ‘ blocky’ style.
I like his style a lot, I think the biggest problem though is either rushed art sometimes and SPECIALLY how some inkers interpretate his artwork sometimes, then it can look pretty strange or not so good.
I mistakenly showed Paul Smith’s Storm and credited JR JR with inventing that outfit. He drew jt a lot but that’s a mistake.
I was wondering, I'm glad you caught it. Any chance of you doing a look at Paul Smith? To me, he's one of the most underrated artists in the industry
Please also make one about Travis Charest and or those creators artists popular back then ages ago kinda like :"Where are they now?"
I just came here to correct you 😁
I have to call you on the Kirby "Jalopy" shot though. That FF issue was on a skrull world that had a 1920s gangland culture. That flying fliver was right on the money.
That'll be thirty lashes for you, Chris.
(Just kidding.)
John Romita Jr is such a formative artist to me. I don't think I would've fallen in love with Spider-Man as a character if it wasn't for his run in the early 2000s
Completely agree!
Same here, most of the issues I read in my teens was drawn by him
@@BruceWayne-ri4wr I disagree. I still like his work on all star batman and his more recent work on Spider-Man as well. I don't think he was a great fit for superman but otherwise I still like him. I just think he's an acquired taste so I get why people aren't always fond of him
It’s the same for me, though I was partial to his 90s work on Spider-Man.
@@BruceWayne-ri4wr I pretty much place him in the same category as Ed McGuinness. All depends on which characters he is drawing. It's kind of weird honestly lol. Some characters he can do well, and others...not so much.
Love JRJR, I will say that he draws the weirdest kids tho. Big adult heads on little bodies. I can see how people think his art quality has dipped in recent years but he is getting old so it's bound to happen. I especially loved his art on the Kick-Ass series. His recent work in asm is still good in my opinion although I think it could benefit with a good inker.
Agreed!
@Dcam Aag I agree with everything you said except the part about a good inker. Scott Hanna is a great inker and worked with JRJR on his original ASM run with JMS in the early 2000s, (Which I believe was when his art was the best). In fact I met him at a con, really nice guy. But other than that you're spot on, in my personal opinion :)
His art has been terrible since 93 when he was back on Uncanny. It’s weird bc his earlier run was SO MUCH better than just 5-10 years later.
While JR, Jr's art has declined some in recent years as we have seen, I would not say that decline is inevitable - some artists do not decline as much ( like Art Adams or Neil Adams ).
His art quality hasn't dipped though.Its his art style that has changed.
Kick-Ass & his work on All Star Batman with Scott Snyder are the comics that got me into comics. I ADORE his art. Especially when he's put in a dark,gritty,street level titles. Also,his style is very blocky. And I happen to like that. He's also a damn good storyteller.
People seem to forget how important storytelling is in art. Romita Jr can tell a story super efficiently with clean, charismatic art. That is not an easy task
I like when someone else gives due credit to inkers: not to take anything away from JRJR, but his Al Williamson inked stuff achieved something unique for both of their careers. A while back you already noticed that Williams is half of Jim Lee’s career. Inkers matter, a lot.
I started comics with JRJrs first X-Men run, and then followed him to Daredevil (with gorgeous Williamson inks!). I think his evolution to his blocky style laid the groundwork for me to fall in love with Kirby's Fourth World Era art, which struck me as extremely ugly until my late 30s/ early 40s. Now I "get" it.
Excellent work. I’ve been waiting years for a deep dive into JRJR by a commentator with an trained eye. Thx, Chris.
OMG !! One of the comments from my Reddit post was used for this video , I’m so hyped haha !! Great content as always , JRJR is my favorite artist !
I see your points against the nepotism convo, but his name is still Romita; my guy benefited off it regardless
No one achieves anything in life completely on their own. His name absolutely 100% got his foot in the door, but his talent and his professionalism gave him his career. In an era when a lot of "top" pencillers were struggling to turn in two issues a year, he was turning in two issues a month that were as good or better.
@@jawbone78 nothing in my comment discredited his talents. One can both be talented and a product of nepotism.
Hell yeah! I’m on a JRJR binge rn! His run with JMS was how I started reading Marvel back in the day!
Great video as usual, Chris! Romita Jr is one of my favourite comic book artists of all time, and I think that sometimes readers might overlook the superb storytelling because of the more angular style. I think another great book of his was his 6 issue run on Black Panther back in 2006
One of the best of all time. His blocky draftsmanship ,his meticulous line work has made him one of the most unique ones artists that have ever graced mainstream consciousness👍😛😃
Jr Jr's work on Uncanny Xmen from 175-311 is phenomenal. Uncanny Xmen #207's cover, is to me at least, THE most iconic Wolverine art EVER. Juniors art simply gets the job done in the best way sequential art should be; precise, easy to read and flowing in its storytelling. One of my major influences for sure
I started reading comics in 2013, so my introduction to JRJR was his run on Superman. I remember hating all the promo stuff and not understanding what people saw in this guy. I changed my mind on him when the book came out and I got to see his storytelling. He instantly won me over. I even got the Director’s Cut of Superman 32 signed by him at the first con I attended! That said, I feel like he also needs a good colorist that complements his style for his work to really pop.
Awesome video. Glad you made it!
Sundays are my comic tropes day
I like Rominta Jr's style. Reminisent to the artists that I grew up with: John and Sal Buscema, Ross Andru (wondered if you covered his Spider-Man run in the 70s?) Great synopsis as per usual. UK fan.👌
I second the petition for a Ross Andru video, one of the greatest of the 70s and it's criminally underrated
Mike Zeck always stood out too, in that same league.
I’m glad you mentioned Ross Andru’s
His art run on ASM
is by far my favorite 👍🏻
Grew up with the Andru/Esposito Spidey, but we can't forget about Gil Kane and his incredible Spidey work especially with John Sr inking. Gil had his style and tropes, but they were sharp and dynamic.
I always loved his style, it's unique and arguably an acquired taste. I never thought about how an inker could change that perception so drastically!
I can’t help but think he’s quite young, when he’s been around creating for decades . That name and famous dad trick me!
His design for Blackheart is my favorite!
John Romita Jr really brings the pages of a comic book to life. His art is so profoundly wonderful, I couldn't possibly say enough about him! ❤️
Great video Chris ❤️👍🏻
John Romita Jr. is maybe my favorite artist and inspired me as a kid to start drawing myself. I absolutley love his art and I am so glad that you made this video.
I have always loved John Romita Jr art. He was the very first comic book artist I learned the name of, his art was some of every first from the medium I was exposed to and he'll always hold a position in my Top 5 comic artists of all time. His art is absolutely beautiful, deceptively simple and really drove me to try drawing comics as a kid. A true legend of the industry.
Met Romita at London comic con and have a Hit Girl sketch he did for me hanging in my office at home. All the money he collected that day he donated to retired artists. Top man. And for a man older than Miller, he looked half Miller's age.
Gotta respect a man of his talents. I thought his blocky style didn’t look so great when I was a younger comic fan. But when I look at it now I appreciate that he was making a unique vision. Now I prefer his younger work. Such is art.
I love John JR, specially his Spider-man and mostly his HULK run with bruce Jones.
his style looks great on a bulky character like the hulk.
With Superman beeing my favorite, his work really didn't meshed with me on Superman, seeing i feel that he needs to look a very sertain way, where people can experiment with someone like the hulk, make him look brutal and gnarly etc, felt his style worked on spider-man as well..
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You said it all better than I could! 100% agree with everything here. John is my favourite artist of all time and there’s a indescribable feeling of comfort and nostalgia whenever I see his work.
Romita JR is on my top 5 favorite Spider-Man artists list. His work can sometime look odd? But I can never say I hate his work as I love his blocky art style.
I feel like people tend to exaggerate JRJR's individual drawing and say thats bad but somehow downplaying his biggest strength of readability....his comic reads so well! I read Neil Gaiman/JRJR Eternals run and even though Neil's dialogue and such was kind of clunky imo JRJR's storytelling and transitions b/w panels were so great....I never had to go back and double check anything because I could understand the story pretty ok. imo the comic doens't really need individual beautiful panels....as long as it reads good and has good stories that's what's most important.
One of my very favorite. I had a lot of his work from when I was a kid but it wasn't until I was sick at 12 that Uncanny 300 came out and I made a point to know his name. And like you, Man Without Fear has kept me on board ever since. I know some of his DC stuff got messy, but if the new Amazing stuff is the sign of him going forward than I'm happy to see it. Great piece. Makes me want to finally go back and read that Nocenti/JRJr run.
Awesome! John Romita , Jr. Is my favorite comic artist of all time!
The way Jim Shooter tells it JRJR left his first run on X-Men to do the art for Starbrand because Shooter was such a swell guy. JRJR said Shooter offered him more money and promised that the character was going to be the "Superman" of the New Universe. I tend to believe the latter!
John Romita Sr. = The Marvel House Style.
John Romita Jr. = “Which freakin’ year are we talking about?”
Star Brand's slightly 'cartoony' style is great! My favourite JRJR is the Daredevil run with Ann Nocenti, but he continues to produce fantastic work. The recent variant cover of Daredevil #1 by JRJR inked by John Romita is fantastic!
i remember JRJ's runs on Spidey and Xmen in the 80's. I didn't really follow him after that until i picked up Punisher War Journal No.1 in the 90's....i was really amazed by how much his style had changed. And i absolutely loved it.
At least we got a mini Star Brand mention. HIs work there was really good.
Came to point out that you'd credited Paul Smith's Storm to John Romita, Jr and relieved to see you posted the correction already yourself. I appreciate the passion that you have for him as an artist and you definitely pointed out some things I hadn't noticed before about it. I'm in the middle of re-reading Claremont's run on Uncanny X-Men and I was curious what you'd have to say about his work on that title. I'm not surprised to find not a lot there...I don't think that's his strongest work nor do I think he was a good fit for the title. Paul Smith was definitely my most pleasant surprise in revisiting the title, elegantly conveying more emotion with one or two lines than any other artist on the title before of since has been able to display with many more. Dave Cockrum's wonderfully fluid character work almost stands completely opposite JR JR's...I never stop being surprised by how many characters Cockrum's inventive figure work can fit into a single panel and the ways in which the fluidity really draws the eye gracefully from panel to panel. JR JR's blocky figure work creates much more bombastic action but I think sacrifices some of that gentle flow of action in the process. I think he was an excellent fit for Daredevil, however, and one thing I'm surprised you didn't mention was the way his artwork captures many of the conventions of the film noir tradition with deeply immersive urban environments that seem on the edge of swallowing their characters whole and characters that almost always stand cloaked in deep shadows.Overall great video, though!
JR Jr really got me to appreciate comic book art and sent me down a rabbit hole of finding out more about the artist themselves and that led me to your channel 😄
Romita Jr is a complicated artist for me. I admit I did not enjoy his work on the X-Men (there are exceptions), but I think he was absolutely *perfect* for Daredevil Man without Fear! I can still internally visualise so many of his images from those comics. But as you say - the final product is very dependent on the Inker adapting his work. As for nepotism, sure it doesn't hurt having an early introduction but it is clear he had to do the work and prove himself. It's what you do with the opportunities offered to you that makes the difference.
I have been saving this episode for over a year in my "Back up Chris Rations Cannister" . I am about 5 minutes into it and I am glad I saved it. Chris is obviously a genius with this stuff. You can tell it brings him genuine joy 👍 You did indeed gush, Chris, but did so in an adult refined manner which my spazzy presence would have impossible "Oh my god!! Dude!! Look at the foreshortening on this panel!!! "Look at at the adorable yet frightened look on Kitty's face in this full page spread" "Dan Green's inks finally let his actual style breath!!" Blah, blah, blah...so thank you Chris, for being the grown up in the room....WHO ALSO TOTALLY LIKES MY GEEKY KID STUFF!!!😂🤣🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘 PS. Nepotism. Bah! Next thing you know some pundit over in the world of rock music will attempt to suggest that Wolfgang Van Halen enjoyed the benefits of... whoops, my point seems to be getting away from me, so I will just slowly remove my fingers from this keyboard and slowly slip out of the room....
As soon as I saw the title I had to watch. JRJR is one of my favorite artists.
The episode of comic tropes i didn’t know I wanted until I saw in my subscription feed
I Totally agree with JR ^2 .. I think that is why I decided to jump back into the current ASM. I think his connection to the past and future is what makes him so important with comics today.
I never clicked on a video so fast I my life! I love JRJR's art so much, his run on Amazing Spider-Man with Straczynski is what got me into comics
One of my absolute favourite. Romita Junior style influenced a lot of my drawing.
I am firmly in the "JRJR lost his fastball a long time ago" camp. But this video was an incredible retrospective on a legendary artist. Thank you!
John Romita Jr . gave his style of how Spidey look for that time but like Todd McFarlane said,” that any artist could have updated Spider-Man physique and appearances , so that did make me a genius”? No! It didn’t, because any artist could have done it''. I agree with Todd on how it up to the artist imagination on how a character should look.
I mean, one thing is for sure, any artist could have done what Todd did, and most would do it better.
I'm talking about his work as a comics artist - he's one of the most overrated artists of all time, absolute Liefeld-level lack of fundamentals. As a businessman, he's obviously great.
I’ve loved John Romita’s art for a long time and still get excited to see any of his new projects!
Would love to see a video on Marc Silvestri. His run with Claremont on Uncanny X-Men was my all-time favorite of any back when I was reading comics.
perfect Timing - Love U Chris and much Love from Germany
His drape / cloth wrinkling style is so satisfying to look at.
I was a HUGE fan of JR Jr's style during the eighties on X-Men, Star Brand and, to a slightly lesser degree, some of the DareDevil stuff. His work was very naturalistic and organic in those days. I don't care for his later more blocky, graphic and, admittedly, more dynamic works that followed. My favorite inks on John, for better or worse, was Dan Green. Dan may not have been particularly masterful but he was very fluid and still strong. John's past work was subtle and gorgeous and never over the top. He was my first artistic inspiration as I didn't discover comics until I was on my way to highschool and was seeking out things that didn't use the same visual language that I had been exposed to (in marketing and advertising) before I started reading/collecting.
Had him sign his first Spidey story, and when I handed it to him, he shook his head and sarcastically said “Thanks SO much for bringinging this to me.” He thumbed through it just shaking his head🤣
Storm in a mohawk and black leather always make sense
I absolutely LOVELOVELOVED JR jr's art back then (started with UXM) and still absolutely LOVELOVELOVE and respect his art style today. I fully appreciate an artist's need and propensity to change and adapt and develop their style over the course of their career. I think that's only natural, as creatives we are never the same month to month, year to year...and stagnation can be a form of death.
You are absolutely correct that a lot of the "issues" I've had with his evolving style lay with the inker and or colourist.
Crediting mistake aside...Romita Jr. drew a stunningly beauty-full Punk Storm throughout his initial X-Men run.
I love Romita Jr. One the best comic book artist.
Thanks for this wonderful video. JR JR is one of my favourite artists ever. His work is so powerfull, it has this grit and action that just rocks.
I liked John Romita Jr.'s artwork back when he was on Daredevil and X-Men back in the 1980s, but it looks so different nowadays that it doesn't appeal to me anymore.
John romita jr is my fav artist omg ❤️❤️
I was just thinking if there were any Marvel characters that JR JR hadn't done and couldn't think of a one. I totes agree on the top 3 inker pairings, with Dan Green a close 4th place. Great video on a very talented creator AGAIN!
You're like a favorite high school teacher❣️
I've never exactly been a fan of JR Jr's art, bur I've never straight up hated it either. Thus video really highlights how important a good inker is, though, especially with his work. The inking definitely has a giant impact on whether his art looks good or bad.
No mention of Wolverine Enemy of the State? Tremendous work by JRJR
IMO Wolverine: Enemy Of The State and Hulk: Return Of The Monster were both drawn better than his Spidey run alongside JMS
It took a while to be a huge fan of jrjr and frank quitely. but when i figured it out, i couldn't get enough of it.
wonderful video, JRJR is an awesome artist.
The first marvel comic I had was "wolverine agent of shield" and I loved it, not only the story but also the artist behind the drawings.
I like his Uncanny Xmen run in the 80s the best. he was the artist for the last best run before the team started to break up. lots of cool designs like Nimrod, Forge, the updated Hellfire Club, and the Fenris Twins.
Great video! John Romita Jr is a comic book legend who gets way too much hate. He's one of my all time favorite artists
Honestly, I liked his art to a degree way back in the day, but I've disliked his work with a passion pretty much going forward from the 80s. Just don't like those blocky shapes, exaggerated elements (for some reason the way he draws lips and mouths, especially on women really irks me) that emerged in the 90s. Like at 7:04...to me that basically sums up the style over most of his run, and I don't like it. I understand he does convey a lot of action, movement, etc., but I don't like the specific elements.
I remember there being a comic cover from that era and it had bishop holding a gun that I thought was Herbie from the fantastic four because it was so exaggerated. Man without fear is definitely his magnum opus
I think his mouths and lips look Frank Miller influenced.
JRjr was the artist that drew the very first comic, Ucanny X-Men 301, I bought. His style has always been dynamic, and I’ve really come to appreciate his takes on different characters.
I first didn’t like his 80s X-men art, but as I’ve gotten older, that attention to detail with clothes and environment is very very good. You did make a good point that subpar inkers make his art look very off.
Dude always draws a commanding and powerful Colossus, and I’m always happy to see that.
Love JRJR, to me his style is awesome. And another really well done episode, Chris, very informative and fun.
JRJR was on Spider-Man when I first got into comics about 20 years ago. I started with trades of Silver Age Spidey, so it was cool to see the generational continuity. Now we need a John Romita III to take over ASM in about 15 years!
always loved JR JR thought the way he combined his dad's style plus jack kirby plus a little joe kubert and made it his own thing was awesome. and yes, he has problems drawing little kids
John Romita Jr. is definitely talented (better than I’ll ever be), and, like Jack Kirby, I learned a lot from his art. Hell, my first X-Men drawings was using his art as reference. But, like Kirby, I’m not that big a fan of his art style. Less so the more blocky it became. I actually have no problem with his style on Kick-Ass because those are original characters and really no other style to compare it to. But I’m a HUGE fan of Romita Sr. When it comes to anything Spider-Man, he’s my go to.
I love the blocky look maybe that's just me. its a stylized look that captivates me.
Has anyone checked berserk? That late art, that was digital,the faces of some characters reminds me of John Romita jr.
Has anyone noticed some similarities?
A lot of people are complaining about jr's art in the current Amazing Spider-Man. I totally disagree, issue #3 is a masterful example of Romitas panel layouts, panel symmetry ,and his dynamic action sequences. It's massively underrated!
John Romita jr has remained on my Mt. Rushmore of greatest comic book artist of all time since the 80’s and his artistic storytelling has only improved. I appreciate the block style, that and his faces are unique and easily identifiable, qualities that separate the popular artists from the unknowns.
I was lucky enough to have subscribed to Iron Man just before JR Jr took over on the book. That run (Michelinie, JR Jr, and Layton) remains in my mind one of the best runs in the history of comics. I agree with many people that his art isn't what it used to be, but for my money his work in the late '70s and 1980s ranks up there with the greats.
I think the inking made his art work pop so great. The need as much credit
his and miller's superman year 1 is seriously underrated.
10:46 nearly spit out my coffee goddamn
In a way, isn't every artist using an "on time"/deadline style as a professional with a schedule?? Of course every case is different.
There was a Spiderman issue where Joe Sinnott inked his penciled art. I almost lost my mind. Loved the art. Joe Sinnott is one of my favourite inkers
While I understand why some won't like JRJR's art, I always felt he did his best stuff on Spidey… probably because my introduction to him was through JMS' Coming Home.
Just poking my head in to say I like the mohawk Storm design.
I absolutely adore Romita Jr's art in the JMS run of Spider-Man (one of the hands down best eras for spidey in my opinion)
His stuff may be too stylized for some, but there's a charm to it that sets him apart from his father's stellar work.
Now, i don't really think i like too much of the stuff in Zeb Well's current run on ASM. The Tombstone stuff was cool and i have mixed feelings on Good Guy Norman, but Romita Jr. doing the art keeps me coming back for each new issue
Thanks for the video! JRJR is one of my favorites.
Romita, Jr. is my favorite artist at Marvel. His panels flow well and his style is extremely unique.
He has a way of telling stories without the aid of dialogue. Much like the great Jack Kirby.
Thank you for an amazing video on one of the greatest Spidey artists.
I’ve seen an interview with JRJR in which he tells us about some advice his Dad gave him fairly early on about the need to give his characters ‘weight’; imagining that they were almost leaving footprints in the concrete as they were walking. John took this advice very literally, and this was the beginning of his evolution into a more ‘ blocky’ style.
In my opinion his prime was in the 80s with Spider-Man, the X-Men and Daredevil.
JRJR is the most imaginative, original and consistent Marvel artist since Kirby. 💀🔥🕷🕸
JRJR’s Daredevil run is my all time fave.
The amazing episode! I think you should do an ep reviewing artstyle on Bleach by Kubo
His JMS run is my favorite
I like his style a lot, I think the biggest problem though is either rushed art sometimes and SPECIALLY how some inkers interpretate his artwork sometimes, then it can look pretty strange or not so good.
Love Rmita’s work on Dare Devil
JR Jr is still one of my favorites!!
One of the all time greats. Story telling ability is second to none.
IIRC, JR JR is a STROKE SURVIVOR.
I would've liked to learn about how his stroke has affected his art.