Jim Shooter

Shooter began selling stories to DC Comics for their Legion of Super-Heroes title when he was only 13. He eventually succeeded Archie Goodwin to become the controversial ninth editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics from 1978 to 1987. Shooter was made editor-in-chief over more established personnel at Marvel and during his tenure some longtime key staff defected to DC. During his tenure the company enjoyed some of its best successes, especially with titles headed by Chris Claremont and John Byrne. He believed that every title, no matter how unpopular it was, deserved a chance to succeed. He abandoned the long-time Marvel Comics policy that allocated the best writers to the best-selling titles. This allowed some of the second-string titles, such as The Uncanny X-Men and Daredevil, to reach then-unprecedented heights of popularity.