I just got done reading Enemy of the State Volume 1 by Mark Millar and John Romita, Jr.. I read the issues when they originally came out (who hasn't?), but this was the first time I read it since then. It actually holds up well, and reading it in trade paperback format actually made it a better. It was also nice to see Romita, Jr. back to drawing Daredevil again, and it made me realize just how much I enjoy his art.
A few friends I know think that Romita, Jr.'s work is too square looking. I admit that I can kind of see that, but I would argue that his art fits the hero genre quite well. His Ultron, Wolverine and Elektra all look deadly, which is more than I can say for some artists who have worked on those characters.
I've had the pleasure of have some instant message exchanges with Romita, Jr. in the past, and he came across as a very nice guy who was happy to discuss comics and his work. I don't claim a friendship with the man or anything, and I doubt he even remembers those chats (as I'm sure he's engaged in thousands of those with fans), but it meant something to me. Art is a skill I don't have but desperately wish I did, and when I come across an artist I like, I tend to have a lot of respect for them.
Romita, Jr. is one of those artists. His father, a comics legend, isn't bad, either, but Romita, Jr., I have to say, has a style all his own that stands out in an art form where imitation is far too often the norm.
