Jim Shooter, Marvel Editor-In-Chief Through Crucial 80s Era, Dies At 73

[Polybius]

Source: Forbes

Jim Shooter, who began his career writing comics at age 14 and guided Marvel Comics through one of its most creatively and commercially successful eras as editor-in-chief in the 1980s, died today at age 73 after a long fight with esophageal cancer.

Shooter took over Marvel Comics in the late 1970s when the comics industry was transitioning from mass market newsstand distribution to direct market sales to comic shops. He quickly grasped the opportunity of selling to long-time fans rather than casual consumers, leaning into Marvel’s dense story universe and encouraging creators to move the medium in more challenging directions.

Thanks to the breakout success of the X-Men by writer Chris Claremont and artist John Byrne, the signature title of Shooter’s reign, Marvel began a rise that saw the company bring in exciting young creators like Frank Miller, Walter Simonson and Bill Sienkiewicz, experiment with new formats like original graphic novels and trade book collections, spike sales with annual “events” and mini-series, and attract a new generation to a medium that many thought would not survive beyond the 1970s. At one point during Shooter’s tenure, Marvel sales were estimated at over 80% of the entire US comic book market.

But that success came, 80s style, with sharp elbows and attitude. Shooter had strong opinions about how to make comics and he leaned hard on the company’s talent to execute according to his vision. His tenure was marked by stories of creative blowups and controversies, including his insistence that the X-Men character Phoenix had to die to atone for crimes she committed in the story, over the objections of the creative team. In 1987, after Marvel had been acquired by New World Pictures, Shooter, whose welcome was already wearing thin, was, by some accounts, fired for demanding editorial autonomy and the payment of royalties.

Read more: https://www.forbes.com/sites/robsalkowitz/2025/06/30/jim-shooter-marvel-editor-in-chief-through-crucial-80s-era-dies-at-73/

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This one really hits hard. Every Gen Xer who was a fan of comic books in the 80's knew of him. RIP, Big Jim.

[OldBaldy1701E]

1. Despite the difficulties he would create, he was a great editor and helped Marvel into a new age.

I started collecting comics right when he took over the reins.

RIP JIm. And, thanks.