JayJay here. I think a lot of people don’t know about Jim’s science background. He had a brilliant scientific mind and a boundless curiosity. This is a document that was created for a science-based project, but it includes some items that have not been generally known about his history.
Education
In 1969 I graduated with High Honors from Bethel Park Senior High School located in Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Pittsburgh.
In high school I took every science course offered: Biology I and II, Chemistry I and II and Physics I and II. I also participated in a credited after school program called “Biology Research.” Participants were assigned an advisor on the faculty of the University of Pittsburgh and conducted research projects under his or her supervision.
I took every math course offered: geometry, algebra I and II, trigonometry, analytical geometry, calculus, probability and statistics.
In 1966 I won first prize in the Buhl Planetarium Science Fair for my exhibit that explained the process of photosynthesis. It included a model of a chlorophyll molecule built with colored marshmallows and toothpicks.
During my senior year I took optional “free period” classes in computer science. Bethel Park Senior High had a terminal linked to a mainframe at the University of Pittsburgh. We had a limited number of minutes per day of access to the mainframe. I learned the fundamentals of COBAL, FORTRAN and BASIC.
I was a National Merit Scholar. I also had a number of scholarship offers from various colleges. I accepted an offer from New York University to become a “University Scholar.” Only two new students were given that honor in 1969. In addition to a comprehensive scholarship that included a “cultural stipend” to pay for theater tickets, concerts and so forth, the program allowed University Scholars to design their own curriculum. There were no required courses.
I was unable to attend NYU due to a family emergency. I gave up the scholarship.
I was already employed as a writer and I continued on that path. I never attended college but I learned from hall of fame editors and I have extensive real world experience.
Relevant Employment History
1965-1969: Writer for National Periodical Publications/DC Comics. I wrote stories for Superman, Superboy, World’s Finest Comics (starring Superman and Batman) and other publications. Starting at age 13, I was the youngest professional comics writer ever. The record still stands.
1970: Quality control technician for Watson Standard, a producer of paints, coatings and plastics. The job required two years of college that I didn’t have. I badgered them into giving me a chemistry test. I aced it.
1970-1973: Freelance writer and art director on the U.S. Steel account for the Lando-Bishopric advertising agency
1974-1976: Freelance comics writer
1976-1978: Associate Editor, Marvel Comics
1978-1987: Editor-in-Chief, Marvel Comics
1985: I developed the Titan Science Series intended to use graphic media to illuminate difficult scientific concepts developed by leading scientists including Stephen W. Hawking and Stephen Jay Gould. I spent a day with Gould at Harvard during which he showed me, among many other wonders, drawers full of fantastic Cambrian fossils from the Burgess Shale. It was a highlight-reel day of my life. Gould was an inspiration. His articles in Natural History were, in my opinion, the apogee of clear, effective scientific communication.
After I left Marvel the project was abandoned.
1987: I was hired by Western Publishing’s Golden Books Division to write a children’s book about ancient mammals. I wrote After the Dinosaurs, the Story of Ancient Mammals and Man. It remains the only children’s book on the subject of dinosaurs and ancient mammals that isn’t a “parade book,” that is, a book that simply shows animal after animal page by page and says what they ate, what they weighed, etc. ATD tells the story of evolution in a way that kids can understand. Dr. Lowell Dingus of the New York Museum of Natural History vetted the manuscript.
1988-1989: Freelance writer. I also served as a consultant to the Walt Disney Company where, among other things, I helped to found a new publishing division, Disney Comics.
1989-1992: Founder, president, publisher and editor in chief for Voyager Communications Inc. The lack of a comma between “Communications” and “Inc.” is intentional, as in Time Inc.
Voyager published comics under the VALIANT imprint and provided advertising services to a number of clients including Kraft General Foods and KFC. Voyager/VALIANT was hugely successful. Initially capitalized at $1.25 million it was sold to Acclaim Entertainment in 1993 for $65 million in stock.
1993-1997: Founded two more comics companies. One loss, one draw.
1998-Present: Freelance writer, including work for Pantone Color Systems, Inc.; Phobos Communications, a science fiction entertainment producer; TGS, Inc., an Internet entertainment company; and Illustrated Media, Inc. a producer of custom comics for advertising.
I also did technical writing. I wrote business plans for a film financing company, a provider of second-tier financing to Internet companies and others.
Between 1999 and 2003, I was hired as an expert witness by Marvel Comics, James Warren of Warren Publications, Archie Comics and others involved in legal disputes over intellectual property. I wrote devastating expert witness opinions on the subjects of copyright, trademark and ownership policies of publishers during the 1960’s, 1970’s and 1980’s. The clients whose counsel I served all prevailed.
2003- present: Freelance writer.
I have worked on many interesting projects including one for Inter Corporation. Intel sponsors the “Tomorrow Project,” which brings together science fiction writers and filmmakers to create speculative fiction based upon current, actual research being conducted by Intel. Project Director, scarysmart Brian David Johnson, whose title is “Futurist – Principal Engineer and Director, Future Casting, Interactions and Experience Research” hired me to create a story based upon current research on artificial intelligence and genetic engineering. Mr. Johnson arranged to have scarysmart Andrew Hessel, a leading authority on genetic engineering, serve as my consultant on genetics. Mr. Johnson is an expert on AI, so he, himself, is my consultant regarding AI.
I am the only creator whose primary work has been comics to be selected for the Tomorrow Project.
Brian David Johnson’s interest in my work was sparked by my scripts for comic book stories for Doctor Solar, Man of the Atom and Magnus Robot Fighter. Doctor Solar is a nuclear physicist who invents a fusion reactor. Magnus guards his distant-future, robot-dependent world against AI robots that become threats.
Brian David Johnson was sufficiently impressed by my scripts that he used them as the basis for a lecture he gave at the University of Washington in 2010. He titled the lecture “The Scientific Process of Jim Shooter.”
Awards
1980: I received the Inkpot Award from the San Diego Comic Con. However, almost everybody gets an Inkpot.
1992: I was awarded a Diamond Comic Distributors “Gemmie” award for lifetime achievement. Marvel Comics legend Stan Lee was also so honored that year. Gemmies are voted upon by comic book retailers nationwide.
2009: I was inducted into the Overstreet Comic Book Hall of Fame alongside the creators of the X-Men and Spider-Man.
Competencies and Interests
I write every day whether I have to or not. I read when time permits, usually non-fiction, often books and articles on scientific subjects. I have the usual human skill set plus the ability to change overhead light bulbs without standing on a chair because I am very tall.
