I’m not sure what the advantages are to knowing when our time is coming. Jim Shooter had been battling esophageal cancer for a while, and on Monday the world was informed that his battle was over. He started his career early, as a teenager, and seems to have checked out early too. At just 73, that seems way too soon.
Jim was a guy who made an impact, that’s for sure. And by the way, our pal Rob Salkowitz had a nice write-up over on Forbes. But my life crisscrossed with Jim’s a few times. For a guy who had a reputation for being difficult (remember: De Mortuis nihil nisi bonum), I have to say he was nothing but kind and encouraging to me.
When I was kid, I first met Jim Shooter at an early ITHACON. As regular readers of With Further Ado know, ITHACON is the second longest running comic convention. I’m very involved with it now, but in the old days, more than 40 years ago, I was just a fanboy attendee. I wasn’t a shy kid per se, but I would get a bit tongue tied around my comic idols. I quickly learned what the various professionals had accomplished and how they contributed. I was generally awestruck.
Jim Shooter was Editor-in-Chief of Marvel when I first met him at ITHACON. He had big, bold ideas and was working hard to make a difference. You may not have agreed with what he was doing, but he clearly wasn’t there to maintain the status quo.
As a kid, I could kind of see the things he was trying to accomplish with the Marvel Universe, and I told him so. He was very patient with me. And having a grown-up conversation about comics—with someone more knowledgeable than me—was a fascinating experience. Continue reading “With Further Ado #353: So Long, Jim”
