| Jim Shooter | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Shooter in 1982 | |
| Born | James Charles Shooter (1951-09-27)September 27, 1951 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Died | June 30, 2025(2025-06-30) (aged 73) Nyack, New York, U.S. |
| Area | Writer,Penciller, Editor, Publisher |
| Pseudonym | Paul Creddick |
Notable works | |
| Awards |
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| jimshooter | |
James Charles Shooter (September 27, 1951 – June 30, 2025) was an American writer, editor and publisher in the comics industry. Beginning his career writing forDC Comics at the age of 14, he had a successful but controversial run as editor-in-chief atMarvel Comics, and launched comics publishersValiant,Defiant, andBroadway.
Jim Shooter was born on September 27, 1951, inPittsburgh,Pennsylvania, to parents Ken and Eleanor "Ellie" Shooter,[2][3][4] who were ofPolish descent.[5] Shooter read comics as a child, though he stopped when he was about eight years old. His interest in the medium was rekindled in 1963, at the age of twelve, while he recovered in a hospital after undergoing minor surgery. He was impressed with the style of Marvel Comics, which had begun publication only two years earlier. Thinking that if he learned to write the types of stories that Marvel published, he would be an asset toDC Comics – whose books, he felt, "needed the help" – Shooter spent about a year reading and studying comics from both companies.[6]
At age 13, in mid-1965, Shooter wrote and drew stories featuring theLegion of Super-Heroes, and sent them in toDC Comics. On February 10, 1966, he received a phone call from editorMort Weisinger, who wanted to purchase the stories Shooter had sent, and commissioned Shooter to writeSupergirl andSuperman stories. Weisinger eventually offered Shooter a regular position onLegion, and wanted Shooter to come to New York to spend a couple of days in his office. Shooter, who was 14 and living in Pittsburgh, had to wait until school was in recess, after which he went to New York with his mother,[6] spurred in part by the need to support his financially struggling parents.[7][8][9][10]
According to Shooter, his father earned little as a steelworker,[11][12] and Shooter saw comic-book writing as a means of helping support the family. Shooter reflected in a 2010 interview:
My family needed the money. I was doing this to save the house; my father had a beat-up old car and the engine died – this is before I started working for DC – and that first check bought a rebuilt engine for his car so he didn't have to walk to work anymore. I was doing this because I had to, working my way through high school to help keep my family alive.[6]
At 14, Shooter began selling stories to DC Comics, writing for bothAction Comics andAdventure Comics, beginning withAdventure Comics #346 (July 1966),[13] and providing pencil breakdowns as well.[12] With considerable study of the writing style ofDC Comics and of the recently rising Marvel Comics, Shooter created several characters for the Legion of Super-Heroes that benefited by him being one of the few writers at DC to understand the competitor's successful character-based narrative approach.[6] This included LegionnairesKarate Kid,Ferro Lad, andPrincess Projectra, as well as the villainous group known as theFatal Five. He also created the Superman villainParasite inAction Comics #340 (Aug. 1966).[14] Shooter and artistCurt Swan devised the first race between theFlash andSuperman, two characters known for theirsuperhuman speed, in "Superman's Race with the Flash!" inSuperman #199 (Aug. 1967).[15] Shooter wrote the first issue ofCaptain Action (Oct.-Nov. 1968), which was DC's first toytie-in.[16]
In 1969, Shooter was accepted intoNew York University, but after graduating from high school he successfully applied for a job at Marvel Comics. Unable to pursue both his studies and work for Marvel, he decided against going to New York University and quit working for DC as well.[17] While at Marvel, Shooter worked as an editor and occasional co-plotter, taking his residence at theYMCA. After only three weeks, Shooter gave up the post due to his financial situation and returned to Pittsburgh.[17]
After leaving Marvel, Shooter took up work in advertising concepts, writing, and illustration for several years, supporting himself through several menial jobs during periods when advertising work was unavailable. An interview for aLegion of Super-Heroes fanzine led to his again applying to both Marvel and DC. Though both companies offered him work, Shooter opted to return to DC because they had offered him more prestigious assignments:Superman and a chance to again write the Legion of Super-Heroes, now in their own book,Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes. However, Shooter's relationships with bothSuperman editorJulius Schwartz andLegion editorMurray Boltinoff were unpleasant, and he claimed that both forced him to do unnecessary rewrites. In December 1975, Marvel editor-in-chiefMarv Wolfman called to offer Shooter an editorial position.[17]
In the mid-1970s, Marvel Comics was undergoing a series of changes in the position of editor-in-chief. AfterRoy Thomas stepped down from the post to focus on writing, a succession of other editors, includingLen Wein, Marv Wolfman,Gerry Conway, andArchie Goodwin took the job during a relatively short span of time, only to find the task too daunting as Marvel continued to grow and add new titles and a larger staff to turn out material.[18] On January 2, 1976, Shooter joined the Marvel staff as an assistant editor and writer.[17]
With the quick turnover at the top, Shooter rapidly found himself rising in the ranks, and on the first working day of January 1978, he succeeded Archie Goodwin to become Marvel's ninth editor-in-chief.[19][20] During this period, publisherStan Lee relocated to Los Angeles to better oversee Marvel's animation, television and film projects, leaving Shooter largely in charge of the creative decision-making at Marvel's New York City headquarters. Although there were complaints among some that Shooter imposed a dictatorial style on the "Bullpen", he cured many of the procedural ills at Marvel, successfully managed to keep the line of books on schedule (ending the widespread practice of missed deadlines popularly known as "the Dreaded Deadline Doom"), added new titles, and developed new talent.[21] Shooter in his nine-year tenure as editor-in-chief oversawChris Claremont andJohn Byrne's run on theUncanny X-Men,[22] Byrne's work onFantastic Four,[23]Frank Miller's series ofDaredevil stories,[24]Walt Simonson's crafting ofNorse mythology with the Marvel Universe inThor,[25] andRoger Stern's runs on bothAvengers andThe Amazing Spider-Man.
In 1981, Shooter brought Marvel into the lucrative comic book specialty shop market withDazzler #1.[26] Featuring adisco-themed heroine with ties to theX-Men (based upon an unmade film that had been set to starBo Derek),[27] the first issue of this series was sold only throughspecialty stores, bypassing the then-standard newsstand/spinner rack distribution route altogether, as recognition by Marvel of the growing comics shop sector. Subsequent issues ofDazzler were sold through newsstand [returnable] accounts as well.Dazzler was the first direct sales-only ongoing series from a major publisher; other Marvel titles, such asMarvel Fanfare andKa-Zar, soon followed.[21][28] Later that same year, Shooter wroteMarvel Treasury Edition No. 28 which featured the secondSuperman and Spider-Manintercompany crossover.[29] Additionally in 1981, Shooter was recognized as one of six "New Yorkers of the Year" by the New York chapter ofJunior Chamber International, for his "contributions toward revitalizing the comics industry and helping Marvel Comics achieve a new pinnacle of success."[3] Shooter also instituted creator royalties,[30] starting theEpic imprint forcreator-owned material in 1982; introduced company-widecrossover events, withMarvel Super Hero Contest of Champions andSecret Wars;[31] and launched a new, albeit ultimately unsuccessful, line namedNew Universe, to commemorate Marvel's 25th anniversary, in 1986.[32]
Despite his success in revitalizing Marvel, Shooter angered and alienated a number of long-time Marvel creators by insisting on strong editorial control and strict adherence to deadlines.[18] Although he instituted an art-return program, and implemented a policy giving creators royalties when their books passed certain sales benchmarks or when characters they worked on were licensed as toys, Shooter occasionally found himself in well-publicized conflicts with some writers and artists. Creators such asSteve Gerber, Marv Wolfman,[33][34]Gene Colan,[34][35]John Byrne,[36] andDoug Moench left to work for DC (encouraged by its new publisher,Jenette Kahn, aggressively taking advantage of the opportunity) or other companies.[33][37]
During Shooter's tenure, he enforced a policy forbidding the portrayal of gay characters in the Marvel universe.[38][39][40] According toJohn Byrne, he initially had to concealNorthstar's sexuality, since Shooter personally told him that portraying a gay character would not be allowed.[41][42] Marvel nonetheless published the first gay-themed story by a mainstream comics publisher during this time, written by Shooter himself; in it, two gay men attempt to rapeBruce Banner.[40][43] Comics historianFrederick Luis Aldama says that Marvel under Shooter's tenure "was widely considered homophobic."[44]
Roy Thomas, who left Marvel following a contract dispute with Shooter, reflected in 2005 on Shooter's editorial policies:
When Jim Shooter took over, for better or worse he decided to rein things in – he wanted stories told the way he wanted them told. It's not a matter of whether Jim Shooter was right or wrong; it's a matter of a different approach. He was editor-in-chief and had a right to impose what he wanted to. I thought it was kind of dumb, but I don't think Jim was dumb. I think the approach was wrong, and I don't think it really helped anything.[45]
John Romita Sr. said:
Shooter had been great for the first two or three years. He got the creative people treated with more respect, got us sent to conventions first-class with our ways paid, and we thought the world of him. Then his Secret Wars was a big hit, and after that he decided he knew everything and he started changing everybody's stuff.[46]
John Byrne said similarly:
Shooter came along just when Marvel needed him – but he stayed too long. Having fixed just about everything that was wrong, he could not stop "fixing". Around the time I left to do Superman, I said that I thought Shooter and Dick Giordano should trade jobs – it was DC that needed fixing then – and do so about every 5 years or so. Shooter had put Marvel into a place where all that was needed was a kindly father figure at the helm – and that was not Shooter! ...Secret Wars ... was when the trouble really kicked into high gear.[47] We must never forget thatSECRET WARS began as a toy promotion. ... Shooter turned it into a way to reshape the Marvel Universe in his image.[48]
Shooter was fired from Marvel on April 15, 1987.[49][50]
Shooter and his investors then founded a new company, Voyager Communications, which published comics under theValiant Comics banner, entering the market in 1989 with comics based onNintendo andWWF licensed characters. Two years later, Valiant entered the superhero market with a relaunch of theGold Key Comics characterMagnus, Robot Fighter. Another Gold Key character,Solar, Man of the Atom was also relaunched later in the same year. Shooter brought many of Marvel's creators to Valiant, includingBob Layton andBarry Windsor-Smith, as well as industry veterans such asDon Perlin. Valiant also established "knob row", in which creators were taught how to render the company's comics in the Valiant style.[51]
Occasionally over the years, Shooter was required to fill in as penciller on various books he wrote or oversaw as editor. During his period as Valiant's publisher, money and talent were often at a premium, and Shooter was sporadically forced to pencil a story. To conceal this fact, he drew under the pseudonym ofPaul Creddick, the name of his brother-in-law.[52]
After being ousted from Valiant in 1992,[53] Shooter and several of his co-workers went on to foundDefiant Comics in early 1993.[54] Despite some initial success with the first title, the new company failed to secure an audience in the increasingly crowded direct sales market and went out of business after thirteen months of publishing.[55]
In 1995, Shooter foundedBroadway Comics, which was an offshoot ofBroadway Video,[56] the production company that producesSaturday Night Live, but this line ended after its parent sold the properties toGolden Books.[57] In 1998, he spoke of a planned self-publishing, Daring Comics, with a projected eight titles includingAnomalies andRathh of God, with artist Joe James scheduled to draw at least one.[58]
Shooter returned to Valiant, by now calledAcclaim Comics, briefly in 1999 to writeUnity 2000 (an attempt to combine and revitalize the older and newerValiant Universes) but Acclaim went out of business after the completion of only three of the planned six issues.[citation needed]
In 2003, Jim Shooter joined custom comics company Illustrated Media as creative director and editor in chief.[59]
In 2005, former Marvel Comicsletterer Denise Wohl approached Shooter to createSeven, a series based on theKabbalah.[60] Shooter created a team of seven characters, one from each continent, who are brought together in New York because they share a higher consciousness.[61] The project, which was to be self-published by Wohl, was announced at the 2007New York Comic Con, to debut in July of that year, and was projected to "evolve into television and film projects, video games, blogs, interactive Q&A, animation, trading cards, apparel, accessories, [and] school supplies." Wohl was to donate a portion of her proceeds to the "Spirituality for Kids Foundation."[62] Only the first issue of the series was published.[63]
In September 2007, DC Comics announced that Shooter would be the new writer of theLegion of Super-Heroes vol. 5 series, beginning with issue #37.[64] Shooter's return to theLegion, a little over 30 years from his previous run, was his first major published comic book work in years. Shooter co-created the new LegionnaireGazelle with artistFrancis Manapul while on the title. His run on the series ended with issue No. 49, one issue before the book was canceled.[citation needed]
Shooter was hired by Valiant Entertainment, a company that bought Valiant'sintellectual property in a bankruptcy auction ofAcclaim Entertainment, to write from the end of 2008 into the summer of 2009.[65]
In July 2009,Dark Horse Comics announced atSan Diego Comic-Con that Shooter would oversee the publication of new series based onGold Key Comics characters from theSilver Age of Comic Books, such asTurok,Doctor Solar, andMagnus: Robot Fighter, and write some of them as well.[66] Valiant sued Shooter over his moving to write the Gold Key characters for Dark Horse as they expected to get the rights and that he interfered with their ability to license the Key characters by indicating that he would write them for Dark Horse.[65] As of January 2010, Valiant had given up the lawsuit against Shooter.[67] He subsequently wrote the relaunchedMagnus: Robotfighter,Turok andDr. Solar series as well asMighty Samson, another Gold Key character (that had not been picked up by Valiant Comics), for Dark Horse, beginning in 2010.[citation needed]
In his last years, Shooter worked as consulting editor and freelance writer for custom comics company Illustrated Media.[68][69]
Shooter was diagnosed withesophageal cancer in 2024, and died of the disease at his home inNyack, New York, on June 30, 2025. He was 73.[30][70]
As writer unless otherwise noted.
Deadlines. Had to sit there – the left end of the couch was my spot – sketch the pictures and write the words
In his first-ever published story, fourteen-year-old Jim Shooter admitted four new members into the Legion of Super-Heroes ... Shooter's long, memorable tenure as one of the Legion's greatest writers was officially underway.
Captain Action was DC's first toy tie-in title ... Editor Mort Weisinger ... brought in his young firebrand Jim Shooter to craft an identity and back story for the character.
The controversial story ["The Dark Phoenix Saga"] created a sensation, andThe X-Men became the comic book to watch.
{{cite podcast}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) of framing content around podcast.| Preceded by | Marvel Comics Editor-in-Chief 1978–1987 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Adventure Comics writer 1966–1969 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes writer 1975–1977 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Avengers writer 1977–1978 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Daredevil writer 1977–1978 (withGerry Conway in early 1977) | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Avengers writer 1981–1982 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Dazzler writer 1984 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Legion of Super-Heroes vol. 5 writer 2008–2009 | Succeeded by Justin Thyme |
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