Monday, August 28, 2006

Art Apprentices


I don't remember the exact date when John Romita retired from Marvel Comics. I do remember that the company threw a retirement party and invited every Romita Raider who ever worked with him! As Art Director,John had a lot of work to do. He frequently got overwhelmed and got some help[with art correction. Stuff like changing figures or adding art. It started out informal, but it became a valuable training program for young artists.

I was a Romita Raider and I did my best to learn as much as I could from everyone working there. I attended the retirement party and posed for a great group photo!
I never got a copy of the photo, but I do have Romita's handwritten list of Art Apprentices. Are any of these names familiar?

2 comments:

Sara Kocher said...

Chis Ivy, Rodney Ramos, Gavin Curtis, Vince Mielcarek, James Brock, and some young kid named Don Hudson? Sure, I remember them!

Although I recall some better than others, since my memory's slipping with the advanced age and all.

I also recall a few of the Raiders from before my time at Marvel, especially James Fry. He "immortalized" me as a Star Trek character (see my "beaming up" blog post for details). Thanks to him (and Peter David), Googling my maiden name still brings up a few of the more obsessively detail-oriented Star Trek sites.

ROCKWITZ said...

I worked with every one of the people on this list.