Spider-Man Visionaries: John Romita

Spider-Man Visionaries

by Roy Thomas, Stan Lee, John Romita Sr. (Illustrator)

John Romita is a name synonymous with the friendly neighborhood S Spider-Man. His touch was first felt in the 1960s. His storytelling and unique style vaulted him to front of his generation and has helped define comic artists look for the past half-century. This collection is a showcase of some of his best and brightest work to date, considered to be the quintessential Spider-Man.

The stories re-printed here collect milestone moments in the development of Peter Parker and Spider-Man, the flagship hero of the Marvel Universe.

Genres: Spider Man, Comics, Graphic Novels

192 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2001

About the author

Roy Thomas was the FIRST Editor-in-Chief at Marvel--After Stan Lee stepped down from the position. Roy is a longtime comic book writer and editor. Thomas has written comics for Archie, Charlton, DC, Heroic Publishing, Marvel, and Topps over the years. Thomas currently edits the fanzine Alter Ego for Twomorrow's Publishing. He was Editor for Marvel comics from 1972-1974. He wrote for several titles at Marvel, such as Avengers, Thor, Invaders, Fantastic Four, X-Men, and notably Conan the Barbarian. Thomas is also known for his championing of Golden Age comic-book heroes — particularly the 1940s superhero team the Justice Society of America — and for lengthy writing stints on Marvel's X-Men and Avengers, and DC Comics' All-Star Squadron, among other titles.

Also a legendary creator. Creations include Wolverine, Carol Danvers, Ghost Rider, Vision, Iron Fist, Luke Cage, Valkyrie, Morbius, Doc Samson, and Ultron. Roy has also worked for Archie, Charlton, and DC among others over the years.

Reviews

[Crazed8J8 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Classic stories by some of Marvel's legends. 3.5 stars rounded down...
Some classic spidey tales that I read to mourn the passing of John Romita, Sr. These are some of his 'visionary' tales. Granted, these are 50+ years old at this point, but they have aged relatively well.
It was awesome to see the introduction of Kingpin, Rhino, and Mary Jane, and also neat to see Gwen alive and well.
The stand out issue was Crisis on Campus, which is as relevant today as it was when it was written. The weak point was the last two issues (#108-109), which were lackluster, although we do get to meet Sha-Shan.
All around, a solid read, but definitely dated and classic.

[Liam Coyne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Upon reading this John Romita Sr will be forever and ever the greatest Spider-Man Comic Artist of all time

[Matej · Rating 4 out of 5]

This Spider-Man Visionaries paperback collects issues #39-42 that were originally published in 1966, #50 that was originally published in 1967, #68-69 that were originally published in 1969, #108-109 that were originally published in 1972 of The Amazing Spider-Man monthly comic book series.
The first half of this collection is amazing and fun, and it deserves a 5 star rating, but the second half of the collection is not, and it brings the rating down.
The art looks awesome and the colors are vibrant, especially great looking are the last few issues even though the story is somewhat lacking.
Overall, this was a fun read that features great art.

[Clark · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was a little disappointed with the selection of stories presented here. The Vietnam Vengeance stuff might be Romita's favorite story, but you know, it doesn't hold up as well as one might think. And late 60's Kingpin? No thank you.