While Steve Ditko and Stan Lee may have created Spider-Man, it was John
Romita Sr. who defined him...
Romita came to the book as a replacement for
Steve Ditko, bringing his clean, romantic style of illustration to the book.
Romita once expected Ditko to return to the book within a few months and when he
didn't, history was truly made.
A history that is now fully explored by
writer Tom Spurgeon and this presentation of the definitive book - lavishly
illustrated with classic and unseen art -- starring Jazzy John Romita! From his
days before Marvel, through the Sliver Age, and his days designing and creating
the characters we know and love still today (including Wolverine, the Punisher
and many, many more), Romita: Generations covers it all. Spurgeon's exhaustive
interview includes not only Romita Sr., but the second beloved artist in the
family, John Romita Jr.!
About Tom Spurgeon
Tom Spurgeon is one of North
America's best-known experts on the comic strip and comic book art forms and the
industries that service them. The son of a newspaperman in East Central
Indiana, Tom and his brothers helped their father select new strips for the
paper's comic-book page, making the Muncie Star-Press one of the first
publications to carry "Calvin and Hobbes" and "The Far Side," as well as sone of
the few to carry "Rudy."
After receiving a broad education at Washington and
Lee University and a focused one at Garrett seminary on the campus of
Northwestern University, Tom worked briefly for QVC, Inc. Drawing on experience
in his nepotism-fueled career as a beat writer, editor and entertainment
reporter, Tom in 1994 took the position of managing editor at The Comics Journal
in Seattle, Washington.
Tom edited the Journal for five years, first as
managing editor and then as executive editor. During that time, the magazine
won multiple industry awards, increased its focus on world comics and encouraged
the comics community to see small press and mini-comics as legitimate artistic
outlets rather than a training ground for traditionally published works. In
forcing the magazine to build on the breadth and depth of its coverage, Tom
helped improve the magazine's general mainstream profile as one of American
Arts' most unique and valuable publications. When literary comics began to make
a major impact in the late 1990s, the Journal was the gateway publication for
many editors and writers to understand the phenomenon. Tom also edited the
magazine's infamous "Stan Lee issue" (October 1995) and helped launch its
popular companion Web site.
In 1999, Tom left the magazine to become a
freelancer. He remains a columnist, reviewer and occasional newsman for the
publication he previously edited. He has written about comics and a variety of
arts-related subjects for Suck.com, Feed, The Stranger, and more than a dozen
newspapers and regional magazines. From 1999 to 2002, he wrote the critically
lauded newspaper comic strip "Wildwood," which enjoyed a daily presence in more
than 18 million homes. He currently lives in Silver City, New Mexico.
