John Romita Sr.’s Son Reacts to Spider-Man Balloon at the Thanksgiving Day Parade: An “Honor to Him and Our Family”

John Romita Sr.’s Son Reacts to Spider-Man Balloon at the Thanksgiving Day Parade: An “Honor to Him and Our Family”

As a lifelong Marvel fan, I can’t help but feel a deep sense of admiration and nostalgia when it comes to John Romita Sr. and his iconic work on Spider-Man. Growing up, his dynamic illustrations were a staple in my comic book collection, and his characters felt like friends that I could relate to.


John Romita Jr., son of renowned Amazing Spider-Man artist “Jazzy” John Romita Sr., felt excited as his father was recognized during the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. On Thursday, amidst the wet streets of New York, he snapped a photo with the latest Spider-Man balloon modeled after his father’s creations, symbolizing the wall-crawler’s return to the parade in ten years.

In a social media post, Romita Jr. expressed how thrilling it was to witness his father’s work showcased as a balloon in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Hearing his name announced during the broadcast was a great honor not only for him but also for our entire family.

Romita Sr., who was initially replaced by Steve Ditko as the artist for Stan Lee’s Amazing Spider-Man, took over starting from issue #39 in 1966. He continued working on Marvel’s top-selling comic until issue #95 in 1971. Additionally, Romita Sr. served as Marvel’s art director and drew the The Amazing Spider-Man newspaper strip from 1977 to 1980. He intermittently returned to the character over subsequent decades; for instance, he inked his son’s pencils on 1982’s Amazing Spider-Man Annual #16 and drew the four-page ending of The Amazing Spider-Man #500 in 2003 when Romita Jr. was the series artist.

John Romita Sr.’s Son Reacts to Spider-Man Balloon at the Thanksgiving Day Parade: An “Honor to Him and Our Family”

As a devoted gamer, I’ve always admired the incredible impact that Romita Sr. had on the comic book universe. He beautifully reimagined Peter Parker and his entourage in the iconic Amazing Spider-Man, and collaborated to create formidable villains such as Rhino, Shocker, and Kingpin, not forgetting superheroes like Luke Cage and Wolverine. Sadly, he left us at the ripe age of 93 in 2023. Romita Jr., on the other hand, has made a name for himself with his extended stints on Amazing Spider-Man alongside writers like Roger Stern, J. Michael Stracyznski, and most recently, Zeb Wells, as well as runs on Daredevil, Uncanny X-Men, and Peter Parker: Spider-Man.

According to Will Coss, Vice President and Executive Producer of Macy’s Studios, the redesigned balloon for the parade was consistently John [Romita Sr.]’s style throughout. From the start, it was clear that this design approach was fitting, and once we had the chance to confirm Spider-Man’s return to the parade, we quickly focused on it.

Among the 17 character helium balloons showcased, the one that stands out at approximately 77.5 feet in length and 44 feet tall is a Spider-Man balloon. Instead of showing him crawling on walls, this balloon captures Spider-Man in an acrobatic web-swinging pose inspired by Romita’s work. This Spider-Man balloon marks the first since 2014 and seems to be modeled after Romita’s iconic cover for the 1972 album, “Amazing Spider-Man” Rockomic.

John Romita Sr.’s Son Reacts to Spider-Man Balloon at the Thanksgiving Day Parade: An “Honor to Him and Our Family”

Recently, Marvel Comics honored the work of John Romita Sr. in “The Art of Amazing Spider-Man”, a large hardcover compilation of famous original art pieces from issues #39 to 122 of The Amazing Spider-Man. This book, published by Bullpen Books, is filled with pencil and ink drawings by Romita Sr. and is now available for purchase.

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2024-11-28 22:39