RIP Jim Shooter

I was sorry to hear about the passing of comics writer, creator and editor Jim Shooter. Though I never met him personally, he loomed large in comics during a period I became serious about entering the industry. To say that he was polarizing would be an understatement. His tenure and influence as editor in chief of Marvel Comics from 1978–87 was both legendary and notorious. He got the company back on track and oversaw some great series and ushered in new talent (encompassing Chris Claremont's run on X-Men, John Byrne on the Fantastic Four, and Frank Miller's Daredevil) and implemented a royalty program. Shooter would occasionally go on to found and/or start several other companies, such as Valiant and Defiant, neither of which lasted long.

But during this time, Shooter also emerged as a "villain" in the industry. These included defending Marvel's indefensible position of not returning Jack Kirby's artwork in order to leverage a promise that he not ever attempt to claim ownership of the characters he had a big hand in creating for the company (they didn't call it "The House that Jack Built" for nothing), and issuing edicts on the creator side that people chafed under so much that many left.

Starting around that time, I became as interested in the business of comics as much as the comics themselves and, during these days before the Internet, much of this was covered breathlessly in the weekly and monthly comics media press. So though much of my impression of Shooter was shaped by comics industry media coverage (particularly that of the Comics Journal), since I had no real skin in the game—and given the insular nature of the industry—I tended to read such reports with a grain of salt and almost solely for the entertainment value in a soapy sort of way. (There's an old adage about academia that probably applies to comics at this time—the politics are so vicious because the stakes are so low.) 

In any case, I have to admit it's been touching to read so many fascinating stories and personal anecdotes at his passing, which provide a warmer and more rounded view of the man. Despite some of his notoriety, he clearly could be warm and generous, and clearly did much to benefit and protect creators, and it's good to know that he was nevertheless respected and appreciated by many of his peers, many of whom found opportunities to share their sentiments with him over the years. At the end of the day, he leaves behind a solid legacy, so it's nice to hear so many remembering him fondly.

For a nice overview of some of these stories, see the Comics Beat coverage.