Father and Son Issues

My thanks to NetGalley and Riverdale Avenue Books for an advance copy of this book that is both a biography on two artists, their family ties to Marvel comics, and a peek behind the mask at an industry that seems to make tragic figures out of everyone who works in it, with a few exceptions.

Parents want the best for their children. So to have a child enter into the same profession as a parent must be a hard thing. Knowing how hard that business can be, the many ups and downs, the aches, the pains the job can have one a body. The many ups and downs of the business, maybe a lot of work one week, a lot less or even none the next. The fear of paychecks getting smaller. The fact that people might judge the child against the father or mother. Even the fact that one has to not only be a parent, but a boss. Some fields might be easier to enter. Comic books is not one of them. Comics, something many learn will break one's heart. The names of people driven from the industry is lengthy. As are the numerous Go fund me accounts. And the arts is fully of people quick to judge, quick to snipe, about nepotism, why people get jobs, why people keep jobs. The name Romita has been a mainstay in comics for a very long time. John Romita Sr, and John Romita Jr have created numerous characters, drawn art that is recognizable not only from comics, but used in movies, cartoons, computer games and more. Comics were a family things, and we as comic book fans are the better for it. Father and Son Issues: The Secret History of Spider-Man tells the story of both of these men, and their work for Marvel comics, along with a look at many changes that the industry has gone through over the decades.

John Romita Sr, was born in Brooklyn, New York with a gift for art, and an ability to find materials all over the neighborhood. Romita Sr. loved comic strips, clipping and studying strips, tracing their lines to find out why things worked, what didn't. Movies were also a training ground, watching how a movie scene was presented, how a person stood, and how to frame action. Upon graduation, Romita bucked his father who wanted him to go into the bakery business and went to Manhattan to the School of Industrial Art, where he made contacts, and learned more about the business of not just art, but production. Romita made an ok living in comics for years, doing ghosting work for other artists, drawing romance comics, and making contacts, one of whom was Stan Lee. Who soon needed an artist for a title, Spider-Man. John Romita Jr, grew up watching his father draw, seeing him work past midnight, work weekends, to complete deadlines. For some reason this drew him to the industry, working on his own art, and not sharing what he did with his father. Romita Sr. held a editorial job at Marvel, along with his wife, and he feared what his son might be getting into. Comics has been known to break many a person. John Romita Jr. was not one of them.

A book that is not only a fascinating look at two men who really changed comics, but a great warts and all look at the whole comic industry. Ryan get write about the artistic side of comics, and in the same paragraph get into the nitty gritty about the ways the business could steal from the artist. I really enjoyed the fact that Ryan looked also at the role of Virginia Romita, and the role women had in the creation of this industry, something that does not get talked about enough. Ryan has done an extraordinary amount of research, and written a book that is very complete, and yet never bogs down. The balance between art, commerce, and family life was really very well balanced. Again this is pretty warts and all, so if one has illusions about many of your favorite creators, well one will be in for a few surprises.

This is probably the best book on comics that I have read in quite awhile. The you are there feeling about artists trying to work on deadline. The fact that these people created such great works, and that few even know anything about them. The bad deals, the friends who left the industry, broken and even worse broke. The family love. There is a lot here, and quite a lot to enjoy. I can't recommend it enough.