J.R. JR. on ASM

[awe4one]

John Jr.'s style has certainly evolved over the years, which I think is a good thing. He seemed to go 'chunky/blocky' when he took over DD & on into his 2nd stint on Iron Man. Now he seems to have gone 'slim' again, but with a rougher look. Sometimes I really like his pages & sometimes I don't. One thing I do appreciate, however, is that he does get his work done on time.

 

Let me go on record as saying I like JR Jr's work. It's unique and art that adds something to the story in my opinion...he's unfairly savaged in these parts in my eyes...

 

Jim

[blowout]

John Jr.'s style has certainly evolved over the years, which I think is a good thing. He seemed to go 'chunky/blocky' when he took over DD & on into his 2nd stint on Iron Man. Now he seems to have gone 'slim' again, but with a rougher look. Sometimes I really like his pages & sometimes I don't. One thing I do appreciate, however, is that he does get his work done on time.

 

Let me go on record as saying I like JR Jr's work. It's unique and art that adds something to the story in my opinion...he's unfairly savaged in these parts in my eyes...

 

Jim

 

So you don't think his art has actually 'devolved' over the years?

I have actually always been a fan of his stuff, but even I have to admit that his current work looks rushed and vastly inferior to his 1980's output.

[Sharkey]

Actually he did a backup story in Amazing Spider-Man Annual 4 in 1970.

 

I don't think so...

 

I believe his first work is in Amazing Spider-Man Annual #11 from 1977. He did a short back-up story in that issue. Annual #4 came out in '67, when John was still just a lad, too young to be drawing anything publishable just yet!

 

John Jr.'s style has certainly evolved over the years, which I think is a good thing. He seemed to go 'chunky/blocky' when he took over DD & on into his 2nd stint on Iron Man. Now he seems to have gone 'slim' again, but with a rougher look. Sometimes I really like his pages & sometimes I don't. One thing I do appreciate, however, is that he does get his work done on time.

 

 

Well, some sources credit him with the back up story in ASM Annual 4. I think you are right and it is a mistake. I think it should say Annual 11. But hey, if it's on the Internet it must be true!

 

http://home.wanadoo.nl/pafrankn/jrj_intro.htm

 

"John Salvatore Romita was born in New York City in 1956, and knew he wanted to be an artist when he saw his father, legendary Spider-Man artist John Romita sr. work at his drawing board. Romita jr's first published work was a six-page backup in Amazing Spider-Man Annual #4, inked by Al Milgrom. His first regular assignment was the acclaimed three-and-a-half year run on Iron Man, with writers David Michelinie and Bob Layton. Included in those stories is the now classic Tony Stark alcoholism storyline.

 

John moved on to become the regular penciler on his father's old series, Amazing Spider-Man. His first issue was #208."

[FFB]

John Jr.'s style has certainly evolved over the years, which I think is a good thing. He seemed to go 'chunky/blocky' when he took over DD & on into his 2nd stint on Iron Man. Now he seems to have gone 'slim' again, but with a rougher look. Sometimes I really like his pages & sometimes I don't. One thing I do appreciate, however, is that he does get his work done on time.

 

Let me go on record as saying I like JR Jr's work. It's unique and art that adds something to the story in my opinion...he's unfairly savaged in these parts in my eyes...

 

Jim

 

I do too. His issues of Amazing Spider-Man from 229-on were my favorite issues of Spider-Man since Gwen Stacy died and were superior to everything that came afterward.

 

Whether you like JR Jr.'s work or not from an aesthetic standpoint (which is a matter of personal preference), one objective measure that I don't think anyone could dispute is JR Jr.'s visual storytelling ability. He has been a master visual storyteller since his run on ASM and I think few artists during the 1980s or thereafter could match him there. When Dan Green was inking his work on ASM (first one was #234, I think), his work was absolutely beautiful. I also liked the issues where JR Sr. and Klaus Janson did the inking.