The art of John Romita Jr.

For a recent job application, I was asked to write a 200 word critique of an artist. Having never critiqued art, the work of an artist or styles of art, I thought I'd take a punt on something abit more left-field.

So I talked about one of my favourite comic-book artists of all time, John Romita Jr.

Comic book artist John Romita Jr. followed his father into the industry in the 1970s, where he has principally worked as a penciller for Marvel. Since then, Romita’s talent and reputation has grown and had a huge impact on the comic book medium.

His prolific work with Marvel has included influential runs on popular characters including Spider-Man and The Avengers, as well as drawing critically and commercially successful series, such as 2006’s The Eternals, 2007’s World War Hulk, and most recently his work on the controversial Kick-ass. His influence is apparent in the work of younger artists: for instance, the exaggerated pencilling of Lenil Yu bears some resemblance to Romita’s work.

I believe a key element of Romita’s popularity and success is his unique style, which straddles a line between realism and cartoonish surrealism. His heavy, angular lines belie a talent for drawing fluid, dynamic poses and action sequences, whilst allowing him to exaggerate facial expressions to create defined and relatable characters. He has a cinematic eye for body positions and angles that effectively communicate tension and energy to the reader, and his designs are instantly recognizable and truly memorable.  Truly, he is one of the masters of sequential art.

If you happen to know anything about art, how is this as a short piece of art criticism? If you have any advice to offer on how to critique artwork, please drop me an email...