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Kind of surprised nobody has posted about this after Monday's news, but here we are:

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

When it comes to Marvel, everyone talks about Stan Lee being the GOAT, what with his influence on the company and industry. For me, though, Jim Shooter was always that guy. Sure, Stan Lee had his impact, and reading books from the sixties is cool and all, but they were definitely books of their time. By the time the eighties rolled around, Stan's influence on the day to day just wasn't there anymore. I started reading Marvel in 1984 at the age of six, and although I didn't realize it at the time, everything that got me hooked on comics was because of Jim Shooter. Marvel from the eighties had their own vibe, and I loved it. The "next issue" blurbs at the bottom of every last story page--man, I looked forward to those just as much as each comic itself. He pushed creators to do better, and championed new creators in the field that were trying to do things differently.

Marvel was a mess in the seventies. Missed deadlines resulting in constant fill-in issues. Books were greenlit with no oversight. I always just figured everyone loved the guy. It was pretty disheartening to find out later how many creators didn't like him, and they ultimately succeeded in getting him fired. I've come to the conclusion that those creators are ultimately hacks who probably would have run Marvel into the ground if Shooter wasn't there. Nobody likes it when the boss tells you "no," after all.

After buying and collecting for so long, I've long since lost interest in meeting creators (too many hours standing in line, plus a few disappointing experiences of meeting your heroes). Jim Shooter was the only guy left that I would have loved to pick his brain at a convention.

Yeah, didn't see this until you posted. Sucks.

Jim Shooter was a giant in the business. Pun absolutely intended. As a teenager in the 1980's I had no idea of the behind-the-scenes drama between him and the creators but at the time I didn't care as everything was great and running smooth! I do remember that "The Dreaded Deadline Doom!" while not a thing of the past was still greatly mitigated.

He basically invented the company wide crossover which you can either thank or blame him for. Sure many comic book companies had individual comics cross over before but I'm pretty sure Marvel, under Shooter, was the first to have ALL of their books cross over at the same time. It was brilliant as a marketing strategy as it made the hard core consumer (me) buy comics that I ordinarily wouldn't be picking up. But, it was also seen as a ploy to grab more money (which it pretty much was) and caused some to swear off The Big Two and go Indy. Also not a bad thing.

Shooter also realized that specialty stores were the wave of the future and started publishing Direct Market series that you couldn't find at the ubiquitous 7-11 or Safeway spinner racks. He was a champion of freelance artists and did some great work for Independent publishers Valiant, Defiant and Broadway. He created the Epic imprint for creator owned concepts. Stand alone original Graphic Novels and collecting story arcs into Trade Paperbacks were among his innovations.

Sure he had his faults, but who doesn't? His contributions to the Comic Book World were invaluable. R.I.P.