Normally, the announcement of a variant comic book cover wouldn’t be very newsworthy. But the involvement of John Romita Sr. is an event unto itself.
Over at The Hollywood Reporter, DC Comics has announced that Romita Sr. will be coming out of retirement to provide the variant cover of Superman # 34. Romita’s son, John Romita Jr. is the regular artist on Superman alongside writer, Geoff Johns.
Romita Sr. is perhaps best known for his run as the second artist ever on Amazing Spider-Man, which redefined Peter Parker, his heroic alter-ego and his famous supporting cast. Romita is also one of the most iconic Marvel artists of all time, with stints on Captain America, Daredevil, Fantastic Four and numerous other titles. Romita was also Marvel’s Art Director from 1973 to the late 1980s.
While speaking with The Hollywood Reporter, Romita Sr. said that the new Superman cover was his first work for DC in over 50 years. “I worked there in prehistoric times for about eight years,” recalled Romita. “It was between 1958 and ’65. In those eight years, I did a lot of romance comics…[This is] the first time I’ve done Superman on a [comic book] cover.”
Romita also joked about the DC breaking his retirement. “I’ve been coming out of retirement for sixteen years! They don’t leave me alone… DC called me and asked me if I would be interested in doing a variant cover, and I told them as long as it wasn’t a crowd scene, I’d try it.”
Related: Comic-Con 2014: Geoff Johns and John Romita Jr. on Superman
Superman # 34 will also introduce The Machinist, a new Superman villain designed by Romita Jr and co-created with Johns. DC has released a splash page in which Superman encounters The Machinist for the first time.
DC will release Superman # 34 on Wednesday, August 27.
