Comic artist John Romita Sr., best known for his work on “The Amazing Spider-Man” and co-creating characters such as Wolverine, has died at the age of 93.
His son, John Romita Jr., confirmed the news on Twitter on Tuesday night.
“I say this with a heavy heart, My father passed away peacefully in his sleep. He is a legend in the art world and it would be my honor to follow in his footsteps. Please keep your thoughts and condolences here out of respect for my family,” he wrote.
“He was the greatest man I ever met,” Romita Jr., who is also a renowned comic artist, added.
Born on January 24, 1930 in Brooklyn, Romita Sr. graduated from the School of Art & Design in Manhattan before spending eight years at DC Comics.
He later joined Marvel Comics to work with founder Stan Lee on “The Amazing Spider-Man,” and went on to become the company’s art director in the 1970s and 1980s.
He was renowned as a titan of the comic book world, and news of his death drew reactions from figures such as filmmaker James Gunn, who directed movie adaptations of Marvel’s “Guardians of the Galaxy” series.
“Sorry to hear about the great comic book artist John Romita Sr passing at the age of 93,” wrote Gunn.
“My brother & I wrote Mr. Romita when we were young kids & sent him drawings of superheroes we were working on. He wrote us back, telling us what he liked about the drawings! A truly memorable experience in my life, making me feel like the magic of comic books, which seemed so otherworldly, wasn’t actually that far away. My thoughts & condolences are with his family & loved ones,” he added.