Inking John Romita Jr (Patreon)

I'm taking a few weeks off drawing Steeple (and other projects) to rest and also do something I almost never do - practice. I've been inking some of my favourite artists to try to improve my lines, but also because it's educational and therapeutic. It's like a museum tour of their decisions.

The first artist I tried was John Romita Jr. I got  the artwork I used from an art-for-sale site, so I don't know the provenance of this Spidey page. The original inks were by Scott Hanna. I don't know what the original dialogue said, which is a bit of crimp on my process, as I like to know what characters are thinking. 

[Aside: I saw a She-Hulk comic preview the other day where the characters never open their mouths when they're talking. Never. Except on the cover, where teeth are bared in a snarl - the classic default "welcome to the inviting world of American mainstream comics" cover ho ho.]

I picked this page quickly, and when I was working on it, I had a lot of questions. I suspect that it was inked with a hot pen, under the gun. The main thing I objected to were Mary Jane's shoes, that look like they come from Hotter, the pensioner shoe shop. So I made them vanish from existence in a fit of pique. I also think her centre parting is egregious (especially on a model) and this page is probably the whole reason Marvel Now had to happen.

Mary Jane is a tricky character though. If she was a real woman, what would she look like? No idea. She isn't a real woman. She's one of John Romita (Sr)'s romance comic drawings. A sexy cipher.

Drawing the three panels of Spidey in the corner was so joyous though, even in those little cropped shots, the power of JRJR's line is absolutely indelible. Even the Spidey eyes betray so much knowledge of the character and how he works. I got a little tingle inking them in them. Magic.