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From his early days as a creator to his years transforming Marvel Comics into a powerhouse, Jim Shooter achieved great success and proved to be one of the most influential talents in the industry.
1) Started Writing Legion Of Super-Heroes For DC When He Was 14
Jim Shooter was only 13 years old when he began drawing stories about the Legion of Super-Heroes and submitting them to DC Comics. When he was 14, DC’s editor, Mort Weisinger, contacted him and offered to purchase the stories he had sent, while also hiring him to write new stories featuring Supergirl and Superman. Since he was underage, Shooter lied about his age so he could help support his family, who were in danger of losing their house. This included stories for Action Comics (Superman) and Adventure Comics (The Legion of Super-Heroes). His comics were a quick success because he drew on ideas he got from reading Marvel Comics and implemented those character-based storylines into a company that had always been about godlike characters, starting a change at DC that was needed for a few years.
2) Became The Ninth Editor In Chief Of Marvel Comics In 1978
In 1969, Jim Shooter graduated from high school and was accepted into New York University. However, he also had the opportunity to write for Marvel Comics and chose that over pursuing his college education. Sadly, he didn’t have the money and had to give up both dreams, returning home. He began working with DC again, but then Marvel editor-in-chief Marv Wolfman offered him an editorial position with the company in 1976. By 1978, he received a promotion to become the ninth editor-in-chief in Marvel Comics history, replacing Archie Goodwin. With Stan Lee moving to Los Angeles to work more on Marvel in TV and movies, Shooter found himself alone running the company at the age of 26.
3) Oversaw Several Of Marvel’s Most Important Storylines
Jim Shooter quickly changed how Marvel Comics ran its business. After years of the company mostly using and abusing creators, he gave the writers and artists much more respect and allowed them to work on some incredible storylines that helped define the company. He let Chris Claremont run the entire X-Men universe, and it was Shooter who demanded that Jean Grey die for her sins as Dark Phoenix. Shooter hired Frank Miller to write Daredevil, which resulted in some of the best comic book storylines the Hell’s Kitchen hero ever had. He also assigned John Byrne to Fantastic Four, Walt Simonson to Thor, and Roger Stern to Avengers, which resulted in some of those titles’ most important stories as well.
